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I must admit that I do not know the specifics of the Swedish model of "friskolor", but I do know that a translation to "free schools" are so misleading that int
by mythhabit 3y ago
I must admit that I do not know the specifics of the Swedish model of "friskolor", but I do know that a translation to "free schools" are so misleading that intentional deception seems to be the explanation.
We have a similar concept in Denmark, but here they are called "private schools", some of them are also called "Friskole", which can be translated the same way as the headline - the meaning is however that their metodes are "free" of the municipality decisions about education, not that they are free of payment, quite the opposite, they often require additional payment.
They get the same funding for each student as the public schools, if and only if, they meet certain requirements, basically the same law as public schools are required to meet. And specifically, they must be a "self owned" institution and all funding can only be used for the school and education. They are free to require the aforementioned additional payment, but they cannot be profit generating if they want funding from the government.
- robertlagrant 3y agoI'm English and I thought of financially independent schools when I read the headline. Never attribute to malice what can be explained by your own interpretation.
- mythhabit 3y agoThey are for profit schools that receive government funding. Is that financially independent?
- robertlagrant 3y agoI don't know how my opinion of whether or not something is financially independent affects this. I didn't interpret the headline as a claim that "schools people don't have to pay for directly" are a failure.
- marvin 3y ago«Free» as in freedom of the traditional, Scandinavian unity model that was pretty much the only option when the term was invented. To receive this privilege, you need to associate with a religious movement or alternative teaching style. I can speak confidently only for Norway, but the level of almost totalitarian historical social unity will be very unfamiliar to Americans.
- mythhabit 3y agoI am aware of the history. It is however a term that does not translate neatly to english, and in the context of the "Scandinavian model" with free, as in no payment, education, healthcare, and social security - it is already a loaded term, that an editor of an English newspaper very well know, that carry a preconceived notion.