Today we were able to visit two different schools, to get some first hand experience with Finnish education. In Finland, the compulsory school is for students aged 7-16. Then, students can choose to continue their education at a vocational school or at an upper secondary school for an additional 3-4 years (about 90% of students choose to continue, since both options are free.) We had the opportunity to visit a school from each option.
We boarded a bus with fancy conference tables and headed north of the city, approximately 30 minutes, to Vantaa.
At Vantaa Vocational College Of Varia, Veera gave us a brief overview of the vocational options available to students and then we took a tour of the facilities.
In the classroom...
Possibly the most important vocation to learn in Finland...how to install saunas.
Next, we visited an upper secondary school, Sotunki. The English teacher at this school had arranged a wonderful afternoon of interactions with the students, starting with lunch in the school cafeteria...burritos!
It was 80 degrees in Finland today, so we enjoyed soaking up the sun as we watched a gym class play Finnish baseball...quite different than the American version. Some of us even got in the game...
The best part of the day, though, was the chance to talk with small groups of Finnish students (16-19 years old). Each group of students had prepared short presentations about Finnish schools and Finnish culture. We learned about everything from how they schedule classes to sports at the school to how saunas work and even about Santa Claus! This also provided the Finnish students with a chance to practice speaking English. The interactions that I had with these students will probably be the highlight of the trip for me.
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