Sunday, December 14, 2008

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Another year has passed.

In January and February we visited Finland Village to play in the snow and


to go skiing.


March brings spring light and occasinally the kids sit down and read in peace and quiet - honestly.


April is hanami season and the whole Tokyo blossoms in pink.


In May the school year is almost over.


Summer vacation starts in June and Linnamäki amusement park is a must!


In July we enjoyed sunny days in a rented apartment in Helsinki.


In August Samuli stays one or two weeks in Finland while working at the head office .


In September we are back in Tokyo - but Disneyland is not as much fun as Linnanmäki...


October ends with Halloween!


Eating outside is still possible in November.


December always goes by preparing for Christmas and New Year holidays.



Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our friends!

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Ahdas paikka - Low ceiling


Olen kyllä tottunut siihen, että kolautan pääni ovenkarmeihin tai metron kädensijoihin, mutta tämä vessa oli hieman ahdas...


I am used to hitting my head on doorframes or handrails in subways, but the ceiling on this toilet was really low...


Samuli

Sunday, December 07, 2008

Highly recommended: "The power of Finnish education"

Riikka's book has been well received in Japan. Finnish Chamber of Commerce and Finnish Tourist Board both recommend it. (To my understanding with the same text, in English and in Japanese).

The secret of the book might be that it was written
- by a Japanese journalist
- from a Japanese point of you
- based on Riikka's "insider information" from the system

Now we also know a bit more about what is in the book, as we received the table of contents in English (see below).

ROSA


The Power of Finnish Education

Contents

Introduction 3

Ch. 1 PISA rated world No.1 in scholarship 15

Why world no.1 in scholarship? 16
Highly qualified teachers promote scholarship 19
The Finnish Education System 28


Ch. 2 The development of excellent teachers 31

Why I became a teacher 32
One-year experience before entering the Department of Education 37
Nurturing highly qualified teachers at the Department of Education 43
From group education to individualised education 49


Ch. 3 Teaching children in ways that they easily understand 53

My first time as home room teacher – of 33 students! 54
Smooth Start to get to know new students 59
Student grouping and flexible scheduling 63
Why mathematics is necessary 70
Pre-graders thoroughly study Finnish 74
Arts and crafts are very popular with children 79
How to teach history 81
Openness to parents is fundamental 82
Children deciding classroom rules 84
The difference between good teachers and not-so-good teachers 87


Ch. 4 Effective on-site support system 93

My image of an ideal teacher 94
School responsibility and parental responsibility 97
Parents’ day questionnaire 102
The support team strongly supports teachers and students 106
What is Special Education? 113
Standards of child evaluation 117
How to deal with children’s problems 120
Taking care of a slow learner 124
How to deal with children who don’t speak 127
A support team result 130


Ch. 5 Teachers must be multi-talented 133

Summer holiday without homework 134
Reusing textbooks 137
Homework is children’s work 139
How to deal with children’s questions 143
The shock of 9-11 148
What we teach in Religion classes 152
Are field trips a nightmare for teachers? 154
Dog owners are good at raising children 159
Children’s problems create monster parents 164
There is no school in the world that doesn’t have bullying 168
Girls bullying is difficult to deal with 172
Nurture pride to overcome bullying 176


Ch. 6 What I felt living in Japan 181

Visiting Japanese elementary school 182
Busy, but a little lonely, Tokyo life 184
Japan – observations of a mysterious country 188
A miracle that Japanese school bestowed on my son 191
I am my children’s Finnish teacher 195
The future of Finnish education 197
A socially supported education system 201

Endword 204

Friday, November 28, 2008

Stop AIDS, but how...


I saw this add on the subway today, and wondered what it says:

"Stop AIDS - Blow dry your hair before using subway?"

Not exactly, but that's what the picture looks like...

Find out more, in Japanese

Samuli

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Lounas terassilla ja päivä kaupungilla

Syksy on parasta aikaa Tokiossa. Ilma on kuulas ja kuiva. Illat ja yöt alkavat olla viileitä - marraskuu Tokiossa on hieman kuin syyskuu Suomessa.

Eilen nautimme aurinkoisesta syyspäivästä ja söimme lounaan ulkona terassilla,

kävelimme japanilaisella kauppakadulla,


tapasimme myös Joulupukin
(joka väitti tulevansa Pohjoisnavalta ja puhui vain englantia - siis valepukki!),

Aura tapasi Hello Kittyn,

löysimme paljon suomalaista tavaraa,

ja nautimme kaupunkinäkymistä illan pimennyttyä.

Valitettavasti Oskari haihtui savuna ilmaan!

Friday, November 21, 2008

The Power of Finnish Education - フィンランドの教育力


The Power of Finnish Education is the title of Riikka's new book about Finnish school system, and about her own experiences as a student and teacher. It was published today. It is written from a Japanese point of view by a Japanese journalist based on tens of hours of interviews with Riikka.

One of the chapters is called "Summer holiday without homework" which is something that surprises the Japanese. Not to mention that summer holiday in Finland is 10 weeks...

