1. IN SOFT, southern countries, snow is enough to close schools. In Sweden—a place that lives by the maxim that “There is no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes”—fresh snow is a cue to send 18-month-olds into the playground, tottering around in snowsuits and bobble hats. It is an impressive sight at any time. But it is particularly striking in a Stockholm playground filled with Somali toddlers, squeaking as they queue for sledge-rides.

2. The playground belongs to Karin Danielsson, a headmistress in Tensta, a Stockholm suburb with a large immigrant population. Mrs Danielsson calls her municipal preschool “a school for democracy”. In keeping with Swedish mores, even young children may choose which activities to join or where to play. All pupils’ opinions are heard, but they are then taught that the group’s wishes must also be heeded.

3. Swedes take preschool seriously. Though education is not compulsory until seven, more than 80% of two-year-olds are enrolled in preschool, and many begin earlier. Among European countries only Denmark has higher enrolment rates at that age.

4. Just three of Mrs Danielsson’s 85 pupils, aged from one to five-and-a-half, speak Swedish as their mother tongue. Most come from Somali backgrounds, or other cultures where young children stay at home. That may be their tradition, Mrs Danielsson says. But in Sweden “you need to learn Swedish rules and social behaviour.” She prefers her pupils to enroll at 12- or 18-months-old, and to stay for six hours a day.

5. Swedish values can cause conflicts in immigrant families, she concedes. It can be hard for parents to cope with “strong” children taught to take decisions for themselves. Well, she says, “preschool teaches parents about Sweden, too.”

6. Such self-confidence comes with a cost to individual liberty. Generous welfare payments (including heavy subsidies to keep preschool fees low) combine with high income taxes to shape Swedish childhoods into similar patterns. Sweden offers 14 months of parental leave (12 months for one parent, and two for the other, to encourage fathers to do their bit), during which an average earner may receive up to 80% of his or her salary, paid by the state. That means hardly any Swedish children under a year old go to day care. A few months later, most are at preschool.

7. A new integration policy, to take effect at the end of 2010, will pay immigrants to attend full-time language classes, “civic orientation” courses or job training for two years after they obtain residence permits. The benefits will be payable to individuals, not households. The stated aim is to push immigrant women into the labour market (duly propelling their children into day care).

8. Behind such policies lie a set of ideological beliefs, concedes a senior government official. Swedes are fiercely attached to gender equality. Economically, they think it good for women to work and pay taxes. They also believe “it is good for young children to be in preschool”, so they can be educated by trained professionals. In a nice piece of circular reasoning, officials

argue that children need to go to preschool to make friends, because that is where all the other children are.

9. Only one political party challenges this consensus: the small centre-right Christian Democrats. A junior member of the coalition government, the party last year secured a law offering monthly allowances of 3,000 kronor (about €300) to parents who keep under-threes at home. Party officials give the example of a rural family, living some distance from the nearest preschool, with a child born in the spring. Once statutory parental leave ends, the family might prefer to keep their toddler at home for a few months more, perhaps until after the summer. Yet the bigger point is to send a political signal, say the Christian Democrats: parents should have a choice about how to raise their families.

10.That argument has triggered a backlash among centre-left politicians and education professionals. A 3,000-kronor allowance will mean little to middle-class parents, but it is enough to persuade immigrant mothers to keep toddlers at home, they charge. Mrs Danielsson says 5% of children in her catchment area have vanished, thanks to the allowance. After years running waiting lists, last year she had to go on local television to fill her places.

11. In Denmark the debate has taken a harder edge . Pia Kjaersgaard, leader of the populist right-wing Danish People’s Party, called last December for councils to force toddlers from “vulnerable families” into crèches on pain of losing benefits, before they grow up into “gang members”. She was referring mostly to immigrant families, she explained.

12. In fact, Denmark already has such “parental orders”. The debate is about lowering the threshold for withdrawing benefits. The centre-left Social Democrats reject such sanctions. But it should be “easier for the authorities to say a child should attend day care” when the child is at risk, says the party’s social-affairs spokeswoman, Mette Frederiksen. Most under-threes who do not attend day care in Denmark are from minority backgrounds, she notes. That denies them opportunities other toddlers enjoy.

13.That the issue of compulsory day care is even on the agenda says something about Denmark’s toxic immigration debate. Yet the Nordic experiment is mostly kindlier than that. Mrs Danielsson’s school is lovely, and her pupils seem happy. If Sweden is a nanny state, it is a Mary Poppins nanny state, emasculating parents, in part, by being good at what it does.

14.Few other countries are likely to try the experiment—Sweden and Denmark spend about €10,000 a year per preschool pupil. Expect to hear more, though, about clashes between parental freedom and integration. The Nordics may be an extreme case, but their debate has lessons for all Europe.

