What We Can Learn From Finland, Part 2

Today I leave Joensuu and the Hukkala family to meet my friend Wainani in Helsinki. Wai and I are going to spend the weekend in Helsinki and then take the ferry to Estonia to visit Tallinn and Laheema National Park. I don't know any Estonian, but I do know such valuable Finnish phrases as "please pass the cheese" as well as the names of several different beers. I keep forgetting the difference between the words for toilet and for water, but I'll figure it out.

I have mixed feelings about leaving. The Hukkalas have been unbelievably gracious and welcoming hosts. They are such a lovely family and I am sad to be leaving them, but Marita, Junnu's wife, suggested that Brian and I return for the Wife-Carrying Championships next July, so we should probably start training as soon as I get home. While I am sad to be leaving, I am really excited to see Wainani (she lives in London and I have not seen her in three years), and I am starting to get a bit homesick. I miss Brian and all my animals. I was just looking at the goats' baby pictures but I had to stop because it was too much. I think this means have been gone long enough to forget what pains in the ass they are.

Anyway, I have limited time, but I want to continue my discussion about what I think we can take from Finland. Again, this is just my initial thoughts, and I want to update my blog more after I get home and have time to reflect on these ideas.

So, another idea I think we should use from Finnish education is...

An emphasis on international awareness. Obviously Finland's place in the world is much different from that of the US, and as a small country in the EU, they have a strong need for cross-cultural knowledge and awareness. However, I think our students would also benefit from having a better understanding of the world outside the US. When Junnu came to speak to my class in the fall, I was really struck by how amazed my students were by hearing about a place different from the US. One student in particular just could not get over gas costing about $7/gallon, free education and healthcare or not. I think we definitely make some efforts at informing students of other countries/cultures, but I think right now it is very much an adjunct part of their education, and largely optional. I don't know how exactly this would work, but it would be nice if somehow we could make this more of a core component of students' education at PSC. I believe one of learning outcomes refers to global awareness, so maybe we can begin this discussion at Outcomes Committee.

This trip has really made me reflect a lot on how important this kind of education is. Awareness of other cultures helps us question our own sense of what is normal, and I think can really change our way of thinking. And just on a basic level, this kind of learning is exciting! I know these past couple weeks have really made me think a lot about US education and culture in general, both what I think we are doing well and should work to protect, and some areas we can improve. As a first step, I would like to suggest we have scheduled eating times 5x a day, and then we can go from there.

I likely will not be writing for about a week or so, but then I would like to update with final thoughts, proofread when I am better rested and do not have a Nordic keyboard, and add some more pictures.

Hyvää kesää! (That's have a good summer)

What We Can Learn From Finland, Part 1

I have two days left in Joensuu, and as my trip draws to a close, I am starting to reflect on what I've learned in Finland that can be applied to my own teaching as well as Prairie State College as a whole. Of course, there are many things about Finland that I would like to emulate that probably are not happening any time soon: a robust social safety net, free tuition AND meals for college students, beautiful and safe biking paths, hour-long scheduled lunch breaks, and the list goes on.

However, I do think there are some things we can take from Finnish education and culture that it would be possible to implement to some degree. In my last couple of blog posts I would like to give a brief overview of some ideas that I have had, with the hopes that this conversation will continue when I get back to the States.

So here goes:

1. In Finland, at all levels of education, making school an enjoyable place to be is a priority. This is perhaps most clearly evident in the physical spaces of the schools. There are many common seating areas with brightly colored, comfortable furniture and plenty of things to do. I think every school we visited had a ping-pong table, and there was frequently also chess, foosball, and air hockey. Several schools commented that they had been having problems with students getting into trouble between classes, and providing activities cut down greatly on this issue.

As for the classrooms, I think every one I saw had plenty of natural light (okay, natural light in classrooms would not be an easy fix at PSC, but still, would be nice) and was decorated with different types of artwork. I know in the English department we talked a bit about classroom design and what is most effective for teaching, but I think it would also be worthwhile to think about the aesthetics of our classrooms (and other environments in the school). I wonder if things are so brightly colored in Finland since the sun hardly shines in the winter, but our winters can be arduous too. Having classrooms that are pleasant places to be seems like it would be conducive to learning as well as general satisfaction for both students and faculty.