ROSA


Riikan uusi kirja julkaistiin tänään. Siinä hän tarjoaa sisäpiirin näkemyksen opettajana ja äitinä syihin miksi suomalaisen opetuksen taso on maailman huippua. Kirja on kirjoitettu suoraan japaniksi Riikan haastatteluiden pohjalta.

Yksi luvuista on nimeltään "Kesäloma ilman läksyjä", mikä jaksaa ihmetyttää japanilaisia, puhumattakaan siitä, että kesäloma on 10 viikon mittainen...

ROSA


フィンランドの教育力

OECD学力調査(PISA)で世界一を誇るフィンランド。彼らはなぜ学力が高いのか。その理由を、フィンランドの小学校教師で二児の母である著者が語る。「宿題なし」「落ちこぼれなし」は本当なの? 家でのしつけは? 日本の家庭でできるアイデア満載。


【著者プロフィール】
フィンランドの首都ヘルシンキの小学校教諭。1995~2005年まで小学校で教壇に立つ。夫の赴任により一時的に東京に在住。一男一女の母でもある。著書に『たのしい算数 たし算ひき算』(学研)がある。

ROSA

Sunday, November 09, 2008

Syksy saapui


Lisää uskomattomia mielipiteitä

Hokkaidon Opettajien Ammattiyhdistys neuvoo opettajia olemaan osallistumatta Opetuslautakunnan järjestämiin seminaareihin englannin opettamisesta.

Opetusministeriön päätöksellä ala-asteilla aloitetaan pakollinen englanninopetus vuonna 2011.

Mutta Hokkaidon opettajien ammattiliitto neuvoo opettajia olemaan valmistautumatta tähän, koska "It's not necessary to attend the seminars because the national debate on primary school English education is insufficient."

Daily Yomiuri 9.11.2008

Pikemminkin olisi erittäin suotavaa osallistua koulutuksiin, koska It would be necessary to attend the seminars because the level of primary school English education is insufficient.

Friday, November 07, 2008

Sauna world record

was made in Japan this week when

"International students from 57 countries and territories at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Oita Prefecture on Wednesday took a sauna together, breaking the world record for the number of people with different nationalities in a sauna at the same time." (See link)

Amazing. They did it in a sauna that fits 15 people.

The students of Otaniemi should be able to break this record in Rantasauna.

Samuli

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

At a baseball game

We went to see a baseball game at Tokyo Dome this Sunday with Oskari.


It was the second game of the final series and the dome was full (and noisy).


The game was quite nice, but long and slow.


Eventually we had to leave before the game ended, and we did not see the 9th inning and the game winning homerun.



We support Seibu Lions, because their uniform looks same as the Finnish national hockey team, Finnish Lions.

Our team lost, but it was fun anyway.

Oskari and Samuli

Sunday, November 02, 2008

Uskomattomia mielipiteitä

Japanin ilmavoimien komentaja erotettiin, koska hän julkaisi artikkelin, jossa väitti että Japani ei käyttäytynyt agressiivisesti toisessa maailmansodassa.

Historiankirjoittajat ovat yleisesti sitä mieltä, että Japani käyttäytyi erittäin agressiivisesti. Japanin hallitus on ainakin osittain myöntänyt historian, ja erotti ilmavoimien komentajan.

Mutta voi vain arvailla mikä on yleinen japanilaisten mielipide, kun koulukirjoja sensuroidaan vielä nykyäänkin.

Ei ihme, että Japanin ulkopoliittiset suhteet naapureihin ovat yhä tulehtuneet.

Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween!

We went trick-or-treating with friends,


everybody was all dressed up,


even the pizza delivery guy!

Crowds at Disneyland

Last Monday, October 27, we went to Disneyland - unfortunately we were not the only ones...


Our children had vacation from the school and we thought there would not be too many people on a normal weekday.


How wrong we were!


It was almost Halloween...


...and the line to haunted house was 2 hours 40 minutes!!!


For Winnie the Pooh's house 2 hours 30 minutes!!!


And for Buzz Lightyear 2 hours 10 minutes
(about 2 hours before the park closed...)


We did our best avoiding the crowds and it was an enjoyable day after all. The decorations and parades were wonderful!


Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Riikka's book on the front page of Daily Yomiuri

Yesterday Riikka's book was featured in the front page of Daily Yomiuri. Last week the original story was published in Japanese.

National News

Finnish math

A former teacher from Finland publishes an arithmetic drill book for Japanese children, containing techniques used at schools in the country that has been ranked top in the world. Page 3


Finnish teacher writes math book for Japanese kids

Akiko Yoshinaga / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

Riikka Pahkala, a former primary school teacher in Finland, recently published an arithmetic drill book for Japanese children in the lower grades of primary school.

The book contains techniques commonly used for teaching arithmetic in Finland, which has been ranked top in the world in the Program for International Student Assessment that is compiled every three years for 15-year-olds by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development since 2000.

"Rikka-sensei no Tanoshii Sansu--Tashizan, Hikizan" (Ms. Riikka's Enjoyable Arithmetic--Addition and Subtraction) contains basic arithmetic taught in the first to the third grades in Japanese primary schools, including addition and subtraction from zero to 100, how to compare the size of figures and how to distinguish even and odd numbers.

