✨ Learning not to prove, but to grow!
It has been one week since I began my ‘työkokeilu’ journey at a special education school where learning unfolds beyond words.
My schedule runs from Monday to Thursday, 8:00–14:00, and Tuesday, 9:00–15:00 — with an hour of travel each way through quiet autumn roads. Fridays, I return to Stadin AO, where I reflect on pedagogy and continue refining my Finnish skills.
Each morning, as I walk through the trees, the golden leaves whisper: growth doesn’t rush. I remind myself — I am not here to prove anything. I am here to become.
🕯️ A Classroom Beyond Words
The class I was assigned to is small — only six children, supported by six adults and one teacher.
The students, around 8–9 years old (equivalent to grades 2–3 in mainstream schools), are full of energy, curiosity, and innocence. The classes are named A, B, C, … not by age but by need — each guided by TOI-opetus, an individualized teaching approach that blends structure with empathy.
Communication happens less through speech and more through images, gestures, rhythm, and energy. Each interaction is an invitation to listen without words — to sense what is needed beyond what is said. As Neville Goddard wrote,
Change your conception of yourself and you will automatically change the world in which you live. (The Power of Awareness, 1952)
🧘🏻♀️ The Practice of Presence
In this environment, mindfulness is not a method — it is survival, compassion, and connection. I learned that the calmer my mind becomes, the more harmonious the class feels. When I breathe slowly, the energy around me slows too. When I radiate kindness, the children mirror it back.
Every day, I practice being fully present:
- Not judging.
- Not rushing.
- Not pitying.
Just being there — with love, empathy, and gentle strength.
I am not here to fix anyone. I am here to serve, to support the teacher, and to bring ease to the day. It’s a new kind of leadership — one that leads through calmness. As Wayne Dyer reminds us,
Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change. (The Power of Intention, 2004).
🌱 Learning from the Invisible
The deeper lesson of this first week wasn’t academic. It was energetic.
I began to understand that teaching in a special education setting is a spiritual practice — every reaction, every tone, every moment of patience is a mirror reflecting my own inner state.
When a child refuses to engage, it’s an invitation to practice understanding.
When the room becomes noisy, it’s a lesson in breathing before responding.
When I feel tired, it’s a reminder to return to compassion, not control.
Presence became my true pedagogy.
And the reward is subtle but profound — a moment of eye contact, a shared smile, a calmer atmosphere in the room. As Joseph Murphy beautifully said,
As you sow in your subconscious mind, so shall you reap in your body and environment. (The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, 1963).
🌻 Gratitude for the Small & Sacred
By Friday, as I returned to Stadin AO to study Finnish pedagogy and language, I felt gratitude rising like soft light. No big achievement. No validation. But something real — a steady sense of alignment between who I am and what I am doing.
I came to this special school not to compare, not to compete, not to prove.
I came to support — the children, the teacher, the colleagues — with gentleness and authenticity. And in doing so, I found that supporting others became the deepest way of supporting myself. As Louise Hay wrote,
Remember, you have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens. (You Can Heal Your Life, 2004).
🌕 Reflections
This first week did not make me an expert educator. But it expanded my understanding of what it means to be human in a classroom.
Every breath, every calm response, every smile given from compassion — they all form invisible bridges of trust and growth. The journey has just begun, yet it already feels sacred.
I walk into each day not as someone trying to perform, but as someone willing to evolve — one mindful breath, one kind action, one gentle moment at a time.
✨ Closing Affirmations
I walk into every classroom with peace in my mind, kindness in my eyes, and gentleness in my voice.
I am here not to prove, but to grow — through presence, patience, and love.
My calm energy brings harmony to the room; my compassion becomes the silent lesson I teach.
Every mindful breath I take plants a seed of understanding, trust, and light — within me and within others.
—Hoa Rompasaari
📚 Book Suggestions
For those who wish to walk deeper into this flow of awakening and manifesting:
- Hay, L. (1984). You Can Heal Your Life. Hay House.
- Goddard, N. (1952). The Power of Awareness. DeVorss & Company.
- Shinn, F. S. (1925). The Game of Life and How to Play It. DeVorss & Company.
- Murphy, J. (1963). The Power of Your Subconscious Mind. Prentice Hall.
- Dyer, W. W. (2004). The Power of Intention. Hay House.
- Hanh, T. N. (1999). The Miracle of Mindfulness: The Classic Guide to Meditation by the World’s Most Revered Zen Master. Rider.
- Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life. Hyperion.
- Palmer, P. J. (2007). The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher’s Life. Jossey-Bass.
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