<doc.id=0198.b7>
<title> Time to wake up </title>
The Swedish school is in desperate need of a change. The latest decade the economical tightening has been great in the Swedish society and this cut down has affected particularly the schools. As a result the schools of today are worn out both concerning material and employees and this has lead to a decrease in the quality of education, a lack of knowledge among some students and also a reduced interest in the teaching profession. During the last few years the number of applicants for teacher training collage has become fewer and fewer. Swedish school politics has for a long time dealt with quantity instead of quality and the debates have been about more practical and theoretical issues than ideological ones. The time has come to wake up and do something before it is to late.
		One group who has opened their eyes and finally sees the alarming situation in the schools and also has decided to do something is the Swedish political party Folkpartiet. In their latest party program the party has put forward a number of school reforms in order to change the present school situation. One of these reforms is about raising the power of attraction and the status in the teaching profession. I agree with them and I am also of the opinion that we have to start with this to be able to reach a solution. One problem is that we have a shortage of staff this very day and also plenty of unauthorised people who are teaching in the Swedish schools. Another problem is that the teaching staff in Sweden is relatively old and consequently a large group of teachers is going to retire in a couple of years. These mentioned problems together with the fact that fewer people want to become teachers are only making a bad situation worse. If we do not have competent employees or even employees at all in our schools, how should we then be able to help and stimulate the pupils? And if the teachers do not feel comfortable and happy in school, why should the students? My answer is to raise the status of the school as a whole and there will be no problem to get personnel that enjoy working as teachers and I am convinced that this joy will be transmitted to the students and result in them enjoy being there too. 
		The teachers are also in focus in another of Folkpartiets reforms, namely their demand on order and method within the classroom. Today there are a relatively large number of students that systematically disturb, fight and interfere with the rest of the teaching. They come too late to the lessons and they are rude to both teachers and other students. These children need to have someone to tell them how to behave and show respect to other people and it is here that the teachers have an important role. It is their duty to guide these children towards an acceptable behaviour. This is of course not only the teachers but also all adults' responsibility. Society has to give clear signals of what is right or wrong and we all have to contribute to teach children these social skills. However, not all children that disturb in the classroom are doing it for fun. Some of them, owing to different reasons, actually cannot cope with the situation of being in the same room together with so many people; some students need to be in a small group. Unfortunately this has become an economic question to many schools. They cannot afford to have separate teachers for these pupils. I sincerely hope that these reforms will change this situation so that the schools will be able to hire as many teachers as they need for their work. Thus should it be possible for every student to receive the kind of education they need. 
	 An expanded individual education is also what I would like to end this article with. We have to realise that all children are different and they learn different fast. Those children that do not adapt to the "normal" pattern in school risk being outsiders, their self-confidence will decline and perhaps they will begin to fight to get attention. This would bring them into a vicious circle of negative attention, which is not good for anyone. If there is a possibility to a more individualised education I am convinced that we will receive more committed students in the future that want to take more responsibility for their own education.
</doc>