Garrison Keillor read a poem from his new book, Saunas...

Hello:

Garrison Keillor read one of my poems from my book, Saunas (Mayapple Press) today. Check it out. http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2011/09/25

Jane Piirto, Ph.D.
Trustees' Distinguished Professor
247 Dwight Schar College of Education
Ashland University
Ashland, OH 44805
Director of Talent Development Education
Depts. of Inclusive Services and Exceptional Learners, and Leadership Studies
419-289-5379, O.
Selected articles on http://works.bepress.com/jane_piirto
web page: http://web.me.com/janepiirto
and www.ashland.edu/~jpiirto

Kati and Noah Schenker Perform at Cafe Trieste Piedmont, Tuesday, 9/27 from 7-9 p.m.

Hi, For those of you who missed us last week, there is still a chance! Or come a second time! Noah and I will be performing at Cafe Trieste on Piedmont (4045 Piedmont Avenue in Oakland) this Tuesday Sept. 27th from 7 - 9. Joining us will be the 'fabulouses' Adam Shulman on piano and Jon Arkin on drums. Drinks and food, good mood, great tunes, and lovely people = fun evening. Hope to see you there! (sorry if this comes a second time for some of you, forwarding Noah's invite, with little additions:) Best, kati

Time	Tuesday, September 27 · 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Location	Cafe Trieste Piedmont 4045 Piedmont Avenue Oakland, CA
Created By	Noah Schenker
More Info	Kati and I will back at Trieste with Adam Shulman on piano and Jon Arkin on drums. Join us!

The Finnish Studies at the University of Washington and the Tetri Matching Challenge of 2011

The Finnish Studies at the University of Washington and the Tetri Matching Challenge of 2011 The Finnish Program at the University of Washington is about 20 years old. Since the early 1990’s the program has grown into a program of three years of Finnish language instruction complemented by classes of Finnish culture, folklore and history as well as active student exchange. In 2009 Finnish became a major. Students choose to major in Finnish for example to gain competitive edge as well as to thoroughly familiarize themselves with aspects of their ethnic heritage. As a relatively new program the Finnish Studies have not yet built a significant endowment base – unlike the other Nordic languages at the university’s Scandinavian Studies department which have funds ranging from one million to well over two million dollars. This year, however, a generous donor, Mr. Eero Tetri donated $100,000 to support the instruction of Finnish language. His substantial gift will significantly help build the program’s endowment base which needs solidifying at the time of dwindling state support. On top his $100,000 donation Mr. Tetri promised to match all donations made to the program by the end of the year up to $50,000. The opportunity to significantly improve the security of the Finnish instruction and provide more scholarships to top students is more attainable now than ever. Please consider donating to show your support! Your gift will automatically double, and if you have a corporate match even quadruple. Giving a joint gift as a couple may even produce a double match by the employer and Mr. Tetri both! Mr. Tetri has agreed also to match pledges made for 2012. There is no better time to donate! Your gift, in whatever amount is right for you, will help Finnish instruction thrive at the University of Washington, introduce Finnish descendants and other Americans alike to Finnish culture, and create new friends for Finland. A small country like Finland can never have too many friends. Please contact lecturer Aija Elg (aijaelg@u.washington.edu) if you have any questions regarding the University of Washington ’s Finnish program, the Tetri matching challenge or the attached form providing information about how to make a gift. Mirja Covarrubias tel: +1-310-452-1161 e-mail: mecovarrubias@verizon.net

New Monday Morning Finnish Class Offered in Berkeley

Sirpa Tuomainen

There's a Monday morning Finnish class - Intermediate level - happening in West Berkeley Mondays 10AM - 12 noon. Next five Mondays. Tervetuloa! More information: sirpa@berkeley.edu

Global Winter Wonderland looking for artist talent for Nov 25 - Jan 2 shows!

Hello guys The International Culture Exchange Group is hosting the Global Winter Wonderland. If you know someone with a talent, or a young group that does ethnic/traditional plays/dance, please have them contact me. They will have an opportunity to present their culture by performing live on the Global Stage in front of large audience. For more information about the event, visit www.globalwonderland.org.

