Finnish education

The Finnish school system is respected all over the world. Everyone wants to know what the secret to our success in education is, especially because we don’t have so many and such strict rules in here, unlike many other countries. The students here don’t have school uniforms and there are only a few rules in classes. Also how can it be that children here start school one year later but they still catch children in other countries fast in learning? There have been many explanations to this and in this writing I am going to write about a few of them and tell you what I think about them.

In an article called why are Finland’s schools so successful? Kari Luohivuori, the principal of Kirkkojärvi comprehensive school says that “Children from wealthy families with lots of education can be taught by stupid teachers, we try to catch the weak students. “
I think one reason for us Finns being in the top of educationalists in world is that we don’t classify our students. In Finland we don’t have special schools for the brighter kids or we don’t put them to different classes. We focus on the little bit weaker students and try to improve their skills. Knowledge isn’t something you’re born with but something you can learn. Students are always individual and they learn in different ways and at different times. If they can have the kind of education they need, we can only imagine how well they will succeed after that. Everyone needs to find the best way to learn. Only that way can we know how good that student is.

One really important reason for our success in education is highly educated teachers. In Keys to Finnish Educational Success: Intensive Teacher-Training, Union Collaboration it was written about teachers’ education in Finland and how important a good education to the teachers is.  Unlike many other countries, here you have to study a lot to become a teacher. Every teacher has to have a master’s degree in education. Studying to be a teacher isn’t just theoretical but also practical. We have so called training schools usually nearby universities where students can practice their teaching with a supervisor.
To the teacher and the students it is good that teachers in their training get these opportunities to teach a class with a supervisor who can correct your mistakes and tell how they can do better. In my opinion it’s much easier to start teaching when you have someone to guide you at the beginning. This kind of supervised teachings and longer teachers’ education improves the quality of their teaching in general.

According to an article called What Makes Finnish Kids So Smart there are many reasons to Finnish kids’ success in education.
In Finland children start school the same year they turn seven unlike in other countries where they start school at the age of six. I think because children here start school later and the first years are quite easy their motivation lasts longer. When studying feels fun and qualification to studying isn’t too high children are more interested in learning.
In class rooms there aren’t many rules. Maybe the only really important rule is no cell phones and of course you can’t disturb other students so they can focus on learning. Because there aren’t so many rules you also don’t get temptations on breaking them and at least at this age when you’re in high school you should know yourself what is allowed to do and what is not.
At lunch time or breaks you don’t have to be in school but you can leave to a shop or somewhere else. Of course you have to be back in time, being late from classes isn’t allowed. The feeling of freedom is important, if you don’t feel like you are tied up to school it also doesn’t feel that bad coming back.
One final thing about Finnish school which I appreciate maybe the most is equality. Students and teachers are equals and that is very good. The students appreciate that and the teachers get a lot more respect from the students, if the treat them like they should be treated.

Spain!

This school week was quite different than normally. I was in Spain with the school choir and we participated in a music festival in Costa Brava. We were there for a week and what an amazing week it was! Some days we had a very busy schedule but there was also a lot of free time when we could go shopping and explore the city. And sometimes we of course went to the beach. It was a warm week. We had three performances. First in a theater, second outside of a church and the third one in a school.

It wasn’t only practicing, performing and shopping. We went sightseeing few times. In Costa Brava we had to climb to a very high mountain where we saw a pile of bricks which were left from a castle that ones was there. It was a beautiful place in its own way and you could see the whole city from there.

After 5 days in Costa Brava we left to Barcelona. We lived for the three days we had left in a small hostel 4 to 5 person in the same room which were really small. But all tough it was small, it was also a nice place and the owner was friendly very talkative person. In Costa Brava we manly walked from place to place but in Barcelona we used a lot of the underground.

In Barcelona we had the opportunity to visit a Spanish school. It was different from ours but it seemed nice apart from the bars in the windows at the lowest floor. The school system didn’t differ from ours a lot in my opinion but there were some differences. There weren’t classes like first, second, third and so on but levels A, B, C etc. Also the age difference between students was higher and the teachers were such good friend with the students and the communication wasn’t so tense like it is a little bit in Finland. In our way to the school we walked through a garden which full of different flowers and little trees. we were in a hurry we all had to stop for a while to look at the garden and take pictures of it because it was so beautiful.

In Barcelona you can find the best football stadium if not in the whole world then at least in Europe. All tough not all wanted to go there. It was quite far and the time would be take from our shopping time. But I think it was worth seeing .

And finally few pictures from our own little sightseeing tour in Barcelona.

        

school, school and more school

This time of the year is in my opinion the hardest. Summer holiday in not far anymore but we still have a lot to do at school and concentration on school work isn’t the highest anymore. The last weeks have been very busy and also quite stressful. For some reason I find this period much harder than the other four. In almost every subject we have different projects to work on, essays and all the homework on top of all that. Was the beginning of the year just some kind of warm-up and this is what school in high school really is or something else, I don’t know. Either way, now it’s time to pull yourself together, work hard and try to do your best so when summer comes you can be proud of what you have accomplished.

