Finnish teachers are eager to help kids learn outside the classroom. I have encountered this on several occasions during my short time here in Finland. Students go cross-country skiing for several kilometers in the woods. One teacher takes her class out to the forest near her school for 2 hours every week. The lesson will vary from math to Finnish language or science, but they make that commitment each and every week. Finland encourages environment-based education, and lessons can often be found taking place in natural settings, even the surrounding community.
Howard Gardner, the psychologist who is known for his theory of multiple intelligences, suggests another intelligence: the naturalistic intelligence. Similar to how one might describe “street smarts”, there are also “nature smarts”, in which one is able to notice patterns and make connections to elements in nature.
Are educators in Finland naturally developing this eighth intelligence by holding lessons outside the classroom walls, or by taking frequent trips to the local forests?
The local mountains, about 20 minutes from downtown Denver.
We have several great places in Colorado where students can interact with nature, and many are just 20 minutes from downtown Denver. I’ve tried to commit to taking my kids on these outdoor experiences every year, and each year I do, I am rewarded with thanks and happiness from my students- they always love it. They love being outside period, whether it is a field trip off of school grounds or right in our schoolyard. In the fall, I often took my students to a field behind our school, and daily students came to show me something they had discovered during their time outside. This 15 minutes of recharging, being outside, and having the chance to be kids set the tone for our next couple hours of lessons.
“There is no bad weather, just bad clothing.”
Finns are famous for the phrase “There is no bad weather [in Finland], just bad clothing.” If they waited for good weather to do things, they’d be waiting for a very long time. The cutoff for school kids to stay inside from their frequent breaks is -15°C/5°F. To give a comparison, the school I currently teach at sets the cutoff at -6°C/20°F.
When we looked outside at the weather for our field trip to Nuuksio National Park on Tuesday morning, it was about 4°C/40°F and sleeting. The forecast stated that we would encounter rain/snow throughout the day, with temperatures remaining around the same. I thought about this while sipping my coffee that morning; in the US, we would have likely cancelled our field trip with this forecast. Here in Finland, that was not even a consideration. So, I bundled up with my rain pants and jacket, put on my boots, and was ready to head out into the national park with twenty 5th graders from Lahtokasken koulu on this rainy Tuesday morning.
First notable difference: To get to Nuuksio, the teachers, students and I walked about 5 minutes from the school to board the city bus. We transferred at the main bus station in Espoo, and rode another bus that delivered us right at the entrance to the park. I felt a little “teacher stress” as I watched Marita and Anna, the 2 class teachers, frequently counting to make sure everyone was accounted for. There aren’t too many field trips I’ve take (okay, none) where we’ve been able to ride public transportation, but what a great experience that was for the students. Sitting with the general public, they were naturally expected to behave (most did), or suffer a direct stare (yes, this is serious) from one of the passengers.
When we arrived at Nuuksio, we first entered Haltia Nature Center, where we would meet Maria and Kaisa, our teachers for the day. We spent the first hour in the classroom, learning about the layout of the area, learning how to use a map and compass, and preparing food we would cook in the forest. After loading our packs with stoves, the food, maps, and compasses, we set off on the trail.
We walked a few kilometers (luckily the rain had let up), pausing along the way to check the map and determine our next direction. The students enjoyed the chance to “be kids”, some walking and talking with their friends, some running up and down the trail, and others exploring some of the side trails. They were expected to keep with the group, but also given the freedom to explore. I found this balance refreshing, and not once was I worried we would lose a kid.
A side note on trust and freedom
Students were given the freedom to wander at their own pace.
Kids respond to the trust and freedom they are given, and in my experience, most rise to the occasion. I have seen this time and time again in my own teaching, and am seeing it even more here. Giving students freedom to explore their learning paths is empowering, but giving valuable feedback is also necessary. I have seen teachers here “ignore” students who are not working (they are not really ignoring, but rather allowing the student to make their own learning decisions), only to later have a conversation with them about the decisions they made in class. I watched one amazing 3rd grade teacher handle an incident similar to this in his crafts class, and noticed the student rose up to the work that would lie ahead of her next class.
Camp cooking, Finnish style
Cooking sausages over the fire, “Finnish style”
About halfway through our walk, we stopped to cook lunch. As you now know, on camping trips Finns like to cook sausages over a fire, and the kids were eager to do just that.
After sausages, we got the camp stoves set up for cooking dessert. Each group had their own stove which they were in charge of lighting. With the stove, they cooked the dough and the apples to make their own “camp-style apple pies”. There was very little guidance from us adults (just when handling the alcohol for the stove), as most of the kids had cooked at home before. They were all very proud of their cooking and happily ate their apple pies. And yes, they were kind enough to share with me too.
When we returned from our walk, the students cleaned and washed all the supplies, and we had a few minutes to explore the Haltia Nature Center and photo exhibition, “Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards”, which captures funny wildlife shots. We all laughed our way through the exhibit.
Just a few of the hilarious animal photos
On the ride home, I reflected on a few thoughts I had throughout the day:
- It is okay not to have every minute of the day packed and planned for; sometimes you need to allow kids to just be kids
- How can we intentionally develop the naturalistic intelligence, especially in schools that don’t have easy access to the outdoors?
- There must be an emphasis in schools on developing skills, not just learning content. How can this be balanced in the US with meeting the demands of testing and accountability?
