"Building schools" should become a school subject

In the beautiful landscape of Uppland near Lake Valloxen stand several listed buildings that almost look like castles or manor houses. However, they have long been in need of renovation, and Margarethahemmet, once one of Sweden's most modern hospitals, is hardly suitable as a preschool and elementary school today.

When Modern Barndom visits Margarethaskolan a few weeks before the end of the school year, hopes for a new school have begun to sprout again, hopes that were first raised three or four years earlier and that prompted the school's nearly 200 students and their teachers to get involved in various ways throughout an entire school year in deciding what kind of school they wanted.

"Olle Larsson came and asked us what we wanted for our school, and we came up with various ideas, such as better home economics classrooms, new lockers for everyone, fresh white walls, and toilets," Evelina von Euler begins. We sit down with her classmates Alma Björby, Fredrik Carlén Strömberg, and Jouline Svanfeldt in a former mini chemistry lab that really highlights the need for a new school.

The walls, lab equipment, and furnishings are not only worn out but unnecessary—“We never use this stuff,”they point out—and what’s worse, they make the room unsuitable for their needs, such as group work. They try to explain anyway, even though we are sitting uncomfortably and it has been a long time since they worked on proposals for the new school. It was quite slow going at first, says Alma:

It was actually only when Olle said that no ideas are too crazy that a whole bunch of them really came to mind.

"Oh, we really get to decide about our school," Fredrik Carlén Strömberg recalls them thinking. He and the others then shared some of their ideas, such as having frosted glass walls, a soccer field on the roof, and their own cafeteria...
Olle Larsson, the man behind Sisyfos Fastighetsförädling, which had taken over Margarethahemmet to build a new school, but also a retirement home, restaurant, new garden, and housing, did so not least because he wanted to collaborate with Margarethaskolan. When Modern Barndom contacted him later, he said: 

What I wanted to create, and why we took on this project, was because Sisyfos and I believe that learning environments are incredibly important. Whether you're working with a church, workplaces, or, as in this case, a school, you have to build for them specifically. Learning environments should create energy, inspire, and instill pride. Feeling proud and thinking, "This is my school," is incredibly important. Of course, you can do that by building cool buildings, but also by letting those who will be attending the school participate in creating their learning environments. That is what we want, and that is what we liked about Margarethaskolan – that, like us, they want to work to bring the school closer to the community, unlike so many others who are disconnecting schools from society today. We want schools and communities to be integrated with each other, just as we saw that Reggio Emilia wants. And that the process is just as important as the finished result.

The students at Margarethaskolan—but also the teachers—are used to working together on long-term, interdisciplinary projects using different forms of expression.
"When Olle finally arrived, we thought, 'Now it's really going to happen. People had been talking about a new school for a long time, but nothing ever happened,'" says Alma.

But then appeals and postponed building permits appeared, and many of the young people who had been involved have since left, including a couple of their siblings. Jouline, who started recently, will probably get to experience it, though.

"I really hope so, but at the same time I hope that we don't lose our way of combining theory and practice when it becomes a new and much larger school with so many more students," she points out, coming from a municipal school and having experience of a different way of working.

"Now we're very close to each other, everyone talks when we're just one class in each grade," Fredrik continues.

When it's time for the photo shoot, we go outside to take pictures in front of their old school and across the field where the new one is planned to be built. They are fairly certain that this time it will happen, but at the same time they don't think they will be able to influence it any more than a little at the detail level.
"We trust Olle and Sisyfos that it will turn out well," says Fredrik.
"Not all of our ideas can be realized," adds Alma.

But we feel that we have been listened to, says Evelina.

For similar projects in the future, there are things they think could be done better.
– It has been a long and unclear process for us, with a lot of back and forth. They could have been clearer with us about how the construction process works, with building permits and the fact that things can be appealed and take a long time, Alma points out.
Before we part ways, I ask if there is anything they would like to see happen before the fall, when construction is scheduled to begin.
– We would like Olle to come here and explain to us how the entire process will work during construction, they say almost in unison.

When Modern Barndom catches up with Olle Larsson a few weeks later, he says he's written a letter about what's going to happen next, which all the students will get at the end of the school year.

It's really not good when things like this drag on for years. Especially for young people. Time eats away at your energy if nothing happens, and then it's easy to lose trust in adults. And it's not easy to understand processes like this, where a few people who don't want something have more power than the many who do," says Olle. However, he believes that the students at Margarethaskolan will definitely be able to and must influence the construction project.

"Building a school" should be a school subject in its own right. I hope that this will be the case for Margarethaskolan in the coming year, that the school will really involve the students in the construction process. Because this year will be very important for the outcome. We will really work hard to achieve this, including having a project manager on site at all times.

The sun is shining, but the air is no longer warm; instead, it is crisp and cool. The delicate greenery that surrounded Margarethaskolan the last time Modern Barndom was here has given way to glowing autumn colors. The school's wide lawn is cordoned off with high fences, and inside stands a large excavator ready for the first "groundbreaking." In front of the preschool's small courtyard, there is still room for a stage where children, young people, teachers, parents, construction workers, and others gather to listen to the school's own music group, Fniss, and the opening speech by the school's chairwoman, Sofia Rosmark, and Olle Larsson, who exclaims"Finally!" when it is his turn, adding:

– I guarantee that the cooperation with you students, parents, and teachers will now continue. August will be here every day.

"Yes, I'll be chatting with you more throughout the fall and winter. Because everything isn't really ready yet. And since we're going to do this together, we're starting today," says project manager August Michel, pointing to a large box filled with tiles.
Soon, everyone has picked up a tile to paint later for the new school, which will be completed next fall. The excavator starts up, everyone has a coffee and mingles for a while before the school day continues as usual and it's time to leave Margarethaskolan. But Modern Barndom will be back to find out how the students will be involved in the rest of the construction process. 

Text and image: Maria Herngren