Overall, the schools in Finland encourage congregation between both students and faculty. The free meals for students are definitely part of this as everyone is eating at the same time, but also there are regularly scheduled coffee breaks for faculty every morning. This kind of informal interaction among faculty seems to go a long way in creating a sense of community. At PSC we have anniversary cake the fourth Thursday of every month, and I think it has this same sort of effect, but it might be worthwhile to have college-wide gatherings more often, including some that have employees of the college as well as students (I am only partly mentioning this because I love free snacks--mostly it's for the benefit of the college, I swear).

This brings me to my next point. Besides making school enjoyable through the physical space and extracurricular activities, in Finland....

2. Schools place high value on "non-academic" activities
In the US there seems to be a culture of achievement through working harder. If students struggle in math or English, that means they must be drilled more on math or English, even if that means taking time away from things like music, art, or recess. Finland has very much the opposite approach. Students take academic classes, and they are rigorous, but they also take classes in home economics, textiles, music, etc. Both middle schools we visited had full recording studios. I think giving students a chance to study "non-academic" (but still extremely useful and worthwhile) subjects helps them in myriad ways: first, it gives students a sort of mental break and allows them to think in a different way. This allows them to approach their more traditionally academic subjects with a fresh mindset, which I think is likely a lot more effective than slogging away at the same thing. This also allows students to discover their own interests and abilities. A student who struggles in math might find more success in say, metal shop, which in turn could give them more confidence to revisit math. This student will then avoid the feeling of utter helplessness that I think overwhelms our students at times. A series of small failures leads to negative feelings about school, which in turns snowballs into more failures, and the cycle continues.

Arguably most importantly, this incorporation of different kinds of activities create a sense of play and curiosity at school. Learning is an enjoyable process of discovery rather than a rote exercise of memorizing rules and regurgitating facts. Several years ago I had a student tell me that my class was "just another hoop to jump through", and I suspect many students feel that way: their education is simply a series of unpleasant activities that they must grit their teeth and get through. I want students to see their education as a way to help them to discover their own best selves, and I get much more of a sense of that in Finland (I also wonder if not having to pay for school creates less of a feeling of education as a commodity, but that is a whole different discussion).

As far as how this could be incorporated at Prairie State...I am not quite sure. I would like to interact more with faculty from the vocational fields to get a better idea of what students are doing there and perhaps how our classes could better serve those students. I know there are already many clubs to help students pursue their interests, but perhaps it is possible to also convey the value of non-academic subjects to students' academic development through classes like First Year Experience or even required freshmen courses like English 101. I am not sure how exactly any of this would look, but I would love to bring that sense of learning as something that is exciting and invigorating to my classroom. I'd be interested to get feedback from my colleagues on how/if they think this approach is something that could be useful for our students.



I have one or two more ideas about what I would like to apply from this exchange, but I will discuss them more tomorrow. Kittos for reading.

Savonlinna, Summer Cottage, and Successful Birding

Olavinlinna Castle

Typical building in Savonlinna

On Friday we traveled to Savonlinna, a small town that is about a two-hour drive south of Joensuu. We visited the vocational college there, which happens to be the main competitor with Junnu's school . The schools seem fairly similar in terms of curriculum, but this college had the advantage of directly overlooking Saimaa Lake (sorry Junnu). Savonlinna has been a city since 1639, and now is largely a vacation town. In the summer, visitors outnumber residents.

View of Savonlinna from the Tower

The main attraction in Savonlinna is Olavinlinna Castle. The castle was founded in 1475 (we were reminded several times that it predates Columbus' voyage to America) by the Swedish to protect the boundary between Sweden and Russia. It exchanged hands several times between the Swedes and the Russians, and is now obviously located in Finland. Now the castle hosts tours and every year has a famous opera festival. I didn't get a good picture of it, but one of the highlights of the castle was the toilet in the tower. It essentially was a small room that jutted out from the tower about 75 feet high, and there was an open hole with a grate over it. All waste went directly into the lake. This could perhaps be refreshing in the summer, but I can't imagine it would be very enjoyable during Finnish winters.

