My First School Visit

On Monday I traveled to Porvoo, a suburb of Helsinki, to visit two unique schools: Swedish language schools.

In Porvoo, there are approximately 2,000 Swedish speakers (historically, there are pockets of Swedish speaking people around Finland).  Therefore, there are several schools in the area that serve these children. Although the language of instruction is Swedish, they still follow the national curriculum and learn Finnish. The students also may choose to study a third language, which in the secondary school could be Russian, German or English.

My day began in the lower secondary school, equivalent to junior high in the United States.  I visited a math class and it was fascinating to see how when the students came in, the boys went to one side of the room and the girls went to the other.  I spent the rest of the class period observing how 14-year olds are 14-year olds no matter where you go in the world.

After math I went to English class.  The lesson for the day was expressing feelings.  There were only 12 students in the class (there had been 18 in math).  The teacher explained that the students in this particular class struggled with English so there were fewer there than in the other sections where the max is 18.  It was very clear that all of the students wanted to be there and were doing their best with the lesson - except for one.  He did not want to participate so he played with his phone, got up and walked around the room and interrupted other students and the teacher as they were talking.  There is no such thing as detention in Finland, so the teacher simply paid him no mind (nor did the other students) and went about the lesson. She explained to me that she would call his parents at the end of the day and they would deal with him at home.

I had really mixed feelings about this.  On one hand, I like that that parents are responsible for the child's behavior.  On the other hand, I am a firm believer in no one has the right to interfere with my right to teach or another student's right to learn.  I wondered how I would have handled this student in a Finnish classroom.

After English, the headmaster from the primary school picked me up and drove me to his school.  I am not an elementary person, but it was actually fun.  We had lunch in the cafeteria and I was suddenly someone famous and children would come say hello to me, ask me my name and ask how I was doing. They wanted to practice English.

I visited two 5th grade classes, one for English and one for Math.  I enjoyed both of them as I got to work directly with the students. In English class we worked on winter sports vocabulary and writing about different events at the Sochi Olympics.  In math, I worked with a smaller group of students who need more individualized instruction.  I enjoyed this part very much as I explained to my student that I was happy to help him, but needed to practice saying my numbers in Finnish.  He was exited to be "teaching" me and we got through several problems together.

I have been invited back in March to teach English lessons to the 5th and 6th graders.  I must confess, I am looking forward to it.

Some Professional Development....to Estonia

Last week I met with the Dean who told me how the University conducts professional development for area teachers who work with their students. They do this to ensure that there is a shared pedagogy and common goals and ideas between the university and the cooperating teachers and this keeps teacher training consistent.  A pretty cool idea.

He was telling me that there was one of these workshops coming up and I said I would be interested in going to see how the workshop goes.  He said hat would be fine and would email me with details.

I received an email the next day, telling me that there was a space for me, and to be at the West Harbor by 4pm and to bring my passport.  The workshop was being held on a cruise.....overnight.....to Estonia.

When I arrived at the harbor, I was introduced to many people, some of whom taught at the University and others who taught at the area schools (much like our lab schools at ISU).  They were all math, chemistry and physics teachers.  Although I didn't teach these subjects, I do work with students who will, so it was a nice change of pace to focus on math and science.

We boarded the ship and found our private cabin. It was small but manageable.  Then it was time for dinner! We enjoyed a nice meal and discussed the topic for the workshop: technology and assessment.  The discussion was very informal and I enjoyed listening to the Finnish perspective on these issues in schools.

The next morning we began at 9am with a more formal discussion.  The day focused on these questions:

• What are we assessing?
• How are we assessing?
• Who uses the assessment data and for what purpose?

This last question was my favorite and there was some great discussion about it. All in all, like many other things, it was a very different conversation that is happening in the United States.  The introduction to the workshop was done in English for my benefit, which I appreciated very much.  

After about an hour, the facilitator explained that they were going to switch to Finnish now and perhaps I would like to go visit Tallinn. No need to ask twice.

When I returned about two hours later (had to be back as the boat set sail at noon for Helsinki), everyone was engaged in the last bit of the workshop, which included small groups.  I joined one of the groups and we talked a lot about how teachers can use technology in their classes, the purpose it serves, and how to know if it is effective or not.