Jan 28th 2010 | From The Economist print edition

QUESTIONS

1. Which of the following titles is the most appropriate for the article?a. Just like the Swedishb. Starting them youngc. The Scandinavian debated. Following the Swedish example2. What does the phrase “In keeping with Swedish mores, even young children may choose which activities to join or where to play” mean?a. The Swedish culture encourages children to do whatever they want at school.b. The Swedish culture promotes freedom of choice.c. Swedish children learn to respect the choices of the group.d. Swedish children are disciplined.3. Which of the following is true according to the article?a. Swedish children are happy to attend preschool.b. Preschools in Sweden have the highest enrolment rates in Europec. Some children in Sweden attend preschool at the age of one.d. In Denmark the 80 % of two years old are enrolled in preschools.4. What does Mrs Danielsson believe, according to the article?a. All children who enroll in preschool should learn to speak Swedish.b. It is respectable for families from other cultures to keep their toddlers at home.c. Immigrant children should learn Swedish rules and to respect their parentsd. Immigrants should learn to respect their children’s decisions.5. What is true about Swedish families, according to the article?a. Each parent can take a parental leave for 14 months.b. The state subsidizes the parents’ salaries in order to be able to stay with their child for a year.c. Taxes are levied to keep preschool fees low.d. The majorty of Swedish toddlers attend preschool at the age of two.6. What is the main aim of the new integration policy of the Swedish government?a. To enable immigrants to acquire their residence permits.b. To enable immigrants to get accustomed to the new culturec. To offer imigrant women the opportunity to workd. To ensure that children attend preschools. 7. What is the tone that the writer of the article employs to comment on the officials’ view?a. condescendingb. incendiaryc. speculatived. derisive8. According to the article, the Christian Democrat partya. is against institutionalised schoolingb. is against compulsory schoolingc. is in favour of parents upbringing their children on their ownd. has affected the interests of a certain group 9. According to the article, Pia Kjaergaarda. is a racistb. is against preschooling carec. wants to cut down benefitsd. is in favour of preschooling care10. According to the article, other European countriesa. are reluctant to follow the Nordic experimentb. will follow the Nordic experiment

c. have debates on whether to follow the Nordic experimentd. oppose the Nordic experiment 11. What does the writer of the article seem to believe?a. Parents should be given a choice on how to raise their childrenb. The Swedish preschooling system is idealc. There should be certain criteria set in order to decide which toddlers should attend preschools.d. Children should be brought up by their parents as long as this is feasible.12. According to the article, the debate in Denmark is abouta. not providing high benefits so that the mothers could start workingb. providing high benefits so that the mothers can take care of their childrenc. providing high benefits so that the mothers can start workingd. voting for parental orders13. According to the article, the centre-left Social Democratsa. totally agree with the Danish People’s Partyb. disagree with the Danish People’s Partyc. agree with the Danish People’s Party at some pointsd. believe that families should be provided with higher benefits14. Under which thematic category is this article more likely to appear? a. World economicsb. World Politicsc. Cultured. LifestyleFor questions 15-24 choose the option which is near the meaning of15.cue (par 1)a. indicationb. warningc. hintd. signal16.heeded (par 2)a. spottedb. consideredc. overlookedd. adhered17.compulsory (par 3)a. mandatoryb. irrevocablec. unavoidabled. compelling18. concedes (par 8)a. relinquishesb. abidesc. consentsd. admits19. consensus (par 9)a. accordb. agreementc. rapportd. tranquillity 20. coalition (par 9)

a. conspiracyb. alliancec. confederationd. affinity21. statutory (par 9)a. judicialb. approvedc. legald. administrative22. backlash (par 10)a. repercussionb. retaliationc. adverse reactiond. resistance23. threshold (par 12)a. outsetb. vergec. sourced. limit24. emasculating (par 13)a. weakeningb. castratingc. mutilatingd. impoverishing

GLOSSARY

Maxim απόφθεγμα, ρητόCue υπαινιγμός, προτροπήTotter παραπατώbobble hat πλεχτό σκουφάκι με φούνταtoddler νήπιοsqueak τσιρίζωmores έθιμαheed λαμβάνω υπ’ όψη, προσέχωcompulsory υποχρεωτικόςenrol εγγράφωwelfare payments κρατικά επιδόματα (πρόνοιας)subsidy επιχορήγηση, επιδότησηparental leave γονική άδειαbit χρέοςorientation προσανατολισμόςresidence permit άδεια παραμονήςduly δεόντωςpropel παρακινώ, σπρώχνω fiercely άγρια, μανιασμέναconcede παραχωρώ σα δικαίωμα, αποδέχομαιcircular reasoning τρόπος εξαγωγής συμπεράσματος όπου το συμπέρασμα

είναι και υπόθεση (οπότε είναι πλάνη, παραλογισμός)official δημόσιος λειτουργόςconsensus κοινή απόφαση, συναινεσηcoalition συνασπισμός, προσωρινή συμμαχίαallowance επίδομαstatutory νόμιμη, νομοθετημένηtriggered πυροδοτώ, προκαλώbacklash αντίδρασηcharge κατηγορώcatchment περιοχή που εξυπηρετείται από σχολείο, νοσοκομείο κλπtake a harder edge γίνεται πιο έντονοcrèche βρεφοκομείοon pain of για να μη, με φόβο να …threshold επίπεδοsanction αποτρεπτικό μέσο, άδεια, ανοχή

emasculate ευνουχίζωclash σύγκρουσηintegration ενσωμάτωση