Human Scale Practices
“Teaching isn’t about paper and pencils: teaching is about relationships.” Ron Berger.
A major part of our journey as a school, and our visit to Scandanavia, is the search for ways to make our community Human Scale. Any structures, protocols, artefacts or simply behaviours that we note which align with the mission to respect and acknowledge the individual and harvest the intrinsic motivation created by such a sense of belonging, ownership and community membership…in a word, engagement.
Learning in Northern Europe 
Mike Davies opening he visit by referring to the “restless irritation” which typifies our collective mission. Great to have Lene with us as a consultant investigating educational futures. And massive thanks to Petri for driving 300 km to be with us and show us Finland S a “teachers’ wonderland”.
Exciting start!
May 26, 2013 at 3:28 pm
MMHS, according to Mike, on a consistent “long-burning” developmental journey.
Yep!
May 26, 2013 at 3:30 pm
Great introduction to Finnish system by Petri.
Exams (min 4) at 18. Return to education free for 8 years.
Every school creates then own curriculum.
All teachers have Masters degrees. Primary ed degrees fiercely fought for: 1000 applicants per lace…. Mayors, doctors, teachers then priests in the social order…
May 26, 2013 at 4:21 pm
Vikki School assembly was interesting in terms of Human Scale. Indeed, in this respect, it may have been the best 15 minutes of the day! Here’s how it went:
elt quiet and understated. Colours muted: more like a university than a school. Perhaps also cultural: US tend to speak more loudly than UK and UK may speak more loudly than Finnish. Also density of learners might be a factor: last week of term so many are out. Very informal entry to assembly with music playing. Again, a university-like lecture theatre rather than a hall. No uniform. Pure eye contact from teacher taking assembly to ask for quiet before starting. Impressive. Learners speaking in response to teacher’s question. Some continued: shushed by others then silence again. Teacher amplified. Teacher informally dressed, in jeans and a top. Spontaneous applause for learners who came out to the front. Teacher then gave each of the girls a flower and an embrace. Very warm, very calm.
Then a seamless transition into a hip-hop dance performance by three older girls. Then into a seamless musical outro for the exit.
A great Human Scale ethos to his event. A bit marvellous really.
May 27, 2013 at 2:16 pm
Koulo is a primary school where approximately 4 adults (2 teachers, 1 SEN teacher and one TA) lead 50 pupils. They keep with the same group of learners across several years and staff collaborate closely to plan learning and they determine the extent of thematic and subject approaches. How can this model be adapted for secondary schools?
May 27, 2013 at 10:11 pm
Put two classes together: two teachers, two TAs, four adults.
May 27, 2013 at 10:50 pm
Kasavuori School had put in a lot of time and thinking to create their teams. Perhaps what we don’t appreciate is the constraints they have. For example a teacher of Finnish only has to work 17 hours to be paid the same as a teacher of Biology who has to work 23 hours per week, we were told. The way that subject knowledge is held in such high regard is another obstacle to effective collaborative teamwork. It suggests that the school is willing to overcome such structural and cultural barriers; they mean it! The teachers we spoke to acknowledged that one project a year of a few days was not enough and they clearly want to do more. There was a suggestion that teachers were informally collaborating as a way of keeping their ideas on the table.
May 30, 2013 at 5:23 am