The town of Iisalmi in Finland
Iisalmi is a town of about 21,600 inhabitants in central Finland. The nearest larger town is Kuopio. There is a city centre with several essential shops and cafés, restaurants, sports clubs, particularly an ice hockey club, swimming pools, and various other facilities.
It offers a lot of opportunities for outdoor activities, such as skiing, ice-skating, hiking, mountain-biking and swimming in one of the beautiful lakes.
-The school called Juhani Ahon koulu
Juhani Aho school is a middle school for 7th to 9th graders of about 700 students between the age of 13 and 16 years. In the neighbourhood of the middle school, located in the centre of Iisalmi, you can find, among others, the Iisalmi Lyseo (high school), the Iisalmi new church and the Iisalmi cultural center. The school offers a wide range of subjects and activities to its students.
- What struck us (Mrs Naujoks and Mr Steinrücken) about Juhani Aho school?
We were surprised to see a lot of modern technology at school and a transparent digital marking system that is directly visible for parents. Moreover, the teachers’ room provides very comfy couches and rocking chairs. These are pleasant features that we would appreciate to have at our school as well. The atmosphere was truly welcoming. Teachers and students alike seemed friendly, open, outgoing, easily addressing us and talkative. Our hosts cared for us in a fabulous way, so that we really felt at home right from the beginning. What seemed especially remarkable to us was the fact that special career counsellors and assistance teachers took great care of the students’ individual needs.
- How does school life in Iisalmi / Finland differ from school life in Germany? What did you learn about the Finnish school life during your job shadowing?
At first glance, school days start and end later than in Germany. Students are even provided with a free lunch in the school cafeteria. Wearing house shoes, addressing everyone by their first names, posters on the walls in corridors and personal items in the various classrooms add to the cozy atmosphere. In some classes teachers receive additional aid by different kinds of assistant teachers, so that they can be more focused on the lesson itself. Students with special needs are supported more intensively than in Germany. The working materials, for instance books, are mostly well designed, modern, and numerous additional materials for ready use are provided by the publishers.
- Is there something about Finland, that surprised you?
We were surprised to see countless charging stations for cars on parking lots and to meet talkative and open persons even in touristic places. In addition to that, an even more elaborate way of separating waste than in Germany, more digital services in everyday life, good connections via public transport even to remote places struck us as outstanding achievements. Last but not least, restaurants and take-aways seemed quite pricy to us.
- Finnish words we learned during our visit
Well, since we almost hadn’t known any Finnish words prior to this visit, every word that we got to know was new to us. So, let’s say that we learned Kitos and Moj. When it comes to numbers, we managed yksi and kaksi ;-)
- How will the cooperation between your school and Juhani Aho school continue?
At first, the two groups of students will get to know each other in a Padlet which has been put online, and eventually by digital meetings (eTwinning). Together we will set up the programme for the visit of the Finnish students in Germany in March 2023, and vice versa for our visit to Iisalmi in May 2023. Consequently, we try to make sure that our programme matches with individual interests of our two groups. Subsequently, students for next year’s visit will be enrolled so that we can start planning the visits earlier. Hopefully, the programme will continue to be supported by the Erasmus+ programme, whose funding is provided by the European Union.
Bilder/ Text: Nau