One thing that stood out to me during all of this was the fact that this workshop was nearly 100% teacher led.  The Dean was there as an organizer and introduced the talking points, but after that, for the rest of the day, it was the teachers who discussed the issues, their experiences and developed a shared plan of action across between the University and area high schools.

Essentially, the teachers, given the opportunity, were responsible for their own professional development, based on the needs of their schools, students and student teachers.  

Imagine that.

A Very Busy Week!

I have continued to visit the Foundations course this week.  This week's topics included gender in schools.  It was a fantastic lecture, addressing how schools separate boys and girls as well as reinforce what is socially acceptable behavior and self-expression.  There were a lot of things I have always known, but never really thought much about.  We focused a lot of PE classes and how it was okay for boys and girls to participate in some sports together but that kids are separated when it comes to ice hockey and gymnastics.

Another class that began this week is Subject Didactics: Evaluation and Development.  The class is half Finnish students and half international students. We began by discussing the different teaching and assessment systems in the countries represented, including Togo, Cameroon, Bangladesh and Iran.  Hearing about the different school systems and perspectives on what is good education, and why children need to be educated was incredible.

The other new class I visited was called Pedagogical Knowledge and it is a class for primary teachers.  I am NOT a primary education person, but it was still fun and interesting to listen to the things they were talking about.  In many ways, there were a lot of things in common with secondary education in terms of wanting to do a good job, establishing rapport with students and teaching in a way that fosters creativity and critical thinking.

Finally, I taught this week!  I am co-teaching a course on Distance Education and Online Learning.  For the practicum aspect of the course, we are connecting the students here with my students back in Illinois in an online discussion forum that focuses on education.  All of the students knew me since I have been with them in other classes, but they were a little surprised to see me in front of the room!  Both classes went very well and the students seemed excited to interact with my students in Illinois.

Teaching here is very different.  Where we have classes that meet on designated days and times for an entire semester, here it is based on points with each point representing a certain number of hours of work a student is expected to do during the week. Classes meet at different times and days at the instructor's discretion.  The Foundations course I have been attending meets three times a week for four weeks, while the course I am teaching meets four times total for 5 weeks.  This system works because it is expected that students will complete the work that needs to be done independently, so time is built in to allow for this.

In other news, I have had several meetings with other people.  This week I met with the Dean and a representative from the Embassy. Both meetings resulted in some future activity and an even busier week to come!  Stay tuned!!!!!

Sauna 101

So, last night I had my first Finnish sauna experience. In case you ever find yourself in a Finnish sauna situation, here is a guide to help you fit in.

First, change into your sauna towel.

Next, take a quick shower.  The water at this point is warm and the goal is to just rinse off. Apparently, you want to wash off anything bad on your body that could "grow" in the hot sauna. At least that it was I was told. Ew.

Enter the sauna!  Take your towel with you but it really only serves as something to sit on, as everyone is au naturelle.  There are no body issues here.  The point is to cleanse the body and soul, through sweat and meditation.  No one has time for, or is interested in, your hangups about your body.

In other words, I hung out in the sauna, au naturelle, with women from Estonia, the Netherlands, China, Japan and France.  We talked about everything you can imagine: what we were all doing in Finland, how long we were staying, our favorite items at breakfast, how being cold all day is okay because there is always a sauna waiting for you.  Perfectly normal, easy conversation.....completely naked. Good times.

It is warm.  Actually, it is HOT!  Every few minutes someone pours water over the heating element to generate steam.  It feels amazing! The temperature ranges form 60-80 Celsius or 140-176 Fahrenheit.  They tell me that in some saunas the temperature can rise to 100 C or 212 F.  As my friend Paul remarked in astonishment, "I bake custard at that temperature!". Call me Custard.

So, after cooking for about 15 minutes, you get up, go back to the shower and jump right in.....with cold water.  It is all about extremes.  You go from hot to cold without any time to process it or wonder who thought this was a good idea.  It still feels amazing.

