The Finns Have It Right

With all the talks of budget cuts, one area I hope we don't cut back on is education. Our system is so far behind, it's ridiculous. We are number 37 in the world in education. I saw "Waiting For Superman" last year which renewed my interest in how to solve our failing educational system.

Recently I was talking to my friend Kay, and she told me she had been reading about the Finnish schools and how they had turned themselves around, and are now ranked at the top of the list of all countries. Why do they get such great results? Here are a few reasons that were brought out last year at conference attended by 100 foreign delegations and governments who visited Helsinki, hoping to learn the secret of their schools' success.

The Finnish philisophy of education is that everyone has something to contribute and those who struggle in certain subjects should not be left behind. A tactic used in virtually every lesson is the provision of an aadditional 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.

Primary and secondary schooling is combined, so the pupils don't have to change schools at 13. They avoid a potentially disruptive transition from one school to another. Teachers may have the same students for several years, making the job of the teacher much easier. Also, children in Finland start school at age seven. The idea is that before that they learn best when they're playing and by the time they finally get to school they are keen to start learning. (they also have less hours of education than almost any other country)

In Finland, teaching is a prestigious career. Teachers are highly value and teaching standards are high. All teachers have a masters degree, fully paid for by the government. Teaching is a competitive and attractive profession. Finland invests to make sure every classroom has quality teachers.

The educational system's successin Finaland is based partly on the culture. Parents are involved in their child's education and keep in constant contact with their child's school. Learning takes place in a relaxed and informal atmosphere. The low level of immigration in Finland helps to make the school population easier to teach. Most pupils start school with Finnish as their native language, eliminating the obstacle other societies with huge immmigrant populations face.

Of course Finland is a much smaller country, which makes an autonomous education system easier. We have so many diverse races, languages and cultures in our schools, it's almost impossible to have continuity.

We must be willing to spend money on our educational system in order to compete. "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance." I love this quote. We've got to spend money to educate our children. Each year we are falling further and further behind. We better take a good look at the Finns. They're doing something right.