ERASMUS+ IN SEINÄJOKI, FINLAND
Josep Joan Ramos - Ins Jaume Callís
JOB-SHADOWING
Monday, Nov 1, 2021, 10:00 AM
Seinäjoki, Finland
DAY 1. MONDAY 1st
We departed from Barcelona at 10am and once we arrived at our destination, we had troubles to find parking. Although it was sunny when we arrived at Finland, the sun set early. We had dinner in a shopping center and then we went to the hotel.
DAY 2. TUESDAY 2nd
Sanna was in charge of showing us around. She was very helpful and she came to the hotel to give us a lift to the highschool. The first lesson I witnessed was about health education, in which we watched a video about nutrition.
Due to the cold weather, they hardly ever go outdoors. That's why inside the highschool there are a lot of games for entertainment such as table tennis and table football. There is also a space to rest where students can find sofas and benches. I noticed that in general people were very calm and silent.
In the hallways I saw myriad of shoes in front of the class doors. I learned that Primary students take off their shoes before entering their classes. We visited different workshops where children experiment with wood, fabric and metals. In the afternoon we went to the library.
When I was talking to Sanna, two ninth-graders knocked the door and I learnt that in Finnish they say "koputa" instead of "knock-knock". Afterwards, Jordi and I went to an artificial mountain with Sanna and her two children.
DAY 3. WEDNESDAY 3rd
In the first lesson we explained our Christmas traditions. The students had never heard anything related to "tió". After that, we sang a Christmas song: el noi de la mare.
Anni was the music teacher and they started the class with a modern song. Everyone could choose one instrument. There were pianos, ukeleles, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, a bass and drums. The teacher played the piano and two people sang a song.
In the afternoon, we were in Sanna's class. We had a very interesting conversation with the students about the conflict between Catalonia and Spain. We explained again the Christmas traditions we follow in Catalonia and we sang a Christmas song.
DAY 4. THURSDAY 4th
The classes usually consisted of 15 students. They started the lesson with a song that lasted five minutes and then the head-teacher communicated something through the speakers. In the second hour they did maths. The students didn't have homework.
In the noon, they had a subject about Finnish language and the teacher showed the teenagers different ways to start a novel.
DAY 5. FRIDAY 5th
The first lesson of the day for the 7th graders was History. During that class, students participated in a Kahoot and they created a mural. At 12:15am, we went to a 9th graders class. They were doing Maths and I noticed that they weren't interested about the topic because they weren't paying attention to the lesson.
DAY 6. SATURDAY 6th
On Saturday we catched a train to Helsinki to do a little bit of sightseeing. I was impressed by the Oodi library, which is the central library of Helsinki. We hadn't seen sunlight since Monday, so it was a relief to see the sun.