A little school

On Wednesday, March 4, my adviser from the university graciously took us to a rural school about 17 miles/ 27 km outside of Jyväskylä. It was a beautiful morning when we set out with big, fluffly snowflakes falling. As we made our way out of the city, the world became whiter and quieter.

This little school is a community school. In this rural area, some children do come to school by 'taxi' - a van. This school is a beloved place and in the past years families have chosen to move to this area (most work in Jyväskylä) with this school being a paramount motivator.

I'm learning how Finland's education system is facing budget cuts, including the closing of some little schools and consolidation. This school will be closed as will another area rural school. They will join together as one school...eventually. It seems that the money has been slow to trickle to this project so these schools might be able to eek out a couple more years.

Essentially, this is a three-classroom school - preschool with less than 10 children, grades 1 - 2 with maybe 12 students, and grades 3 - 6 with around 15 students. There's one teacher for each class, and, the 1-2 grade teacher is also the principal. It's been common in Finland that the principals also teach. In this case, I can't help thinking how this woman has 2 full-time jobs! The school is also home to a daycare with about a dozen children. Basic education is a guaranteed right and supported by tax payers. Daycare is heavily subsidized - families pay on a sliding scale based on their income in the spirit of access and equity. However, I've spoken with some parents who pay at the top of the sliding scale - they pay in one month what a family in the United States might pay in one week.

You can see all of the children - preschool - 6th grade - and their 3 teachers in this sweet video.

Many elements of what we observed are commonplace in Finnish schools. In fact, I've recently been given advice about my research project -- I don't need to visit many schools because there's a level of uniformity in that all schools are delivering the national curriculum with highly qualified teachers in a country that values education. Instead, I've been advised to look at schools in diverse geographical areas - intentional dip sticks, that's how I'm thinking of it.

The national curriculum, though, is translated through the lens of local municipalities and then schools which gives unique elements to schools, too. For example, this school uses multi-age classrooms, which is not a common feature in Finland but a common feature in rural schools.

So, please, come on a little tour with me, complete with commentary - just put your cursor over each picture to see the caption or click on the picture and page through the photos.

It was very sweet to arrive - the children were expecting us and had prepared Finnish and American flags as a welcome. We all convened - preschool - 6th grade students and teachers - for a little while. The children sang so sweetly . We four teachers talked a bit about where we're from and answered questions from the children. As in any effective classroom, there's seamless use of technology - chalkboard and projector screen co-existing side-by-side.

The preschool classroom - Remember, children are 6 when they are in preschool, the age of our 1st graders. The children are not at their desks all day - I've observed free play, for example - but being in desks is part of the acculturation to academic learning for first grade when the emphasis is on learning to read. I've heard the idea that the entirety of primary education, up to grade 6, is a developmentally-aligned process of learning how to learn so they are prepared for academic life.

The work of the preschooler - this lesson was teacher directed and, at the same time, text-based, which is common in Finland. The use of textbooks is widespread, something that I've been surprised to encounter.

6 children. 1 teacher.

Watching 6-year olds sit at desks, concentrating, with minimal wiggling -- whoa. What's the driving factor in why this has the potential to happen? I believe it is this -- Every 45 minutes, children get a 15 minute break. 45 minutes in the classroom/ 15 minutes outside (and they must go outside!) Repeat - repeat - all day. How would THIS idea change American education?

Snow boots, hockey sticks, outside gear. In the hall there are hooks for jackets and cubbies for snow pants, mittens and hats.

OK - 45 minutes of class/ 15 minute break. But all the classes are not academic. Children have PE, music, language, religion, art, and handicrafts classes. So, children are not sitting all day even when they're in class. I met a 7th grader this week who asked about how often American students have PE. He and his classmates were aghast, especially when I told him that kids don't get PE every year in middle school.

Art seems very important at this school. We watched the art teacher (who is the grades 1-2 teacher who is the principal) do a lovely lesson with the 3-6 students to talk about the art in a way that was open-ended and subject to students' point of view.

Finns and Americans - hurrah!

We had the absolute luxury of having my adviser be able and willing to translate lessons for us. It was so interesting to me how talk was used during this inquiry-based science lesson with 1st and 2nd graders (7 and 8 year olds.) Children began with a phenomenon, observation and inquiry. The big concept was how rain is made. They had warm water in their cups, covered with plastic wrap, and with ice on top. They observed steam forming and then condensing. The teacher led them through their inquiry in response to their discoveries.

