Finnish schools take their breaks seriously.
In Finland, kids and teachers enjoy 15-minute breaks throughout the school day. (A tradition since at least the 1960s.) During these recesses, Finnish educators love escaping to the teachers’ lounge to rejuvenate.
At my former school in Massachusetts, we lacked a teachers’ lounge. When I began my stint as a teacher in Finland, the concept of the lounge was completely alien to me. It made me feel uncomfortable. So, initially, I stayed away from the lounge at my Helsinki school. The whole thing seemed, well, lazy.
Today my thinking about the teachers’ lounge has changed significantly. I get it now.
(I continue to teach elementary school children in Finland, and it is my favorite place to spend my time during the school day. I can’t get enough of it.)
The teachers’ lounge is the first place I want to show every foreign teacher who visits Finland. If you want to know the culture of teaching and learning at a Finnish school, start there. The pace of schooling. The collaborative spirit. The emphasis on well-being. It’s all there.
Naturally, the teachers’ lounge seemed like the perfect subject for my vlog’s first episode.
Please take a few minutes to watch this first episode (“Inside a Finnish Teachers’ Lounge“) on YouTube! And, if you enjoy it, would you leave a thumbs up and consider subscribing to my channel?
I’m excited about this next chapter of my Finnish education journey and I’m grateful for your support over the years. Feel free to share your thoughts about this first episode and any other ideas for future installments. Thank you, and have a great weekend!
-Tim
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Timothy D. Walker is an American teacher living in Finland and the author of the new book Teach Like Finland: 33 Simple Strategies for Joyful Classrooms. He is a contributing writer on education issues for The Atlantic.