After your little shower, you put your towel back on, get your bottle of water, put on your flip-flops and walk out the the common area to sit for a bit.....with other people in their towels.  In this area, the men can join you from their sauna as well. Also, in their towels. So, at this point, I'm hanging out with a Dutch woman, and Estonia woman, a Serbian man and a Swedish man eating cookies.  All in towels. More good times.

After about 10 minutes of this, you repeat the whole process all over again about 2-3 more times.  When you go to sauna, make sure you block out a few hours. And bring cookies.

I must confess, I really enjoyed this experience.  Everyone was so relaxed and just doing their thing.  And, it was okay to be social and talk or to just sit quietly and meditate and reflect on your day.  I have also been rather congested for the past week and 15 minutes in the sauna did more for my symptoms than all the cough drops and syrup you can imagine.

Note to self: must build sauna in home upon return.

On Education

On Thursday, I attended a small lecture led by the Director of General Education of the Finnish National Board of Education.  It was two hours that pretty much summed up why I am here.

The Director gave a fantastic presentation on Finnish curriculum reform, which is slated to be approved by the end of this year and implemented in August 2016.  In Finland, there is a national curriculum. This means that all schools, at every level, throughout the country are teaching the same content.  This is a means of keeping schools and education equitable for all students, and to provide a high level of consistency in education.

Throughout the revision process, they FNBE has sought input from different stakeholders throughout the country several times.  A draft of the curriculum was publicly posted for parents and the community to give input....at a national level. When I asked how they analyzed all of the data that surely generated, he told me that yes, it did take time, but that it was worth it to understand what those groups of people thought.  He also shared that, for the most part, the feedback was positive and that parents and the general community thought the Board was on the right track.

Can you even imagine that happening in the United States?

The revisions also included direct questionnaires to teachers, He emphasized several times that the most important resources in the process are the "education providers". What a great way to describe practicing teachers! Both the Director and the teachers and principals in the room talked at length about how collaboration was the cornerstone in the decision-making process, both in the curriculum revisions and the daily operations of the school.  One principal was describing the process that the students in his primary school engage in to determine the rules for their school. Apparently, there has been a lot of discussion on cell phones.

The speakers also emphasized the importance of teacher autonomy.  I heard this phrase over and over again throughout the entire discussion.  This autonomy is part of so many aspects of the work that teachers do here in Finland.  Although there is a national curriculum, it is up to the classroom teachers to determine how to deliver the material, based on the students in their class.  Furthermore, there are no standardized tests. Period.  Nor is there an "inspectorate".  (I love this word, too!). In short, teachers are trusted to to do their job.

This discussion was amazing but left me with so many more questions.  I spoke with the Director afterwards and we will be having coffee (a very Finnish thing to do) to talk about education here in Finland.  I also met several teachers and will be visiting their schools within the month. It was definitely the start of more to come.

Time for Class!

I have spent the past two days visiting two teacher education classes at the University.  At first it felt odd to be on the "other" side of the classroom, but after about five minutes, I was beyond content to sit and listen.

The first course I went to is called Historical and Social Foundations of Education.  We have a similar course in the States. Listening to how education has evolved in Finland as a means of forming a national identity after Russian rule was fascinating.  The professor did a marvelous job of connecting this part of history and education with the Finnish national psyche. We also discussed the first schools in Finland to educate boys and girls together, which was apparently quite liberal thinking here back in the 19th century.

What I found most interesting was the history of the Helsinki Normal Lyceum (Helsingin normaalilyseo).  The school was built in the 19th century solely on donations and fundraising. It is considered to be a fine example of what can be accomplished by people working together for a common purpose. The majority of Finnish schools were begun this way, since Finland had been under the control of Russia.  Therefore, Finnish schools, with subjects taught in Finnish, were a source of pride, since they represented the Finnish people, rather than Russia. It is very clear that this sense of pride and identity is the foundation of the reverence people here have for education today.

The second course I visited is called Societal Challenges of Teachers' Work.  The class was a mix of Finnish and exchange students from Europe and Japan.  We talked about the challenges teachers face in each of our countries.  There were many things we had in common and then some things that were different. The class only meets 3 times during the semester and the student grade is based on 2 assignments: a group project and academic essay.  I am looking forward to seeing the group project presentations in the next class.

