I arrived at the conference this morning and went walking around the city of Helsinki. First I took a city bus in from the airport, a risky thing since I really didn't know where to get off. But it was a good way to learn my bearings, and now I am confident in going from my guest house to the conference center. I also went on a museum tour with other conference participants, two of whom had been with me at the conference in Umeå.

I had interesting conversations and learned that the Finns prefer the term KÄSITYÖN for crafts over the Swedish, Danish and Norwegian term Sloyd. But, some of the craft educators firmly believe that crafts, regardless of what you call them play a significant role in the success of Finnish schools as measured by PISA.

On our tour we spent time in a room full of drawers, each full of lace which required white gloves for handling. Some was made in the early 1800's and is clear evidence of the wise hands that preceded modern times. The patterns were incredible. Sadly, there is no woodworking in the craft program at the University of Helsinki. I plan to show them some of what they have been missing.