Suomen Soliloquies

My school visits have finally started. In fact, they are almost over. I only have one more to go for my class on Finnish Education. But the two that I have had have been very informative and four broad themes have emerged that seem to define Finnish education: equity, independence, trust and freedom. Flow chart of the Finnish education system (taken from http://www.lamk.fi/english/about/finnish-education-system/Sivut/default.aspx) Equity: The Finnish education system has been evolving for many years but the foundation can be said to have been laid out in the 1970’s when the first major reform occurred. During this reform, it was decided that equity was the primary goal of education. Finns wanted everyone to have access to a good education, regardless of social class, family background or what school you went to. As a result, there are very few private schools in the entire country and everything the school provides is free, from the textbooks, to school meals...

My mother's Diwali spread This past weekend was Diwali, the biggest festival of the year in India. I grew up celebrating our own American version of Diwali. We would have a small family puja, or prayer, eat a good dinner and have elaborate sweets that my mother spent the entire preceding week making. Several weekends around Diwali would be full of parties we would have to attend, which usually meant seeing the same people in different locations. One of these parties would be at our house, with one hundred people coming through our door during a two-hour window, filling the house with laughter, chatter and children’s pattering feet. At some parties there would even be fireworks that we would let off in the driveway. Having nothing to compare it to, this was my Diwali. This was how I defined it and what I loved about it. Our house full of guests. This is a small crowd compared to some years! A sweet shop in India, extended to accommodate extra sweet...