Earlier this year I was given the extraordinary opportunity to attend an International Educational Conference in Finland. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that international travel would be on the table for a teacher, but working in a college such as ours I have learnt that anything and everything can be found on the table.
While I was in Finland we attended a conference and a variety of seminars, most of which were in the Santa Claus Hotel, I kid you not. We even attended a Playful Learning workshop one afternoon on a 30o year old Reindeer farm.
Finnish colleges opened their classrooms for us to come and see, which was also very interesting. The education system in Finland is ranked as one of the best in the world, and I am very proud to say there were more than a few similarities between what they do and what we are doing at our college.
The other thing that really interested me was when they said that education in Finland was not a political issue. When there is a change of government, nothing changes in the colleges. Could you imagine that!
And as a massive perk (well for me anyway) we all got to meet Santa Claus!
This was most certainly an experience I will remember for a very long time.
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