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!