I decided to skip a long journal of Day 6 because it was another long day of orientations and "learning how to adapt" to different cultures (which I've already covered in other posts and I've already learned two times during my Pre-pre orientation in SF and Pre-orientation in Washington!)
But one interesting place we did visit was the Flea Market in downtown Helsinki. Rikka (the Finland orientation coordinator) gave us each 2 euros to purchase something distinctly Finnish from the flea market. After browsing dozens of stalls filled with sunglasses and trinkets and scarves, I found the perfect item- a Finnish children's book, Ollin hiihtoretki. I asked the lady at the booth to find a book that was quintessentially Finnish, one that every Finnish had read as a child, and she handed me the Ollin hiihtorteki book. Once we trekked back to the YFU Finland national office, several YFU workers commented on how I had found a "treasure," and how it was now extremely rare to find an original copy :') Yay!
Anyways, on Day 7, a Tuesday (June 10, 2014), all 12 of us were so honored to be able to speak with the Finnish Ministry of Education, and hopefully understand the nuances of Finland's educational success! We were ushered into a beautiful board room, with marble floors and walls and chandeliers, and waited patiently for the Permanent Secretary to arrive. I was armed with questions to ask her, and was so excited to gain more insight.
The Permanent Secretary was so eloquent and graceful! After her speech and the question and answer session, there were several things I took away.
1) Just like in America, there is a drastic disparity between the academic performance of Finnish students and immigrant students. There is a prominent Somalian population in Finland due to the influx of refugees throughout the late 20th and early 21st century. I was amazed by how much this statistic parallels America's, where minority students such as Hispanic and African American students consistently underperform in comparison to Asian and Caucasian students.
2) There is great controversy in Finnish domestic policy over whether or not to implement a tuition based system for non-Finnish citizens who are studying in Finnish high schools or universities. Advocates for tuition argue that it is unjust for immigrants to receive a free education in Finland and then move back to their home country without helping to increase Finland's productivity. Critics of tuition argue that once a price is placed on education, costs will keep on rising and rising until free education will become a thing of the past.
3) The catalyst for Finland's rise to the top was during World War II, when Russians had badly beaten Finland during a tedious and costly war. Due to Finland's primarily agrarian society in the 1940s, it was very difficult to fend off countries with more sophisticated technology than them. Therefore, Finland began establishing education as a fundamental cornerstone in society, elevating its importance and ramping up quality of education.
4) What is Finland's secret weapon? A combination of high teacher quality, mutual trust (between the government and teachers, and teachers and students), emphasis on learning over test-taking (teachers did not even prepare their students for the PISA 2012 test, which is an international academic test that compares 15 year old students from 35 different countries), low-stress environment, the inherently Finnish mindset of humility and modesty, and the notion of equality (that every student has right to an education and the right to learn, thus the standardized curriculum to make sure no students are victims of inequality.)
Also branching off the topic of equality, there are no "accelerated" learning environments in the Finnish classroom. All students learn together, there are no "advanced" students, or "slower" students.
5) It is nearly impossible to simply transplant Finland's education system to other countries in the world, due to the completely different cultural contexts within various countries. Furthermore, Finland's small size and nearly homogeneous demographics make it a lot easier to standardize the curriculum.
Ministry of Education! Group photo with Permanent Secretary.
With the Permanent Secretary! What an honor to meet her.
After exiting the Ministry, we got on the Metro to Cafe Ursula, a gorgeous little restaurant on the shoreline. I ordered fish, but I'm not too sure what its name is in English. In the corner, you can see the potatoes which are so prominent in Finnish cuisine!
Such a delicious lunch!
After lunch!
Near Cafe Ursula, on the shoreline. It reminds me a bit of Monterey.
After lunch, we walked to the American embassy in Helsinki. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures, so I don't have any good photos of the embassy (I sneaked some in!).
Interesting rainbow light in the embassy.
Outside of the embassy- looks formidable!
On the balcony of the embassy.
The presentations by the embassy officials only confirmed and solidified my aspiration to become a diplomat! I already knew some of the issues they addressed, such as the difference between an ambassador who is a "political appointee" and an ambassador who is a career diplomat and what the purpose of an embassy is.
I asked them many questions because I wanted to take advantage of the fact that these diplomats probably knew most about the process of entering the American Foreign Service. Apparently, the Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT) is comprised of a written component (essays and multiple choice questions) and an oral component (with individual interviews, group interviews, etc). Even if one passes both these tests, there is still no guarantee that one will be admitted into the Foreign Service.
All three officers that we talked to had such rich and diverse experiences, which inspired me so much. One of them worked in Afghanistan before working on Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice's planning team, and is now a senior consular official at the embassy. Another worked in the Philippines and Ethiopia on sustainable developmental practices before becoming a Political and Economic Officer at the American embassy in Helsinki.
P.S. Interesting fact: Countries are ranked in order of desirability, and the rankings take into consideration conflict within the country, GDP, literacy rates, mortality rates, security levels, pollution levels, and various other criteria. Diplomats posted to less desirable and conflict ridden countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq are paid much, much more than there counterparts in France, Austria, and Belgium. However, the job is so much more dangerous, stressful, and chaotic.
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