The name Onerva Maki might not ring any bells for most people. Most people wouldn't know that they should be honored to be in the presence of greatness if they were able to go to lunch with Onerva. I, on the other hand, know Onerva and her role in special education in Finland and can assure you that she is one of the most amazing women I have ever met and she is a true inspiration.
Last Tuesday Annie and I planned to have lunch with our colleague Ines. Lunch was planned publicly on Facebook and my mentor Olli was invited to join. On Tuesday around 11:30 as we were getting ready to leave for lunch Olli sprung the news that Onerva Maki was going to join us and we were headed to Harmooni, an upscale restaurant in the heart of Jyvaskyla, just a few blocks from the Niilo Maki office. We couldn't believe our luck and were so excited (and also a little embarassed that we met this legend while standing around in just our socks!).
Onerva will be turning ninety this year but you would never guess this spry and witty woman was on her way into her ninth decade. In fact, she reminded me so much of my beloved MeMa, another great storyteller and role model that lived well into her nineties! Onerva was a visionary and a boundary breaker from the time she was a young woman and we were regaled with some of her stories.
Onerva first trained as a speech-language pathologist in Helsinki as a young woman but in the 1950's she was awarded a Fulbright Grant to study education in the United States. She told us about the stern headmistress that didn't want her to leave the school and didn't think Onerva should go to the US. Not one to back down, Onerva went straight to the head of the Fulbright Commission to tell her tale and he said that he would take care of it and she was to go. Onerva was able to study education for children with cerebral palsy in Philadelphia and when she returned she started the first classroom for students with cerebal palsy in Finland. A few years later she started the first classroom for students with brain injuries. Onerva continued to bust through barriers, trailblazing paths for students with disabilities in Finland and throughout the world. She was a fierce advocate for students with visual and hearing impairements and told us about how she fought tirelessly to get the first deaf student admitted to the teacher education program at the University of Helsinki in the 1980's. Onerva's work did not only benefit Finns with disabilities; she worked in several African countries to help develop special education programs that are still active today. Onerva has worked with thousands of special educators in her time as a lecturer at universities and I can confidently say that the special education field would look vastly different had it not been for Onerva's advocacy throughout her life.
Of course lunch was not just a listing of Onerva's amazing achievements. These nuggets of information were slipped in among other pearls of wisdom. She told all of us at the table to not take life too seriously. She commented that some people are always so serious about everything and we should never forget to enjoy life. She also implored us to "always keep fighting." She told us to never back down from a fight for our students if we truly believed. She stated that we are the future for these students and offered us words of encouragement as we work for students with disabilities in United States and perhaps someday throughout the world. Onerva never backed down. In fact, she joked that people are now afraid of her. Olli and Ines agreed that if you want something done you go see Onerva. She still is a very active member of the board for the Niilo Maki Institute (named after her late husband) and everyone knows when Onerva is there things will get done. You don't say no to Mama Maki.
Annie, Ines and I thanked Onerva for a wonderful lunch and walked back to the Institute with huge smiles on our faces. Annie and I couldn't stop talking about her inspiration for the next few days. We were humbled to be called the future of special education by this woman who truly made lasting and huge differences in the lives of so many children. It is no wonder that the newest school built for students with special needs was named Valteri Onerva in her honor. I now feel responsible to advocate for my students and to never back down in a fight. I am inspired to make lasting change in the world of special education. Now I just have to figure out how I want to do that in a way that is meaningful to me. This Fulbright grant is my first step on a journey that I now believe is bigger than just this six months in FInland. I'm up to the challenge, Onerva!
And here's one of my favorite pictures of my smiling MeMa...even if she is being photobombed by a Marine doll. I know she is so proud of what I am doing now and it is with her in mind that I live each day to the fullest and continue to try to make her proud!