As much as I loved exploring the city of Stockholm, I really enjoyed connecting with other educators about their personal experiences inside and outside the classroom. I spent a few days with a teacher named Helena. Helena is passionate, dedicated, and full of positive energy. Others naturally gravitate towards Helena. You want to be around her! This fall, she’s starting her 4th year of teaching in Sweden. Before teaching, she owned a fashion brand. Due to starting a business and striving to make it financially, she began to substitute and eventually accepted a substitute teaching position. This experience inspired her to go back to school to become an educator full-time.
Helena is currently a middle school teacher. In Sweden, middle school is grades 4, 5, and 6. She teaches English and math to the same group of students for three years. The word trust was brought up over and over during our time together. She expressed that having her students for more than one year allows them to build really strong, trusting relationships. Helena doesn’t necessarily follow a set curriculum for English or math but creates lessons based on her unique group of students.
During one of our conversations, she expressed that “Sometimes schools are like…like a square, but not all students fit into that square. Sometimes, they are shaped more….like a heart. It is important to me, as an educator to design lessons that engage all shapes and sizes. All students need to have access to the world of education”. Helena went on to describe the importance of trust. She was adamant that without the level of trust her students, parents, and administration have in her ability to teach daily, she wouldn’t be able to be the role model her students crave.
Helena translated recent conversations she’s had with her students and it was refreshing to hear how authentic she is with her previous and current students. Helena teaches because she isn’t a square. She’s a heart. I look forward to incorporating some of her strategies to help all students not only access the world of education but help students find what works best for them.
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