You are what you know

I think it’s quite true that you are what you know. Your own knowledge is what defines you but you have the power to change that. Many people judge you by your knowlage. They might appreciate you more if you are a smart person and value your opinions and advice more. Of course because knowlage isn’t something you are born with, you can also learn it and it’s up to you how people react to you. Also what counts is how you think about yourself.

On horseback

My hobby is riding and for me it’s the most perfect hobby I could have ever found. I have ridden eight years this summer and I ride almost every day. I have a horse which I ride take care of. It’s not my own and I’ll only have it until this summer.

I started riding when I was quite little, only eight years old and the main reason for me to start was my mother.  I don’t know where the idea first came because I can’t remember so far. Many little girls dream about riding and having a real pony of their own and not just a hobby horse and perhaps I was just one of them. I do remember when we did our own hobby horses in kindergarten and played with them a lot. But now to the main reason.  At the age of six, I heard from my mother that when she was young she used to ride, too. She showed me pictures where she was on horseback and pictures about the two horses she took care of. They were very beautiful horses and for a young child my mother looked cool on horseback and I wanted that too. That was the first time I asked my mother to take me to the stables. She wasn’t happy about it and it took a few years before she gave up and took me to my first riding lesson. I am almost positive that at first she was sure I wouldn’t like it and would stop quite soon.

Why I like riding so much and what has kept me going on riding? The best thing in it is, of course, the horses. A horse requires a lot of attention and I like to brush and take care of it and it is also rewarding. I got my first pony Sandro, when I was 13 years old and always when I brushed his back or scratched his neck he used to scratch my shoulder in return. Always with a new horse the best thing is to see how it accepts you and starts to trust in you. And then the best part, riding.  Training dressage or show jumping or just walking in the forests with friends.

I think almost anyone can start riding but it is not easy. Even though many think it’s just sitting and the horse is doing all the work, but it really isn’t that easy. When I first started I didn’t even realize  how hard and difficult it can be and I discovered mussels I didn’t know I have. The next day I hardly got up from bed but it was like this only maybe the three first times. You also need little bit flexibility because it helps a lot and it’s easier to get on the horse. Controlling your body is important or you’ll find yourself from the ground eating sand. I have tried that few times and it’s not fun at all. At the beginning you can’t have all these but with patience they can be learned.

Holidays and boat accidents

I have travelled few times only and it’s been a while since last time but I remember it very well. We were in Spain with my family. It was quite nice holiday at the beginning. There was nothing to complain about from the hotel or anything and we were all really enjoying our stay there. But there was one accident which happened during our stay, it didn’t happen there in Spain but here in Finland and it did flatten our holiday a lot. We were at a restaurant eating dinner and it was our second or third day in Spain. My father got a phone call from Finland. Before we left Finland our boat was lifted from water so the bottom could be cleaned while we are away. The phone call was from the man who was supposed to take care of our boat. We were listening my father while he was talking to him and watched how his face turned in to red. Turned out that he had accidentally knocked our boat to its other side and the other one of the logs which had supported the boat went through from the bottom and the hole was huge. The boat is made of wood so it’s not easy to find anyone who could fix it. It’s not hard to guess that rest of the holiday wasn’t so pleasant and we and especially our father weren’t in the holiday mood anymore.

Once in a lifetime

What is it like to be young? We youngsters are all unique on our own even though there are some similarities. What being young means to me. What kind of things it contains what I like and how I feel about everything.

Many things are included in being young. Things like music, friend and hobbies. Youngsters, not all but some of us, including me experience some things stronger than maybe adults do.  When a strong emotional wave is floating over it’s good to be able to unload them through something. In these cases I have always relayed on my piano, I couldn’t imagine a better way to express myself.

Few of my friends have said that they can’t wait to grow up. I don’t actually know why they feel like that because I have no hurry to grow up. I feel that right now this is the best age that I can be. I’m not a child anymore, I can do my own choices but I’m not yet an adult. I’m positive that those who would like to be already adults will say when they are older that they want to be young again. We all are going to be young only ones in our lives so why hurry. This is the time when we all are trying to find out who we are and what we want to do. We are modified by everything which surrounds as, nature, family and friends.

Of course there is the other side too. Being young isn’t always fun and it certainly is not easy. It can also be very stressful and pressures can be hard. School is one cause there are so many things you have to do and cope with and you always have to try your best and try to top yourself. Sometimes I feel like people expect impossible things from me. But usually we all get over from the hard parts sometime. Friends and family can also cause little bit trouble. One day you feel like they are your best friends and the next like they don’t understand you at all. But they are very important part of life. I couldn’t and possibly no one could manage with out them.