Summer Cottage

On Saturday we went to the Hukkala's family summer cottage. Summer cottages are a huge part of the culture in Finland. Junnu told me there are about a million summer cottages in Finland (this in a country of only 5.5 million people). While at summer cottage we ate, relaxed, read, and off course, went in the sauna. I was quite proud of myself because jumped in the lake even though it was only about 50 degrees outside and god knows what the water was (very cold). One of my Russian friends said that I had it about right, except it should be winter and I should be naked. I am not quite that Finnish yet, but maybe if I eat enough Salmiakki I will get there eventually.

"Enjoying" the lake

I will say that going from the hot sauna to the cold water and then back to sauna did certainly get my heart rate up. Junnu said this is what Finnish people do instead of smoke grass, and while I am not sure the experience is entirely analogous, it is probably healthier.


Besides my cold weather swimming, I also got some Finn points for eating Mämmi, a traditional Finnish dessert that Wikipedia assures me is made of "water, rye flour, powdered malted rye, seasoned with dark molasses, salt, and dried powdered Seville orange zest." Mämmi is traditionally served topped with cream and sugar. It had a milder flavor than I expected, especially since Junnu's two younger children intentionally gathered around to watch me as I tasted it. 

Mammi has the appearance and texture of barely cooked brownie batter, and I would be hard-pressed to categorize it as either liquid or solid. It tastes like rye with cream and sugar on top. Brian told me that when Junnu was here he made him drink Malort, and while I have never personally tasted Malort, I am confident that Mämmi tastes better.

On Sunday I went for a birding walk with Junnu, Marita, and Jalo. Birding here is quite difficult for me as almost all the birds are different from what we have in the States. We happened to run into Junnu and Marita's friend who is a biologist and knows quite a bit about birds. He helped us identify a White-Backed Woodpecker, While White-Backed Woodpeckers are doing better further south in Europe, there are only about 150 of them left in Finland, so it was quite exciting to see. Overall, it

 was a very successful Finnish weekend.

Jalo on the birding path

American Pizza Night

Tonight was cleaning night in the Hukkala household. Every Thursday each family member cleans their assigned section of the house and then, as a treat, they order pizza. This is much better than the system Brian and I have where I leave the country for three weeks and he promises to clean the house while I am gone (I totally believe he will do it, but it's not a tenable system long term). I was somewhat disappointed to learn that this system is not typical in Finland and that in many households women are still responsible for the bulk of the housework. All the same, it's nice to be staying with a family who works so well together.

While I did not partake in any of the cleaning (I did offer!), I did still get to eat pizza. We got several different kinds of pizza, but my favorite as The American: ham, pineapple, and bleu cheese. I am not entirely sure why this pizza is called The American as it is unlike any pizza I have ever had in America, but it was good all the same. Besides the different toppings, the pizza was pretty similar to American thin-crust.

During the day today we went to a secondary school (grades 7-9), the Joensuu public library, and a Karelian history museum. At the secondary school, I noticed the same thing that I noticed at the other levels of education: Finnish education respects students and teachers as individuals. There are some small things the school does that makes the day much more humane. Classes are 45 minutes long, and students get 15 minute breaks between classes. There are plenty of couches for communal seating on each floor, and students are allowed to congregate. Classes in different subjects are in color-coded sections of the building that are clearly marked on maps to help students--who are switching classes during the day for the first time--find the correct classrooms. Today I also learned that Finnish school days are not allowed to be longer than 7 hours, presumably because at some point it is no longer productive or pleasant to keep kids in school.

Communal seating at the middle school

Junnu in the music room

The library was beautiful. Apparently half of the population of Joensuu uses the library, and they check out an average of 20 items a year. The library also makes a conscious effort to provide a sense of community:they offer discussion groups of books and poems, live music, and a cafe.

Okay, I am really distracted right now because David Hasselhoff apparently has his own Finnish talk show, in spite of the fact that he does not actually speak Finnish. It's pretty amazing though. His guests tonight were a woman who seems to be the Finnish equivalent of Tyra Banks (but a lot less crazy), Stefan from Top Chef, and the winner of Finnish Idol. Amazing. He is now singing a duet with the Finnish Idol girl.

I will be adding more pictures to this blog, but I can't get my iCloud to work, and everything on this computer is in Finnish, which makes it difficult to navigate. Bear with me. Kittos!