Overall, the past two days have been incredibly stimulating and overwhelming!  I can't believe how much I have already learned in the first week!

Minä olen amerikkalainen

Tuesday night was my first Finnish language class.  After three hours, I am now equipped to say my name, where I am from, the numbers 1-10, and, if the situation warrants, I can tell you that I am not dancing.

Of the 25 students in the class, I was the only person from the U.S. As we went around the room, we had to say which languages we speak (in Finnish!) and I was astounded by the number and range of languages spoken in the room.  The usual European ones were represented, like German, Italian, Spanish, and French, with lots of Swedish as well.  But there were also students who speak Armenian, Belorussian, Latvian, Tamil, Ukrainian and Russian. Everyone, except for one British man, spoke at least two languages, and some spoke even three or four.

I have been here for a week and quite honestly, it would be very easy to live here for six months, never learn a word of Finnish, and be just fine.  Most everyone speaks English, and speaks it very well. Yet, it was very clear to me last night that everyone in class thought nothing of learning Finnish in order to fit in to their new environment.  It made me think about all the times I have heard people say things like, "Welcome to America. Now learn English." Having taught foreign language for a number of years at all levels, I can assure you I have heard all kinds of variations of this sentiment....a lot. It made me wonder how many of those same people, if transported to another country for whatever reason, would follow through with their own belief that you should speak the language of the country you live in?

Regardless, it has been years since I was in a language class as a student and I left feeling excited and mentally exhausted.  Nonetheless,  I loved leaving class last night and reading the new words I had learned on the way home. Suddenly, even after a few hours, some of the signs I've been seeing on the trams for the past seven days started to make more sense.  Today at the grocery store I decided to practice hearing and saying numbers.  Thankfully, the nice young man at the deli was very patient and I successfully walked away with a yummy dinner of mashed potatoes and meatballs, won through a conversation of mixed Finnish and English.

It always amazes me how kind and patient people will be when they see you are trying to speak their language. You may not always say something right and chances are you'll embarrass yourself at least once (oh, the stories I could tell!), but a simple effort, in my experience, is always appreciated.

Hyvää yötä.

Helsingen Miekkailijat

Tonight I had my first fencing lesson....ever.  I wanted to try a new activity and meet Finnish people so when I found the Helsinki Fencing Club, it was a perfect fit.  They offer an adult beginner's course.  They were definitely surprised when I showed up tonight. One of the instructors asked if I spoke Finnish; I said no.  He smiled and said, "We will teach you in both!"

If you've never fenced before, it is great exercise!  It requires a lot of balance and mental focus, which are things I really enjoy in physical activity.  Seriously, I do!  That is probably why I liked riding and yoga; you can't check out mentally if you want to do them well.

We began with basic foot movements and positioning. The basic stance is a lot like Warrior 2 in yoga.  Then we learned how to advance, step back, and my favorite, attack! We worked on those for a while and then, they dressed us!

Women begin with a plastic bra thingy.  I put it on and immediately decided that I never wanted to take it off.  My and a Finnish woman my age may have been acting like 12 year olds about it, but only for a minute and it made the instructor laugh.  Here is a picture of one. I'm sure you can see the appeal.

After that, is a white jacket and then another pad over the front of your chest and a big wire mesh head mask. We all had fun getting dressed and pretending we already had foils in our hand. We practiced our footwork for a bit to get comfortable in the clothes and then we actually got foils!  We practiced some pretty basic moves and then got to practice a simple attack. My partner was from Peru and we had fun sparring and speaking Spanish. The instructor told me I "have very good control over the weapon for a beginner."

The hour and a half went by very quickly and I am looking forward to my lesson next Monday.  I definitely connected with several people in the class and I know it will be a fun group to learn with.  Everyone was so friendly and patient with me in terms of language.  I think this will be a good way to learn and practice Finnish and make some new friends.

Awkward........

