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Danish schools fail UN convention standards.

The Danish public school system does not live up to the standards defined in articles 28, 29 & 30 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1), with reference to minority groups. The convention, which has been ratified by every member country of the United Nations except the United States and Somalia, defines the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children around the world. Article 28 deals with equal opportunity, while articles 29 & 30 spell out equal opportunity in practical terms, including the development of respect for his or her own “cultural identity, language and values” (2).

Why are minority rights important? Because the true test of a pluralist, democratic society is the extent to which the society includes minorities, allows them to participate and integrate rather than excludes, vilifies and discriminates against them. Children belonging to ethnic, cultural and/or religious minority groups have been experiencing much of the same exclusion, vilification and discrimination as adult family members, albeit often indirectly through the reactions and discussions of adults, older siblings and through the media. From jokes about immigrants keeping goats on balconies, to abhorrent, racist propaganda that hasn’t been seen in Europe since the 1930’s, comparing Muslims to rats and cancer cells, (3) the current social and political climate has both directly and indirectly been influencing the lives of minority groups – including children. There is nothing in the current climate that encourages the development of minority children’s respect for their own cultural identity, language or values, as they are viewed by many politicians as barriers to integration in the dominant society.

The vilification and discrimination of individuals, based on criteria such as race, ethnicity, nationality or religion, has created an atmosphere that is not conducive to the development of children’s respect for the cultural identity, language and values of the minority group that they and their parents belong to. This can lead to issues of low self-esteem for the children, where the child only identifies and measures him or herself in relationship to the dominant culture. This can express itself in embarrassment at standing out from the dominant society linguistically, culturally or based on religion. In serious cases this can include embarrassment of one’s parents for being “backward”. For the parent this can mean embarrassment and loss of authority over the child. This is part of the reason why articles 28, 29 & 30 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child are so important. If the quest for integration is to be taken seriously, emphasis must be placed on teaching respect for the cultural identity, language and values of children belonging to a minority group, both to the children belonging to a minority group, but also to children of the dominant culture. Respect should not be mistaken for cultural relativism. Respect comes from understanding. It should be pointed out that the schools first and foremost neglect the rights of minority children due to the legislation governing public schools, not through any ill will of the teachers.

The current legislation governing the Danish public school system needs to be changed so that it lives up to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, particularly in reference to children with a minority background. This can best be done through agitation and lobbying at the national, EU and international levels, but will be difficult in the current social and political climate. The alternative is a more divided society, where mainly economically disadvantaged minority children remain in the Danish public school system. The majority of minority children will be found in private schools, that better develop capabilities and qualities that the children already have, but that are underrated or ignored by public schools.