Global Winter Wonderland

www.globalwonderland.org

‎

CONCERT: Karita Mattila sings Sallinen in San Francisco, Tuesday, December 6, 2011 8pm - Tickets $38-$68

Karita Mattila, soprano
Martin Katz, piano

Tuesday, December 6, 2011 8pm

Herbst Theatre

401 Van Ness Avenue at McAllister

Veterans Building

San Francisco

Tel: 415-621-6600

Premium $68/$55/$38

Program

Songs by POULENC, DEBUSSY, AULIS SALLINEN, MARX and others

Additional information at http://www.performances.org/performances/1112/Vocal.shtml

Mirja Covarrubias

tel: +1-310-452-1161

e-mail: mecovarrubias@verizon.net

Siitonen's Sports Report - October 2011

FALL OCTOBER SPORTS

The Finnish women’s orienteering relay team came up with the gold for the second year in a row at the World Championships held this year at Feclaz, France in late August. The Finnish team covered the distance in 1 hour 42 minutes and 42 seconds and consisted of Anna-Maija Fincke, Merja Rantanen and anchor Minna Kauppi (at right). Sweden was second and Czech republic third.

Leena Puotiniemi, 35, became the first Finnish woman in five years to win the Helsinki City Marathon on Aug. 20 in a fine time of 2:38:06 which also made her the Finnish national marathon champion for this year and qualified her for the 2012 London Olympics where the A standard is 2:43. Usually won by Russian women, this time second place went to an Ethiopian and 3rd to a Kenyan. An amazing note is that Puotiniemi only started running for the first time three years ago at age 32. Jaakko Kero was the first Finnish male in the marathon in 5th place in 2:34:22.

Sari Essayah of Finland was re-elected to the Racewalking Committee of the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) at its convention at Daegu, South Korea, for another four-year term on Aug. 24. She was the women’s world racewalking 10K champion in 1993 and the European 10K champion in 1994. She is a former member of the Finnish Parliament and is now serving as a member of the European Parliament representing Finland.

Finland’s outstanding heavyweight boxer Robert Helenius scored his 16th professional win with no losses when he knocked out former WBO World Heavyweight Champion Sjarei Lahovitz of Belarus on a 9th round TKO at Erfurt, Germany on Aug. 29. Helenius said it was the toughest bout of his career.. He had earlier knocked his opponent to the canvas in the 7th round. Helenius has now defeated three ex-world heavyweight champions. He holds the WBA and WBO International Heavyweight titles at this moment Finnish athletes made their worst showing in the 26-year history of the World Track & Field Championships held in late August and early September in Daegu, South Korea. The 12-member Finnish squad earned no medals nor did they gain any consolation points in the case of a country’s athletes scoring at least an 8th place in finals competition. A bad early omen was cast when Finnish women’s pole vault champion Minna Nikkanen tore her thumb while training in Daegu on the eve of the meet, eliminating her from competition. Only two Finnish men qualified for the finals in their events, Olli-Pekka Karjalainen in the hammer and Antti Ruuskanen in the javelin. Both finished in 9th place in their finals.

Jonathan Åstrand made it to the semis of the men’s 200-meter sprint and that was it for him. In the men’s 50K racewalk Jarkko Kinnunen in pre-race interviews said he was in the finest shape of his career and hoped to medal but finished a disappointing 15th in 3:52:32, which time was plenty good enough to earn him a berth in the 2012 London Olympics. Fellow Finn 50K walker Antti Kempas was disqualified on a technicality after 38 kilometers. So it’s back to the drawing board for Finnish athletics if they expect to do better in the London Olympics or the European Championships in Helsinki next year.

On the plus side. Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne was awarded the prestigious Vezina Trophy for being the best goalie of 1910-11 season in the National Hockey League, determined by a poll of its general managers. With his 33 wins last season, he was key to leading the Preds into the NHL playoffs for the first time in their history. Rinne, 28, was signed by Nashville in 2005. A native of Kempele, he is 6’5” and weighs 205 pounds. He has also played for the Finnish national team.

