Why schools will change when people change

My first actual topic! Wow, this is kinda exciting!

I'd better lay some groundwork on this one before I actually begin. To start with, I'm studying pedagogy as a minor in the university at the moment. Or for anyone who doesn't know what that means, I'm studying to become a teacher. Or getting a teaching degree. Thingy. Whatever.

As you can guess, studying to become a teacher involves studying the school system as well. Not only that, but recently we've been studying how the school system is changing/isn't changing/should be changed/wants to be changed/doesn't want to change/will never change/what were we talking about again? In particular what's been stirring the pot recently is the newly found study that Finnish kids have suddenly dropped from their ivory tower in the international PISA tests. Gasp! What do you mean, our kids aren't as good in maths as those Chinese kids who are ridiculously overworked and are pressured by their parents into doing stuff they totally don't want to do in the first place? And yes, I have my two cents to share on the PISA rankings as well. But for now, let's focus on this.

So, "get on with it!" you're probably saying. It seems that, in Finland, throughout the decades the school system, and education itself, has been pestered about changing its ways. "You need to be new and dynamic." "You need to focus on your traditions." "You need to teach our kids valuable life lessons." "You need to stop teaching kids lessons we don't want you to teach, but we won't tell you what it is we want or the messages will be horribly mixed." In the end, I think, education reforms are mostly talk and little walk.

Why? Well firstly, although change is a fundamental part of life, it doesn't happen because someone wrote something down on a piece of paper. It doesn't change because someone said some rousing speeches, nor even necessarily because money was put into a different part of the system. All of the aforementioned may be signs of change, but when signs aren't backed up by actual intent, they will stay as that: signs, or empty symbols without meaning.

Before anyone jumps to conclusions, I am not saying that changing the school system, education or anything in general is bad. Far from it. We should always strive to be better at what we do and change is a part of that. In fact I am convinced that there are many key aspects in the school system that should be changed, like the sizes of the classrooms, the different methods in teaching, what is being taught and with what intention etc. (more on these subjects in later posts, hopefully!)
But what I'm getting at here is that people who keep screaming for change in schools are often people whose memories of the school system date back to when they were in schools themselves - which could be anything from ten years to fifty. School is a very different thing for people who actually work in it and for those who are on the outside looking in. Also, reforms that focus on just one aspect of the school probably won't work all that well, because the school is like a gigantic clockwork machine: if you want to change one thing, you first have to change a dozen other things before you're even close to making the change you wanted in the first place.

Point two is this: Change, any change, starts with human beings acting differently, which is caused by them thinking differently, which in turn is caused by a change in their beliefs. And by beliefs I don't mean that you change from being a Christian to a Buddhist (although that can happen, too), but that some fundamental belief in your life has changed gradually or in one big swoop.

This is why, I believe, systems change when human beings change. And more often than not, that change will be gradual and will happen inside the system. It will seem to be functioning just as it has been for decades, until one day, those minor changes from all the people collectively will facilitate the change and make it possible. I think this can be seen in things like the movement for sexual minorities - granted, it's still not ideal in many parts of the world, but when comparing the movement to 20 years ago, the difference is significant. And, I think, that's because people are now simply more open and ready to accept and facilitate that change than they were previously.

So it is with schools, also. I've heard countless talks about education reforms and ways in which the schools need to and absolutely have to change, and while the want for change is not bad in itself, it should be based on more than just *wheezy old man voice* "When I was your age we skied to school in the summer and rode on mooseback in winter, you young whippersnappers! Those were the good days...now where are my teeth?"

Yes, it's so sad the good ole' days are behind, isn't it?

Resolutions and Frankensteins.

Hello!
Welcome to my blog. Or, as I like to call it, my very first social experiment. And now that I have successfully made the impression of reducing your status to that of a lab rat, let me try to reiterate what the purpose of this blog is.

I have always been into writing stuff. Ever since elementary school I was set on becoming a writer. With an imagination that would on some nights keep me awake for hours (and still does), I had to channel that activity somewhere. And although my fictitious writings have entered into a state of perpetual writer's block, I felt that I could maybe chug out smaller writings at a faster paste - hence, the blog.

The actual impetus for writing a blog didn't come until on New Year's Eve, 2014. Now, I haven't been in the habit of making New Year's resolutions. Although I appreciate the sentiment, I think it's mostly just that - a sentiment. But this year was somehow different. So many things had happened both in my life and around me in the past couple of years, that I felt like I had rapidly changed into something and someone different. And, for some reason, the thought occurred to me that now would be a good time to write a blog.

Now, to clarify, this blog is not going to be a review of my life (though attention hogging may play a major minor role in this). Instead, what I hope to achieve with this, at best, is to share my thoughts on a range of subjects, and then start a conversation on said topics. With this I will (hopefully) learn something and then MY EXPERIMENT WILL BE A SUCCESS! MWHAHA!!!

Yes, this is what I'm doing right now. Nbd.

Anyhoo, I will be covering subjects including, but not limited to, education (what I should know stuff about...*ahem*), politics (which I admit knowing next to nothing about), sexuality (which is interesting because, duh), and...drum roll... religion (which I will be majoring in probably when I'm 45). I may write stuff regarding pop culture and other things from time to time. Basically I'm just going to do what feels good - let's keep this informal, shall we?

When I told my roommate about this idea, his response was, 'You should write topics that would tie all those together, something like "God is gay and that's why we should allow immigrants.'" While that does sound like an awesome topic, my agenda is not to provoke anyone, but to invite you to share your own thoughts on my ideas for everyone's mutual benefit. But if you choose to be offended no matter what, I can't help you with that.

So I urge you to join this conversation and share your thoughts. Whether you disagree or agree is not the point. Whether you can voice your opinions in a constructive, logical and non-hurtful way is the point, as that is what I'll aim to do with my own thoughts.

So, on to the first question: Is God gay and therefore we should allow immigrants? Just kidding. But more's on the way, so stay tuned!

P.S. Omaa taustaani huomioiden aion kirjoittaa jonkin verran myös suomeksi, vaikka koen englannin olevan lähempänä sydäntäni näissä asioissa. Mutta ei hätää, Suomen kansa - kyllä tekin pääsette tähänkin keskusteluun osallistumaan.