No standardized tests, no private schools, no stress. Finland's education system is consistently ranked best in the world. Why isn't America copying it?
- Finland's intellectual and educational reforms have completely revolutionized their educational system.
- The Finnish system doesn't encourage cramming or standardized tests.
- Finland's common-sense practices and a holistic teaching environment strives for equity over excellence.
Time and time again, American students continually rank near the middle or bottom among industrialized nations when it comes to performance in math and science. The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) which in conjunction with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) routinely releases data which shows that Americans are seriously lagging behind in a number of educational performance assessments.
Despite calls for education reform and a
continual lackluster performance on the international scale, not a lot is being
done or changing within the educational system. Many private and public schools
run on the same antiquated systems and schedules that were once conducive to an
agrarian society. The mechanization and rigid assembly-line methods we use
today are spitting out ill-prepared worker clones, rudderless adults and an
uninformed populace.
But no amount of pontificating will change what we
already know. The American education system needs to be completely revamped –
from the first grade to the Ph.D. It's going to take a lot more than a
well-meaning celebrity project to do that…
Many people are familiar with the stereotype of the
hard-working, rote memorization, myopic tunnel vision of Eastern Asian study
and work ethics. Many of these countries, like China, Singapore, and Japan
amongst others routinely rank in the number one spots in both math and science.
Some pundits point towards this model of exhaustive
brain draining as something Americans should aspire to become. Work more! Study
harder! Live less. The facts and figures don't lie – these countries are
outperforming us, but there might be a better and healthier way to go about
this.
Finland is the answer – a country rich in intellectual and educational reform has
initiated over the years a number of novel and simple changes that have
completely revolutionized their educational system. They outrank the United
States and are gaining on Eastern Asian countries.
Are they cramming in dimly-lit rooms on robotic
schedules? Nope. Stressing over standardized tests enacted by the government?
No way. Finland is leading the way because of
common-sense practices and a holistic teaching environment that strives for
equity over excellence. Here are 10 reasons why Finland's education system is
dominating America and the world stage.
No standardized testing
Staying in line with our print-minded sensibilities,
standardized testing is the blanket way we test for subject comprehension. Filling
in little bubbles on a scantron and answering pre-canned questions is somehow
supposed to be a way to determine mastery or at least competence of a subject.
What often happens is that students will learn to cram just to pass a test and
teachers will be teaching with the sole purpose of students passing a test.
Learning has been thrown out of the equation.
Finland has no standardized tests. Their only
exception is something called the National Matriculation Exam, which is a
voluntary test for students at the end of an upper-secondary school (equivalent
to an American high school.) All children throughout Finland are graded on an
individualized basis and grading system set by their teacher. Tracking overall
progress is done by the Ministry of Education, which samples groups across
different ranges of schools.
Accountability for teachers (not required)
A lot of the blame goes to the teachers and
rightfully so sometimes. But in Finland, the bar is set so high for teachers,
that there is often no reason to have a rigorous “grading" system for
teachers. Pasi Sahlberg, director of the Finnish Ministry of Education and
writer of Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in
Finland? Said that following about teachers' accountability:
"There's no word for
accountability in Finnish… Accountability is something that is left when
responsibility has been subtracted."
All teachers are required to have a master's degree
before entering the profession. Teaching programs are the most rigorous and
selective professional schools in the entire country. If a teacher isn't
performing well, it's the individual principal's responsibility to do something
about it.
The concept of the pupil-teacher dynamic that was
once the master to apprentice cannot be distilled down to a few bureaucratic
checks and standardized testing measures. It needs to be dealt with on an
individual basis.
Cooperation not competition
While most Americans and other countries see the
educational system as one big Darwinian competition, the Finns see it
differently. Sahlberg quotes a line from a writer named Samuli Paronen which
says that:
“Real winners do not
compete."
Ironically, this attitude has put them at the head
of the international pack. Finland's educational system doesn't worry about
artificial or arbitrary merit-based systems. There are no lists of top
performing schools or teachers. It's not an environment of competition –
instead, cooperation is the norm.
Make the basics a priority
Many school systems are so concerned with increasing
test scores and comprehension in math and science, they tend to forget what
constitutes a happy, harmonious and healthy student and learning environment.
Many years ago, the Finnish school system was in need of some serious reforms.
The program that Finland put together focused on
returning back to the basics. It wasn't about dominating with excellent marks
or upping the ante. Instead, they looked to make the school environment a more
equitable place.
