Tänään se alkoi - ops2016 työskentely työyhteisössämme

Maailma muuttuu ja onneksi muuttuu opetussuunnitelmakin. Tämä on tärkeää, sillä uusi opetussuunnitelma mahdollistaa muutoksessa mukana pysymisen. Tätä opetussuunnitelmatyötä odotan innoissani, sillä siinä tuntuu olevan avaimet muutokseen, kehittämiseen ja uudistumiseen.

Kaikkea ei kuitenkaan tarvitse muuttaa, eikä keksiä uudestaan. Meidän on myös löydettävä se hyvä, joka meillä jo on ja rakennettava sen pohjalle. Uusi opetussuunnitelmakaan ei synny tyhjiöstä. Sitä on edeltänyt monta aikaisempaa suunnitelmaa. Niinpä mekin Itä-Hakkilassa aloitimme orientoitumisen ops-työhön jo syksyllä miettimällä, mikä meillä toimii ja on säilyttämisen arvoista. Tässä tulokset:

Koulussamme on...

hyvä yhteishenki, mukava meininki, avoin ilmapiiri, selkeät rakenteet, joustavuutta, tasapuolinen kohtelu, kiva piha, ammattitaitoinen ja motivoitunut työporukka, hyvä tiedottaminen, sujuvaa luokkatasotyöskentelyä, hyvä asioiden valmistelu johtotasolla, hyvä viikkorytmi, hyvä tapa puuttua asioihin ripeästi, hyvin tehty perustyö, avuliasta ja toisia kunnioittavaa väkeä, suuntana tulevaisuus sopivin askelein, taito ottaa vastaan haasteita, luottamus opettajan osaamiseen (vapaus tehdä työtä raamien sisällä), oikeudenmukaiset seuraamukset rikkeistä, yhteisiä tapahtumia, joihin satsataan yhdessä, yhteisöllisyyttä, loistava perusarki, välituntiliikuntaa, lupa sanoa mielipide,yhteiset oppilaat

Tänään lähdimme jatkamaan tästä eteenpäin. Tässä ensimmäisessä vaiheessa keskityimme valtakunnallisen opsin ja Vantaan opsin lukujen 2-4 pohdintaan ja siihen, kuinka niiden esiin tuomat asiat tulevat näkymään koulumme arjessa ja mitä se vaatii meiltä toteutuakseen. Nämä luvut sisältävät opetussuunnitelman olennaisen ytimen, joten pysähtyminen tämän osion äärelle on ratkaisevan merkityksellistä. Siksi päädyimme aloittamaan ops-työskentelyn pienryhmä työskentelynä.

Jokaisella ryhmällä oli tehtävänään paneutua tiettyyn osa-alueeseen ja pohtia sen näkymistä tulevaisuuden koulussa. Viiden ryhmän osa-alueet oli ryhmitelty seuraavasti: 1) oppimiskäsitys 2) tieto- ja viestintäteknologinen osaaminen sekä monilukutaito 3) osallistuminen ja vaikuttaminen sekä työelämätaidot ja yrittäjyys 4) ajattelu ja oppimaan oppiminen sekä itsestä huolehtiminen ja arjen taidot 5) ihmisenä ja kansalaisena kasvaminen sekä kulttuurinen osaaminen, vuorovaikutus ja ilmaisu.

Tänään villi ideointi oli sallittua. Ideoita kirjoitettiin post-it-lapuille, niitä niputettin, pohdiskeltiin niiden herättämiä ajatuksia ja ideoitiin vielä vähän lisää. Synkästä marraskuisesta iltapäivästä ja edellisen viikonlopun koulun 60-vuotisjuhlinnan tuomasta väsymyksestä huolimatta ideoita syntyi. Nämä ideat me jaoimme Hevoshaan ja Sotungin koulujen kanssa TodaysMeet-seinän avulla.

Puolikas VESO (Veso=Virkaehtosopimuksen mukainen opinto- ja suunnittelupäivä) ei riittänyt ajallisesta muuhun kuin tähän lähtölaukaisuun. Saimme prosessin liikkeelle ja ideoinnin käyntiin. Edessä on vielä kaiken tämän työstäminen ja jalostaminen. Matkaa maaliin ja valmiiseen opsiin on vielä paljon, mutta tärkeintä on tehdä tämä matka avoimin mielin yhdessä innostuen.

  

Movie project

This spring we had a movie project about children's rights and dreams with our friendship school in South Africa. Project was funded by Finnish National Board of Education, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and Arts Council of Finland. Finland - South Africa Association has been running the project with our school.

In the project children in our school (Mikkola school) and in Arethabeng school in South Africa made short films based on Convention on the Rights of the Child. First the pupils (or learners as they call pupils in South Africa) had workshops of how to make a film and then they made those films all the way from the beginning to the end all by themselves. I really enjoyed the project and I learned very much in the process.

