Until recently, Finland’s education system topped global rankings, only recently overtaken by those in South Korea, Japan and Singapore. Teachers require a Master’s degree and despite a national curriculum, operate with a certain level of personal autonomy. “It seems in Finland we’ve succeeded to make the profession of a watchmaking-teacher the most appreciated ladder of the career.” she adds. Teaching too, is also a highly respected profession, an attitude Parrika believes has filtered through into Finnish watchmaking. The country developed a ‘learning to learn’ system that seeks to foster an enthusiasm for education and personal development through play from a pre-school age, with children not entering compulsory education until the age of seven. In 1948 it became the first country in the world to provide free school meals to all student and by the 1970s it had removed two-tier schooling altogether, also moving away from standardised testing. While, according to Kelloseppäkoulu’s principle Tiina Parikka, the school gets ‘a lot of inquiries from abroad’, this means the vast majority of students are Finnish, the language stipulation virtually ensuring that the school serves only citizens of its nation as Finnish is not a language that travels particularly far beyond its borders.Īs Finland sought to transition from an agrarian economy to an industrialised one in the first half of the 20th Century, it established a level-playing field for students whatever their background or whether they hailed from rural areas or urban ones. Firstly, rather than conduct lessons in English like the more internationally orientated WOSTEP, the school teaches in Finnish. Graduating watchmakers are qualified to work in ‘repair, sales, wholesale and independent entrepreneur positions’ as you might expect, but some go on to work in the field of instrument and gauge technology, which employs a similar skillset.īut the Kelloseppäkoulu differs from other schools of watchmaking around the world in two distinct ways. Such open, real-world conditions would seem to replicate the kind of practical experience many new graduates from other paths seek out in vintage repair or restoration roles. Students are also taught to make replacement parts using traditional techniques. The course, as you might expect, includes many ‘hundreds of hours’ of practical work, but is often conducted on clocks and watches submitted to the school for repair by members of the public, which the school believes improves motivation and students’ capacity for problem-solving.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |