A Dream Coming True?

A month back I made myself a treasure map in order to visualize my future dreams. In the centre of my map I had a picture of an African girl without education. I have always wanted to do voluntary work but had not quite known how. I do not think I would ever do it through the church -I have an etchical conflict wih the idea of exporting religion. Anyhow, I have now figured out what I want to do: I want to educate children that may not have an access to education otherwise.

In order to achieve my goal, I was planning to take this course. I have applied to it already once, and even got an invitation to an interview. Unfortunatelly - or fortunatelly - I was not selected then, but I am now more confident about my competences in studying in the programme. Now it is time to focus on other things in life though, but I will most likely apply on this course still one day! It would also give me the possibility to do research in the future.

So earlier I thought that I need to complete the Master's Degree Programme before doing voluntary work. But yesterday I found out that one of my studying friends has founded a vocational school in Uganda, and they are more than happy to receive voluntary teachers. I think I will take my family over there one summer, and see how I can help my friend and the local children.

Closing Seminar

Day 1

We are having the last contact days as a whole group, and it is time to reflect our learning during the last 12 months.

We started the day by choosing two postcards that describe us as vocational teachers now and in the future. For me the year has been challenging. Combining two courses, children and marriage, and feeling quilty for not doing any of them well enough, has been hard. Also a serious illness in the family has affected our life.  But here I am, almost at the finish line! Now it is time to relax and spend time with my family. Therefore I chose a nice picture of a parent playing ball with a little boy. That is me for the next couple of months. I will be baking cakes on a sandpit! Anyhow, I will return to work in August. My second picture, a hunting bird, illustrates the next step I will take as a vocational teacher. It is time to start looking for a teaching position soon!

For me the iVet course has given mainly new teaching tools and technology. I have met great poeple and made contacts. I hope we will continue learning together even after the course! I had a great possibility to do my teacher training abroad and experience different school system. My MBA studies will be finished soon, too. They have helped me to gain more pedagogical competence; I understand the world of vocational students better now, and can recognise the factors that put a student at risk for dropping out from school.

I got nice feedback on my pedagogical method of motivating students to take part in a discussion task during the VOCII course. I think VOCII gave me a great opportunity to try teaching in an online environment which is not used for teaching that often (Facebook). I think Facebook is a great tool for sharing ideas and learning together when you want the students to contribute daily for a short period of time. Obviously it requires that the students are willing to register in Facebook. Also Facebook has got its limitations: quite soon the Facebook page starts looking messy, and some content may get missing or finding it is difficult. I would also ask the students to document their learning in another platform due to the limitations of Facebook.

Today we were also practising evaluating ourselves. It was rather difficult! I shall think about my competences in vocational education more later on. I think this blog is a good starting point for documenting my competence.

Anyhow, it is time to go and pick up my children from the nursery. Later tonight we will gather around to one of our fellow students' house and have a barbeque. Time for a party!

Day 2

So it is the very last day, or actually the very last hour together as a STUDY group. It has been a discovery journey like one of us described the last year yesterday. I think I have gained a lot of competence in vocational pedagocy, but there is still areas where I have to develop myself, special needs education f.ex. But I am definately ready to start working as a teacher. As I stated in one of the first posts, I think a teacher is never ready. There is always something to learn. You have to be a life-long learner in order to expect that from your students.

Finally Summer!

We've got finally summer also here in Northern Finland! 

It's soon time to start a summer holiday! But first I'll attend the 'Closing seminar days' of iVet. I'm going to miss all my studying friends! Thanks guys for the great year!!

Then one more optional course (Managing People). I'll leave one optional course (Drama in teaching) for autumn. I'm looking forward to that course!  I've also promised to meet the new students and tell them about my experiences of doing teacher training abroad.  Hopefully some of them will take the challenge, too. Here's a link to an article concerning my practice by the way.

I've been mainly concentrating on my final thesis recently. I had my second seminar the other day. Still a lot to do, but I'm still planning to graduate from my MBA studies in August. Soon I can put my feet up and plan what to do in my garden this summer! It's time to start writing my gardening blog again.

Have a great summer!

