#4 - "Hanging on the Telephone" and "Call Me"...by my first name
2/10/15
After 4 plane rides in 4 days, I’m feeling the need for a break.
It’s Friday and the plan is to visit my host middle school, Isokaari 19, and possibly teach. My first challenge however, is getting there! On this excursion I decided to skip the tram altogether and walk to a bus stop further along in my route. The idea was that I needed to get a sense of my surroundings.
Unfortunately, my travel time to the school was longer than anticipated due to my inability to locate my bus stop; I think I need to reevaluate my route. One of the things I have noticed during my walking excursions through the city is that everyone uses the crosswalks, even cyclists. I have yet to see someone not use a crosswalk, or a car ignore a person waiting to cross the street. And, despite the snow and ice there are no shortages of bike traffic in this city.
Once inside Isokaari 19, the energy fills every inch of the school. The only time students seem to move through the halls in a uniform fashion is during their respective lunch time. Otherwise, the sense I get is that nobody is in a hurry. I did notice that, beyond the age-range of the school, there are younger and older groups of people in the school’s cafeteria. Like other schools in Finland this one serves the community as a place for people to eat, converse, work, etc. This was not as intrusive to the school’s daily activity as one might think, and it was a fascinating concept to think about; that the school belongs to the community.
Everything that I have observed during my first two visits is that the school generally mirrors that of any American school that I have visited in the past: the classrooms, the layout of the school, the casual teenage attire, the professionalism of the teachers, etc. There are some notable differences. Students call teachers by their first name; this held true for all the schools I visited. Likewise, cell phone use was rampant both in and out of the classroom. In many of the instances that I observed students were casually using them with little or no regulation from the teachers. What I would consider to be rude or impolite student behavior was looked at much differently by the Finnish teachers. Without redirection from the teachers, the students would eventually bring their attention back to the lesson. When pertinent to the lesson, the students readily used their phones as a tool for learning. *This discussion is also addressed in a future post.
After 4 plane rides in 4 days, I’m feeling the need for a break.
It’s Friday and the plan is to visit my host middle school, Isokaari 19, and possibly teach. My first challenge however, is getting there! On this excursion I decided to skip the tram altogether and walk to a bus stop further along in my route. The idea was that I needed to get a sense of my surroundings.
Unfortunately, my travel time to the school was longer than anticipated due to my inability to locate my bus stop; I think I need to reevaluate my route. One of the things I have noticed during my walking excursions through the city is that everyone uses the crosswalks, even cyclists. I have yet to see someone not use a crosswalk, or a car ignore a person waiting to cross the street. And, despite the snow and ice there are no shortages of bike traffic in this city.
Once inside Isokaari 19, the energy fills every inch of the school. The only time students seem to move through the halls in a uniform fashion is during their respective lunch time. Otherwise, the sense I get is that nobody is in a hurry. I did notice that, beyond the age-range of the school, there are younger and older groups of people in the school’s cafeteria. Like other schools in Finland this one serves the community as a place for people to eat, converse, work, etc. This was not as intrusive to the school’s daily activity as one might think, and it was a fascinating concept to think about; that the school belongs to the community.
Everything that I have observed during my first two visits is that the school generally mirrors that of any American school that I have visited in the past: the classrooms, the layout of the school, the casual teenage attire, the professionalism of the teachers, etc. There are some notable differences. Students call teachers by their first name; this held true for all the schools I visited. Likewise, cell phone use was rampant both in and out of the classroom. In many of the instances that I observed students were casually using them with little or no regulation from the teachers. What I would consider to be rude or impolite student behavior was looked at much differently by the Finnish teachers. Without redirection from the teachers, the students would eventually bring their attention back to the lesson. When pertinent to the lesson, the students readily used their phones as a tool for learning. *This discussion is also addressed in a future post.
I received my first real souvenir while sitting in on an upper level Art class.* The students were working in pairs, spending ten minute intervals drawing each other’s portraits. There were an odd number of students in the class and I decided to jump out of my comfort zone and practice my drawing skills; I was paired up with Vappu (a girl), a 17 year-old student. At the end of the class she quietly and politely commented that my drawing of her was, “very nice”. She happily agreed to exchange drawings and I am certain that I made out on this exchange.
After my bus ride back into the city of Helsinki, I decided once again to skip the tram and walk the remaining mile back to the apartment. Along the way I shot some photos of construction works taking a break, on their phone of course. And, I was able to catch the installation of sculptures that were being displayed in preparation for a Chinese New Year celebration in a coming days. I did not make this connection until a few days later when I was sitting in my apartment late in the evening and heard LOUD booming noises coming from the center of the city. I assumed it was fireworks of some kind, but considering it was a Wednesday night and knowing the historical relationship with Finland’s neighbor to the west, there was a moment when I thought that Russia was making its move!
*Classes at the upper level are referred to as 1st (10th), 2nd (11th), and 3rd (12th) years/grades. Most boys out of upper school will either join the army or take a post in a civil service position (unpaid) for close to a year. If not completed before the age of 30, men can face jail time.
* Channeling Blondie for help with post’s title.
After my bus ride back into the city of Helsinki, I decided once again to skip the tram and walk the remaining mile back to the apartment. Along the way I shot some photos of construction works taking a break, on their phone of course. And, I was able to catch the installation of sculptures that were being displayed in preparation for a Chinese New Year celebration in a coming days. I did not make this connection until a few days later when I was sitting in my apartment late in the evening and heard LOUD booming noises coming from the center of the city. I assumed it was fireworks of some kind, but considering it was a Wednesday night and knowing the historical relationship with Finland’s neighbor to the west, there was a moment when I thought that Russia was making its move!
*Classes at the upper level are referred to as 1st (10th), 2nd (11th), and 3rd (12th) years/grades. Most boys out of upper school will either join the army or take a post in a civil service position (unpaid) for close to a year. If not completed before the age of 30, men can face jail time.
* Channeling Blondie for help with post’s title.