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How Finland built the best education system in the world
Posted on 2/6/17 at 10:36 am
Posted on 2/6/17 at 10:36 am
quote:LINK
Education is also a national priority, funded well, with more than 55 percent in federal dollars, and catering to working families. Free meals, health care and outside-of-class child care are available to all students, who start formal schooling at age 7 after state-sponsored compulsory kindergarten that features outdoor play and exploration.
School is mandatory through grade 9, or age 16, with two tracks in high school—general academic and vocational. Nearly 40 percent of students choose the vocational side, which is geared toward what the country expects to need in the next decade in terms of skilled workers, such as computer coding and engineering.
Finland, teaching is a highly respected, coveted and comparatively well-paid profession. Only 10 percent of students who apply to college teaching programs are accepted. Preparation is rigorous; no teacher even steps in front of a class without a master’s degree.
Student seat time in Finland is among the lowest in the world at about 20 hours per week; by comparison, U.S. and Chinese students average around 30 hours while Japanese and German students are close to 24 hours, according to a report from the Center for Public Education.
Finland also mandates 15-minute recess periods between every class, so teachers have extensive time for lesson preparation.
“No teacher teaches every lesson of the day,” says Slade, who estimates that instruction occupies only about half to two-thirds of teacher time. “During the week, teachers get together, assess issues and plan as teams. They develop a unified teaching core and approach.”
In addition to having more hours for preparation, Finnish teachers also assign less homework than do their international counterparts. They believe that the best place for students to learn is at school where trained professionals are available to assist.
Quality is emphasized over a quantity of assignments.
“We spend a lot of time in our education system giving kids busy work that comes back to our belief that if kids are working hard, they must be learning a lot,” says Burkey. “If kids are working hard on work that’s meaningless, that’s not beneficial to them.”
Finnish schools are well-built and practical, and not overly reliant on technology. Classrooms are basic, with traditional chairs, tables and chalkboards instead of interactive whiteboards.
“The Fins really focus on design, so when you walk into a building, you see walls that move, tables that disappear, cafeteria tables that fold up in ways that we’ve never imagined,” says Darrell Lockwood, superintendent of Chester School District in New Hampshire, who has visited Finland several times.
The Fins approach K12 education as more than an 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. experience, says Lockwood, and that includes before- and after-school programs geared around the working schedules of parents.
Lockwood brought that concept back to his district, which has only half-day kindergarten. He initiated an after-school child-care program for kindergarten students, which has since helped to double enrollment.
In Finland, life skills that build character—such as critical thinking and group problem-solving—anchor the education process. By presenting real-world challenges with direct personal connections, such as designing and building a school greenhouse, students learn how to plan, perform tasks and then evaluate their work.
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Posted on 2/6/17 at 10:37 am to Bench McElroy
The entire nation mostly being one race cant hurt
Posted on 2/6/17 at 10:37 am to goldennugget
Also helps when your entire country has half the population of NYC.
Posted on 2/6/17 at 10:40 am to goldennugget
How would the education system in the U.S. rank worldwide if we removed all minorities from the statistics?
Posted on 2/6/17 at 10:40 am to Centinel
quote:
How Finland built the best education system in the world
Posted on 2/6/17 at 10:42 am to Bench McElroy
quote:Kind of like most US schools in 1960, when we were at or near the top worldwide in every academic measure.
Finnish schools are well-built and practical, and not overly reliant on technology. Classrooms are basic, with traditional chairs, tables and chalkboards instead of interactive whiteboards.
What do you suppose has changed?
Posted on 2/6/17 at 10:43 am to Bench McElroy
Finland doesn't really exist.
LINK
LINK
quote:
The Finland conspiracy states that Finland is not a real country. Not only is it not a real country but there is actually no landmass there at all, and the space between Sweden and Russia is actually empty ocean.
Posted on 2/6/17 at 10:45 am to goldennugget
quote:
The entire nation mostly being one race cant hurt
While I appreciate ethnocentrism, I think the variables involved in appropriate education extend well beyond that. Even in our diverse society, I think a more Montessori-like approach (as well as recognition and identification of student strengths, coupled with more divergent educations starting at pubescence) would do wonders for everyone, regardless of ethnicity.
Posted on 2/6/17 at 10:45 am to HempHead
nah bro we just all gotta be white
Posted on 2/6/17 at 10:47 am to jefforize
quote:
Finland doesn't really exist.
I've been to Helsinki
Posted on 2/6/17 at 10:48 am to Ancient Astronaut
Finland isn't in NATO
Posted on 2/6/17 at 10:48 am to Tiguar
quote:
nah bro we just all gotta be white
That would be bretty gud but it ain't happening. Might as well make the best of it, ya know?
Posted on 2/6/17 at 10:49 am to goldennugget
quote:
The entire nation mostly being one race cant hurt
It doesn't but the Prussian system, which we use in the U.S., is almost-universally accepted by macroeducational scholars as being subpar to other systems. The Prussian system was based in the industrial model when the West was in the peak of the Industrial revolution. It is assembly-line academics with the purpose of training assembly-line workers. The problem is the West is now post-industrial but the educational model has never changed.
There are some interesting alternative models being used and elite schools are constantly looking to implement more student-centered formats but change will be slow to come in the private system and all but absent in the public system.
ETA: High Tech High is a charter school near San Diego that uses a student-centered project model with amazing results.
LINK
This post was edited on 2/6/17 at 10:56 am
Posted on 2/6/17 at 10:50 am to Antonio Moss
I am in complete agreement AM but I'm pretty sure it's the Prussian model.
Posted on 2/6/17 at 10:51 am to HempHead
quote:
The entire nation mostly being one race cant hurt
While I appreciate ethnocentrism, I think the variables involved in appropriate education extend well beyond that.
There are; however, there is no denying that homogeneous societies get to have all kinds of cool shite.
quote:
well as recognition and identification of student strengths,
we do this, but do not do this
quote:however, we are trending toward this style of education. Slowly, we are moving back away from the college for everyone approach.
coupled with more divergent educations starting at pubescence)
Posted on 2/6/17 at 10:52 am to Antonio Moss
If government got out of the way we probably already would have changed to a better system. Unfortunately we have a bunch of union thugs and soriority girls running the education system in this country.
Posted on 2/6/17 at 10:52 am to Bench McElroy
Finland's plan: Outsource all national security functions to the US, use their money only on education.
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