A Question for Teachers and Teacher Candidates

Please find the question on top right corner. Would be great if you could comment your answer on this post! Thanks!!

The Entrepreneurial Dichotomy

Entrepreneurship education is a hot topic at the moment. In many countries it is incorporated into national curricula, and teachers are expected to plan their teaching to meet the new guidelines. The aim is to provide youth with entrepreneurial skills in order to create more enterprises and employees with entrepreneurial mindset. This would then hopefully decrease youth unemployment and develop the business life. This all sound very promising, but...

Are companies ready for employees with the new attitude?

There are as many organisation cultures as there are companies. But how many of them do really support entrepreneurial attitude? Are the employees expected to take the initiative? Do the business cultures and policies even support employees to act as entrepreneurs? Or are schools just going to "produce" employees with entrepreneurial mindset only to hit a brick wall once they go to work life?

I can share a true story with you. I once worked in a small company where most of the workers were men. My style is to come up with new ideas and develop procedures. So there I was trying to make things in a new way with some of my colleagues with same kind of attitude. Unfortunately my boss was not happy with that, and he started to act in an unprofessional way. I am happy I did not stay there long enough to see how they would have reacted if I had ever made a mistake...

I am sure my experience is not the only one. There are many companies where even the CEO's may not have the required skills. So how can we expect them to let their employees for example to be creative, take risks and think DIFFERENTLY?  

We should also educate the existing companies and their employees in entrepreneurship

Since we budget in educating youth in entrepreneurship, we should also think how to support the existing companies. Otherwise we will loose quite a bit of the benefits from educating our youth. Some of them may learn to be passive and "just do their jobs", and the ones who keep thinking differently may face difficulties like I did. I am sure it would be in everyone's favor to support the change in the companies already now, and not just wait something to happen for generations.

I do not know if there are any EU / national projects or funding to train companies and help them to change their organisation cultures to be open for employees with entrepreneurial mindset. Maybe there could be a business opportunity there...

If some of you know about this kind of projects or existing funding or even consultants that are training companies to support entrepreneurship, please let me know.

Wishing You a Merry Christmas

"Pakkasyö on, ja leiskuen

pohja loimuja viskoo.

Kansa kartanon hiljaisen

yösydänuntaan kiskoo.

Ääneti kuu käy kulkuaan,

puissa lunta on valkeanaan,

kattojen päällä on lunta.

Tonttu ei vaan saa unta."

(An excerpt of my favorite 

Christmas poem:

Tonttu by Viktor Rydberg. 

See translation below.)

"Deep in the grip of the midwinter cold,

Stars send a sparkling light.

All are asleep on this lonely farm,

Late in this winter night.

The pale white moon is a wanderer,

Snow lies white on pine and fir;

Snow glows on rooftop shake.

The tomte alone is awake."

(You can find the whole poem from here.)

Solar Mamas

I watched an episode of "Solar Mamas" the other night. Here is a link to Why Poverty's Web page where you can find it.

And a short description of the video (source: Why Poverty):

"Rafea is an uneducated Bedouin mother from the Jordanian desert. She gets the chance to go to the Barefoot College, where middle-aged women from poor communities train to become solar engineers, and bring power to their communities. The college brings together women from all over the world. But learning about electrical components without being able to read, write or understand English is the easy part. Rafea is forced to risk everything, including losing her children, if she wants to complete the course."

The video shows how we are really living in a divided world. Our daughters are expected to have an education. Here we are stressing over things like gender-neutral toy brochures! In some other countries women's education may still be seen as a threat. Woman's place is at home serving the husband and taking care of everything. Two totally different worlds!

It was interesting to see how women who could not read or write nor understand English, were learning in a multicultural classroom. First I thought that they will never learn if the teacher just keeps lecturing in English. But then they changed to learn-by-doing method, and the women started to understand about engineering! Becoming a solar engineer was not the greatest learning outcome of the course though. It was great to see the women finding their confidence and questioning the existing gender roles. I really loved the moment when all the women were dancing and celebrating together!

If someone sees or talks to Rafea, please tell her that she has got an admirer in Finland. World needs women like her to change the statue quo! Hopefully her daughters will find it easier to have an education and a career. It would be interesting to hear one day how her family is doing, and how the small village is developing.

