National Art Museum - Ateneum, Helsinki Tour, Ice Skating, Fulbright Mingle with US Teachers and Researcher - March 10, 2019

Dear Friends,

Today we visited the National Art Museum - Ateneum.  We enjoyed the varied art exhibits and had a group lunch in the museum restaurant.

During the museum visit I spoke with Melissa Miller, a principal in Colorado, about their Response to Intervention model and how it has evolved over the years.  This helped me think about our model and how consistently implementing and tracking our Tier 2 double-dose Fundations would be helpful.  It also made me think about the positive impact a strong system/schedule for interventionist and special education teacher support an have on a school program.  I was thinking about what we learned on Friday about the three part system of support they use in Finland and how similar both Colorado and Finland are to NJ.  We actually have a lot of key elements in place, we just need to sync up the support, schedules, and most importantly, the staff/team to over see it all.  Michele also had some fun suggestions for staff activities:  1.  Share your favorite song from high school, 2.  Share your favorite book (bring it in).  She reminded me of a suggestion that Mirka, our Fulbright Finland leader/guide, had shared with us about shame parties.  These are parties/meetings with a theme to share something that you embarrasses you.  For example, you are asked to bring a food to a party that you are embarrassed that you eat.  You may be asked to share/wear clothing that you are embarrassed that you still own and wear. 


Next, we had a guided tour of Helsinki on a small bus.  We learned interesting facts and history about the city and Finland, including:  Students have recess outside unless the temperature is more than -15 degrees Celsius, women have an 11 month maternity leave with 50-70% of their salary paid by the government, women may take off up to three years from work for each birth and get their job back, men get paternity leave, and after one year of working you are entitled to four weeks paid vacation. During the tour we stopped to look at a music inspired sculpture, but were quickly distracted by the ice activities across the street.  We took turns pushing an ice sled attached to a pole and pushing each other around on kicksleds.  These were commonly used to get to school, to stores, and around the city in the past.  I was told that the use of gravel on the sidewalks to make them last slippery for walkers has negatively impacted their use.  I was intrigued that they use gravel in lieu of salt like we do in NJ.  What a great choice; it doesn't damage the cement sidewalks like salt does! 


Once the tour ended, we went ice skating.  I have not skated since I was a child and was worried that I wouldn't be able to stop.  I quickly got comfortable on my skates, but didn't allow myself to pick up too much speed, knowing my stopping skills were not polished.  I had fun skating! 

My cohort of FLGS (Fulbright Leaders for Global Scholars) joined other Fulbright Finland educators for dinner.  We were able to mingle with  teachers and researchers who are working in Finland, from January to July.   They were interesting to speak with, full of passion for their work, and able to share how they have reflected on their time in Finland and adjusted their initial goals.  Some of them realized that things in the Finnish education system are not as strong as what they expected in some regards, and much stronger than they imagined in other regards.  For example, the structures for special education support are not as one teacher had imagined, yet the culture around teacher trust, and the impact of that on learning, was incredibly impressive.   She suggested I look for specific things and ask specific questions during my school visit on Tuesday, such as:  Lack of hierarchy (not top down), teacher input requested and USED when updating curriculum every ten years, lack of American-like structures and the positive impact on the quality of learning programs, and teacher training design and success.   I also spoke with two teachers doing research/work focused on language acquisition.  I hope to continue speaking with them on Monday at the Fulbright Forum professional development we will attend. 

 
After dinner I spent time with Mary Anne Butler from Connecticut.  She and I spoke about our time in Finland, so far, how thrilled we are to be selected to participate in this adventure, and how we will best implement what we learn.  This was of particular interest after thinking about how the teachers are here for six months and we are here for only ten days.  Mary Anne suggested our biggest strength will be our cohorts bond and our potential power if we stay connected and serve as a think-tank when we return to the US.  I added that I think that in addition to our individual goals it would be great if we selected a team goal to all work and collaborate on.  For example, we are all keenly aware that the level of trust with the teachers, and for the education system as a whole, in Finland is a key element of their success.  Potentially, the ten of us could all agree to work on improving trust at our schools/districts.  By the end of our ten days, we may have a different or more specific idea.  Regardless, I like the idea of having a shared goal with the ten leaders in our cohort.

When I sat down to write what I did and learned today, I thought I had said it all in the heading.  As I reflected, I realized how much I am getting out of the side conversations I am having with the school leaders and teachers I am connecting with.  I look forward to the full week ahead, when I will have more opportunities to engage in such conversations.

All the best,

Vanessa