I’m a US social studies teacher who works in a college prep school and studies vocational education in Finland.
There have been many days that it has been difficult to reconcile this statement and find the common ground between the two very different perspectives. It has been because of hours of conversations with amazing young people, innovative teachers, passionate educators and patient counselors that I have figured out how I can take what I have been learning and apply it in my classroom. These are a few of the lessons I have learned along the way:
1. Trust and Hope
These two values are closely connected with Finnish culture and history and they play out everyday in school.
Trust between students and teachers, between teachers and administrators and within the teaching community provide a firm foundation in every school in Finland. This basic premise drives educational decisions at all levels and provides for honest conversations that are not tainted by a perception of inequality or judgment. Everyone is trusted to do their job and their job is seen as an important part of the bigger goal.
Hope is the idea “human beings are capable of shaping forces that structure their lives” (Toom & Husu, 2012). The goal of Finnish education is to support the whole person and to help them individually develop their special strengths. Education is seen as a resource of hope. The only way to improve your position in Finnish society throughout history has been through schools and gaining a strong education. The hope that is found in the educational process is a reflection of the opportunities that it has provided for Finns throughout history.
I may not be able to change the US cultural values to focus more on hope and trust, but I can certainly make them the focus of my classroom. I am committed to creating a classroom climate where students do not feel like they are on the sidelines, but that they are directing their own education.
Some things I have been thinking about and want to do:
Trust between students and teachers, between teachers and administrators and within the teaching community provide a firm foundation in every school in Finland. This basic premise drives educational decisions at all levels and provides for honest conversations that are not tainted by a perception of inequality or judgment. Everyone is trusted to do their job and their job is seen as an important part of the bigger goal.
Hope is the idea “human beings are capable of shaping forces that structure their lives” (Toom & Husu, 2012). The goal of Finnish education is to support the whole person and to help them individually develop their special strengths. Education is seen as a resource of hope. The only way to improve your position in Finnish society throughout history has been through schools and gaining a strong education. The hope that is found in the educational process is a reflection of the opportunities that it has provided for Finns throughout history.
I may not be able to change the US cultural values to focus more on hope and trust, but I can certainly make them the focus of my classroom. I am committed to creating a classroom climate where students do not feel like they are on the sidelines, but that they are directing their own education.
Some things I have been thinking about and want to do:
- develop a mutual understanding of what trust is and why it is important
- share our hopes for the greater community, our school community, classroom community and each individual in our classroom
- develop ways to communicate support and encouragement to keep our hopes high
- trust each other to work toward positive futures that are possible, but not guaranteed
- we will trust even when we can’t see the big picture clearly
2. Choice
Students in the upper secondary schools are independent in Finland. There aren’t a lot of rules in schools, there isn’t someone holding your hand making sure you get things turned in on time, there is simply a lot of student choice and high expectations. You can choose to be on your cell phone or you can choose to be engaged in the lesson. There are consequences to both. You can choose to go to a vocational school or a general high school. Each path has its advantages and disadvantages, it is a students job to weigh those and to choose. Students are active players in their own education.
I want more of this in my classroom:
I want more of this in my classroom:
- students will be involved in choosing the pace and depth of the curriculum
- students will choose their own specific study paths after a general overview of the topic
- homework will be divided into different difficulty levels and students will choose what they need to complete independently
- our units will be shorter and more student directed learning with teacher conferences. The focus will be what students want to learn and how do we develop the skills needed to achieve the goals we set together
- students will be given a space to win a Nobel prize for original thoughts or actions that go above and beyond in the areas our community decides to value
3. Collaboration
More coffee, more space to think and more conversations need to happen in my school. Good ideas need a space to flourish. The Finns have a good idea when they combine their eye for design and their frequent coffee breaks. I have been lucky to share many cups of coffee while talking about education and life. These times are inspirational and deeply impactful. It is in these moments that I walk away changed.
I am committed to:
I am committed to:
- slowing down and prioritizing what is important (this probably isn’t going to be lesson plan posting!)
- being available
- facilitating a peer group of teachers and staff who want to engage in action research in an effort to improve themselves professionally
- find space to host Learning Cafés for both charter and public school teachers
- creating space in daily lessons for student collaboration- they have important things to share too
4. Greatness
The Finns did not plan to score so high on the PISA. They didn’t work with that goal in mind. Greatness just happened as a result of the hard work. There is also a cultural value where you are expected to have a fulfilling and engaging life outside of your workplace. Classrooms do not need to be such a stressful and aggressive environment, they should model the values of Finnish culture in a more practical way. It is easy to be great when you aren't hungry, you have a safe place to sleep and your needs are taken care of. Poverty is an issue we can't ignore when it comes to equality in education. I can't rid the US of poverty and I can't determine greatness, but I can create a space where we can be great together. We should take more breaks, stop to encourage each other and think about our individual goals. My definition of success is to facilitate learning that leads to educated citizens who are curious, innovative, creative, open-minded and respectful. The content that we use to learn those things is not important. Greatness lies somewhere in the process of getting there.
In my classroom this will look like:
In my classroom this will look like:
- discussing change makers and how their passion developed over time
- find ways to showcase innovation and creativity in all aspects of the classroom
- have high expectations for students to ask good questions and to be curious
5. Life-Long Learning
I love that this is such a huge part of the Finnish education system. It is a direct result of the face that there are no dead ends or wrong choices. One of the teachers I met in Lapland very simply put that there should be no age on learning. I have to think that this value is a consequence to having a culture where learning is valued. So if as a student, you find yourself on a path and headed in one direction when you realize you want to go another, it is okay to turn around and start again. You can. There are several reasons why this doesn't happen in the US, but maybe the largest roadblock is money. Since education costs a lot in the US, it is a difficult decision to go back to school and learn a new skill or a new trade. However, it is an obstacle that I think we can overcome.
I want to continue to learn and to continue to take opportunities that foster learning. This desire lead me to Finland and will help me to continue to improve my instruction. But more than me being a life-long learner, I want to be in a community of life-long learners. My hope is that sharing my experiences will encourage others to take a leap of faith and see what they learn.
I want to continue to learn and to continue to take opportunities that foster learning. This desire lead me to Finland and will help me to continue to improve my instruction. But more than me being a life-long learner, I want to be in a community of life-long learners. My hope is that sharing my experiences will encourage others to take a leap of faith and see what they learn.
Bonus Reminder- Really Smart People Like to Work With Their Hands
"The current educational regime is based on a certain view about what kind of knowledge is important "knowing that," as opposed to "knowing how." This corresponds roughly to universe knowledge versus the kind that comes from individual experience. If you know that something is the case, then this proposition can be stated from anywhere. In fact, such knowledge aspires to a view from nowhere. That is, it aspires to a view that gets at the true nature of things because it isn't conditioned by the circumstances of the viewer. It can be transmitted though speech a writing without loss of meaning and expounded by a generic self that needs not have any prerequisite experiences. Occupations based on universal, propositional knowledge are more prestigious, but they are also the kind that face competition from the whole world as book learning becomes more widely disseminated in the global economy. Practical know-how, on the other hand, is always tied to the experience of a particular person. It cannot be downloaded, it can only be lived."
- Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work, by Matthew B. Crawford
In the US, we are quick to forget the critical thinking skills that go into landscape architecture or into fixing our car. We look down or too often past people who do not have a college degree. Yet we are dependent on them for the skills we never bothered learning. As a country, we can't do this anymore. Finland doesn't. There is a clear value on each and every member of society. Everyone plays an important role. Everyone has something valuable to contribute. The US needs to get there- bottom line.
