- I have learned so much just
by observing these teachers in action. Too rarely we have that chance in
Finland. Always in a hurry - or so goes my excuse (which is one other thing I
have learned a thing or two about from these peolpe and this lifestyle..) Colleques
are great teachers for teachers and learning while sitting seemingly passive in
the back of the class instead of being on the lead your self is priceless! As
an example of this, here is a pic of Mr Timothy and the pre schoolers
practising vocals and numbers 1-3. There was nothing I could add (as teaching
by doing/playing and student participation, using nature materials, body,
movements ans singing), the way he was teaching was already all of those
things. I wish I had seen this before i began to teach those same things to my
own first graders!
- We got a chance to join the
student parlament meeting. The participants are voted democratiaclly by their
fellow students. In Finland we have a similar thing, our student committee, but
this was taken many steps further! They have the prime minister, minister of
defence, enviroment minister etc. The students can turn to these
representatives if they have a problem, or an improvement in mind. The
ministers had prepared notes from which they addressed the parlament on
important issues, such as safety of the road to school (the minister of defence
answared that one), more trees (minister of environment), safe drinking water
for students, school library, student seaving school too early etc. Everyone
spoke respectively and we got a feeling, that this is truly student's voice and
active participation to their own life at school. Hope we can take this to
Tampere and develope our students committee to this direction. Meanwhile they
learn important ways of democratic influence making and giving speeches.
- The teachers in all schools
we have visited, are willing to develop their teaching, open to new ideas and
methods. I must confess, that sometimes I feel my concience pointing out, that
I too have become too accustomed to my own ways and the practices I've always
known and easily find my self resisting change before first trying to thing it
through "from clear table".. It has been quite often in here, that I
have found myself wondering my own habits and narrow paths of thinking. Here, I
am forced to think again, with the lack of supplys (so plenty in Finland) and
big class sizes up to 140 students (I have considered my 26 students a huge
class, barely handlable!) and I must say it is a healthy thing, forcing me to learn
things I never expected to learn. Attitudewice, methodwice etc... Hope I'll be
able to give these people even a fracture of what I myself am getting from this
experience!
Text and pictures: Ira Sipponen
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