This Is Life

The first cold day of the winter

The sun shining for me

The crakling sounds and warmth of a fire

My mind gently escaping into the world of teaching

Hand-knitted wooly socks

Lunch with the children

A Domino game for pudding

A perfect afternoon

Happy Father's Day

We are celebrating Father's Day in Finland today. I have to say my husband is a great father but also a great husband. He really supports me with my studies even though it must be frustrating having me completing school tasks after tasks every night, and almost talking more to my studying friends than to him. Thanks hon for giving me this opportunity. We love you!

Studying would not be possible without a little help from people around you. One day it may be your mum who looks after the children while you are taking an exam, other day it might be a mother of your daughter's play school friend. Or someone, even a stranger, who just shows interest in what you are trying to do and gives maybe good advices (or just listens). 

Take all the support you can get, but remember to pay back in a way or another. (I babysit my daughter's play school friends, too.) Once these studies are over, I promise, my husband can have a nice hobby for himself!

Have a Great Father's Day!

Funny Things That Have Happened to You While Teaching

Have you ever done something funny in front of your class? Something that has made everyone laugh, or something you can giggle at now that the time has healed the wounds? Share your harmless stories here to brighten up everyone's day. I will start..

I was demonstrating how NOT to answer the phone at work (especially if one works at customer service). I was standing in front of a classroom full of teens. I picked up the phone from the table.. I was just going to say something like "hello" on the phone when I somehow managed to drop it on the floor. My new phone was in pieces on the floor (luckily did not get broken) and the whole classroom was laughing (including me!). Not the best way to answer the phone I guess. =) 

Today's Studying View

I'm writing my final thesis while my daughter is playing at "big girls' club". The local church was very kind, and found her a place in the group even though we are only visiting here for a week.

Because I'm a Girl!

I have a dream. 

I want to be a clown. 

Or maybe a firemangirl. 

I'm 3.5 years old. 

Everything is possible for me! 

I can climb up as high as I want to. 

And most importantly: 

I can dream without facing violence or threat!

Because I'm a girl in Finland.

We want that every girl all over the world can say the same!

Day of the Girl

Because I am a Girl : Girl facts: sources : Plan International

There is still a lot to do before education reaches girls all over the world. My dream is to be working on education for girls in the future. At the moment I am just donating monthly. One day I want to be involved in the actual work!

What about you? What are you doing / would like to do on this matter?

Ps. Do not tell my husband that I have found a really interesting Master's programme in Globalization and Education..

Today's Studying :-)

What Are You Going to Be When You Grow Up?

"Mummy, what are you going to be when you grow up?", asked my daughter. 

"I'll be a teacher, I guess".

"Oh, I'll be a clown", she told me.

"That's lovely, hon."

"And daddy is going to be the King. He'll be the King to all of my friends", she continued.

Why do I feel my career choice sounds a bit boring.. ;)


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Finding time to do all my studies is really challenging. I'm mainly studying at nights or when my daughter is at play school and the baby is asleep. Well, this will not last forever! I keep reminding myself that I am doing this for myself but also for my family's future.

A Beautiful View

Today I drove to the local harbor to do some studying. My older child was at play school and my baby was having a nap on the back seat. What a great place to write a report! I could do this again before it gets too cold. Next time I will bring some coffee and chocolate, too!

Small things can make learning so much more fun!

Summer Holiday

Now it is time for this mother to take a short break from updating this blog. I will continue writing about my own prior learning experience in August. Meanwhile I will start preparing the first task and continue my MBA studies. But mainly I will play with my children.

Have a nice summer!

Support from My Family

I'm lucky to have my family supporting me with my studies. I couldn't study in the evenings and at the weekends if my husband didn't help me out so much at home. He's really good with the kids and knows how the hoover works. He's a good chef as well! 

My mum helps me with the kids, too. She looks after them when we have contact days at the college. She even brings the kids to me during our lunch breaks so that I can feed my baby. Couldn't do this without her either.

So a big thank you to my family! 

In order to be successful with your studies you need two things: 1. Motivation 2. Support from your family. I'm lucky to have both.