From: Jo Falcon (jofalcon@exploratorium.edu)
Date: Fri Apr 09 2004 - 15:18:39 PDT
Date: Fri, 9 Apr 2004 15:18:39 -0700 (PDT) From: Jo Falcon <jofalcon@exploratorium.edu> Subject: Finland -- teacher utopia? Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.4.44.0404091511120.12348-100000@isaac>
Below is a recent article from the New York Times about the country
that's currently number one in child literacy -- and, apparently, in
respect for teachers as the heros you are. If you don't read the whole
thing:
"If one trait sets Finland apart from many other countries, it is the
quality and social standing of its teachers... while they are no better
paid than teachers in other countries, the profession is highly respected.
Many more people want to become teachers... than universities can actually
handle, so the vast majority are turned down."
Jo Falcon, MLIS
The Exploratorium Learning Studio
415 561-0343
"We unscrew the inscrutable."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Finland, Land of Literate Children
By LIZETTE ALVAREZ
Published: April 9, 2004
SUUTARILA, Finland - Imagine an educational system where children do not
start school until they are 7, where spending is a paltry $5,000 a year
per student, where there are no gifted programs and class sizes often
approach 30. A prescription for failure, no doubt, in the eyes of many
experts, but in this case a description of Finnish schools, which were
recently ranked the world's best.
Finland topped a respected international survey last year, coming in first
in literacy and placing in the top five in math and science. Ever since,
educators from all over the world have thronged to this self-restrained
country to deconstruct its school system - "educational pilgrims," the
locals call them - and, with luck, take home a sliver of wisdom.
"We are a little bit embarrassed about our success," said Simo Juva, a
special government adviser to the Ministry of Education, summing up the
typical reaction in Finland, where boasting over accomplishments does not
come easily. Perhaps next year, he said, wishfully, Finland will place
second or third.
The question on people's minds is obvious: how did Finland, which was
hobbled by a deep recession in the 1990's, manage to outscore 31 other
countries, including the United States, in the review by the Organization
of Economic Cooperation and Development last September? The rankings were
based on reading, math and science tests given to a sample of 15-year-olds
attending both public and private schools. United States students placed
in the middle of the pack.
Finland's recipe is both complex and unabashedly basic. It is also similar
to that in other Nordic countries. Some of the ingredients can be exported
(its flexibility in the classroom, for example) and some cannot (the
nation's small, homogenous population and the relative prosperity of most
Finns, to name two).
If one trait sets Finland apart from many other countries, it is the
quality and social standing of its teachers, said Barry Macgaw, the
director for education at the O.E.C.D.
All teachers in Finland must have at least a master's degree, and while
they are no better paid than teachers in other countries, the profession
is highly respected. Many more people want to become teachers after
graduating from upper schools than universities can actually handle, so
the vast majority are turned down.
"Teaching is the No. 1," Outi Pihlman, the English teacher at Suutarila
Lower Comprehensive School, said about a recent survey asking teenagers to
name their favorite profession. "At that age, you would think they would
want anything but to go back to school."
The Suutarila school - cheerful, well lit, nicely heated - is typical of
Finnish "comprehensive schools," which run from first to ninth grade. The
students, who number about 500, pad about in their socks. After every
45-minute lesson, they are let loose outside for 15 minutes so they can
burn off steam. Others are allowed to practice their music, and they file
into classrooms, sling electric guitars across their chests or grab
drumsticks and jam.
Children here start school late on the theory that they will learn to love
learning through play. Preschool for 6-year-olds is optional, although
most attend. And since most women work outside the home in Finland,
children usually go to day care after they turn one.
At first, the 7-year-olds lag behind their peers in other countries in
reading, but they catch up almost immediately and then excel. Experts cite
several reasons: reading to children, telling folk tales and going to the
library are activities cherished in Finland. Lastly, children grow up
watching television shows and movies (many in English) with subtitles. So
they read while they watch TV.
So long as schools stick to the core national curriculum, which lays out
goals and subject areas, they are free to teach the way they want. They
can choose their textbooks or ditch them altogether, teach indoors or
outdoors, cluster children in small or large groups.
While there are no programs for gifted children, teachers are free to
devise ways to challenge their smartest students. The smarter students
help teach the average students. "Sometimes you learn better that way,"
said Pirjo Kanno, the principal in Suutarila.
Students must learn two foreign languages - Swedish is required by law,
and most also take English. Art, music, physical education, woodwork and
textiles (which is mostly sewing and knitting) are obligatory for girls
and boys. Hot and healthy school lunches are free. There are also 90
computers scattered about the school, and students are free to attend
homework clubs staffed by assistants after school.
Despite the accolades, Finnish officials say they are far from perfect.
Boys, for example, perform much worse than girls in reading, and with so
many wanting to become teachers, too few are willing to leap outside the
social service sphere. "We're trying to get them to start their own
businesses," said Kirsi Lindroos, the national board of education's
director general.
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