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| Sunrise Mid-flight |
It was a cloudy Sunday in Helsinki, but we made it safely and even arrived a bit early! We took a bus to our hotel, checked in, and took a walk around. We stopped at an open-air market, explored a department store, and took a break at a magnificent coffee shop (picture below). Some of our early noticings...most people seem able to switch easily between Finnish and English, many people ride scooters and bikes, there is a coffee shop (or two or three) on every block, and cars really do stop for pedestrians crossing the street!
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| Helsinki Cathedral |
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| Would you buy this? |
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| Interesting Choices |
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| Better than Starbucks |
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| Annine's First Meal in Finland |
During our welcome dinner at the hotel, we were fortunate to hear Tim Walker (author of
Teach Like Finland pictured below) reflect on the differences between Finnish and US education. Tim is currently a sixth-grade teacher who grew up in Greenwich, CT and taught in the Boston area. Most of his family now lives in Stamford. He is married to a Finn and has been living and teaching in Finland for several years. Tim sums up Finnish education with an acronym: SIMPLE which stands for Sensible, Independent, Modest, Playful, Low-Stress, and Equitable. Here are some highlights of Tim's talk:
- Finland is not really as innovative as everyone believes. It steals effective practices from other countries (mainly the US) and is quite successful at implementing these practices on a national scale.
- Student independence is valued. Students walk by themselves in the hallways from one class or activity to another, serve themselves lunch, and commute to school on their own starting in first grade.
- Finnish teachers teach for only 3 1/2 hours per day in elementary school. Americans teach the longest. The OECD has found no correlation between the length of a school day and student learning.
- Students get a 15-minute break (outside for younger kids, older kids get a choice) for every 45 minutes of instruction. First and second graders only have 4 hours of school and then go to "The Afternoon Club" which is a time for free play.
- There is no word for "accountability" in the Finnish language. There is only one high-stakes test given at the end of high school for the purpose of determining readiness for higher education. All other testing is done by sampling 10% of the population.
- Helsinki uses "positive discrimination". Students who need the resources the most get them. Funding is not based on property taxes.
- There is no AP, no gifted programming, and no tracking in Finland.
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| Tim Walker |
Until tomorrow! Annine & Jennifer
I love reading about your experience! I am definitely intrigued by some of the differences you describe. Especially, the notion of student independence as they walk the halls and serve themselves lunch as young students. I look forward to reading more!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Meghan! There is certainly a unique perspective on autonomy here for both students and teachers. A lot to think about!!
DeleteThis is great! It seems that from your obsevations around town, as well as how Tim Walker sums up education, SIMPLE can describe Finnish culture. How interesting that Finland incorporates effective teaching practices from other countries in ways that lead to educational success while sustaining their cultural values. I wonder how welcoming children into a learning environment that is "SIMPLE" influences their capacity to take more risks, perservere through failures, collaborate with diverse groups and be more inquisitive about our world.
ReplyDelete