The book aims to entertain as it educates. For example, one practice exercise suggests children collect 100 1 yen coins, grains of rice or pieces of candy to concretely grasp the concept of the number. It is illustrated by a popular Finnish artist.

The goal is for children to understand arithmetic as it relates to real life. One question asks: You are planning a party for 10 people, but you have only seven cups and six pieces of cake. How many cups and pieces of cake are you short? Another question is: There are 15 toy cars at a toy shop. If you buy six toy cars as gifts for your friends, how many cars will be left in the shop?

According to the 2006 PISA survey, Finland was ranked second in applied mathematical skills (Japan was ranked 10th); was top in applied science skills (Japan was 6th); and second in reading (Japan was 15th).

Pahkala, 39, taught for 10 years at a primary school in Finland and obtained a license for special needs education from Helsinki University. Since her husband was transferred to Japan three years ago, she has been living here with her son, 11, and daughter, 6, and sometimes holds lectures and writes about Finnish education.

When Pahkala was a teacher, she held supplementary after-school classes for students who had trouble keeping up with the rest of the class and she checked their progress through e-mail with their parents. In teaching arithmetic, she says she tries to connect it with children's daily life.

"When I taught what a unit is, I showed my students by measuring a liter of juice in the classroom to show them the actual amount of one liter," she said. "It's important for kids in lower grades to get a concrete grasp of figures."

She recommends using the drill book to review what is taught in class. "I want them to gradually gain a good grasp of arithmetic," she said.

Pahkala is scheduled to give lecture at a primary school in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, on Nov. 7, and plans to exchange ideas with Japanese teachers afterward. "I'd like to learn more about classroom education in Japan," she said.

The book, published by Gakken Co., is available at bookstores or Amazon.co.jp for 1,365 yen including tax.

(Oct. 27, 2008)

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Oskari on the loose

Oskari got a bit wild this weekend, see his blog for his adventures.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Learning Japanese - Opi Japania

I friend of mine introduced me to a cool tool to learn Japanese - iKnow! They call themself an intelligent social learning platform - and really seem to be such!

Go check the iKnow demo



This recent article about iKnow has a bit more information about them.

Originally the tool was designed to teach English to the Japanese people, and that market potential is huge!

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Riikka's book featured at Yomiuri Shimbun

Today Riikka's book was featured in Yomiuri Shimbun. We haven't seen the actual paper yet, but below is the article as it was in the web (available only in Japanese at this point). (28.10. Now available also in English)

フィンランド式算数本

フィンランドの小学校教師だったリッカ・パッカラさん(39)(港区南麻布)が、日本の小学校低学年向けの算数ドリルを執筆した。経済協力開発機構(OECD)の国際学習到達度調査(PISA)で、世界トップクラスを維持している同国の算数教育のヒントも入っている。「算数は生活に役立つ」と実感させる1冊だ。(吉永亜希子)

 ドリルのタイトルは、「リッカ先生のたのしい算数 たし算ひき算」。0から100までの足し算、引き算や数の大きさを比べる方法、偶数、奇数の見分け方など日本の小1~3年程度の内容を学べる。足して10になる数字を「仲良し組」として覚えるというアドバイスや、「100」の数字を実感するために1円玉や米粒、あめ玉を集めてみようという練習問題もあり、親子で楽しみながら取り組んでもらう狙い。フィンランドの人気画家の挿絵も豊富だ。
長女ラウラちゃん(右)にドリルの説明をするリッカさん

 友達10人でパーティーをするのにコップが7個、ケーキが6個しかない場面を挙げて「足りないのはいくつ?」という問題や、「おもちゃ屋さんに車が15台あり、うち6台を友達のプレゼントに買うと、お店に残るのはいくつ?」という問いかけなど、算数を現実の生活に即して理解させようとしている。

 フィンランドは2006年の同調査で、「数学的応用力」が2位(日本は10位)、「科学的応用力」が1位(同6位)、「読解力」が2位(同15位)だった。パッカラさんは10年間、小学校の教壇に立ち、ヘルシンキ大で特別支援教育の免許も取得した。3年前、日本に転勤となった夫と長男(11)、長女(6)とともに来日。母国の教育についての講演や執筆活動をこなしている。

 教師時代、わからないという児童がいれば放課後に補習をし、保護者とメールで子どもの理解度を確認し合った。算数では日常生活と結びつけた指導を重視していたという。「単位を教える時、1リットルがどれくらいの量か、実際に教室でジュースをはかって見せた。低学年では具体的に数を感じることが大切ね」

 学校で学んだことの復習教材としてドリルを使うことを勧め、「ゆっくり着実に身につけて」と話している。

 「リッカ先生のたのしい算数 たし算ひき算」、学研から出版され、AB判128ページ、税込み1365円。書店で購入できる。11月7日には福島県郡山市の小学校で講義をする予定で、「日本の教育現場も知りたい」と日本人教師との交流に期待している。

(2008年10月18日 読売新聞)