Teach Like Finland: 33 Simple Strategies for Joyful Classrooms pdfdrive com

CHAPTER
2
Belonging
ONE OF THE PRIMARY INGREDIENTS OF HAPPINESS, according to the
academic literature, is belonging (Pinsker, 2016). And as teachers, there are
different steps we can take to cultivate that sense of connectedness in our
classrooms.
Recruit a welfare team
Belonging, by the way, is not just something that we can share with our students
—it’s also something that, as teachers, we need to experience with other adults,
in school and out of school. Before diving into the six other strategies of this
chapter, which focus on strengthening relationships between teachers and
students, I want to affirm the importance of cultivating a supportive community
of adults, something I learned personally during my burnout year.
In my round-the-clock striving to teach well, I found that my connections
with others greatly suffered, including the ones with my colleagues, my friends,
and even my family. Simply put, I wasn’t prioritizing relationships. I was barely
investing in them, and consequentially, I felt isolated in my work.
It wasn’t until after I returned from that embarrassing leave of absence that I
understood how much I had missed from being disconnected from others. And
when I started to invest more time in relationships, I found the sense of
belonging returning.
At my Helsinki school, I witnessed my colleagues prioritizing connections
with one another in a way I hadn’t observed in many American schools. One
major reason for this phenomenon is probably a difference in the teaching

---

schedule. (With shorter days and more breaks throughout the day, Finland’s
teachers have more free time to meet with one another.) But I also think it has to
do with a particular attitude, which I discuss more in Chapter 5, that views the
job of teaching as a collaborative endeavor.
I’ve heard some American educators describe teaching as a lonely job, in the
sense that teachers spend a lot of time with their students but little time with
other adults. I don’t think this description would accurately describe the reality
in many Finnish schools. In my experience, Finland’s teachers spend a lot of
time with one another at school, sharing best practices, problem solving, and
developing friendships.
If we are committed to recharging after school (on a daily basis) and if we
recognize that belonging has a positive effect on our happiness and our teaching,
then it would be sensible to regularly use a portion of our free time investing in
connections with other adults. For me, that would look like eating lunch with my
colleagues regularly (not skipping the meal to prep in my classroom), catching
up with a good friend over the phone in the late afternoon, or drinking tea with
my wife after our children have fallen asleep.
In addition to investing time in relationships with other adults, I recommend
that we teachers practice an adaptation of something that’s implemented
throughout this Nordic country, including my Helsinki school: meeting with a
“student welfare team.” In Finland, a classroom teacher gathers with other
school professionals—the principal, the nurse, the social worker, the
psychologist, and the special education teacher—as needed to discuss the
individual needs of their classrooms. Before my first meeting with my school’s
welfare team, a Finnish colleague praised this powerful practice by suggesting
that I’d walk away from this gathering feeling that I’m not the only one
responsible for my students.
Before this meeting, I completed a brief survey, which asked me several
questions about the academic and social needs of my students, and during our
meeting I distributed copies of my responses. As my colleagues quietly glanced
over the filled-in questionnaire, my principal turned to me and asked, “So, how’s
your class so far?”
She had inquired about my class before, but this time, this simple question
seemed to possess special significance. It was still early in the school year
(October), and in that room I found myself surrounded by a diverse crowd of
school professionals, ready to listen and respond to my insights. My principal
was asking me to share the responsibility of caring for my class, so that the
needs of my students would be better addressed. By the end of the meeting, we
agreed upon several clear action items. I left the meeting feeling the way that my

---

colleague predicted I would: less alone as a teacher.
Later that day, I checked my school e-mail and I found a message from
another teacher, informing me about a concerning incident that took place
among several of my students. I was upset by the news, but I had a plan. The
next morning at school, I knocked on the door of the social worker’s office, and
I sought advice on this issue. She had a few moments to spare, and we had our
first one-on-one meeting. The idea of sharing greater responsibility with my
colleagues was crystallizing in me.
In Helsinki, I think I was starting to view my classroom in a helpful way. It
wasn’t just my classroom; it was our classroom. For many American teachers, I
think that feeling of loneliness is a sign that we need to be better connected with
other school professionals. And, while Finnish schools have student welfare
teams that meet on a regular basis to support this need, I think any teacher can
adopt a similar practice.
I’m imagining that teachers could call upon—without too much
inconvenience—a small, trusted group of professionals and request a short
meeting with them, once or twice a year, to discuss the academic and social-
emotional needs of their classrooms. It would be like an annual checkup at the
doctor’s office. Getting that outside perspective on your classroom, I’ve learned,
is so valuable, especially in the beginning of the school year.
Some teachers may be interested in recruiting team members beyond their
own schools, and I think this could work well. Because teachers would be
discussing their students during a welfare meeting, maintaining privacy is
essential—and it’s something that still can be honored, in my opinion, as long as
the children are discussed anonymously.
If you’re interested in promoting joy in your teaching, cultivating your
personal sense of belonging is essential. And my hunch is that those teachers
who maintain strong connections with other adults may find it easier to
implement the following six strategies for strengthening a strong sense of
belonging in the classroom: know each child, play with your students, celebrate
their learning, pursue a class dream, banish the bullying, and buddy up.