Finland's Minea Blomqvist shot her best golf this year on the US Circuit on Sept. 11 when she shot a two under par 211 (72-70-69) and finished in a 4-way tie for 31st place. Her paycheck for the day was $13,062. Winner in this LPGA tourney at Rogers, Arkansas was the world's top women's golfer Yani Tseng of Taiwan who took home $300,000, posting a playoff score of 201.

Additionally, Finnish men edged out their Swedish counterparts in the 71st Annual Finland-Sweden Dual Athetics Meet, 206 to 194 points, at the Olympic Stadium In Helsinki Sept. 9-10. But Finnish women lost to the Swedes for the 11th year in a row by a lopsided score of 182-225. Among outstanding results were Jonathan Åstrand's dual victories in the 100m (10.40 secs) and 200m (20.01) sprints. In the 200 he defeated an outsanding Swedish runner John Wissman who had won in the dual meet 6 times at this distance. Eemeli Salomäki, Mikael Westö and Jere Bergius won a triple win in the pole vault. Olli-Pekka Karjalainen won the hammer for his 12th year in a row. Although they didn't do that well at the Worlds in Daegu a week before, Antti Ruuskanen (82.02) and Ari Mannio (81.64) had a double win in the javelin. 2006 European Steeplechase champ Jukka Keskisalo won his 3000m event in 8:48.09 and 2005 World bronze medallist Tommi Evilä prevailed in the long jump with 7.88. Jarkko Kinnunen, Heikki Kukkonen, and Aku Partanen sped to a triple win in the men's 10,000m racewalk. The outsanding Finnish woman was Karin Storbacka who took both the 800M ((65.54) and 1500m ((4:46.28) runs. Finnish women also took a double in the discus, with Tanja Komulainen (56.55) and Sanna Kämäräinen (54.34). European junior champ Nooralotta Neziri was outstanding in taking the women's 100m huredles in 13.13.5. Powerhouse Merja Korpela was the hammer winner with 66.49, and Anniina Laitinen prevailed in the 400m hurdles in 59.73.

-- Harry Siitonen

Suomalaisia Amerikan Jalkapalloa Pelaamassa - Small College Notebook: Finns are a fine fit with Chabot College football team

Small college notebook: Finns are a fine fit with Chabot College football team

By Matt Schwab
Contra Costa Times

Posted: 09/13/2011 06:34:41 PM PDT

Updated: 09/13/2011 10:38:10 PM PDT

The Finns are in at Chabot College.

The Gladiators football team has four starters who hail from Finland, a country more known for its passion for hockey and ski jumping.

Chabot's Finlanders are offensive linemen Carl-Johan Backlund and Simo Kulmavita, quarterback Janne "J" Lehtinen and linebacker/safety Max Ehlert.

Lehtinen, a sophomore, tossed a 3-yard touchdown pass in Chabot's season-opening 49-6 win over West Valley of Saratoga last week. Ehlert, a freshman, forced a safety in a game dominated by Chabot's strong, but thin, defense.

"Great young men," Chabot coach Danny Calcagno said of his Finnish imports. "Hardworking, good academically."

Ehlert said the whole Finland-to-Chabot football migration started from a glowing endorsement. Former Reedley College and Texas Tech quarterback Robert Johnson said positive things about junior college life to the locals while he was playing for Finland's Catania Elephants.

Lehtinen came to Chabot first. He enjoyed spring ball in 2010 and the lifestyle, and then shared the good news back home.

"He told me I should just pack my stuff and come over, and so I did," Ehlert said.

Now Ehlert raves of the "welcoming" nature of his new friends and the surprising ease of the transition. Predictably, Chabot's Finns are all good on skates, although at 6-foot-5 and 312 pounds Kulmavita may need some pretty thick ice.

"It's funny. All of us, when we grew up, played hockey," Ehlert said. "Most of us played it for about 10 years, so hockey is definitely a big sport over there. Football is more of a growing sport. They haven't played for that long yet. They have an amateur league and there's not too many people watching or playing. It's more a hobby kind of league."

The Gladiators, it turns out, are well-traveled overall and culturally diverse. They have seven players from Louisiana, six of Samoan descent, five from Hawaii, four from Florida, three from Hope, Ill., three from Texas, two from Nevada, one from Anchorage, Alaska, and another from Washington.