There is a gym right down the street from my apartment.  I've been very excited about this so today I went to check it out.  Timo, the guy at the desk told me I could walk around and gave me a few directions for specific places to check out.  It is a great space and has everything you could want.  I was so focused on taking in my surroundings that I didn't really think before walking into what I soon discovered was the men's locker room.  I pretty much ran into a guy as he was coming out. He looked surprised, to say the least.  It hit me where I was and I laughed and said I probably didn't want to go in there.  He laughed and said I could but no, probably not something I want to do.  I turned around and went about looking around the rest (of the public spaces!) of the gym.  When I got back to the desk, Timo asked what I thought.  I told him I walked into the men's room by mistake.  He laughed and said, "I heard. Don't worry," he said. "I told him you are from Chicago and he understands now."  I have NO idea how that explains things, but no matter. He gave me the student price and I was happy.

Perspectives

I have never known people to be so excited that it is finally cold and snowing.  Everyone I've talked to since I've been here has been telling me how sorry they aren't that it isn't more like winter.  It has been unseasonably warm so far and people are genuinely sad about it.  You can't go skiing. You can't go to the smoke sauna followed by ice swimming.  I went out this afternoon and saw people out simply for a walk in the snow, enjoying winter.  There were kids playing in the park across the street.  What's more, is that the sun goes down at about 4pm here.  I've often wondered how people could live in a place like Finland, that seems to be very cold and dark but it is very clear that people here embrace it.  It is a completely different mindset and I must confess that I took a very nice, long walk myself.

Hello, Helsinki!

I got to my apartment about this time last night and ended up unpacking and researching what I wanted to do today until it was time for breakfast.  Oddly enough, breakfast is included in my rent, along with weekly cleaning and fresh sheets!  Not sure why this wasn't the case in every other apartment I've ever rented....seems like it should be standard.

Although sleep was probably needed, exploring the neighborhood was a much better option.  So, after breakfast, I found a small grocery store across the street, next to the tram stop that takes me to work.  I also found a gym to join on the other side of the street. The neighborhood is clean, peaceful and quiet. Now, if only the sun would come up before 9:30am.

This afternoon I had an appointment with the Fulbright Office and also got to meet a few fellow Fulbrighters over dinner.  Everyone I've met is friendly and excited about our experience here, although there are only a few of us staying here in Helsinki.

Today has been filled with getting used to my new surroundings and beginning to figure things out.  I loved learning the tram system, walking around the city and being surrounded by a language I do not understand. I did learn two words today: olut (beer) and katu (street). Two very good things to know, I'm sure you'll agree.

Goodbye, Normal

So, as many of you know, I am about to embark on a brand new adventure: I will be living in Helsinki, Finland for the next six months on a Fulbright to study secondary teacher education. I will be at the University of Helsinki and will attend several conferences in Europe, all with the objective of learning as much as I can and bringing it back to the work I do at home.  The opportunities before me are incredible, and I am staying mindful of how truly fortunate I am.

A lot of people have asked me why I chose Finland. Well, to begin, can you think of a better place to move to in January?  Given that it has been about 30 degrees warmer in Helsinki than Illinois for the past two weeks seems like a good reason..... Seriously, the educational system in Finland is world-renowned. People value education, trust teachers and are committed to quality teacher preparation and public education. There is so much to learn, I'm not even sure where to begin.

As for the title of the blog....well, I live in a town called Normal.  Seriously, it is called Normal. It is without a doubt my most favorite address of all the ones I have had over the years and I simply couldn't resist the irony of using it in the title of my blog.

The purpose of this blog is two-fold.  First, I want to share my experiences and adventures with my family and friends.  And there will be many, because, as you also know, I'll try anything twice.

While there is certainly a personal aspect to my blog, there is a professional one as well.  This new adventure is one that is grounded in professional development and exploration.  I know it is going to challenge me to evaluate my own ideas and beliefs about education.

The next six months are going to be amazing. I have the love and support of some wonderful people in my life. I also love to travel, discover new places, have new experiences and meet new people.  Life will be anything but normal and I have no idea exactly what the next six months will bring but that's what excites me the most. But one thing I do know, is that no matter what, it will be one hell of a good time.