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Showing posts with the label Nature

Leaving Finland

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Lake Jyvasjarvi I have never lived anywhere for 5 months other than Jyvaskyla, Finland. As my Fulbright journey concludes, there is so much to still digest. It will take months, if not years, to truly assimilate all the learning. Before I left Southern California, I wrote about the what I would miss the most from home and what I  looked forward to experiencing in Finland. It is safe to say I met my goals. Top 7 Goals 1. Discussing Education Helsinki Workshop Through professional development programs, Fulbright Finland connected teachers with scholars and researchers, for the purpose of putting inquisitive minds together. The Making Democracies Resilient to Modern Threats seminar provided participants with fascinating research and presentations. 2. Nordic Model Bus station in Espoo What does an efficient and earnest country look like?  It looks like Finland. Yes, people pay higher taxes, but get so much in return. I for one appreciated the well-main...
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A Castle, a Fulbrighter, and Funny Questions

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Part of being a Fulbrighter is that you get to   join a network of scholars, teachers, professionals, students, and artists. Fortunately for me, I met two dynamic Finnish teachers in Washington DC, the summer before my trip. This allowed me the possibility to visit their schools, much in the same way they did when they were in the United States. The world traveler, Emilia  My visit to Ahveniston Koulu in Hameenlinna, was truly a treat. Emilia is an English teacher and travel blogger, and has maintained her own blog about her Fulbright experience at Emilia-ontheroad.com . In many school visits, I do a general presentation about California, and then have a Q and A period afterwards. Many Finnish students are shy, and at first, I thought I was bombing my presentations. Teachers assured me that if the students were quiet it meant they were engaged. Presentation Visit  https://www.dropbox.com/s/8cfsq4xhl81gnx5/california.pdf?dl=0 for the presentation. ...
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Supporting Nature in Schools, Part 1

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Sara Kall, Nature School Teacher, Villa Elba Youth Center One of the goals of my Fulbright project was not only to examine how Finnish schools incorporate break time into their schedules, but how much of that time is spent outdoors. How do kids know what to do outdoors? Do the teachers follow them around? Do kids have to be strictly supervised? Is there a difference between the activities of boys vs. girls? To that end, my goal here in Finland has been not only to observe schools, but also nature organizations that might support outdoor learning and experiences. I hit the lottery with the help of nature school teacher Maria Svens, who I reached out to before I even arrived in the country. Her article about the Finnish Outdoor Classroom gave me an overview of how organizations can support schools in teaching students about nature. Maria then connected me with Sara Kall from the Villa Elba Youth Center in Kokkola, Finland where I was fortunate to be able to spend tw...
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