Skip to main content

Dagis vs Förskola a lesson in Swedish political correctness



I have been thinking to write this post since I arrived to Sweden and Mila started at daycare here. This is a post about marketing, linguistic development, Swedish political correctness and whether or not we have to change. And what this got to do with daycare you might wonder..

When I was a kid ( 30 years ago) I went to daycare and we all called it dagis in swedish (cute short easy to say term that everyone used for daycare/kindergarten) I loved my dagis and my dagis teacher and I have a lot of great memories from this time.

I am not sure about exactly when but a few years ago it became big no no to call dagis dagis. This super important role that all the people have taking care of kids is (or was?) a low paid job as it is dominated by women. And I guess as a strategy trying to higher the status and the salaries was to start to use the name förskola //preschool//  ( which previously was mainly used for the year just before you actually start school at 7) and a higher criteria to mainly employ university educated preschool teachers a movement pushed from the government ( a 4 year long education including work practice) I am not sure how much this development has higher their salaries or the status but I do hope that the levels are more acceptable for the very hard and important job that they are doing. I really do think that they are doing a great job taking such good care of other peoples kids and actually the modern Swedish society depends on this workforce as the norm and economy is to be home for a year on parental leave before going back to work. But is really the name that important for the status?

For me who has lived in and out of Sweden since 2001 and no kids until recently was a little chocked about this for me sudden super ultra incorrectness of using the term dagis. To say dagis is like cursing in church (but really!!) I know political correctness is one of the most important cornerstones in "Swedishness" but really you should see peoples reactions when you say dagis! And me and many with me don't mean anything bad it is just much cuter and easier to marketing the concept for a 2 year old. And also really when kids are 1,2 & 3 they don't need a teacher or preparation for school they need comfort and support from a grown up who are great with kids and listen to kids needs if parents decide to go back and work (don't mean anything bad with this either)

So listen to this dagis is now called förskola but it is ok to shorten it and call it föris !?  Really föris but not dagis?!

I am not sure if I can call it a cultural chock moving back to Sweden or if Sweden has taken political correctness too far or if this really is important for equality and higher their status ?

It is not only me using the dagis term still.. Shame on you Google translate!!



And shame on you mormor Mi who was proud to join Mila at her dagis last week ( when stomach flu was running wild) and called dagis dagis and not föris in your Facebook post. Little did you know that you were stepping on one or two sensitive toes and that you Facebook post would be commented like never before.



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Karatänuppdatering

Det har gått 15 dagar sedan jag sist gjorde en uppdatering om Corona statusen här i Düsseldorf Eftersom vi när skolorna beslutades att stängas var sjuka och ganska rejält sjuka hela gänget så kände vi först inte av hur livet i karantän eller isolering var eftersom vi även under vanliga omständigheter hade hållt oss hemma. Om vi hade Corona det får vi aldrig veta eftersom dom inte testar här i nuläget, men jag har aldrig blivit så risig av en vanlig förkylning med hosta, tungt i bröstet och väldigt väldigt lite energi. Det positiva var att det var inga problem att få kontakt med vården och den hjälp vi behövde här i Düsseldorf, vi ringde innan för att kolla om vi verkligen fick komma in med feber och det fick vi fast genom särskilda ingångar på sjukhuset. Känns tryggt också med den mindre barnklinik dit barnen går som vi hittills alltid har fått tid samma dag och även för oss vuxna walk in klinik utan att behöva ringa innan eller långa köer. Jag ska tillägga att vi inte har någon dyr p...
Post a Comment
Read more

IF: Ocean

Ocean is this weeks topic on Illustration Friday.  Prague is cold and snowy at the moment. A nice warm summer day is far away and so are the ocean. But we keep dreaming of warm sunny days and the ocean far away.  Havet är veckans inspirationsord på Illustration Friday. Prag är snöigt och kallt idag. Sommarens varma väder är långt bort och det är havet också. Men vi drömmer om soliga dagar och havet långt borta. 
2 comments
Read more

A hate-love relationship

 I have a love-hate relationship to washing. I love the feeling of putting things in the washing machine. If I don't have things in the washing basket ready for washing I go for a hunt around the apartment looking for things that can do with a wash. This behavior is totally inherited from my mother who could ask me to take clothes off so she could wash it ( possible that they also smelled a little horsey..) As much as I love the washing moment I hate the feeling of having to fold and put away washed and dried cloths.And don't even mention ironing, I refuse, a crease or two has never hurt anyone... These days the washing pile is bigger but at the same time more bright and colorful. Sweet little clothes for a sweet little girl. Jag har ett speciellt förhållande till att tvätta kläder, en passionerad hatkärlek. Kärleken riktas mot att få stoppa in kläder i tvättmaskinen för tvätt. Finns det inte mycket i tvättkorgen letar jag rätt på något som kan behöva en tvätt. ...
Post a Comment
Read more