Niklas von Arnold worked as a teacher for 14 years, both at municipal schools and independent schools. When he switched to Academedia's school LBS Mediegymnasiet (formerly NTI) in Gothenburg a few years ago, he thought there was too much focus on marketing the school.
"The culture was characterized by the profit-driven, keeping the company alive. Most of the meetings that were held at the school were about how we could market the school in the best way instead of talking about students' difficulties or other pedagogical development areas, he says.
"Never come back"
He says that the last straw was when a student complained to the principal that he, as a Swedish teacher, used the words whore and madonna to describe what an antithesis is.
"Then the principal asked me to rethink my choice of language. I had enough and went home from school the same day and never came back," says Niklas von Arnold.
Vice-Chancellor does not share the picture
The principal states that it is a "complex personnel matter".
"I can't comment on that and I don't want to go into the rest of the background," says Roy Jörgensen.
He does not share Niklas von Arnold's view of the focus on marketing instead of knowledge.
"The only thing we talk about externally is the proportion of students who graduate from upper secondary school per year. We don't go out and tell you how many people got an A in a certain course," says Roy Jörgensen.
Critical of free school choice
Niklas von Arnold thinks the bigger problem is about free school choice and that schools must then attract students.
"Students have the opportunity to change schools if they are not satisfied. Then the student takes their school voucher with them. All teachers and all schools are victims of the twists and turns that can be casually taken by students.