Obligatory classes
We are together hilarious your personal cheerleaders 150 pairs of flip flops in the dining room a community the first of our kind just like you Ollerup
Those, who live together – learn together!
As a student, you have some folk high school subjects that are based on the community, and on expanding and developing the thoughts that create our everyday life.
What are the obligatory classes?
Folk high school life offers more than awesome training sessions, teaching, partying and friendships. Every day we spend some a bit of time practicing something that few people remember to spend energy on in their everyday lives: We think about. It involves visits from fascinating speakers, long conversations and debates and yes – we also sing together. We look at the world, use history as a mirror against ourselves because we believe that our ability to think about, evaluate critically, and relate sensibly to the world can make a difference. It is not about saving the world, but at least making a small difference where we are and where we can.
And before you ask: Yes – we sing songs together. When we meet former students, whether they went here 5 or 50 years ago – that’s actually what they remember best and miss the most. We also talk about democracy, politics, ethics and morality, and both community and Grundtvig will probably be mentioned at some point.
Common to our obligatory subjects, however, is that there is no curriculum, you will be provoked, and you will get better at reflecting.
Once a week, all students meet in our lecture hall to sit back and listen to vastly different, inspiring, provocative and enlightening lectures. The topics range all the way from global issues or crazy, historical or adventurous tales to entertaining and challenging features from experts in every conceivable field. The speakers can be both external experts from the cultural or business world, and can be found among our own teachers and students.
The most important thing is that they can push your horizon, set new thoughts in motion, and that you will be involved in a debate or discussion where the attitudes and arguments of others are tested against your own.
Community singing is a natural part of life at the folk high school, but once a week it has a special focus. This happens when your schedule says “Song and Story”. We know and love the high school songbook because it is a tribute to life, both when the big and the small emotions dominate, when everything is going smoothly and when life is rocky and hard. Singing, poetry and poetry may not be at the top of your wish list, but over the last 100 years we’ve learned that songs open us up a little more – that they strengthen our community and that music makes us a little happier. Finding the joy of singing both old and new songs, learning where they come from and understanding why this particular song has both history and meaning, is an experience that will open your eyes.
It always sounds a bit grandiose to talk about poetry, but often the beautiful, small melodies spring from great emotions – emotions that are just as relevant and alive today, as when the song first came into the world. Our ambition with this class is to shed some light on the small, important moments, the poetic in life and to appreciate history and music. And don’t worry – if you don’t already love the subject from this description, we guarantee that you will.
“The World & Me” is based on our society and the norms and values on which it is built. It is very much a conversational subject, where we expand each other’s horizons through debate and conversation. The purpose is for us to gain greater knowledge and broader understanding, while we become better at trusting our own voices and position as democratic citizens. What is it that separates you from those who step up on the podium? Those who stand uup for their opinions, get involved in the debate and get both bruises and praise for their involvement? And where do they find the strength to defend their attitudes?
In the World and Me, we help you open your mouth, disagree, be right and wrong, and learn. The ancient Greeks spent quite a long time disagreeing, and although we are neither old nor Greek, we believe that something exciting happens when you weigh your arguments on the scale of public opinion. It is, if you didn’t know, entirely possible to be right and wrong at the same time.
The World and Me take up 75 minutes 3 times a week.
A subject that brings together all students, regardless of courses or which nationality you belong to. Body basis is one of the subjects you didn’t know you needed, but you’ll remember as both fun and interesting – and as a fantastic introduction to new movement cultures that you haven’t known before. First and foremost, however, it is amazing to experience the whole folk high school gathering – then you really understand what you’ve become a part of.
In this class, you’ll be introduced to various movements, often outside your normal movement patterns, but that help give you a stronger, more intelligent body. During the weekly class, most people will experience both completely new and well-known movement cultures, and precisely because all students are different, you will both experience being skilled and less skilled during Body Basis. We can, after all, not all be experts in martial arts, dance, tumbling, rhythmic gymnastics and all the many other things we’ll be trying during your stay.
In the art of sharing, students are given the opportunity to share abilities, passions or special knowledge with each other. Independent of the teachers, students invite you to various workshops and teach each other everything from Brazilian martial dance, Spanish lessons to stratego or guitar playing, so it’s not so much about exactly what you can do. It’s more about sharing the enthusiasm you find in this particular interest.
Enthusiasm is contagious, and by sharing your new knowledge, you let your interest seep into others who understand both you and your interest better, and may also find the same enthusiasm in themselves. No matter what interests we explore together, we inspire each other to become more creative, inventive and community-oriented. Maybe it’s something useful, maybe it’s extremely nerdy and maybe it’s fun – in any case, you can pass on your joy to others in the Art of Sharing.
In Call of the World, we turn our gazes outwards and address global news and issues. Group work, debate, research and source criticism are essential elements in this subject when we test our attitudes, put our own daily lives in perspective, explore others and try to create a broader and deeper understanding of the world.
Since the ancient Greeks decided to try democracy, the opportunity to debate important issues has helped us move forward. At a time when you have constant access to all information, it is important to be able to sort, rationalize and debate complex issues. There can be many sides to the same problem, and there are often several answers to the same question. We’ll be finding, exploring and examining them in Call of the World.
Every week we meet with our room neighbors, mixed across courses and in the company of a teacher you get some time to put your thoughts into words. The vast majority of the time, Family Groups is a scheduled cozy time where we can bring our experiences and thoughts to light, where we can vent our opinions and where everyone gets speaking time. High school life is very social; We are many, we get close and although it is a great experience, minor frictions and frustrations can arise. We address them in our Family Groups. Here we discuss, reconcile expectations and resolve any conflicts before they have time to discolor the fantastic experience your high school stay should be.
In our Family Groups, there is rarely a set agenda, but in stead we make time to talk about ‘this and that’, get your heart rate down a bit and talk about the many, many impressions that hit you from day one of your stay. At the same time, it is an opportunity to be able to take part in and be responsible for a smaller community in our large, unified folk high school community.
It may sound soft and emotional, but we guarantee that it is a welcome and relaxing moment that you will look forward to every week.
Every Friday before we go on the weekend, we gather all students for a joint gymnastics training in the Arena. Common Friday is not used to grind through insanely complicated sequences or tumbling passes, but to move us, to experience a whole, unified folk high school and to practice basic gymnastics of the kind that everyone can participate in. In the spring semester, we most often try to put together a show, while in the fall we typically try out different genres and sequences.
It is a very special thing to experience how many people you surround yourself with every day. To feel the community move, watch the choreographies take shape and to get a sense of what you are a part of. You really get that feeling on Common Friday, and we’re sure you’ll love it as much as we do.
There are lots of opportunities at Ollerup.
See what you can use our courses for!