Let's Meet the Big Kids

Today I spent the day with students at an Ylöjärvi Upper Secondary School. 

Students move to the upper secondary school (high school) following ninth grade. They call the levels first grade through third grade in upper secondary. In ninth grade, students decide if they want to attend a general studies high school with an emphasis on academic courses to prepare them to attend a university or a vocational high school with an emphasis on job training skills for employment or further education at a polytechnical school (though they can still apply for the university). Some students also enroll in the vocational school, but also complete general studies requirements. The school that I visited today houses both a general studies high school and a vocational high school. The students and staff move between both sections of the attached buildings and share common areas, such as the cafeteria and teachers' lounge.

Another big, comfortable teachers' lounge

High school students select their own schedules in the way that our college students typically do. They go online and select the courses that they want to take, choosing the time of day and the teacher. Most of the courses that they take are required, but they do have options for electives and advanced studies and can choose areas that they want to focus on for these courses.

First Day of Art Class

First Day of Music Class

The only mandatory standardized testing in Finland is the matriculation exams required for graduation. Students must take a minimum of four exams, but they can choose to take additional exams. This can be beneficial because the exams provide points that are used when applying to universities. The tests are scheduled throughout the country on the same day and time. Each test lasts up to six hours. They recently moved to online testing. Students do take an entire course in school that is directly focused on preparing for the exam.

The school that I visited is one of two in Finland with a special focus on entrepreneurship. Students can apply for this extra program and work with the same students throughout high school. They are participating in a Young Entrepreneur program where they develop and operate a business for a year. They also participate in community business opportunities to develop their project management and business skills. 

We were able to attend a third year English class where we interviewed small groups of students. I really enjoyed talking with my group of girls. They shared their feelings on school, asked me questions about American schools, and talked to me about life as a teenager in Finland. They also recommended that I try ice swimming, sauna, and Finnish chocolate while I'm here. 

We took a look at some of the rooms in the vocational school as well. Nearly every job in Finland has some type of educational training that students can participate in. Vocational schools are arranged in 8 fields of study and include more than 50 types of qualifications ranging from machinery and automotive to beauty and nursing assistants.

Machine shop

Auto shop

Nursing Assistant Training

Home Care Training

Tomorrow is the last day of my study tour. We will visit a university of applied sciences. 

Weather Check
Warmer today 35℉ with Feels Like Temp of 24℉

Sunrise 9:08 AM            Sunset 3:17 PM

Another busy day!

Today was a really busy and fulfilling day! We visited Lempoinen basic comprehensive school today. This school has about 580 students from grades 1 - 6. The school was recently renovated and has several additions, so the facilities were very nice and spacious. This school seemed to have a calm and mild culture. We were given a tour of the building and had opportunities to visit a number of classrooms.

 This is a 6th grade class learning Swedish. Swedish is the second national language of Finland, so all students begin Swedish in 6th grade. The students had flashcards with activities written in Swedish that they had to act out for their peers to guess in Swedish.

This is a special education classroom. While students are included in general education classrooms, some students do work in self-contained special education classrooms like this one. 

Next, we made our way to a third grade math class. Teachers each select their own curriculum materials. Many of the textbooks are written by Finnish teachers. The arrangement of the classroom seating is very traditional with desks in rows. I have not seen a lot of materials hanging on classroom walls. Most rooms did not have bulletin boards.

The third grade team had their own work room area and small group room. I assume the other grades have similar rooms.

In the lunchroom, the school was experimenting with one day a week of silent lunch, which happened to be today. They heard that another school was having success with this approach and that students were eating more of their lunches, so they are trying it. I was amazed at how quiet it was in this lunchroom. 

The students serve themselves at lunch. They are encouraged to try a little bit of everything and take what they can eat.

We also had an opportunity to visit the woodshop class as well as the textiles and art classrooms. The kids were loving the woodshop! And, yes, they were all using the saws!

Of course, we had to check out the teachers' lounge. It was spacious and comfortable with areas for coffee breaks, talking, and lockers.

As I'm sure you have figured out by now, recess is a huge part of the Finnish school system and students' days. This school had several playground areas with lots of equipment as well as a field area and an ice rink.

 

This afternoon we learned about high schools in Finland. At the end of ninth grade, students choose whether they want to pursue studies at a general studies high school for university preparation courses or a vocational studies high school. Tomorrow we will visit a high school campus so I will share more information tomorrow night.

This evening we joined several people from my program for dinner at a local brewery restaurant. Another delicious meal and a great time to visit!

