In this reflection paper on The Nordic Secret, I will first relate the content to my personal life, then address how the purpose of the folk high schools aligns with that content, and finally propose how contemplative pedagogy is a vital and essential component of Bildung 3.0.

Personal Reflections on Cultural Roots and National Identity
As someone with German ancestry who partially grew up in Germany (the first five years of my life), I’ve been able to reconnect with my German-speaking cultural roots through reading about Bildung and its origins in Europe in Lene Rachel Andersen’s book The Nordic Secret. I went to school in Denmark and therefore mainly learned about Danish culture during my upbringing. I learned, to name a few, about the existentialist Søren Kierkegaard, the fairy tale writer H.C. Andersen, the satirical playwright Ludwig Holberg, the world-famous furniture designer Arne Jacobsen, etc., yet not much about the culture of the German-speaking part of Europe. It was almost as if those cultural influences didn’t exist within Danish culture.
As a child, I mostly experienced resistance and hostility toward Germans and only later realized it was due to the war in 1864 against Prussia and the Nazi occupation during WWII. I remember watching a Danish Broadcasting Corporation archival clip from the 1990s a few years ago, where an interviewed Dane was asked about Germans and casually referred to them as „sausage Germans“, as if that were a normal and socially acceptable remark.

Reading the history as Lene presents it in her well-researched book, I came to understand that Denmark was heavily influenced by German culture up until the 1850s. The cultural and national identity of Denmark only began to develop more distinctly after the wars with Prussia, just as Norway’s national identity developed in response to Danish rule. According to Lene Rachel Andersen (2024), Denmark’s elite mainly spoke German and French until Denmark reconnected with Norse mythology, the Danish language, and the cultural roots of Scandinavia. Denmark thus serves as a fascinating case study of how national identity can peacefully emerge through figures like Grundtvig. I can see how the Danish people’s trust in the Germans was damaged by both the 1864 invasion and WWII. Grundtvig and others advocated relying more on native cultural resources, as the German-speaking world seemed untrustworthy at the time.

Interestingly, and although this is not mentioned in The Nordic Secret, Adolf Hitler also sought to formulate and crystalize a distinct German cultural identity after the fall of the Kaiserreich in WWI and the economic recession of the 1920s. The difference between Hitler and Grundtvig, however, was profound. Grundtvig never held political power; he wrote poetry, books, and lobbied. Hitler, by contrast, sought and tyrannically seized political control. The German spirit was deeply humbled by the Holocaust and Hitler’s arrogance, which culminated in the nation’s defeat in WWII. I hope Germany continues to learn from its history and does not seek to reclaim its pride and glory in the way it did post-WWI.

Lene Rachel Andersen acknowledges the German-speaking cultural influence on Denmark and shows how European culture is truly a mosaic. And that’s not even considering influences from beyond Europe.

Folk High School and the Seed of Contemplative Learning
The Danish folk school teacher and author Christopher Bruun is cited in the book with a passage I found particularly resonant:

„Here I must say a word about the folk high school. What it wants to be is a youth school, mostly organized for the young peasants. It will offer them a place where, as long as they are there, they are relieved from physical work, can live a true life of youth, can find peace for an ‘inward-turned’ life in thought and dream. But one main purpose of these schools is to get the young meeting with ‘the eagle of excitement,’ which flies on its wide wings. To this end, we guide them to the best of the poets we know. And we particularly put forth those poets who have spoken mightiest to our mind and let them speak to the young peasants.“ (Andersen, 2024, p. 264)

Bruun continues by describing how young adults are meant to live their truth and envision how life should be lived. They carry a seed within them that wants to sprout. Folk high schools are about allowing them to turn their attention inward and connect with their „eagle of excitement“ – a metaphor that could also be interpreted as one’s higher self. The schools are not only for the head and the hands, but, through songs, poetry and storytelling, for the heart as well. Their purpose is to awaken a sense of resonance in the hearts of young people through poetry similar to the intentions of contemplative pedagogy to awaken Boddhichita in their student.

I was especially impressed by how Christen Kold took Grundtvig’s lofty, abstract ideals and translated them into the practical reality of the folk high school. He didn’t just philosophize; he taught farmhands, those most in need of education. and did so in ways they found meaningful and engaging, just as Grundtvig had proposed. This raises the question: who are today’s „farmhands“ or underserved learners? What do they need to know for democracy to function? I believe Trump’s election in the U.S. showed how vital education, particularly Bildung and ego development, still is. Despite being surrounded by information, many people lack the inner tools to process that complexity. Without an inward journey, we remain vulnerable to manipulation and extremism.

The Relevance of Contemplative Education in Bildung 3.0
Andersen (2024) argue that we are now entering a new phase of Bildung, Bildung 3.0, which requires a synthesis of inner and outer development, individual and collective transformation. We are bombarded with information from an early age, yet our inner lives are seldom addressed unless we reach a breaking point and end up seeing a psychiatrist or therapist. To cope with the complexity of modern life, we must learn and re-member how to direct our attention inward. We must observe our thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations to understand our inner workings. We must study the maps, techniques, and wisdom of the world’s spiritual traditions, not as a retreat from engagement, but as a complement to it.

Conclusion
The purpose of the Danish folk high schools, as described by Christopher Bruun, deeply aligns with the goals of contemplative pedagogy. These schools were designed to awaken the heart, inspire the imagination, and allow students to grow from the inside out. Contemplative practices offer a pathway to revive and extend this legacy in the 21st century. If implemented thoughtfully, they may not only preserve the original spirit of the folk high schools but elevate them into a new phase of Bildung that meets the demands of our complex, globalized world in crisis.

References

Andersen, L. R. (2024). The Nordic secret: A European story of beauty and freedom. Nordic Bildung.