"Finnish Education Has No Dead Ends"

Today is my first day not being horrifically jet-lagged and exhausted, so that is a welcome change. Yesterday I went to Kitee to visit both Junnu's vocational school and a general education upper-secondary school. In Finland, all students must attend school grades 1-9 (with first grade starting at age 7), and then almost all students choose to go to vocational programs, general upper-secondary, or a combination of the two. This generally takes 2-4 years, and from there, if students choose to do so, they may attend a university or polytechnic school. I've included a chart below for further clarification.

At Junnu's school I sat in on his Finnish language class with students who were in the home construction program and then an English language class with animal attendant students. Both classes were small (6-10 students) and it seems Finnish instructors encounter some of the same problems that plague American classrooms: students unprepared for class, on their cell phones, reluctant to participate in class activies. Some of that could have been excaerbated by my presence, but overall, it was sort assuring to know that college students are similar everywhere.

The school itself was quite nice. The classrooms had good acoustics were an appropriate size for the number of students. All classrooms had computers for the instructor and document projectors. It's hard for me to comment much on the content of the classes given such a limited window, but overall, I would say that the classes seem much more directly focused on the student's future careers. For example, in the English class, the students were translating sentences that related directly to the care of horses and cattle. I spoke to the instructor after the class, and she said she wished she was teaching them more grammar and general English knowledge, but she only has limited time with the students. I told her that sometimes I fear we have the opposite problem: our classes may be too general and academic for some of our students in vocational programs. If a student is seeking an associates degree in say, automotive technology, should they be held back from that because they cannot write an argumentative essay using sources? I honestly don't know the answer to that question, but I do think it is worthy of further discussion.

After we left the vocational school, we went to the general upper-secondary school for a discussion with the school principal and a couple of students. Immediately I was struck by the atmosphere of the school. Students all had their coats hanging on racks (not in lockers) and most weren't wearing shoes. In high school I often felt like we were cattle being herded, but this school did not have that feel at all.

Our discussion with the principal was enlightening but discouraging at the same time. He explained to us that "there are no dead ends in Finnish education." Students have a lot of freedom to choose their own paths, and if that particular path does not work out, they can choose a new one. Same for adults; if their choosen career is not working for any reason, they can return to school with no expenses except for their books (which we were told are generally around 500 Euro a year---no pittance, but still within reach). And all paths can lead to more advanced degrees.  This is drastically different from American  education, which seems full of dead ends, particularly for the low-income, academically un-prepared students that disproportionately make up community college student bodies.

I was aware of some of the differences between American and Finnish education, but hearing it all described was still shocking. It seems Americans love to laud the Finnish system but have no interest in actually following any of it. All Finnish students are provided with free meals, medical and dental care, which the principal proudly explained is all part of their holistic "welfare state". Because of course, how can a student possibly learn if they are hungry, or sick, or their teeth hurt?

The other MAJOR difference is school autonomy: schools have almost no standard curriculum and yet they still all provide the same high standard of education throughout the country. This is accomplished through highly-competetive, thorough, and ongoing teacher training. These highly-educated teachers are then given the freedom to do their jobs. I cannot help but wonder how US schools would function if we accorded teachers this same kind of respect.

Of course, a lot of Finland´s success is possible due to the fact that it is a tiny country (about 5.5 million people)  that has a strong investment in the public good. As the principal put it, Finland can't afford to lose any of its human resources. All the same, I think there is a lot to be learned from the amount of dignity and freedom the education system grants to both faculty and students.

Note: Brian said he read my blog, and it is good, but um, was I tired when I wrote it? Yes, yes I was. Forgive me any errors and/word salad. I am tired and writing on a Nordic keyboard. I plan on going back to proofread, but right now I am prioritzing putting up posts.

Hyvää iltaa!

Tour of PKKY

Chicken sculpture at PKKY

5/25/15- Edited to add pictures and clarifying note.

Today was my first working day in Finland. We toured PKKY in Joensuu, the college where Junnu teaches, though not his campus. Junnu teaches at a smaller campus in Kittee, and we will go there tomorrow. PKKY offers many different kinds of vocational training, and we toured different facilities, including (but not limited to) plumbing, dress making, welding, and something with robots and 3-D printers.

