Peter Brøndum

We spend a minimum of 18 years throughout our lives in the education system. 18 years worth of habits, of constructions of the world around us, of value systems and individual beliefs. Along the way, and especially in the past 10-12 years, there has been an increase of students equating their self-worth with their grades.

“These identity points are very negative for the whole learning experience. Learning is a long perspective and grades are a very short perspective. You need to be learning for life.”

Have we lost sight of what education was set out to be? Peter Brøndum thinks potentially, yes. Along the way, Peter believes grades have become an obstacle to learning for many young people today. This belief that the correlation between our grades and our self-worth has led to an increase in destructive behaviour in young people - increased and debilitating stress, depression and self-harm as a few. But, he believes there is still hope.

“Embrace uncertainty and allow themselves to make mistakes and allow themselves to be imperfect while they’re learning. The experience of uncertainty to build a trust in themselves.”

Can we move to a new mindset where grades are no longer used as identity markers for the generations to come? Join us on August 23rd, as Peter reminds us there’s more to learning than a 4.0 grade average, and that making mistakes and failure is all part of the learning journey.

- By Alexandra Connerty

About the speaker

Peter Brøndum is an associate Professor in Social Science and History at Øregård Gymnasium. He is a published academic and writes prolifically on the topic of society with focuses on digitalization, learning and youth. He occasionally writes and lectures on politics and foreign policy.