Sweden's Future Artisans (1950s)

[Music] [Applause] [Music] In Sweden, as in other modern democratic countries, little children are looked upon as the hope of the future, and their education thus takes on the importance and quality of a precious investment. Elementary education has been compulsory in Sweden for more than a century. Up-to-date schools are found all the way from north of the Arctic Circle to the southernmost tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, which can boast a standard of living among the highest in the world. [Music] The long school day begins at 8:00 a.m., but the carefully planned routine will be broken up every hour for a short recess outdoors. Curtsies and boughs are presented naturally and enthusiastically. Sweden's children are evidently not too modern for old-fashioned manners. Paperier-mâché is in the making here. Children are early given the opportunity to develop any latent talent in the field of arts and crafts. If the child has any manual dexterity at all, he'll learn at a very young age what possibilities of fun, adventure, and even careers are open to him. The wise teacher sees her chance here to relate play with the work a day world. Sweden's most important natural resource is her forests. So lumber and paper products are big business. The children are not only learning by doing but at the same time are made aware of the potentialities in so-called waste material. The American Indian grips the imagination of a growing boy. Cooperation in group activity results in a village of teepeees. The versatile plastic mass is ideal for many shapes and forms, and imagination is their only guide. Fingerpainting is a universal favorite and probably has been since man first conceived the possibility of decorating the cave he called home. The 9-year elementary school, which is evolving under the present Swedish school reform, is one designed for everybody. As in the USA, the demand for basic knowledge combined with practical utility has been increasing. Knowledge for everyday living as well as for future vocations. But in the early grades, the children in their handiccraft periods are of course aware mainly of the possibilities for fun in their newly acquired creativeness. A wide variety of materials is offered the children to guide them to this happy awareness. Though handiccrafts is an essential part of the curriculum, general education of course takes precedence. Every Swedish child must achieve high standards in the three Rs in history, geography, general science, and language. The study of English, for instance, is obligatory from the fifth year on An environment where there is sincere appreciation for the products of a human hand is a tremendous incentive to the children who seem eager to try everything. The first objects a child creates are strictly for fun or fancy. But gradually and naturally comes the desire to fashion something for practical use. The school activity program extends into the field of gymnastics in which the Swedish nation as a whole has long excelled. Every teacher is specially trained to direct her own class and calisthenics. Coordination, balance, grace, and a keen sense of rhythm are the aims of this form of gymnastics, which also calls upon the creative talents. Once the child has mastered its basic principles during the brief but frequent recess periods, the youngsters are free to exuberate in a typical noisy schoolyard. Here's one of many real life situations in which the three Rs are put to practical use. Though home economics is planned for grades 7 through 9, the facilities are available for occasional use by the smaller children. Boys and girls together cooperate enthusiastically when put to the serious task of replenishing the empty cookie jar. No, He rolling out the dough is a delightful responsibility, while the actual baking is even more exciting than the mixing. [Music] The decorating of the finished product offers still another chance for each child to express his own creative ability. Music, of course, is included in the fully rounded cultural program. Wherever possible, schools provide not only free use of musical instruments, but also free or inexpensive private lessons. Though the fundamental skills are not slighted, education is no longer confined within the four walls of a classroom. Instructors accompany their pupils on numerous field trips to explore some of the many geographic or historic sites of interest abounding in Sweden. Near Stockholm is the island of Bjorko on which the original capital city was founded in Viking times. Such excursions combined with classroom study encourage the youngster to develop a sincere love and appreciation of his country and its heritage. Back in school, there's always something new to anticipate. For the teacher attempts to relate a child's natural predilctions to his classroom projects. For instance, if a boy loves birds, he's free in his handiccraft hours to fashion a home for them. [Music] Woodcraft is dear to the hearts of the Swedes who love their abundant forests so essential to the nation's economy. Honesty of design and workmanship is the goal. And no amount of handwork is considered too tedious if it serves to bring out the beauty of the raw material. Learning by doing, the growing child comes to appreciate the value of that loving labor and patient care which create quality in a finished product. A model of the famous Kiki raft was the result of painstaking and nimble young fingers working with wood and straw. The winter season is a gay one for Sweden's hearty and healthy children who welcome the snows and exhilarating frostiness. Snow brings happy thoughts of Christmas and the handiccraft classes soon take on the appearance of Santa Claus workshop. Typically Swedish is straw work which originated centuries ago when craft materials consisted of any natural resource which presented itself at the doorstep. [Music] With 2 hours a week devoted to small handiccrafts, there's plenty of time to introduce modern plastics as well as the time-honored craft materials of wood, metal, paper, and straw. Winter's the inspiration. What more appropriate than a snowman that'll never melt? In Sweden, the Christmas tree is the special province of the children who begin weeks in advance creating wondrous decorations from a wide variety of materials. Every Swedish family treasures its collection of ornaments built up over the years by the eager hands of their children and those children who came before them. In gleeful anticipation of the festivities at home, the young ones trim their classroom tree with a decorative product of their own imagination. [Music] School's out. Oh, great day Christmas vacation begins. Well, now is the time to try out their skill at winter sports. During the winter season, teachers often take their classes outdoors for an hour or so, encouraging all the children to gain proficiency in those sports, so popular in countries where old man winter lays a generous mantle of ice and snow over the hilly countryside. Wherever possible, there's at least one outing on skis. Hundreds of children are brought together for skiing contests, which foster a love for outdoor life, for healthy competition, for endurance and proficiency. And oh, how a day outdoors wets a youngster's appetite. [Music] In the seventh school year, specialization begins and students select those areas of study which appeal most strongly to them. Manual training is nearing its 100th anniversary in Sweden. And thanks to Otto Solomon, founder of the worldrenowned School of Manual Arts, Sweden boasts a veritable army of instructors in metal and woodcraft, artisans of their trade. Though the shops are well equipped with modern machinery, handwork is considered essential. Boys who decide on the field of practical arts for their life work will spend as much as 10 hours a week in the shop by their ninth year of schooling. The instructors serve not only as teachers but as vocational guidance counselors. Opportunities are provided for the boys and girls to have on the job practice in nearby industries or in business. Sweden believes strongly in fostering those creative powers which have long made her famous as a nation of fine craftsmen. Home economics is offered to students of both sexes in grades 7 through 9. Boys are not a bash to pitch in with the girls and learn the fine art of homemaking, including cooking. Practice in these homely skills may stimulate interest in unexpected fields of endeavor. The Swedish educational system gives pupils a chance to discover their potentialities at an early age. [Music] One school, for example, has opened a real post office and a general store where students have the opportunity to buy, sell, and manage the business just as they might be doing in future years. Pupils continue lines of specialization in the ninth school year. The goal may be the business world, the vocational field, or higher education. But typewriting is recognized as useful in any walk of life. The last day of school bears a special joy in taking home something of his own, something he has made himself. The ideal of good schools everywhere is not only to transmit the basic tools of knowledge, but also to encourage each child to develop his own capabilities and talents to their very limit. The Swedish educational system is dedicated to that ideal. [Applause] [Music]