Greatest Finnish innovating tool ever ? Thinking Sauna

What could be the most influenced place in earth to Finn? Obvious it’s Sauna.


Picture of my PTS=Personal Thinking Sauna




Earlier there was dozens of different ways to use saunas than warm up and wash yourself. Sauna was place were mamas delivered babies, sometimes we tried to cure diseases with hot steam, Finns dried their food in saunas and in the very end bodies were washed in saunas. But the greatest use has been thinking.

“Problem solving in hot sauna”

There are many stories about solving problems in sauna. During the Cold War Finland and Soviet Union had some difficult problems and diplomatic crises. Many times the answer was sauna ! Our former president Urho Kekkonen was known about that. He has done lot of politics and compromises in his private sauna. After few beer conversation and dialogue is easier.

Sitting bare naked we are equal

It is obvious, when we are sitting bare naked in sauna, we are very equal. There is no titles, status, merits, positions or fancy clothes. You have only your thoughts, ideas and dialogue. You can’t hide anywhere or stand anyone’s back. There is no time. And if you want to have conversation, you should “listen” your companion – do not give too much hot steam.

Refreshing steam stimulates your brains ?

In sauna you can focus and concentrate certain issue without interrupted. You got privacy and you sit there with your own thoughts. There is no hurry. This kind of calm down is crucial in this busy world. I do often thinking sauna sessions.

We are very lucky, that we are living in Muurame Finland, where is located the world biggest sauna factory Harvia Oy http://www.harvia.fi/ and we have also the Sauna Museum. Sauna is under my skin. I will invite you to Finnish Sauna – marvelous thinking tool !

Have you ever tried Sauna ? What did you liked ?

Learning Bus...

Have you developed total new learning environments and places?

We found and discovered quiet nice place – the Learning Bus.

Our 3rd grade students and our teachers had common bus drive to Helsinki. Students had their Studia expo, where they joined and explored postgraduate studies like academic universities and universities of applied science round the Finland.

Teachers visited the Finnish
National Board of Education http://www.oph.fi/english and one of the very famous Finnish coaching company Trainers’ House http://www.trainershouse.fi/en/Services/Philosophy.aspx .

So we both had plenty of time to spend together in bus. We should have more time together with students and of course with staff. Having common experiences, ideas, thoughts and discussions we will build our community. It is obviously that schools should go outside of the school like companies, authorities, organizations and so on.

We had three iPads 2 (3G) with us. Some of our teachers have used iPads few months but most of our group did not have any experiences about these devices. So our experienced teachers show the benefits of iPads and let others use tablets. This teacher to teacher mentoring helped everyone understand the basics of these marvellous devices. At the same time we show Facebook, Twitter, blogs and some teaching applications. Everybody was very pleased about mentoring and learned something in very short time.

Secondly we had possibility to tell learning stories during bus drive. Students and teachers could tell didactic, educational or other informative stories in their lifes, hobbies, memories, schools or homes. We must encourage students and teachers tell more stories. People connect, affect and rely more stories than texts. Digital storytelling in one new way of telling stories with photos and videos. Still oral storytelling is crucial.

This kind of Learning bus -method has got lot of good points and potentials :

-in bus we had almost eight hours to work and learn
-everybody was in same room and very near by
-discussion and dialogue was easy with your sitting companion
-telling stories is great
-sharing with students and teachers
-learning each other
-have fun and jokes
-build a learning tribe

Tribe has spoken

Last week we had our Finnish Social and Entrepreneurship Network meeting in Kouvola Finland. Our Network consist 23 Finnish High Schools which have chosen entrepreneurship and social media in their curriculum. These high schools want to have entrepreneurship principles in their strategy and policy widely. This kind of entrepreneurial working culture will be the only way to work also at schools. It is true that action speaks much more louder than words.

