In February, we had a new round with Fagerhaug and lectures for both parents and students. We started the two-day roundtrip with a lecture for parents at LUS – Lillesand Lower secondary school, where close to 100 people met Wednesday 13. February on the evening.
The trip continued the next day to Birkenes, and Fagerhaug gave a lecture to all the students at the adult learning centre in the cafeteria of the town hall. In his lectures, Fagerhaug challenges his audience to take control over, or to «design» their own lives, and create a balance between the inner world, the outer world and the digital world, which is taking over more and more in people’s lives.
He also challenged the students at the adult learning centre to go out and talk to others, and to defeat their own fear of what others think. Another one of his main points was that it is important to keep a focus on the road instead of the ditch, in this case, to have focus on what you know for certain rather than focus on the insecurity of the situation. «You are here, you attend school, you learn Norwegian»…these are things we know for certain.
Many people showed up at the city hall, in addition to teachers and students, many people from the local municipality administration showed up; the mayor and other leaders in the administration, and other representatives that know our student group.
The last stop on the roundtrip was Valstrand lower secondary school in Birkenes. Here, Fagerhaug talked with youths facing important choices in their lives. Also here, many people smiled and laughed during the lecture, and the event was a success. Some students mentioned that learning German was an obstacle in school, as they found it difficult to master this well, and again, Fagerhaug challenged the students to do what they feared. «Walk around the hallway and speak in German, then it could be fun, but you should perhaps wear earplugs, so people around you don’t think you’re completely crazy».