Defensive lineman Felix Ntwa is originally from Austria.

Closer to home, five Gladiators cut their football teeth at Dublin High.

Calcagno would prefer to lean more heavily on local talent, but after losing some key recruits to other Bay Area schools, he made a tactical move to widen his reach.

Calcagno said Lehtinen knows California well and his father even works in Walnut Creek.

Moreover, Calcagno has been impressed by all the Finlanders' maturity.

"They don't miss weightlifting, they watch film and work their butts off," he said.

Berkeley! Kuvia ennakkoäänestyksestä Finnish Brotherhood Hallilta 9.4.2011

10.4.2011 08:02 Jukka Turunen

Äänestysmatka Berkeleyn Finnish Brotherhood Hallille jää mieleen varmastikin ikuisiksi ajoiksi. Jo kauan on tuntunut, että me suomalaiset olemme nyt tekemässä itsenäisen Suomen kannalta välttämätöntä parlamentaarista kansannousua. Tuo tunne sai tänään kohdallani vahvistuksen arvoisissaan puitteissa vanhalla suomalaisella kerhotalolla pohjoisessa Kaliforniassa.

Äänestyspaikkana toiminut Finnish Brotherhood Hall on näkemisen ja kokemisen arvoinen talo. Se on myös konkreettinen muistutus siitä, että suomalaisten kannattaa kovinakin aikoina pitää yhtä. Äänestystilanne oli leppoisa. Taustalla soi suomalainen iskelmä ja pitkään Yhdysvalloissa asunut talkooväki tarjoili kauempaakin saapuneille äänestäjille kahvia ja itseleivottua rusinapitkoa. Tunnelma oli lämmin ja vapautunut. Paikalla olleita yhdisti suomalaisuus ja suomen kieli. Oltiin kuin sukujuhlissa, siellä jossain, impivaarassa.

Ei siis ollut vaikeaa pyöräyttää äänestyslippuun perussuomalaisen ehdokkaan äänestysnumeroa. Suomi on nyt jälleenrakennettava vihervasemmiston aiheuttamien tuhojen jäljiltä. Suomen itsenäisyys on pelastettava EU:lta. Suomi on säilytettävä suomalaisena - ja vastavuoroisesti Eurooppa on pidettävä eurooppalaisena.

Nyt on tekojen aika.

Kukaan muu ei voi Suomea pelastaa - ellemme me suomalaiset itse.

Äänestä viisaasti!

PS. Kiitokset Kirstille, Kallelle, Irmalle ja muille!

Why We Should Steal Finland's Education System

Why We Should Steal Finland's Education System

The transformation of the Finns' education system began some 40 years ago as the key propellent of the country's economic recovery plan. Educators had little idea it was so successful until 2000, when the first results from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a standardized test given to 15-year-olds in more than 40 global venues, revealed Finnish youth to be the best young readers in the world. Three years later, they led in math. By 2006, Finland was first out of 57 countries (and a few cities) in science. In the 2009 PISA scores released last year, the nation came in second in science, third in reading and sixth in math among nearly half a million students worldwide. "I'm still surprised," said Arjariita Heikkinen, principal of a Helsinki comprehensive school. "I didn't realize we were that good."

In the United States, which has muddled along in the middle for the past decade, government officials have attempted to introduce marketplace competition into public schools. In recent years, a group of Wall Street financiers and philanthropists such as Bill Gates have put money behind private-sector ideas, such as vouchers, data-driven curriculum and charter schools, which have doubled in number in the past decade. President Obama, too, has apparently bet on compe­tition. His Race to the Top initiative invites states to compete for federal dollars using tests and other methods to measure teachers, a philosophy that would not fly in Finland. "I think, in fact, teachers would tear off their shirts," said Timo Heikkinen, a Helsinki principal with 24 years of teaching experience. "If you only measure the statistics, you miss the human aspect."

There's a brief summary of how they did it. I think the first and most important step was making a decision that education was important.

