Lessons from School

This past week, I had the opportunity to observe a number of classes at the primary school.  Here are a few highlights and reflections from my time with the Finnish youth.

• 'Ah ha' moments are universal.  A third grade class was learning about water during a science lesson.  The teacher asked the students to figure out if the shape of an object affects its ability to float.  Students were given pieces of PlayDoh to test their theories.  The look on one boy's face when he shaped his ball into a boat was priceless.  No translations were necessary.
• Fifteen minute breaks are a good thing.  All primary school lessons run for 45 minutes and are followed by 15 minute breaks.  During these breaks, children must go outside (unless it is pouring rain).  Such breaks are great because they basically eliminate all behavior issues during lessons.  Also, they provide an excellent time for one-on-one teaching if a student does not understand any part of the lesson. 
• As I wandered around one class during work time, I was stunned to see all the little third graders practicing order of operations.  Third grade?!  Only two months into the school year?!  Order of operations?!  I am fairly sure I did not learn this concept until at least fifth grade as part of the accelerated math curriculum.  Later, I asked the teacher when students learn their multiplication tables.  She casually replied, "first grade."  I did not even learn subtraction until second grade!  Yikes.
• In addition to the math and science classes, I also attended a few English classes.  In this particular lesson, students were learning to say what types of pets they have.  "I have a dog."  "I have a cat."  "I have a hamster."  And then the teacher introduced the word "budgie" while showing a picture of a parakeet.  I'm glad I can learn new vocabulary in third grade English.