Finland Visit – Day 3
Visit to Sipoo School – Rural
Grades 7-9 school and Grades 10-12 school
I have really enjoyed getting to know our team of
administrators that make up our NASSP delegation here in Finland. They have made my experience in a new country
so much more fulfilling than if I had made this visit individually. Their educational perspectives, friendly
banter, and constant humor have truly made this trip both educational and enjoyable. Having the opportunity to debrief on various
aspects of our visit has been a blessing, and while I have only known these
folks for a short time, I know I will miss them when I head back to Johnsburg,
IL. If you get a chance, take a look at
the blog that G.A. Buie, the NASSP President, has been contributing to
throughout our visit. His blog can be
found at http://gabuie.edublogs.org/,
and he has done an exceptional job of not only leading our delegation, but
providing a great perspective of our visit to Finland.
Today, our team took a ride out into the country (about 45
minutes outside of Helsinki) to visit the Sipoo Schools. One houses grades 7-9 and one houses grades
10-12, and they were located about a block away from each other.
The kindness of the teachers, students and
administration from these schools and their willingness to share their story was
very much appreciated. In the three
schools we have visited, here are some general insights to share from my own
perspective, as well as from the perspective from the educational professionals
and students we encountered in our visits.
Some are academic in nature, while others are more general observations:
- Trust continues to be a theme heard in each building we visit. Teachers are trusted to deliver the curriculum appropriately to students, following the national curriculum, but in whatever way they determine in their classrooms.
- When the principal was asked today about the national review of the curriculum every 10 years, she stated that it would be nice to see if the curriculum the students had started with in first grade was effective or not by the time they “graduated”, rather than changing it without knowing its effectiveness or not.
- In my personal opinion, in each classroom we have visited, the students have been very active, if not voracious, note takers.
- So far, the common day seems similar in each school and is made up of around 5 periods that usually last 75 minutes (with some towards the end of the day potentially lasting up to 90 minutes) which means student attendance from around 8:00 AM to around 2:00-2:30 PM.
o
Teachers do not have a prep period during this
time.
o
Teachers schedules and student schedules seem to
vary each day, with some days being a full schedule, some days not having a
full schedule, and today the principal mentioned that some days a teacher might
not have any classes scheduled and so they would not need to come in to the
school on that day.
- Teachers are not formally evaluated. The principal today stated that she will observe one lesson a year, and have a conversation with each teacher about that lesson, but there was no formal evaluation form or process. She stated that the main thing she looks for is student engagement.
o
She also stated that there are times when
parents or students will bring concerns to her attention regarding a teacher’s
performance. If necessary, she will then
speak with the teacher regarding these concerns.
o
When asked about the effectiveness of this
approach, the principal stated that there is a social/cultural norm or
expectation for teacher to change if there are problems brought up by students
and parents.
o
Parents can visit classroom at any time, just
need to make arrangements.
- The teachers in Finland are unionized.
o
Erin Richards wrote an article for the The Wall Street Journal in 2011 that had the following information on the national
teacher union in Finland:
§
Most teachers belong to the Trade Union of
Education, or the OAJ, which negotiates the length of the school year (190
days) and other binding agreements between the teachers and their
municipalities (such as working hours and minimum salaries).
§
Nina Lahtinen, Development manager for the OAJ,
states in this article, “We have a philosophy: happy pupil, happy parent, happy
teacher.”
§
"I think unions have a totally different role in the
States; here it's a body that's considered a helpful tool," said Olli
Määttä, upper secondary school principal at the Normal Lyceum of Helsinki. He said the union helps negotiate policies
that are turned into state law, such as what the school curriculum looks like,
so those matters don't have to be worked out in separate schools or cities. "That leaves us more time to concentrate
on the important things at the school level."
- Many principals teach in addition to their leadership duties. Today, the principal used the term “lead teacher” when referring to her role, more than she used the term principal or school administrator.
o
She stated there really wasn’t any required ongoing
professional development for principals.
- There are after school clubs in areas such as art and physical education, and there are athletics such as volleyball, basketball, floorball, track and field, orienteering, cycling, golf, and cross-country skiing.
o
Schools do not have mascots or school
colors. Students do not wear any sort of
“spirit wear” designating their sport, activity, club or school on a
sweatshirt, t-shirt, etc…
o
According to the principal we met with today,
when her school competes against another school, the coaches will talk ahead of
time to determine who will wear what color to designate one team from the
other.
·
- Each municipality is in charge of the school system in their area, and the principal has multiple meetings with various officials from the municipality as part of their job description.
- Finnish schools sometimes struggle to fill teaching positions with teachers who have completed the required teaching degree. When this happens, they try to find the most qualified candidate outside of the normal teacher pool.
- Lunchrooms are set up with actual silverware, washable cups and plates, etc… When asked about this, our guide (a former teacher herself) stated that Finland is very conscious about the environment, so they try to avoid using items (plastic cups, milk cartons, plastic silverware, etc…) that create more trash.
- Teachers eat lunch in the same lunchroom as the students.
- Today we talked more about student discipline, a topic we really didn’t touch on at the last school we visited. Not much time spent with discipline –mostly supported by parents.
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Four different ways to discipline by law in
Finland.
·
Discussion
with student regarding the infraction.
This will usually happen with a teacher or school coach (not athletics)
and the student, with the parent being informed of this discussion taking
place. Parents can be asked to join this
discussion as well.
·
Detention.
Students can be told to stay after
school, and recently schools have been given permission to match the time spent
to the infraction. An example given was
if a student was defacing property, they could be made to clean during this
time. However, we were told most schools
don’t use detention any more, because schools must provide transportation home.
·
Written
warning (we were told this was a stronger message than a detention). Parents are required to come and meet with principal
to personally receive this written warning.
·
Suspension. Does not happen often. The principal we spoke with today stated she
could remember one suspension in the last 17 years.
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Schools are required to provide the meals a
student would miss when away from school and make sure the student does not
miss out on any of the information.
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