The workshops started by making three-picture-stories of available pictures. At first it was little hard for pupils to make the stories only with three pictures and to have three main things in it: Interesting beginning, the middle and the surprising end. I think that the rehearsal gave the idea how to tell stories with pictures. In the workshops children also learned about different picture sizes, shooting angles and how to use the camera and the stand.

After that theory based learning children started writing their stories. Hanna Toiviainen, the project director who held the workshops, helped each group to make scripts of those writings. The real work started when children had to make story boards of their scripts. It demanded perseverance and a new way of thinking. How to tell the written story by film? How can the viewer know that a child is depressed or how to show that mother is favoring another child? Those kind of questions rose in making of story board.

Story boards looked like this. You had a screen where you drew what happens in the picture. Beside every picture you wrote the picture size and shooting angle, place of shooting, actors and description of what happens. Some groups had very hard time making the story board but some got hold of the idea very quickly.

When the story board were made the group had a final production discussion with Hanna. In that discussion the group had to show that everything was ready for shooting: Shooting places had been chosen, properties had been searched, scenes were practised etc. Then it was time for Action!

I wasn't in South Africa at the end of the workshop so I didn't see the shootings that were made there. Shooting the film was very exciting. Every group amazed me how well they had been prepared for the shooting. The beginning of shooting was always slow but at the end children acted like professionals as if they've done this thousands of times. For me it was a little hard to be just an observer. Many times I wanted to quide the group but soon I realized that the kids do actually better job without my advice. Healthy experience for me!


Here are some pictures of camera practise in Arethabeng. As you can see surroundings are very different from Mikkola school. We had snow, they had blooming trees.

The workshops were the same, theme was the same, the teacher was the same but the country, culture, language and living conditions were different. Can it be seen on the films? I'm eagerly waiting for the final movie in which are all the films from Mikkola and Arethabeng to be published.

School party in South African way

While we visited Arethabeng school of course they arrenged a big party for us there. The party was awesome! Lots and lots of many kind of programme. I enjoyed very much of that living performing of those children. There were songs and poems of South Africa and Arethabeng, traditional dancing (you can see group coming to performe in the picture), songs of love and friendship, jive, dialogues etc. We even saw an educational play about aids afterwards. It didn't fit to the long programme.



We also sang one traditional Finnish song and the African ladies danced on the rythm of that. I love that spirit of doing things together combining traditions feeling sisters no matter of your colour, position or anything else. All men are equal!

In that party also all of those whose story was printed in the book Tunne kieleni - tseba leleme la ka - know my language got their own book. It was a big thing for them! It could have been the first book for some to own. Our children have a whole bookshelf of books. Life just isn't fair.

Well, I miss all those children of Arethabeng and I will cherish those memories in my heart for the rest of my life!

The school year is over

It's time to say good bye for the Alakylä school in Lappeenranta. While it was Jonna's last year in grade school they all got roses. Viivi got the teddy bear from her teacher just to say good bye. Next year we'll be in Mikkola school all together once again. Mikkola school is a comprehensive school with grades 1 to 9 so even Jonna stays with us in the same school but she'll just be in upper grades and in subject teacher system. That will be a big change for her but she is very happy to get back to the old school with old friends. Normally the grades 7-9 are in different school buildings. My classroom will be next to Viivi's classroom. I don't know yet if it's a good or a bad thing :).

Anyway I'm very proud of our beautiful daughters. They came home with good reports and many good moments and experiences with their friends and teachers at school! They adapted to the new school well and became part of it in short time. In my opinion the best part of being one year in Alakylä school for our girls was excellent hand craft teaching. The skirt Jonna is wearing she made herself for example.

Happy summertime to all of you!

Camp school in Miehikkälä

Last week I was on a short two-day camp school with the fourth-graders of our school in Miehikkälä. There is a camp centrum owned by Lasten Kesä ry. It's an independent child protection organisation which duty is to organize vacational activities for children. Out of the vacation season school's can rent the place for their camp schools.
The place was very nice. On the right and on the left you can see the housing buildings and the white building on the background is for dining. The lake is behind the white building. Here the white building closer and the view from there on:

For Finns it's a necessity to have the camp on a lake. We just can't live without our lakes and any out door activities don't feel the same if there isn't a lake available. During the day children got to go rowing and fishing and in th evening it was time for swimming.



The best part of the lake this time was that we had a water and fish scientist with us (father of one of our pupils). So first children got to do seine fishing with our scientist and then it was time to examine our catch. It was interesting!


So what we got?

We got a water spider, crucian carp and lot's of small fish. Take a look at yourself!

