The article is first published at the website of  Flateyr folks school.

Studying at a folk school is different from what we are used to in traditional high schools and colleges. In a folk school, students and teachers get an opportunity to play and work together and try their hand at different subjects without delving too deep into academic theories and course books.

Discussion and teamwork, technical training and field trips are key terms. Evaluation and feedback in folk schools is not through conventional exams and grades, but through meetings and discussions. This gives the folk school an opportunity to educate students and develop their abilities in unconventional but effective ways.

Who is the Folk School for?

Folk schools rarely make admission requirements regarding education or previous experience, but they can, in accordance to the emphasis of each school, focus on different things when they choose their students. Personal interests, attitude and the personality of the applicant all weigh heavily in this context.

Young people who have just graduated from high school often choose to apply to a folk school in order to figure out their strengths and weaknesses and test their will for further studies. It is also common for people who have not graduated from high school to attend folk schools to kickstart their studies again.

Most students at folk schools are between 18-30 years of age, but we gladly accept older students and welcome students with families.

Exciting Studies and Challenging Subjects

With enthusiastic and professional teachers, freedom from traditional exams, new friends and adventures, vocational training, dormitory living and a multitude of exciting field trips, folk high schools enable students to develop and explore their abilities through work, new experiences and living in a close-knit community.

The main focus is on discovering and strengthening each student’s unique abilities in a challenging environment which is also characterised by teamwork and support.

The Folk School Experience

In a folk school, students most often live together in a dormitory of sorts, sharing a room with others. They learn a lot from living and working with other people. By sharing their living arrangements, students get to know one another in ways they wouldn’t do during normal school hours. This also teaches the individual a great deal about themselves.

Living with your fellow students means that the line between studying and socialising can become blurred. Students have access to the school facilities outside school hours and this offers them flexibility to work together on their interests. They plan entertainment nights, trips and other events and social activities. An important part of the folk school experience is the teamwork and closeness to other students and the local community.

The Social Influence of Folk Schools

Folk schools answer an increased demand for more varied options in Icelandic education. It is a relatively new thing in Iceland that people can live and study at an institution with no emphasis on traditional grades and degrees.

A new and extensive analysis, carried out by the Association of Folk High Schools in Denmark (Folkehøjskolernes Forening i Danmark), shows that young people who had dropped out of traditional schools benefited considerably from studying at a folk school and the chances of them returning to study at higher levels increased markedly.

Studying at a folk school also plays an active role in helping drop-out students as well as unemployed people and those who undergo job rehabilitation to keep active and increase their chances of getting a job by using the curriculum and the community offered by the school.

Much more than just a school

When students spend all their time together, as is frequently the case in folk schools, the conversation and togetherness is interwoven with the studying and project work, which gives them an opportunity to test their ideas and make informed decisions about where they wish to head in life. Therefore, you will be much better equipped to decide on your career and job development.

The stay at Flateyri Folk School offers so much more than just coursework and studies. While there, you will live with the other students, eat with them, study, clean, have fun and belong to a community where everyone shares the same responsibilities and the same rights.

Every week we make time to meet up, chat, learn from each other and even entertain each other. This can be in the form of discussions, organised lectures, slideshows and even concerts. We are all responsible for these activities, which means we take turns organising the weekly meeting and what takes place there.

Apart from this we start each day together, have breakfast and discuss matters at hand, organise our work and divide chores between us.

We also have obligations

Each one of us has duties to perform within the school community. We live together and must take part in looking after our home, tidying and cleaning. Same applies to the school premises. It is up to us all to keep things nice and clean and we divide between us chores such as cleaning, making breakfast, organising events and other activities which make our community healthy and thriving.

And we have fun

There will be lots of action outside school hours. Of course, this depends on us, but it is very likely that we will practice sports, play games, do yoga, meditate or relax together. We can spend our evenings cooking, chatting, giving lectures to one another or getting a lecturer from outside our community. We can watch movies, play music, form a choir or do crafts. Whatever we can think of. It is also worth noting that Önundarfjörður and vicinity offers endless possibilities for outdoor activities. Keep in mind that weather is just a state of mind and a question of appropriate clothing!

In the folk school spirit, involvement in the local community is an important part of Flateyri Folk School values. There is great emphasis on the students working closely together with the residents of nearby communities to enrichen daily life with events, parties, fellowship and contributing to the services and entertainment on offer in each village. In this way, we are all responsible for using the resources which can be found in the community and in the students, to create something which would not have been created otherwise, which could not have happened in any other way. This is our goal.