“Ideal and effective tribe”

We all heard marvellous lecture about tribes. Entrepreneur Jari Lammi from Kouvolan Innovation told us lot of good information about social media and tribes. Effective tribe consist 150 persons and contacts. Normal Facebook user have 130 friends, he said. More is less, because huge mount of tribe members don’t feel fellowship. This idea we must remember, when we are building too big schools or communities.

Shared values

Our group has promised to follow these shared values and ideology. We want to :

-develop and combine new learning environments with social media
-benefit social media leading our network and schools
-share our best practises with social media tools
-use social media to market, communicate and brand our high schools in Finland
-built new kind of sense of community

“Community of customers” = students

If we think school as an student oriented organization, we have to agree that idea. Every single organization (company, team, school etc.) should have "some kind of customers". In school they are student and pupils with their parents. School must hear their voices in planning and implementing school year.

Thank you Kouvola for comfortable meeting and time !


Proud coordinator

Russian dolls (=teachers)

"Teachers in Russian are like Russian dolls with many varieties and complex"

Everybody knows the Russian dolls, dolls inside one doll going to little one. We have had honour to work with these committed and wonderful people. We are coordinating and leading education process in Republic of Carelia (Russia)http://www.peda.net/veraja/asbkarelia. This coaching process has put together Russian and Finnish teachers and schools.

In our point of view Russian teachers are very committed to their job and children they teach.
This metaphor ("Russian dolls") describes very well Russian teachers : most of them are women and schooling system is still quite hierarchical. Their system is well organized and ruled. Still teachers we work with, want to have new methods and more flat organizations. They are very willing to learn new pedagogical skills in their own educational ecosystem.

"Mixture of Finnish team learning and Russian way of thinking rocks"

Team learning and lot of discussions suite very well to co-operate. Russian teachers are very
good to depate and argue their conclusions. We Finns have lot to learn from them. They all are well educated and sophisticated. They know a lot of history, litterature and general knowledge.

We noticed that our thoughts combined to Russian way of thinking is marvellous mixture. During last year we have discovered new innovations and new small business together. We should put more foreign teachers together to get new ideas and thinking.

"Both sides respect each other"

We both know that everyone has to give and share. Our system has few good points and also Russian education system includes lot of great elements. We understand our historical background and different development, but still we can work productive together. This is really true and pure dialogue and it works. We will wait for our next meeting in February. It is awesome to get foreign colleagues. We want to have more teachers in our PLN (Professional Learning Network) to learn.

Let's share, let's care and let's dare !

Visions about leadership

In the future we need leaders who...



separate THE BIG stones from the small ones.

I am working part-time in the Institute of Educational Leadership in Jyväskylä University. Last weekend we brainstormed with 50 principal trainee, what kind on abilities leaders, principals and teachers should have in the future. Every group found out, that future headmasters should be firstly human and have a heart of gold.

"Before you can lead others you must lead yourself"

Leaders of the future know well themselves.They are aware about their feelings and thoughts, because feelings are power and energy.
Good leaders accept all their feelings and use it for good.

Our group talked a lot about Mindfullness -thinking and "downshifting". Mindfulness means that people are living "more" in present. They don't think or live in past or in future.Their most important moment is right now. Like ancient Romans think : " Carpe Diem" - mindfulness thinkers do the same. They find that their most important person is standing in front of them. So we should concentrate people we are dealing now. You notice easily, if another person is somewhere else during conversation.

Don't hurry, take it easy...

Another note was, that every group wanted slow down their working life. We can do this "slow life" for example breathing, walking or eating more slowly during work day. This kind of thinking will confirm your presence at work. And it will help us to find and see positive "forces" around us. Throught this method we encourage positive and creative attitude.It is simply and easy, we think.Our principal traineers are very motivated and clever thinkers. This "we" generation want leaders to be :

- principal as an mirror of the school
- servant and coach
- understand the meaning of silence
- break rutines
- good in dialogue
- understand the power of word and stories
- think out of the box

Sustainable development in school

"Do you want to save the earth ? We do !"
Certificate for promoting sustainable development 1.2.

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