Then it was time to examine the crucian carp. First you measure it's length then it's weight then you take the blood examble. The scientist father also opened the fish and showed all the intestines. Much more interesting than just studying out of book.





You can't have a camp school without makkara (sausages) either. I even ate two even tough we had been eating very well during the day. Well, you just can't count calories when you are around makkara.

All in all I had good time in Miehikkälä. I love being on a lake while I grew on a lake. I got to swim and I had makkara. Still I enjoyed our camp school in Ilomantsi last May more, well there is my home... (In that link there are 5 posts of camp school in Ilomantsi, just click the previous post in the margin)

This view is so Finnish and so beautiful to my eyes: birch on a waterside...

Arethabeng School

The best moments of our trip were at the Arethabeng School. I really enjoyed those moments and will treasure them in my heart. Arethabeng school is situated in Soshanguve, the township of Pretoria.





This is how the school look likes. It has two long buildings opposite each other were the class rooms are. In the middle of those buildings you see the shelter/roof under which the morning assemblies and other events that involve the whole school occurs. It's also a place were food is distributed for the poorest who have right for the free meal at school. On the other end of the school yard that is between the class room buildings is the administrational building and on the other end of the school yard there's a building wiht computer class and bathrooms. Outside of this complex there is still one building were the pre school and aid class are and a little library.


The school starts at 7 o'clock. first thing that happens then is cleaning. Children take brooms and sweepers and start wiping the dust away from the yard. Some has to do school patroling and others arrange classrooms for the days work. It was amazing how this all happened very independently without strict supervision and it all got to be done. Maybe they wanted to please us visitors but anyway that impressed me.

After the cleaning session the schhol gathered under the roof for the morning assembly. They do that every morning at the first quarter of the school year and after that only on Mondays and Fridays. The whole school assemblies every morning at the beginnig of the school year are important for the first graders who need to get into the school's habbits, songs etc. Music, sports, arts or handcrafts are not taught at school. All the songs they sing they learn at the assembly and all the dances they dance too. Sports and music can be taught at the clubs after school but they don't belong to the curriculum.

The assemblies were awesome! It could last from 15 minutes to half on our and children stood still the whole time. First they did some simple excersizes. Orders were given in English and the first graders learned that way some words of English. The language of the school is Northern Sotho but while it's a small language the school language changes into English gradually because there isn't any materials in Sotho. After excersizes it's time to sing and pray. Oh boy, those songs! I loved them! I even tried to learn one dance. Children laughed so probably I wasn't very good.

By the way those who don't have their school uniforms on have their birthday. It's the day when you get to were your normal clothes. The birthday girls and boys were asked to come forward every morning and then they were sang happy birthday. It was a nice tradition. I enjoyed those extra verses they had saying: How old are you now, how old are you now... (the whole school asked that), I am twelve years old now, I am twelve years old now... (the person had to answer her/his age) and She is twelve years old now, she is twelve years old now... And of course they now sing one verse in Finnish too.

One other song they learned to sing in Finnish is part of their national anthem. That part is called Nkosi sikelelel' iAfrika. It means God bless Africa. We have it in our hymn books on a name Kuule Isä Taivaan. It's a very popular children's hymn here in Finland. Every child in here knows it. That song was very important for the black while they were fighting against the Apartheid. Since from the year 1997 the national anthem of The South Africa has been the combination of the former apartheid time anthem and this Nkosi sikelel' iAfrica. It's sang in four different languages. South Africa has 11 official languages.


Well, here some pictures from the assembly:

As you can see some of the dances were rather living!

There are over 400 pupils (or learners, the way they call pupils in South Africa) in Arethabeng School. Many of them come from the unformal settlement areas living in shaks. The amount of pupils in one class varies from 40 to 80. Even the first grades are huge with 40 pupils and they start school at the age of six! It's hard to imagine how those teachers survive. Discipline has to be tight. Otherwise it just doesn't work. The children don't have school books. In stead they do their work on booklets. I wish we would have had more time to just observe the teaching there. I know we could have learned a lot! I learned to appreciate those teachers. It's easy to get good PISA results with such a good resources as we do have here in Finland. These teachers do excellent work with their loving hearts in conditions where I wouldn't survive as a teacher.

Here's the sixth grade with 80 learners (all don't even fit to the picture):

The other one of the first grades (40 learners all together):


This looks familiar. The only difference is that older pupils weren't allowed to use a carry (do you call "memory number" that in English - my dictionary said so).
On an English lesson.
Lunch time. The needy ones get a free meal at school, others eat their own sandwiches etc.
I hope you enjoyed my photographic tour to Arethabeng School. It's impossible to provide the real picture with the hot sun, smiling and interested leaners, relaxed athmosphere, loving and welcoming attitude towards us etc. I left a big part of my heart to Arethebeng!