The Littlest Students and 25 Years!

Today I visited a daycare center for children from 11 months to 6 years old. New parents are allowed an 11 month, paid maternity leave and then children can begin daycare. The daycare is part of the education system and follows the early childhood curriculum. There are centers like the one that I visited today, but parents also have options including privately managed centers and family day care. There is a charge for daycare, but it is adjusted based on need and does not exceed 300 euros a month.

The emphasis in early childhood is on child-centered, play-based learning. The teachers use the interests of the students to develop phenomenon-based learning opportunities. As in the upper levels, I observed a large amount of trust and freedom provided to the children. Like yesterday, it seemed like there were children everywhere! The center was a maze of adjoining rooms. Children over 3 are in groups up to 24 with a teacher and two assistants - basically a maximum ratio of 1:8. In this center, children were in multi-age groups, which they felt facilitated child development by promoting interaction between younger and older students.

Baking gingerbread cookies at school 

The children play outside for about three hours a day (1.5 in the morning and 1.5 in the afternoon).

They have a good-sized, fenced play yard that includes swings, climbing structures, riding toys, and a rope on a tree. There is a slope that they sled on when there is snow. In the background, you can see a large lake that they skate and play on in the cold of winter. It is not solid enough yet.

When they come inside, their mittens
are hung on the clothesline with labeled
clothespins and the wet clothes are
hung in the dryers to dry before the next
outing.

So much winter gear! They also do not wear shoes
inside - even the teachers!

A peek inside the rooms...

 

 

Look at these cute little bunks that fold out of the cabinets!

In other news...Chris and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary today. We enjoyed a delicious dinner at Ravintola Coussicca, a local restaurant in Tampere for over 50 years. We were surprised to hear Van Halen "When It's Love" playing when we walked into the restaurant - couldn't have planned that. Great food, great atmosphere, and a walk through the park. I'm so happy to have Chris sharing this adventure with me. Here's to the next 25!

 

Weather Check

Current: 23 degrees F with Feels Like Temp of 13 degrees

Sunrise: 9:03 AM           Sunset: 3:20 PM

Learning Study - Day 1

Today I visited my first Finnish school! I met my Learning Study group at the University of Tampere. There are only four of us in the group...a high school chemistry teacher from Michigan, a corporate learning professional from Argentina, and a man who I think is a principal from the Philippines. Our leader today was Tommi, an assistant principal in a primary school. 

We visited Vatiala School in Kangasala. This video provides a birds-eye view of the area, but the school is currently a construction zone. The main building in this video has been demolished and the athletic fields are now home to temporary classroom structures. Everyone is being patient as they look forward to the new building that will open in 2020.

https://youtu.be/Qu0VaoT6umg

https://www.kangasala.fi/varhaiskasvatus-ja-opetus/perusopetus/koulut/vatiala/

We were able to go into a first grade classroom of seven year olds who were presenting a reader's theater play to their classmates. The students were very excited to present their play about a teacher who they thought had been kidnapped!

We took a coffee break in the temporary lounge. It wasn't the deluxe lounge that I shared in my video about the teacher's lounge, but it did have a couple of couches and a table and a number of teachers did visit for a break while we were in the room. We then returned to a classroom for some information sharing from a teacher at the school. We enjoyed meatballs and potatoes with salad for lunch.

Next, we visited a fourth grade music class. The students took turns playing the electric guitar and bass and the drum set while the rest of the class sang. The teacher led and provided feedback to the students.

After every 45 minutes of instruction, the students took a break. They also have one 30 minute break and a break after lunch. Most of the students go outside for the break. Children were all over outside - playing soccer on the field, talking in small groups, and exploring the woods.

You may have noticed in some of the pictures that the students were wearing socks. The students remove their shoes before entering the classrooms and spend the day in socks. 

Another interesting thing I learned was that the students follow various schedules from day to day. They may have some full days attending school from 8:00 - 3:00, but have other days of the week where they only attend for a few hours. My instructor said that his two school age children sometimes start at different times. Today his nine year old started at 8:00, but his seven year old didn't start until 9:00. So, the seven year old stayed at home by himself until it was time to walk to school. 

It is really interesting to see how some things are different in another culture, but many things are similar. Good teaching is good teaching no matter where you are!

Tomorrow, we will visit an early childhood center to learn about preschool and pre-primary education. Formal education starts with pre-primary at age 6 in Finland.

Chris spent the day exploring. He did find a record store to check out. With his great sense of direction, he is already learning his way around town.