Mayoral candidate Ritt Bjerregaard says immigrant parents in Denmark should join their children at school to find out what they are learning

Copenhagen Post:

Not only bilingual children, but also their parents should be present in class when school starts in the summer, Social Democratic mayoral candidate Ritt Bjerregaard said on Wednesday.

Daily newspaper Berlingske Tidende reported that Bjerregaard felt parents should sit through their children's classes for one week each term, in order to become more involved in their schoolwork.

The veteran former MP, minister, and EU commissioner's comments came in reaction to news that immigrant children often missed the first weeks of school, as they were still on vacation in the parents' homelands.

'It's clearly an unacceptable and very short-sighted thing for parents to do,' Bjerregaard said. 'As a group, bilingual children do much worse in school. If they add to that by not showing up in class until three weeks into the school year, they lag behind from the start.'

Bjerregaard added that language tests should be offered to all students in Copenhagen schools.

'If a child in the third grade still cannot read or understand Danish, then special steps need to be taken,' said Bjerregaard.

If students lack basic reading skills and do not make progress in their class, Bjerregaard recommended moving them to a different school with more intensive instruction or fewer bilingual students.

The proposal was met with scepticism among teachers, however, many of whom are wary of conducting too many tests.

'We shouldn't test students mindlessly. There isn't any need to test all the students every year. Teachers have a good idea of which students have problems and can concentrate on them,' said Anders Bondo Christensen, the chairman of the Danish Union of Teachers.

Christensen welcomed measures that give teachers a better means for helping students with language problems such as introducing an extra teacher in the classroom.

Bjerregaard revealed her plans as she presented her strategy on immigration and integration affairs, which are expected to become hotly debated during this fall's mayoral election campaign.

Something Rotten in Denmark?