Finnish schools the best

[Miss Chicken]

I have just read this article and found it quite interesting and I would like people's opinion on it.

some of the points made in the article are

In 2006, Finland's pupils scored the highest average results in science and reading in the whole of the developed world. In the OECD's exams for 15 year-olds, known as PISA, they also came second in maths, beaten only by teenagers in South Korea.

This isn't a one-off: in previous PISA tests Finland also came out top.

A tactic used in virtually every lesson is the provision of an additional teacher who helps those who struggle in a particular subject. But the pupils are all kept in the same classroom, regardless of their ability in that particular subject.

According to the OECD, Finnish children spend the fewest number of hours in the classroom in the developed world.

Primary and secondary schooling is combined, so the pupils don't have to change schools at age 13. They avoid a potentially disruptive transition from one school to another.

Teacher Marjaana Arovaara-Heikkinen believes keeping the same pupils in her classroom for several years also makes her job a lot easier.
''I'm like growing up with my children, I see the problems they have when they are small. And now after five years, I still see and know what has happened in their youth, what are the best things they can do. I tell them I'm like their school mother.''

Children in Finland only start main school at age seven. The idea is that before then they learn best when they're playing and by the time they finally get to school they are keen to start learning.

Teaching is a prestigious career in Finland. Teachers are highly valued and teaching standards are high.

 

[clint g]

Well, there is now doubt in my mind that Finnish schools are better than American schools. You can't even discipline children in the classroom anymore without getting sued

 

[auntiehill]

You mean "no doubt."

I forgive you. After all, you probably went to an American school.

 

[clint g]

You mean "no doubt."

I forgive you. After all, you probably went to an American school.

Yep I'm a shining example of the NYC Department of Education

 

[JRS]

I admit that Finnish schools are good.
But the article fails to mention the negative stuff, like bullying...and so on.
I didint have good time at school really, and my where not the best
Im all for a program for talented kids and so on, but what about so called "normal" students..and what is a talendted student anyway? if one is great in arts and sucks in math, is that a talented one?

Teacher Marjaana Arovaara-Heikkinen believes keeping the same pupils in her classroom for several years also makes her job a lot easier.
''I'm like growing up with my children, I see the problems they have when they are small. And now after five years, I still see and know what has happened in their youth, what are the best things they can do. I tell them I'm like their school mother.''

The fact is that the class sizes have become very big and teachers dont really have time to solve individual problems of 30+ children or youngsters.
I admire the teachers statement but Im afraid is not very accurate, generally speaking.
Plus the classes "own teacher" usually doest see his or hers class very often, unless she teaches multiple different classes from math to arts. Its like this at least in the higher grades

 

[Crusher Disciple]

And once again, a study gets is findings on the basis of science and math scores as a basis for comparison. Forget the arts and humanities.

 

[Miss Chicken]

The study does look at reading literacy as well as science and maths. I imagine that it would be very harder to compare tests of arts and humanities because there would be considerable difference in what was covered by schools from one country to the next. Maths, science and reading are far more measurable.

There has been criticism of the PISA testing

Criticism has ensued in Luxembourg which scored quite low, over the method used in its PISA test. Although being a trilingual country, the test was not allowed to be done in Luxembourgish, the mother tongue of a majority of students.


Minor criticism has ensued in Denmark over the fact, that the PISA test focuses on immediately measurable skills such as reading, writing, spelling and calculating abilities, and thus neglects the less measurable factors such as social skills and development, skills that the Danish school system values highly.

 

[Crusher Disciple]

^ I agree with the Danes. It just infuriates me that when a school's effectiveness is measured, it's done with hard statistics and focuses on math/ science scores.

And it eventually becomes an excuse for cutting funding to arts and humanities in the schools as "we just can't measure their effectiveness." The students who excel in those fields are left out because of that lack of funding.

 

[Nardpuncher]

I am agree! is great to Finnish skool! go home and play x-box!!!

 

[Brent]

The American school system sucks. Teachers are not valued or paid well.

 

[FordSVT]

And once again, a study gets is findings on the basis of science and math scores as a basis for comparison. Forget the arts and humanities.

Well, they did mention "reading" specifically.

And I mean, do you really want to put their arts and humanities record up against the USA's too? I'm willing to bet you'd be another loser there as well.

 

[SmoothieX]

If they're all so great, why do they all come here to go to college and grad school?

 

[FordSVT]

Firstly, they all don't, in fact I'm sure it's a rather small percentage of people from overseas who travel to the US to go to school, considering the tens of millions of people around the world who go to college or university. You also forget plenty of people from the USA study abroad.

There is also a gigantic difference between your primary and post secondary education systems, that much should be obvious. No one is saying your universities suck, but they really do have nothing to do with one another. If anything, your post secondary system is crying about the pathetic excuses for students some of your high schools are turning out. Heck, I'll admit it's like that here and our primary system is generally ranked higher than yours internationally.

Also, arts and humanities shouldn't be marginalized or ignored, but this is the 21st century and 75% of actual occupations that will allow you to earn a living wage in the real world require some understanding of math and science, there is no way around it. Health care, industry, finances, IT, the list goes on. Give me an occupation and I can tell you how math and science relate to it. Kids who have no interest in it and want to be writers should be encouraged to do that, but they shouldn't be allowed to graduate without knowing something about how the world physically works.

 

[TerokNor]

Personally I am always disturbed by the way we try to educate our children and mold them into "productive" members of our societies.
Look at how children (and also adults) learn.... and than look at what school does. Killing the curiosity and the motivation for learning...and often even preschool/ kindergarten/nurseries already do that.
That the scandinavian countries are better off does not surprize me. There education system is also not perfect, but they give the children more room to truly learn ....also before they go to school, in a way that does not kill curiosity and motivation. Humans are learners...they love to learn... education should keep that alive and not destroy it. And for doing that there needs to be room, time, possibilities, fun, own experiences, time for experiments, time for play, adults who also love to learn and have passion for their fave subjects, reality/meaning ....

TerokNor