Wall Street Journal article...

[Kelli in TN]

I found this article linked in a blog entry and I think the article raises some interesting points.

 

What Makes Finnish Kids So Smart

 

I was impressed that the article tells about an educational system that is rigorous and yet relaxed at the same time.

[Melora in NC]

This is very interesting -- thank you!

[PrairieAir]

I found these quotes interesting:

 

"Finnish teachers pick books and customize lessons as they shape students to national standards. 'In most countries, education feels like a car factory. In Finland, the teachers are the entrepreneurs,' says Mr. Schleicher, of the Paris-based OECD, which began the international student test in 2000."

 

"In November, a U.S. delegation visited, hoping to learn how Scandinavian educators used technology. Officials from the Education Department, the National Education Association and the American Association of School Librarians saw Finnish teachers with chalkboards instead of whiteboards, and lessons shown on overhead projectors instead of PowerPoint. Keith Krueger was less impressed by the technology than by the good teaching he saw."

 

The article also mentioned that teaching is a highly competitive profession in Finland and that teachers are required to have master's degrees. It seems they are getting the best people to teach and that those who choose to teach must really have a desire to do so. Add teachers who really want to be there to the freedom that they have in how to teach, and I think you have a pretty good formula for a successful classroom environment. If the teachers are excited and want to be there and they have the freedom to be creative in their teaching, that will energize and excite the students more. The kids will enjoy learning.

 

I know I had both kinds of teachers growing up, and it really did make a huge difference. I've also had some limited experience with being a teacher at co-op and I noticed the difference from that perspective. The teachers who enjoyed what and how they were teaching had the most popular classes and the students in those classes put forth more effort. The teachers who were not teaching a subject they loved and felt they had to follow some unwritten rules about how to teach and who taught strictly by reading from the textbook generally did not have a very good rate of success. I even noticed the difference week by week in my classes as I taught some things I was excited about or had a creative and fun idea about how to teach and other things which I felt I had to teach or times I felt certain things were expected because of co-op leadership.

 

Freedom and competition (in this article among teachers rather than students) are two things often credited with making this country strong and a leader in innovation in its earlier years. Do you think those things have declined here or just that they have increased in other parts of the world? It's interesting to consider.

[Kelli in TN]

I found these quotes interesting:

 

"Finnish teachers pick books and customize lessons as they shape students to national standards. 'In most countries, education feels like a car factory. In Finland, the teachers are the entrepreneurs,' says Mr. Schleicher, of the Paris-based OECD, which began the international student test in 2000."

 

I cannot imagine teachers in the United States have the freedom to do this.

 

"In November, a U.S. delegation visited, hoping to learn how Scandinavian educators used technology. Officials from the Education Department, the National Education Association and the American Association of School Librarians saw Finnish teachers with chalkboards instead of whiteboards, and lessons shown on overhead projectors instead of PowerPoint. Keith Krueger was less impressed by the technology than by the good teaching he saw."

 

The article also mentioned that teaching is a highly competitive profession in Finland and that teachers are required to have master's degrees. It seems they are getting the best people to teach and that those who choose to teach must really have a desire to do so. Add teachers who really want to be there to the freedom that they have in how to teach, and I think you have a pretty good formula for a successful classroom environment. If the teachers are excited and want to be there and they have the freedom to be creative in their teaching, that will energize and excite the students more. The kids will enjoy learning.

 

Wouldn't you think that most young people who go into the teaching profession do so with excitement and hopes of being the teacher who excites and energizes the kids?

 

Freedom and competition (in this article among teachers rather than students) are two things often credited with making this country strong and a leader in innovation in its earlier years. Do you think those things have declined here or just that they have increased in other parts of the world? It's interesting to consider.

 

I think our teachers are overburdened, underpaid, underappreciated and just burnt out by a broken system. I think the U.S. has gifted teachers, people who could be gifted teachers and people who, once upon a time, were gifted teachers. I think the system is broken and it is destroying the teachers and the kids.

 

Also, the article mentions that the kids seem to have a stronger sense of responsibility. Somehow this has been instilled in these kids without being heavy handed with punishments. In fact the teachers seemed very laid back about discipline.

 

It really grieves me to read this and contrast it with our schools, and with our society as a whole. The U.S. could have schools like that. We really could. I don't think we ever have and I don't think we ever will, but we could and that is just sad.

[jmgconner]

The Finnish culture appears to value education, and the US doesn't. Books given as gifts at birth; first-graders expected to be able to complete basic skills on their own; children who grasp concepts helping others (and without a stigma attached - can you even imagine that in today's US schools? - I sure can't); 40 master teachers applying for one job.

 

I'm sick of our over-marketed, Hollywood-hype, money-hungry, throw-away culture. Okay, so you caught me on an off-day. :( I'll be interested to read the other responses.

[PrairieAir]

Wouldn't you think that most young people who go into the teaching profession do so with excitement and hopes of being the teacher who excites and energizes the kids?

 

I think our teachers are overburdened, underpaid, underappreciated and just burnt out by a broken system. I think the U.S. has gifted teachers, people who could be gifted teachers and people who, once upon a time, were gifted teachers. I think the system is broken and it is destroying the teachers and the kids.

 

Also, the article mentions that the kids seem to have a stronger sense of responsibility. Somehow this has been instilled in these kids without being heavy handed with punishments. In fact the teachers seemed very laid back about discipline.

 

It really grieves me to read this and contrast it with our schools, and with our society as a whole. The U.S. could have schools like that. We really could. I don't think we ever have and I don't think we ever will, but we could and that is just sad.

 

I don't know about that first statement. Yeah, I would think that's the way it would be, but I've seen some teachers, young and old, that I'm not sure ever had that spark.

 

I know my brother went into teaching for a year because he had trouble finding something to do with his art degree. He was told he was over qualified for so many things. He taught the photography class at a small town high school near Wichita for one year. The school hired him on the condition he work towards an education degree. He's not a kid person naturally and he does not yet have kids of his own. He hated teaching, but then he never went into it because that's what he truly wanted to do. He hated the education courses, too, and I could understand why. He quit after just one year to work in a framing shop. I don't know that the situation is typical, but it's one example of someone teaching who never wanted to teach in the first place.

 

I had so many teachers when I was in school that I could never have imagined ever enjoying kids or really wanting to teach. Maybe some people go into teaching because they can't figure out anything else to do. I had some really great teachers who were clearly passionate about teaching, too.

 

I have considered getting an education degree recently because I've heard that Wichita State University is offering a free education to those who will commit to teach a certain number of years in Wichita schools. At one time I was sure I wanted to teach in a large city high school. (LOL! Too many movies I guess.) I loved teaching my co-op classes and I love working with and helping children and teens. However, I'm not so sure I would want to teach in a big city school (even Wichita) any more. I don't think I would like working in the system and playing by all their rules either. How I'd hate to go through the work of getting the degree and be trapped for however many years in a job that it turned out I didn't like! I'm afraid I'd become one of those teachers. I haven't checked into this offer because of those reasons. I think I'd rather work with kids in another setting that offered more freedom and allowed for more creative and inspired teaching.

 

I definitely think the system is broken and that teachers are underpaid and under appreciated.

 

I also agree that children in this country are generally not raised to have that level of personal responsibility. And their parents often don't seem to have any sense of responsibility in regard to raising their children properly either! I do think that that has not always been the case and that at other times in our history things have been much, much different.