I’ve heard people say that the Finnish school system is based on trust. The culture, they say, is vastly different here, and they argue that this ingredient drives the success of Finland’s schools.
I want to start investigating the role of trust in education with you. In particular, what does this trust-based culture look like in Finnish schools and why might it be so important?
In February 2018, I met Miika Tammekann, an elementary school teacher who works at the Martti Ahtisaari school in Kuopio, Finland. Like other class teachers in this country, he teaches just about every subject, but he specializes in woodworking. During my visit to his school, I watched his classroom in action and I interviewed him about his approach to teaching.
The word “trust” came up a lot.
At one point during my visit, I noticed several of his students slip into a room where they could easily access a blowtorch. (This tool is something that Miika will use to help his students complete their woodworking projects.) I brought my observation to Miika’s attention and he assured me that they wouldn’t turn on this blowtorch.
How did he know?
“I trust them,” he told me. “I have to trust. And if I don’t trust them, they are not here.”
On another occasion, I noticed a boy using a knife so sharp it made me uncomfortable. I asked Miika if the child could cut off his finger with that tool.
“If he cuts [himself], he will learn,” he told me with a smile. We both laughed, but I knew he wasn’t joking about this philosophy.
He added, “Nobody’s telling me afterwards, they cut their finger! That’s life.”
See Miika’s woodworking classroom with your own eyes and watch the Taught by Finland vlog’s episode 3 below or HERE!
Please leave a comment on YouTube and, if you’d like to catch more Finnish education videos, subscribe to the channel!
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Timothy D. Walker is an American teacher living in Finland and the author of the book Teach Like Finland: 33 Simple Strategies for Joyful Classrooms. He is a contributing writer on education issues for The Atlantic.
6 Comments
I teach high school in New Hampshire. A few thoughts, generated by your post. First, the trust has to extend beyond just the teachers and their students. The principal has to trust the teacher. The parents have to trust the teachers. The school board has to trust the principal and the teachers. There are many levels of trust involved. Secondly, what is the nature of the legal system in Finland? Is it as litigious as it is here in the US? Perhaps Finland has found a way to outlaw ambulance chasers? Three, I’ve found that, for the vast majority of students, when you extend trust to them they understand and rise to those expectations. Trust between teachers and students works. It’s not as easy for principals, for example. They have to answer to the community, and in most American communities safety is a huge concern. There are many examples of how concern for safety differs between the US and Scandinavia. One is the story of the Scandinavian mom who went into a coffee shop in NYC, and left her baby in the baby carriage on the sidewalk. Americans wanted to call the police on her, for neglect, but in Finland it would be a normal thing to do. Another example is how Americans nowadays say “stay safe” when a friend tells them they are going on a trip. Not, “bon voyage” or “have fun”. It’s “stay safe”. I’m not sure when Americans became so safety conscious, but it is definitely part of our culture now.
I wish I had more profound understand of Finnish law to give a real insight on the second point of your post, but what I can say is that in Finland the school is not held responsible for child cutting their hand in woodworking (or in other similar case) if there isn’t evidence of clear neglect of safety precautions. In Finland we love having standards on EVERYTHING and that definitely includes education -children should be taught safe usage of tools etc. and the tools need to be stored and handled in a very pre-defined manner. If everything was done as it should, whatever happened was probably just an accident. As Mr. Tammekann put it, the child will just learn from the accident.
Overall, I find the differences between the two countries very fascinating!
Following on from Ken’s comment.
I’m Finnish, and I think it has a lot to do with the parents and the upbringing aswell. If I ran to my parents saying “I cut my finger in school.” My father would probably just have shrugged and said “your own fault, next time you’ll know to be more careful.”
I think Finnish parents trust the teachers in much the same way the teacher trust the students.
I’m not sure if American parents trust the teachers in the same way?
Hi,
I am 64 years old woman. At my time, girls at school were only loud to do kniting and needlework and cooking, which I did not like very much at the time and so I was not very good at them. Boys got to do sawing and nailing, and bild birdhouses and other wood and iron handiwork. If I would have able to choose then, I would defenetly rather have done those things in stead of knitted scarf . But I had to learn them as adult. Nowadays boys and gils are equally thaught to use as well as sewing machine, electric beater and drill. I think that is wonderfull!
Sincerelly
Teikku
I’m a high school teacher in Tennessee. I agree with all the commenters about the litigiousness of Americans and the trust structure that is lacking, but I have always loved the idea of putting real tools into kids’ hands. I taught my children to use tools at home the way I was taught (my grandmother gave me a needle and sharp scissors when I was four, and I did learn not to stab myself). Many years ago my son was enrolled in a Montessori preschool which had students using knives to cut their own fruits and vegetables for snacks. That provided such a sense of accomplishment for those children. I also worked with a dear friend to hold a summer daycamp in which we taught kids to make bird houses and other simple woodworking projects. In the public schools, however, we wait until they are in high school to take career-oriented classes such as culinary arts and machining. I think they have to sign waivers and pass safety tests before they are handed a knife or a die cutter.