Since the 1980s, Finnish educators have focused on
making these basics a priority:
·
Education should be an
instrument to balance out social inequality.
·
All students receive
free school meals.
·
Ease of access to health
care.
·
Psychological counseling
·
Individualized guidance
Beginning with the individual in a collective
environment of equality is Finland's way.
Starting school at an older age
Here the Finns again start by changing very minute
details. Students start school when they are seven years old. They're given
free reign in the developing childhood years to not be chained to compulsory
education. It's simply just a way to let a kid be a kid.
There are only 9 years of compulsory school that
Finnish children are required to attend. Everything past the ninth grade or at
the age of 16 is optional.
Just from a psychological standpoint, this is a
freeing ideal. Although it may anecdotal, many students really feel like
they're stuck in a prison. Finland alleviates this forced ideal and instead
opts to prepare its children for the real world.
Providing professional options past a traditional
college degree
The current pipeline for education in America is
incredibly stagnant and immutable. Children are stuck in the K-12 circuit
jumping from teacher to teacher. Each grade a preparation for the next, all
ending in the grand culmination of college, which then prepares you for the
next grand thing on the conveyor belt. Many students don't need to go to
college and get a worthless degree or flounder about trying to find purpose and
incur massive debt.
Finland solves this dilemma by offering options that
are equally advantageous for the student continuing their education. There is a
lesser focused dichotomy of college-educated versus trade-school or working
class. Both can be equally professional and fulfilling for a career.
In Finland, there is the Upper Secondary School
which is a three-year program that prepares students for the Matriculation Test
that determines their acceptance into a University. This is usually based off
of specialties they've acquired during their time in “high-school"
Next, there is vocational education, which is a
three-year program that trains students for various careers. They have the
option to take the Matriculation test if they want to then apply to University.
Finns wake up later
for less strenuous schooldays
Waking up early, catching a bus or ride,
participating in morning and after school extracurriculars are huge time sinks
for a student. Add to the fact that some classes start anywhere from 6am to 8am
and you've got sleepy, uninspired adolescents on your hands.
Students in Finland usually start school anywhere
from 9:00 – 9:45 AM. Research
has shown that early start times are detrimental to students' well-being,
health, and maturation. Finnish schools start the day later and usually end by
2:00 – 2:45 AM. They have longer class periods and much longer breaks in
between. The overall system isn't there to ram and cram information to their
students, but to create an environment of holistic learning.
Consistent instruction from the same teachers
There are fewer teachers and students in Finnish
schools. You can't expect to teach an auditorium of invisible faces and
breakthrough to them on an individual level. Students in Finland often have the
same teacher for up to six years of their education. During this time, the
teacher can take on the role of a mentor or even a family member. During those
years, mutual trust and bonding are built so that both parties know and respect
each other.
Different needs and learning styles vary on an
individual basis. Finnish teachers can account for this because they've figured
out the student's own idiosyncratic needs. They can accurately chart and care
for their progress and help them reach their goals. There is no passing along
to the next teacher because there isn't one.
A more relaxed atmosphere
There is a general trend in what Finland is doing
with its schools. Less stress, less unneeded regimentation and more caring.
Students usually only have a couple of classes a day. They have several times
to eat their food, enjoy recreational activities and generally just relax.
Spread throughout the day are 15 to 20-minute intervals where the kids can get
up and stretch, grab some fresh air and decompress.
This type of environment is also needed by the teachers. Teacher rooms are set up all over Finnish schools, where they can lounge about and relax, prepare for the day or just simply socialize. Teachers are people too and need to be functional so they can operate at the best of their abilities.
This type of environment is also needed by the teachers. Teacher rooms are set up all over Finnish schools, where they can lounge about and relax, prepare for the day or just simply socialize. Teachers are people too and need to be functional so they can operate at the best of their abilities.
Less homework and outside work required
According to the OECD, students in Finland have the
least amount of outside work and homework than any other student in the world.
They spend only half an hour a night working on stuff from school. Finnish
students also don't have tutors. Yet they're outperforming cultures that have
toxic school-to-life balances without the unneeded or unnecessary stress.
Finnish students are getting everything they need to
get done in school without the added pressures that come with excelling at a
subject. Without having to worry about grades and busy-work they are able to
focus on the true task at hand – learning and growing as a human being.
