Craft education is an important part of the development of a Finnish child. Kids in Finland learn to sew, build with wood, work with metals, and program robots to perform tasks. Starting at grade 3, all students take these classes and they are considered a valued and essential part of child development. Rather than being "optional" or "add on" electives, all students are expected to learn "self-sufficiency". The emphasis of this part of the educational system is on the younger grades, 3-8; students in older grades don't take these classes generally. It is another indication of the independent nature of the Finnish people, that they can make things, fix things, and take care of themselves and their possessions. As I watched the kids working in these programs, I was struck by how much freedom they had to work with the tools and equipment. The students get instruction on using these tools and they are trusted to follow the rules, and invariably they did so. When I asked one teacher if he was ever afraid that a kid might get hurt, he said "they may get hurt once but they won't make the same mistake again, and that's one way of learning".
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| Some examples of sewing projects students make (4th/5th grade) |
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| 4th grade student using a sewing machine |
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| This 5th grade student is using a blowtorch to heat a copper plate, so she can hammer it into a ladle for sauna. |
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| Student using a drill press to make a sauna ladle handle |
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| This student is using a scraping tool to shape a wood handle on a turning machine |
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| Kids help themselves to these tools when they feel they need them. |
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| One woodshop we visited. |
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