An apple for the teacher is no longer enough – the old symbol challenges us to think what is now needed in everyday school life
Apples are associated with many things in our culture. Even though we do not know exactly what fruit grew on the biblical tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it is often depicted as an apple, for example in art. The apple also features as a symbol in many commercially successful products. It is also a well-known fruit associated with school, brought by a pupil to the teacher’s desk.
In Finland, hardly any pupils have brought their teacher an apple in recent years.
The association between apples, teachers and school is a centuries-old tradition. It is not known exactly when or why teachers began to receive apples. The tradition is famous in Sweden and the United States, among other countries. From the United States, it became an internationally recognised phenomenon through fairy tales, comics and various other works of popular culture.
Apples helped provide teachers with a livelihood
The origin of the tradition of giving apples to teachers is probably quite ordinary. Teachers’ salaries were low, and at the beginning of the school year, the community wanted to help teachers by sharing the autumn apple harvest with them. By giving an apple, a pupil could also show the teacher appreciation and seek to make a good impression.
Originally, then, the apple had the concrete function of improving quality of life and security. Nowadays, it is merely a symbol.
Could it be replaced with something that would fulfil the apple’s original function as a gift to the teacher? What would improve quality of life and provide security in Finnish schools in the 2020s?
Teachers want a peaceful working environment, support for coping at work and support for learning
The Trade Union of Education in Finland regularly conducts various surveys among its members. In recent years, the same wishes have recurred in the responses: better support for coping at work, a peaceful working environment and support for learning. The same themes can also be seen in many studies of teachers’ work and working conditions.
Instead of an apple, teachers might wish for a remote control, for example, which they could use to adjust the volume in the classroom or stop time when struggling with their hectic workdays.
Pupils also want a peaceful working environment, but above all they want a friendly, fair and relaxed teacher.
The ideal teacher interacts with children and young people genuinely, encouragingly and without rushing, but can also be strict when necessary.
If pupils baked an apple pie for their teachers, they would add a pinch of magic powder to strengthen these qualities.
Parents, in turn, would like education to be based more extensively than at present on cooperation between home and school. In other words, they would like parents to play a more active role at school, at least according to the Finnish Parents’ League. Parents would also like schools to have sufficient resources to support pupils.
Indeed, the parents’ substitute for an apple could be a magician’s hat from which teachers could conjure up more than just rabbits as needed.
More creative moments, because they support learning
As researchers and teacher educators, we have found that creativity and playfulness can bring many benefits to education.
Amid the pressures of everyday school life, many teachers feel that there is not enough time for creative activities.
When they are trying to rush through the content to be taught, genuine encounters and creative moments may be few and far between, even though they are known to support learning and well-being.
Our apple for teachers could therefore be creative and playful energy –together with enough space and time to harness it for the benefit of the school community!
Anne Martin and Matti Rautiainen
PS. Monday 5 October is World Teachers’ Day. Who would you give an apple to as thanks for a job well done?
PPS. The alternatives to an apple mentioned in the article are the authors’ own variations based on research data.
Anne Martin is a Senior Lecturer and Matti Rautiainen a Senior University Lecturer in the Department of Teacher Education at the University of Jyväskylä.
