MOVILIDAD HELSINKI 7-13 OCTUBRE 2018

NAME: Cristina Segurado_____________________ Country: __Spain_

 

Date: ______07/10/2018_______

Arriving at such crowded auditorium was a bit disappointing at first. You always expect something else, tailor made, especially when, once again, you are a “rara avis” even in your own educational system. I guess I was wrong and I decided not to judge the book by its cover.

Looking at those people made me realize that, despite being very different, we shared a common goal:  we all wanted to find the key to Finnish success. 

Talking about the cultural dimension of the course made me connect with Eduardo: acculturation was the first key word. However, “Sisu” was the magic one. Why didn’t I think of Sisu? I don’t even know if we have a word for that?

We spend so much time competing against each other, criticizing our weakest points that we have forgotten the important things. Acculturation and Sisu are my two words for today.

Date: _____08/10/2018____________

Things are getting better by the minute. I’ve discovered another secret that made me understand why. Why are Finnish such good English Speakers? Simple, they want to belong, to belong to Europe, to the western countries. They have taken the best from every civilization and, without being pretentious, they have evolved and become the role model in education, every country looks up to.

Then, Petteri came, and inspired some of us, he gave us hope, confidence to continue doing what we are doing, and confirming what I had suspected for a long time: as long as  
teachers cannot actively decide on their own system, organization, assessment and many other things involved in the teaching and learning process, real changes will not be possible. Simply clever, fresh and inspiring…

Looking forward to tomorrow.

Date: ___09/10/2018______________

 

My first visit was not as good as I expected. It seems that it is not innovation or Sisu, it is just television. There is no dubbing so it is exposure to languages what makes children learn in a natural way.

I have probably attended the most traditional English lesson ever. No communication, no interaction, just ploughing through grammar exercises, and of course, they were speaking in Finnish!!!.

I thought, it might be just one unmotivated teacher, but I was wrong, all of them were the same. What is the secret then? traditional methodology but amazing students? Well maybe it’s the weather, or perhaps the degree of autonomy and independency they adquire in primary school. In upper secondary schools they need such high qualifications that they do not need teachers and, of course, having so many digital resources for free, makes self-study really easy.

Let’s see what happens tomorrow.

Date: ____10/10/2018_____________

 

Kaitaan Lukio was different from the beginning, their interest in creating a safe environment for kids, where everybody has a place in the community and the way they tackle problems and they build a trust circle was motivating. The principal, the teachers and students working together in middle school and the relationships they build up should be a role model for us. The flexibility and the cosy atmosphere at school they have created could solve a lot of problems in our system. However, I went to an English lesson in an upper high school and then history repeated. When we told the students our impression, they changed completely their itinerary and took us to meet their favourite teachers. There we met Lola, their pet, a lizard that helps them to learn biology. They also took us to see Hanna, the teacher who helps students who are having problems to upgrade their marks to go to upper secondary.

Her classroom reminded me of a cosy living room where they were as comfortable as at home. So I couldn’t resist it and asked the principal why there were so many differences in the way teachers taught between middle and upper secondary school. She told me that it was very simple, in compulsory education they prepare children to behave like adults and get ready for real life, whereas in upper high school, which is not compulsory, teachers can become as traditional and as they want because children and technologies do their jobs, and the poor kids accept that going through an extremely tough upper high school is the toll they need to pay if they want to go to university to get better paid in the future.

Well, I think concentrating 3 years in passing and exam is unfair to the kids.

Date: ______11/10/2018___________

Espoonlahti has amazing facilities, incredible resources but the methodology is extremely traditional as well. Conclusion: flexibility, responsibility and a great dose of trust together with amazing facilities and terrific IT resources are the key to success in Finnish education.

Date: ______12/10/2018___________

 

The trip to Tallinn has been incredible in every single sense. Beauty and fun has made it a trip difficult to forget.

Date: ________13/10/2018_________

My colleagues’ presentations were simply great. We have learnt a lot in a week, have had lots of fun and made lots of connections. Although the course has been quite hectic sometimes, I have a very positive overall impression and, it goes without saying, that I will recommend it.

A final overview of my experience in this European training programme:

In general the course has been really good. Seminars and visits to schools have been enlightening and inspiring, field projects have been interesting and fun, so in balance, my impression is very positive. However, I miss more school visits and less hectic field projects.

Finally, I’d like to point out that the good points outweigh the bad ones, so I will definitely recommend the course.