I have to admit, there is part of me that has some reservations about vocational training, or at least the way vocational training is done in the States. Clearly vocational training has immense value and is a better choice for many students than a bachelor's degree. However, I have concerns about a two-track system where working-class students are shunted off into trades with limited futures and wealthier students take career paths that lead to positions of power and prestige. Finland's educational system seems to avoid these pitfalls in several ways: first, many people study trades; they are well-paying jobs and seen as viable options for people from all backgrounds. Second, students can easily take their vocational degrees and use them to pursue higher degrees, from bachelor's all they way up to masters. These vocational programs are not certificate programs of limited worth, but rather highly-skilled trades requiring years of (free) education. Finally, more jobs in Finland pay a living wage and there is a strong social safety net. You will likely make more if you seek more specialized education, but even with just a three year degree it is still possible to live a comfortable live.  It would be great if we could develop more stronger vocational programs in the United States, but Finnish culture is so different from American culture that it does not seem an easy translation.

Loom in the textiles department

ETA: I don't mean to sound critical of the vocational programs offered at PSC and other community colleges. I think these programs are an excellent option for many students, and they can provide the training needed by workplaces. I know many of the programs offered at PSC are quite rigorous and provide a high-quality education. The issue is that some vocational programs don't necessarily lead to jobs that pay living wages, nor do I think they always easily transition to further education. This is a problem not only with education, but also with the way certain occupations are compensated. CNA's readily spring to mind as an example of a job that is extremely crucial, requires education, and yet does not pay even close to a middle-class wage.

Something that really stood out to me on the tour today was how much was invested in these programs. All the facilities had the latest technology used in the field and were designed for the students' learning and comfort in mind. For example, the nursing assistant program had a room set up with couches in front of a screen. In an adjacent room there were patient simulators in front of a video camera. A student would go in and tend to a patient while the other students could watch on the big screen. This creates an atmosphere where students can tend to patients without the pressure of their classmates hovering over them, but everyone still gets the benefit of reflecting on each other's experiences. This is all for education that is provided to students at no cost.


I have more to say about all of this, but I feel myself growing increasingly less coherent (I remain pretty jet-lagged), so I am off to bed and will revisit this topic tomorrow.

In other exciting Finnish news today, I took my first sauna. At first it was uncomfortably warm even though I was a sauna amateur and was only at 50 degrees celsius (apparently some people like to go up to 80-90 degrees). But with time I began to really enjoy it, especially after a long day of being out in the cold rain. After my sauna Junnu provided me with salt licorice and Finnish beer, so I am really getting the full experience. To Kittee tomorrow!

This was in the home construction department.
I can't remember what it was intended to be,
but it would definitely make a great chicken coop.

Travels to Joensuu

The beautiful dinner Junnu and Marita served. We had salad, several kinds of smoked fish, and traditional Karelian Pastries

I left my house at 1pm on Friday and I arrived in Joensuu around noon Sunday. I did spend last night at hotel by the airport in Helsinki, so I technically have not been traveling the entire time, but all the same, I will be happy to not be on an airplane again for a couple of weeks. Please forgive me any typos and/or being completely nonsensical as I am still quite jet-lagged and am still figuring out this keyboard.

My journey here was fairly non-eventful with the exception of a short time during my layover in Manchester when I had to talk an elevator with no lights down to a small room to wait for a bus that did not seem like it was ever going to come and I was afraid that I was in a Harold Pinter play. Thankfully this has not proven to be the case.

The Joensuu Airport

Junnu, his wife Marita, their three children, Joel, Elina, and Jalo, and their turtle Hermes have all been incredibly gracious hosts so far. Apparently they called around to a couple places that usually have chickens to see if we could schedule a visit, but it is too early in the year for them yet, so I will have to be chicken-less for a few weeks. I have faith I will survive though.

It is quite cold here (46 degrees Fahrenheit) but the sun is out from before 4am to after 10pm. We had a nice walk around downtown Joensuu and the fish market, and then went to a cafe out by the lake to have a drink.

Finally got the Hukkalas! The Finnish flag is not
traditionally flown, but it was today in honor of'
Finnish soldiers who fought in WWII

I brought Junnu's children some camo Tractor Supply hats.
 Very American.

Hermes the turtle