Fearlessness: Finding the courage to face and push past your fears. Lately, I keep coming back to this theme of fearlessness. It’s come up in several conversations I’ve had over the past few months, and it’s got me thinking: How do we teach our children to be fearless? Is it Read more…
I have been sitting on this news for a while, trying to figure out how to best describe the changes that are about to take place in my life. This is not just a post, but a story, a reflection about the paths and journeys life sometimes takes us on. Read more…
Finnish teachers are eager to help kids learn outside the classroom. I have encountered this on several occasions during my short time here in Finland. Students go cross-country skiing for several kilometers in the woods. One teacher takes her class out to the forest near her school for 2 hours Read more…
Some days, you just need a little bit of nature. Talk to any Finn, and they’d agree with me. And sometimes, you meet someone, and you know you can have meaningful conversation, brainstorm, and create. Well, today, I met three of those people, and spent the day playing (and learning, Read more…
“We do not learn from experience…we learn from reflecting on experience.” ― John Dewey With each “Finnish” experience I have had, a great deal of reflection has accompanied it. I think this is why I am so intrigued by Tiina’s photo project. Not only has it allowed me to reflect on Read more…
“I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.” ― Brené Brown Connections. I know I wrote a post on this already, but one of Read more…
INDEX Design to Improve Life Battle 2017 It is interesting how life can circle back around sometimes. Two years ago, I met Lotte, the Education Director at INDEX Design to Improve Life. A company based in Copenhagen, Denmark, INDEX had developed a detailed structure to use design thinking and problem-based Read more…
Welcome to crafts class, my new obsession. Ok, I am a little obsessed with the crafts classes here. As something completely different (as far as I’ve found no other country has a class similar for all students), it seems that Finland has their very own version of a “makerspace”: crafts class. Read more…
I began my Thursday as any other day- I brewed a pot of coffee, showered, and got myself ready for the day. I would be visiting a rural school in Nittylahti, an area about 15km outside of Joensuu. I was looking forward to not only visiting this school but also Read more…
Last week marked one month since my arrival here in Finland. It has felt a little strange to not be with my students during this past month while the rest of my teacher friends are busy working away in their classrooms. It is not often teachers have the opportunity to step Read more…