What an experience
Pinch me – is this real? Over and over that question entered my mind as I set out for Helsinki, Finland for the HundrED Innovation Summit during the week of November 4th. It was an honor to be invited to participate in the summit. Lindsay Pinchbeck, Sweet Tree Arts founder and director of Sweetland School and member of the Maine Arts Leadership Initiative Design Team and I were selected as Ambassadors for the HundrED organization. I arrived early so I could take in as much as possible.
I’ve been asked dozens of questions about the trip so I’m writing a series of blog posts to share this amazing educational experience. In this post I share some of the “exploring” parts of the trip as well as the school visit.
BOSTON – REYKAVIK – COPENHAGEN – HELSINKI
Nicholas and I with my Danish family members
My son, Nicholas and I left Boston on Friday evening. We had a quick plane change in Iceland and flew on to Copenhagen, arriving mid-morning. I studied in Copenhagen during my junior year in college (MANY moons ago) and lived with a Danish family. My Danish mother, now 87 years old, met us for lunch with some of the family. It was such a treat to see them and have Nicholas meet them! Afterwards we started walking through Copenhagen along the Strøget – the pedestrian, car free shopping area, down to the 17th-century waterfront – Nyhavn, and to visit the bronze statute, the Little Mermaid sitting at the waters edge, created by Edvard Eriksen. We found a lovely spot outside to eat – most of the restaurants have outdoor heaters – pretty much ignoring the cold and damp air.
Nyhavn
We stayed one night and boarded the plane the next afternoon for Helsinki. We stayed in an Airbnb that was located in a short walking distance to almost everywhere we needed to be. I was happy to have Nicholas along since he has traveled extensively with his back pack. He had done some research and we were out and about the next day learning about the history and cultural opportunities. We stopped at two beautiful churches, very different from each other. The Uspenski Cathedral which originally was Russian Orthodox and is now Finnish Orthodox. It sits high on a hill overlooking the city and makes the brick facade look monumental. The second, a Lutheran church – delightfully elegant with hundreds of steps leading up to the entrance. Inside we found simple, clean curved lines and strong columns. On our way out we met the Boys Choir Director and learned that the 500 member choir representing ages 15-25 has performed throughout the world. I had to imagine their sound in the church that seats 1,200. I was told that the Finnish were serious people but if you asked them a question they were warm and wonderfully helpful. I found that advise to be very accurate so I didn’t hesitate talking to people to learn as much as possible.
Paavo Johannes Nurmi was a Finnish middle-distance and long-distance runner. He was nicknamed the “Flying Finn” as he dominated distance running in the early 20th century. This statue is outside the Olympic stadium.
As we continued walking we passed the presidential palace, historical monuments, the outdoor markets, and stopped at the amazing Helsinki Music Centre (just 7 years old). On to the site of the 1952 summer Olympics where they are refurbishing the well used stadium, tracks and other venues. We were wowed at the sculpture that honors the
Finnish composer and violinist Jean Sibelius (8 December 1865 – 20 September 1957). Even though Sibelius created little music for organs the piece is made to look like stylized organ pipes. It consists of 600 hollow steel pipes welding together. Visiting the piece as the day light disappeared made it all the more dramatic.
The late afternoon was chilly and damp, and the sky was grey so we headed for a delightful small cabin called Cafe Regatta. Located just next to the water it was originally built to hold the Paulig family’s fishnets. In 2002 it became a cafe and it may have been chilly outside but the wood stove warmed up the inside and the hot chocolate was a wonderful helper. We actually sat outside by the fire pit as the sun set. We imagined what it must be like sitting outside during the summer watching the boats on a lazy afternoon.
Interestingly enough Helsinki is a city of about 631,695 (2016) and Copenhagen (2017) has about 602,481. Helsinki has a Design District, several amazing museums, lots of shopping, and great little restaurants. Later in the week, Lindsay and I visited the Ateneum Art Museum with new artists and many well preserved older works as well. The place was packed – the Finnish out and about enjoying their Saturday. We stumbled upon the open studio where everyone was invited to create styrofoam prints. Young and old mixed in and all seriously focused. We had a delightful meal at the museum which included the best salmon chowder I’ve ever had! We visited a great little stationery store and were directed to a wonderful fabric store called Eurokangas where we bought some Marimekko fabric. It is beautiful!
JUMPED RIGHT IN
I was invited to the HundrED Master Class where we had the chance to hear from amazing educators from India, New Zealand, California, and Arizona. Fascinating conversations over a delicious lunch of reindeer with educators from Australia, Hawaii, Brazil, New Zealand and Helsinki! I was so humbled. Their stories were amazing – everyone was abuzz sharing ideas and their passion for making a difference with their innovations. The class was held at Supercell which is one of the sponsors of HundrED. We entered an amazing space where we took off our shoes and stashed our coats. It oozed with imagination and prompted everyone to connect!
SCHOOL VISIT
I had a choice of visiting several different schools and chose one that had a focus on visual arts, digital arts, and Chinese. Meilahti Comprehensive School: ages 13-15, grades 7-9, 468 students, 45 teachers, 9 other staff. The 7th graders are grouped by interest and in grades 8 and 9 students select from a variety of options to focus. For example, an 8th grader can focus 7 of their periods per week in visual arts or music. The principal was a gracious host, sharing and answering our questions and was very well connected to the students.
Meilahti Comprehensive School music class
In addition to Finnish, 6 other languages are offered. Everywhere we went in Helsinki everyone spoke English very well. There are 24 different nationalities and languages represented in the school and homes. The school focus was on the success of each student with this years emphasis on Positive Interaction. Grade 7: Cultural, interaction and self-expression, grade 8: Managing daily life and taking care of oneself, and grade 9: working life and active citizenship. They follow a national curriculum but there is a ton of freedom so the teachers can determine how to deliver the curriculum and how much they focus on what. Teachers are trusted and supported to offer the best learning for students. In turn their empowerment encourages student empowerment. In Finland teaching is well respected and it is competitive to get a job teaching.
The school visit was definitely a highlight of the trip. Tomorrow’s blog post will be written by Lindsay where she’ll provide her reflections on the trip. And, the the post after that will dive into the actual summit.
Art work on display at Meilahti Comprehensive School
What happens when you bring together arts teachers, teaching artists, and arts leaders who are committed to arts education? An opportunity for all to learn at a very high level. On October 13 and November 13 – both rainy days and one a little snowy – educators traveled from all parts of the state for the Maine Arts Leadership Initiative (MALI) Critical Friend Days.
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