By the way, this science lesson involved no writing, but lots of talk and thinking. Also, it was in the morning - a time that American teachers reserve for the 'important' subjects of reading and math (those subjects children are assessed through high-stakes tests.)

1-2 grade students have been studying the Sami culture.

On the 1-2 grade door -- nice words children can use

One utterly inspirational, practical, compassionate element of Finnish education and Finnish culture is that, by law, children have the right to a free, nutritious meal at school. I've included a document below about the meals in schools in Finland. I cannot imagine a person on this planet not nodding their head in agreement and support of this premise.

Today's lunch - a salmon patty, salad, mashed potatoes and milk. All morning we could smell this meal being prepared in the kitchen, by a cook, for the children (and teachers.)

After lunch and play time outside, students come in for afternoon lessons. This was Religion Education class. Religion Education is an embedded part of Finnish education and culture. For this American, seeing a bible in a public school was a bit jarring. Almost 80% of Finns are members of the Lutheran church (which means they pay taxes to the church that are taken directly out of paychecks.) As I understand (and I certainly don't have a complete picture) children - in theory - get religious education in their own faith (Christian, Judaism, Islam, etc) in separate settings in addition to learning about world religions together. Students who self-identify or are identified through the families as atheist get the world religion aspect and ethics class. Through conversations, I'm learning that, in particular, the teaching of Christianity has been a big part of Finnish culture and thus part of education. While approx. 80% of Finns identify as Lutheran, I understand that most are not practicing Lutherans in the sense of going to church so school may be the only place they are getting religious education. Certainly, this is an interesting paradigm that has worked for many and perhaps most. I think there's concern about how to be inclusive to all children with limited resources. Also, there are religion-based private schools; however, private schools get full funding from the state just as public schools do and must follow the national curriculum. The idea is that there is parent choice and, constitutionally, students have the right to an education funded by the state.

In religion education class, one child was doing research using the computer...

...while another child was doing research using a bible.

After religion, kids went outside for their break. Again!

Because the last lesson of the day was math. This is something that I believe would not happen in the US - math would not be the last class of the day in elementary school. It would be at the beginning of the day when it's assumed the kids are fresh. But, I've noticed that the beginning of days - and this is certainly true for my daughter - include classes like art, music, handicrafts, and PE. Huh....and my adviser and friend suggested that isn't it a more gentle way to bring kids into the school day - with engagement through the body? After this first class, kids get their 15-minute break and.... are ready to learn. So, watching math being taught before these kids go home - inspiring. The children were focused and engaged. There was an element of lesson delivery by the teacher, guided practice, independent practice, teacher support and peer support. Specifically, the teacher's lesson was for the 4th graders. During this time, 3rd graders were working independently - through the text. They'd do their work, go check the answers on their own, and if they had errors, worked to correct. It was really nice to watch the teacher work with the children in a very talk-based approach - he did not pick up their pencil, did not work through a problem with or for the child, did not provide an answer. Rather, he provided support for students to generate conclusions to support their work.

As a teacher and having experienced an elementary education, much of this day was recognizable. The nuances of the rhythm of the day with breaks, diversity of classes and the mid-day meal are such binding factors, though, to the children learning.

I want to add one more idea here. Yesterday I was involved in a conversation with the director of the Fulbright Center of Finland. She said something that re-framed so much for me. Education here is not free. Meals are not free. University education is not free even when students do not pay tuition and receive an 'allowance' for living expenses and can attend university for, oh, 7 years.

Of course, these services cost money and they are funded by tax payers. Finns are taxed based on their income - the more money you make, the more you are taxed, with national income tax for the highest earners (over 100,000 Euros a year) being a little more than 30%. On top of that, Finns pay municipal income taxes, from 15% to 22%. So, it's possible for high-earning Finns to pay over 50% in income tax.

This is a democratic nation of engaged voters who value education, health care, and other elements of a 'social safety net' for its citizenry. So, it's not that Finland has free education, it's that they choose to fund it collectively in the spirit of educational equity. Finns don't pay for "my child" they pay for "all children."