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

part of the variation in their in-school learning. Although in Finland family
background, for example, has weaker association with students’ achievement
than in many other countries, what happens to young people when they are not
in school has an important role to play in both educational success and failure.
Therefore, particular child and youth policies together with a dense network of
associations, clubs, and organizations have a significant positive impact on
children’s well-being, health, and social capital, which all contribute to their
learning in school. There are about 100,000 nongovernmental associations with
some 15 million members in Finland (Allianssi, 2016). This suggests that Finns
are actively taking part in various activities outside their work or school. Three
out of five young Finns are engaged in some type of social activity in their free
time. The most common of these associations offer activities in sports, arts and
culture. In these organizations, young people learn complementary knowledge
and skills to those they also learn in schools. When 90 percent of young Finns
report that they have at least one hobby outside school, this obviously has a role
to play in how they do in school as well. Universal early childhood development
and care, public healthcare, and a dense public library system are among those

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factors that support the work of schools in helping all children to succeed.
It is difficult to understand how education systems work, and how different
elements within and outside of them affect outcomes. It is therefore very
difficult to make good sense of education systems other than the one you have
been part of yourself. A weeklong visit to observe schools and listen to experts
rarely provides enough insight to understand what Finland’s education is really
about. What you need instead is to become a teacher in Finland—to be taught by
Finland. This is what makes Tim Walker a unique messenger in the world of
educational improvement. His writings reflect a broader understanding of the
fine cultural fabric of Finnish schools, and are illuminating for both foreign and
Finland based educators.
I met Tim soon after he had moved with his family from Boston to Helsinki.
We had several conversations back then about how Finnish schools differ from
typical American schools. I was fascinated to listen to his stories about his fifth
grade classroom. During his time at Ressu Comprehensive School—a Helsinki
public school, which also offers International Baccalaureate programs, a place I
have visited often and know well—Tim was confronted with many of the
ingredients of Finnish schools that you can read in a fully matured format in this
book. Writing about these important practical aspects of what makes Finland’s
schools different requires an alien’s perspective. I can’t think of anybody who
could do this better than Tim.
When I was about to publish the second edition of my book Finnish Lessons:
What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland, I asked if my
publisher would paste a sticker on the back cover saying something like
“WARNING: Don’t try this at home.” The reason for this was the huge number
of inquiries from politicians, education leaders, and teachers asking how to
implement the Finnish school system in their own countries. My publisher
understood my concern, but they didn’t allow a sticker. Nevertheless, I think it is
impossible to transfer education systems from one place to another. Education
systems are complex cultural, organic entities like plants or trees that grow well
only in their home soil and climate. Tim Walker’s book Teach Like Finland: 33
Simple Strategies for Joyful Classrooms makes this clear and instead offers you
some practical steps about how to incorporate more happiness and enjoyment in
schools. If you are able to do that with the ideas that follow, then you’ll be
teaching a bit like Finland. Good luck!

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