In 1963, the Finnish Parlia-ment made the bold decision to choose public education as its best shot at economic recovery. "I call this the Big Dream of Finnish education," said Sahlberg, whose upcoming book, Finnish Lessons, is scheduled for release in October. "It was simply the idea that every child would have a very good public school. If we want to be competitive, we need to educate everybody. It all came out of a need to survive."

Practically speaking--and Finns are nothing if not practical--the decision meant that goal would not be allowed to dissipate into rhetoric. Lawmakers landed on a deceptively simple plan that formed the foundation for everything to come. Public schools would be organized into one system of comprehensive schools, or peruskoulu, for ages 7 through 16. Teachers from all over the nation contributed to a national curriculum that provided guidelines, not prescriptions. Besides Finnish and Swedish (the country's second official language), children would learn a third language (English is a favorite) usually beginning at age 9. Resources were distributed equally. As the comprehensive schools improved, so did the upper secondary schools (grades 10 through 12). The second critical decision came in 1979, when reformers required that every teacher earn a fifth-year master's degree in theory and practice at one of eight state universities--at state expense. From then on, teachers were effectively granted equal status with doctors and lawyers. Applicants began flooding teaching programs, not because the salaries were so high but because autonomy and respect made the job attractive. In 2010, some 6,600 applicants vied for 660 primary school training slots, according to Sahlberg. By the mid-1980s, a final set of initiatives shook the classrooms free from the last vestiges of top-down regulation. Control over policies shifted to town councils. The national curriculum was distilled into broad guidelines. National math goals for grades one through nine, for example, were reduced to a neat ten pages. Sifting and sorting children into so-called ability groupings was eliminated. All children--clever or less so--were to be taught in the same classrooms, with lots of special teacher help available to make sure no child really would be left behind. The inspectorate closed its doors in the early '90s, turning accountability and inspection over to teachers and principals. "We have our own motivation to succeed because we love the work," said Louhivuori. "Our incentives come from inside."


Reprinted From : http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/660964/why_we_should_steal_finland%27s_education_system/#paragraph3

Berkeley! Kuvia ennakkoäänestyksestä Finnish Brotherhood Hallilta 9.4.2011

10.4.2011 08:02 Jukka Turunen

Berkeleyn Finnish Brotherhood Hall.

Positiivista syrjintää.

Juhlava sali.

Wanhaa suomalaista designia.

Äänestysmatka Berkeleyn Finnish Brotherhood Hallille jää mieleen varmastikin ikuisiksi ajoiksi. Jo kauan on tuntunut, että me suomalaiset olemme nyt tekemässä itsenäisen Suomen kannalta välttämätöntä parlamentaarista kansannousua. Tuo tunne sai tänään kohdallani vahvistuksen arvoisissaan puitteissa vanhalla suomalaisella kerhotalolla pohjoisessa Kaliforniassa.

Äänestyspaikkana toiminut Finnish Brotherhood Hall on näkemisen ja kokemisen arvoinen talo. Se on myös konkreettinen muistutus siitä, että suomalaisten kannattaa kovinakin aikoina pitää yhtä. Äänestystilanne oli leppoisa. Taustalla soi suomalainen iskelmä ja pitkään Yhdysvalloissa asunut talkooväki tarjoili kauempaakin saapuneille äänestäjille kahvia ja itseleivottua rusinapitkoa. Tunnelma oli lämmin ja vapautunut. Paikalla olleita yhdisti suomalaisuus ja suomen kieli. Oltiin kuin sukujuhlissa, siellä jossain, impivaarassa.

Ei siis ollut vaikeaa pyöräyttää äänestyslippuun perussuomalaisen ehdokkaan äänestysnumeroa. Suomi on nyt jälleenrakennettava vihervasemmiston aiheuttamien tuhojen jäljiltä. Suomen itsenäisyys on pelastettava EU:lta. Suomi on säilytettävä suomalaisena - ja vastavuoroisesti Eurooppa on pidettävä eurooppalaisena.

Nyt on tekojen aika.

Kukaan muu ei voi Suomea pelastaa - ellemme me suomalaiset itse.

Äänestä viisaasti!

PS. Kiitokset Kirstille, Kallelle, Irmalle ja muille!