Folk high school teachers do not only shape the future of their participants, but also the future of society. Meet two of Åsa’s teachers and discover what motivates them, their views on folk education, and what makes their work so meaningful.

Once a year, on the first Wednesday of September, Sweden celebrates Teachers’ Day. On this occasion, the Swedish Teachers’ Union seeks to cut through the media noise and highlight the vital, society-sustaining work carried out by its members: from preschool to university, including the folk high school sector in between.

Alike and different
At Åsa, there are more than 30 teachers working across a range of courses. One of the most recently appointed is Dennis Aldelöv, who teaches on the Motivational folk high school course SMF. He previously worked as a carpenter, but wanted a more people-centred profession and retrained as a teacher.

Annelie Strindberg has worked at Åsa for several years as a music teacher and course coordinator. While at upper secondary school, she was so inspired by her singing teacher that she decided to pursue the same career.

”She seemed to have the best job in the world”, as Annelie puts it.

The two teachers followed very different paths into the profession. However, their main motivations and views on the rewards of teaching are strikingly similar.

Privilege to follow the progress
Dennis particularly values the opportunity to follow other people’s progress and watch them grow.

– No two days at work are ever quite the same. It’s wonderful to see people develop, become more confident, and discover that they can actually do things they may never have believed they could. We really do change people’s lives.

Annelie highlights the privilege of meeting participants and sharing in their musical creativity.

A wet blanket
– That’s the very best part of my job: nurturing and developing participants’ creativity, so that each individual leaves with as many tools as possible to build a future as a musician.

Her first teaching position was at an upper secondary school. In that setting, she felt constrained by the emphasis on performance and grading, which dampened her enthusiasm for teaching singing students.

– At a folk high school, assessment is not the focus. What matters is the participant’s personal development journey, says Annelie.

Dennis qualified for teacher education through studies at a folk high school, in fact at Åsa itself.

Day for demands
– For me, there is something very special about the folk high school view of people. You don’t just see a participant and their results; you see the whole person and the development taking place, he says.

Sweden’s Teachers’ Day is not only an opportunity to highlight the important contribution teachers make to individuals, society and democracy. It is also a time to place demands on policymakers and employers.

There is still much to be done to improve teachers’ working conditions. The level of resources allocated to education directly affects teachers’ ability to provide pupils and participants with the best possible opportunities for learning, personal growth and progress.

”More long-term and reliable
funding would give us greater
stability and security”

For the music programme, Annelie would like Åsa’s governing authority, Region Sörmland, to invest in a dedicated cultural centre. The programme’s current premises are not ideally suited to its activities.

Security and recognition
She also points to the need for greater financial security for herself and her colleagues.

– More long-term and reliable funding would give us greater stability and security.

Dennis would like to see wider recognition of the role folk high schools play in society.

– I frequently encounter prejudices and misconceptions about folk high schools that bear little resemblance to my own experience. Folk high schools deserve to be recognised for what they really are, and for the value they create both for participants and for society as a whole.

Text and photo: Henrik Wising