I have a crush on Finland. I didn't know this was possible, but there you have it.
Throughout the making of Waiting for 'Superman', I kept finding myself looking at the amazing academic success of Finland. I dismissed it as an "apples and oranges" comparison to the United States initially, because most people in Finland are...well...Finnish. It's a very different country; Finland is smaller and more homogeneous in culture, and more advanced when it comes to health and welfare services provided by the government. School doesn't even start until the age of six or seven and is structured differently. Finnish kids have shorter school days, but slightly longer school years; they have a national curricula and a healthy unionized teaching force; they spend less on education than the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) average while the United States spends much more. And, when you look at the numbers, Finland is number one in math, number two in reading, and number one in science. Education is considered a civil right and the Finns emphasize quality and equity for everyone.
So as much as I tried to dismiss Finland for its differences, one factor just kept standing out: the quality of the teaching force. Teaching is a very sought-after profession, allowing for the selection of some of the best students to become teachers with most teachers being chosen from the top 10 percent of their college classes. It's both competitive and prestigious with only a small percentage of candidates being accepted to study as teachers. Teachers are respected, trusted and honored. And guess what else? Teaching is popular.
No doubt we have many amazing teachers here in the United States But great teachers cannot exist in a void. They need great principals, great leaders, support and professional development. And we need more of them. With 50 percent of the teaching core eligible for retirement over the next 10 years, we have a challenge and a real opportunity before us. We need to treat teaching as a profession on par with that of a scientist or doctor. Shore up our schools of education, draw candidates for teaching from our top graduates, pay them better, support them, evaluate and reward them. Great teachers want to work with other great teachers. Imagine that. Whatever you might think of Finland in comparison, the Finns properly value the teaching profession. That is something we should look at closely.
Originally posted on WaitingForSuperman.com
If this is a subject you're passionate about, please join me here on Huffington Post Education in a virtual town hall with Arianna Huffington, NYC Schools Chancellor Joel Klein and Director David Guggenheim this Friday, October 8 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. We will be taking questions from people across the country as we discuss teaching, education and the film, "Waiting for Superman.' "
Quite a lot of facists still seem to be fooled into thinking Finland supports your crazy bs. Don't you understand that we tricked you into attacking USSR? We don't have some childish enemy of my enemy is my friend nonsense that Americans and British seem to believe. We saw supporting Operation Barbarossa as two birds with one stone. In case 6000+ Nazi casualties in the Lapland War wasn't clear enough, Finland does not support facism.
They also realized that their citizen's health and well being was integral to learning and working at peak performance. So a college education is given to ALL children, healthcare is free or near free. More than decent housing is made available to everyone. No one goes hungry or without. They erased poverty.
The fulfillment of basic needs and the caring attitude of government gives everybody a boost in self-esteem and a solid foundation for growth! There are 3 teachers per classroom. The students stay with the same set of teachers for several years. A close, sincere bond is formed. You could say love and mutual respect develop between them. There is no teasing or bullying. No failures. Kids are not held back, they are tutored and given individual attention so that they excel. The national dropout rate is only 2 %. And now they are #1 in education!
In other words, Finland turned their country around by creating quality social programs and truly caring for its people. All things the GOP-TP are against.
I am expat since many years, and I sometimes worry when I see the limited curriculum and shallow teaching of the subjects my own children have in their Irish national school.
Mostly, though, I think the success of the Finnish school system is due to the fact that practically all children go to the state/municipal schools, regardless of wealth. that way, it is not possible to abandon schools by cutting their funding.
Schools also provide free meals and plenty of extra-curricular and after-school activities such as sports, drama, music and crafts.
Taxes in Finland are, of course, very much higher than the ones in the US (or UK, Ireland), but in the long run it is better to pay taxes with gritted teeth and instead receive education, health services and other "common" services for free or for a low fee.
Every country on earth have their rich and their poor, but this way nobody is automatically excluded from a better life through lack of education.
American parents think OTHER children are simply smarter. I have been told that actually. They also don't have the culture of putting a HUGE value on their children becoming a doctor, engineer, etc. They cheer if the kid says “ i want to become fire fighter, or policeman”a sorta thing I would have gotten slapped if I ever said it. I was TOLD I had to become a Dr. I hated medicine, but I did become a Dr, in science. This is the case with MOST other cultures. And they spent NO $$ on my primary education, it is all FREE overseas.
American educational system, actually there is NO system. There is no federal national comprehensive system; that is equal & standard all over the country with mandatory and rigorous science and math teachings, like ANY other nation. Such things never developed, bc of mostly loony organizations such as TX board of edu, and other religious nuts.
So dream on, Finland makes # 1 in most subjects in most international contests, and USA so far has only topped MEXICO, in the bottom of a long list.
I have friends who are paramedics and firefighters. It's actually a really tough job. Perhaps not as cranial as scientist....but still a worthy occupation.
I agree many parents have out of whack priorities, but you're generalizing a little too much. There are plenty of American parents who are serious about their kids's educations and monitor their progress. I hope you love your job by the way. Science is awesome, but people have to like what they are doing. If it worked for you - great. But colleges and graduate schools are full of miserable kids who are following the path someone else chose for them.
And I was in graduate school, that is not mostly true in that level. It may be true during undergrad yrs, but any smart gutsy person who hates her or his studies usually figures it out before graduation, and if there are some who don't, bad luck. Many join military bc they have NO better option and die before they are 25, I guess getting stuck as a DR or engineer isn't so bad in comparison, or is it?
(Tongue in cheek, but 2-3 languages is standard.)
Let's fire the incompetent teachers, raise the salaries of the good ones and either force many administrators back into the classroom if they are competent or fire them.
The saved money can be used to hire and pay competent teachers more.
Teachers getting paid? check
Utility bills paid? check
Students have everything they need? Books, internet, computers, lab equipment? check
OK guys, we can all sit around and do nothing for a few weeks.
Also fun that some of the most powerful people in the school system are not teachers or students. If you where to listen to a local high schools rule list you would think these children are in prison and teachers are jailers.
The trope that bad teachers are the problem and they can't get fired is an invention.
It's not reality.
What we call donations, they call bribes, and put people in jail accordingly when they break the law.
Publicly-financed elections.
Term limits.
No lobbyists.
We could also require elected officials to send their children or grandchildren to public schools in the area they represent...