Why Finland's schools are kicking our butt: More focus on the human, less on tests

[KurtNYC]

There have been a couple threads today on the OECD study that found the US near the bottom of Western countries in math and tech skills. The same study confirmed, again, that Finland is doing something right but what is it?

“Whatever it takes” is an attitude that drives not just Kirkkojarvi’s 30 teachers, but most of Finland’s 62,000 educators in 3,500 schools from Lapland to Turku—professionals selected from the top 10 percent of the nation’s graduates to earn a required master’s degree in education. Many schools are small enough so that teachers know every student. If one method fails, teachers consult with colleagues to try something else. They seem to relish the challenges. Nearly 30 percent of Finland’s children receive some kind of special help during their first nine years of school. The school where Louhivuori teaches served 240 first through ninth graders last year; and in contrast with Finland’s reputation for ethnic homogeneity, more than half of its 150 elementary-level students are immigrants—from Somalia, Iraq, Russia, Bangladesh, Estonia and Ethiopia, among other nations. “Children from wealthy families with lots of education can be taught by stupid teachers,” Louhivuori said, smiling. “We try to catch the weak students. It’s deep in our thinking.”

The transformation of the Finns’ education system began some 40 years ago as the key propellent of the country’s economic recovery plan. Educators had little idea it was so successful until 2000, when the first results from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a standardized test given to 15-year-olds in more than 40 global venues, revealed Finnish youth to be the best young readers in the world. Three years later, they led in math. By 2006, Finland was first out of 57 countries (and a few cities) in science. In the 2009 PISA scores released last year, the nation came in second in science, third in reading and sixth in math among nearly half a million students worldwide. “I’m still surprised,” said Arjariita Heikkinen, principal of a Helsinki comprehensive school. “I didn’t realize we were that good.”
...
There are no mandated standardized tests in Finland, apart from one exam at the end of students’ senior year in high school. There are no rankings, no comparisons or competition between students, schools or regions. Finland’s schools are publicly funded. The people in the government agencies running them, from national officials to local authorities, are educators, not business people, military leaders or career politicians. Every school has the same national goals and draws from the same pool of university-trained educators. The result is that a Finnish child has a good shot at getting the same quality education no matter whether he or she lives in a rural village or a university town. The differences between weakest and strongest students are the smallest in the world, according to the most recent survey by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). “Equality is the most important word in Finnish education. All political parties on the right and left agree on this,” said Olli Luukkainen, president of Finland’s powerful teachers union.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/Why-Are-Finlands-Schools-Successful.html#ixzz2h9xpqqs3

A great article with lots of detail for those who are interested and more evidence that NCLB was an ill-conceived farce.

[daleanime]

1. K&R....

If your not willing to dedicate resources to education, then your not willing to improve it.

[madfloridian]

2. They have great respect for their teachers. In the US we do not.

A look at Finland's attitude toward schools and teachers. A world apart from views here.

Strategies for Reform

Because of these trends, many people have turned to Finland for clues to educational transformation. As one analyst notes: Most visitors to Finland discover elegant school buildings filled with calm children and highly educated teachers. They also recognize the large autonomy that schools enjoy; little interference by the central education administration in schools’ everyday lives, systematic methods to address problems in the lives of students, and targeted professional help for those in need. (Sahlberg 2009, p. 7)

However, less visible forces account for the more tangible evidence visitors may see. Leaders in Finland attribute these gains to their intensive investments in teacher education – all teachers receive three years of high quality graduate-level preparation, completely at state expense – plus a major overhaul of the curriculum and assessment system designed to ensure access to a “thinking curriculum” for all students. A recent analysis of the Finnish system summarized its core principles as follows (Laukkanen 2008; see also Buchberger & Buchberger 2003):

* Resources for those who need them most
* High standards and supports for special needs
* Qualified teachers
* Evaluation of education
* Balancing decentralization and centralization

[KurtNYC]

5. "Resources for those who need them most " -- that is the difference that keeps jumping out

It seems like it is popular here for politicians to talk about "competition" and "marketplace" with respect to schooling. By definition, this terms demand that someone lose. Totally wrong headed if we want to try and help every child to live at their best potential.

The OECD study showed that the US has the greatest inequality in education of any country in the study. So buried under the "US sucks at math" headline is that we are writing off millions of kids altogether. The next Jonas Salk could be out there and just happens to wind up in a grade school that is one of the "losers" in this bullshit marketplace metaphor we are living with. We miss or delay the cure for cancer.

IMHO the genius of a Jonas Salk, a Hawking, a Freud, an Einstein is, in a pragmatic view, divided up among the millions of people that make up our society. We would do well to tap into every bit of that, honor the contribution and potential of every human being and reap the benefits. Moving millions of C students to a B in school AND in life has benefits for all of us.

[The2ndWheel]

3. No rankings, comparisons, or competition in Finnish schools

A process which seems to have had a hand in their success. Yet there's an international study that ranks and compares educational results in different countries, in what seems to be a competition.

[KurtNYC]

7. the Finns didn't create the OECD studies, they only participated

and the emphasis in the article is in sharing what seems to have worked for them.

[The2ndWheel]

9. Just found the contrast funny is all

The Finns don't rank or compare in school, so how do we know they have a better system? They're ranked higher when compared with other countries.

[DevonRex]

4. Their teachers are treated as professionals. They have to be on the top 10% of their

graduating class to become teachers. And it's very competitive. Starting pay isn't great but working conditions are fantastic. And pay increases fairly quickly.

[xchrom]

6. hmmmph -- where are the YOU CAN'T COMPARE US TO FINLAND!11 posters? nt

[Jim Warren]

8. I'm a Finn

Mother born in Turku, Dad 2nd gen American with roots from Helsinki, and I don't think you can compare the two.

Finland has a pop. of 5.5M, smaller than the state (MA) where I live, and also have a very homogeneous society. Don't get me wrong, I love the home country but I do not think it's fair to compare the two.

[duffyduff]

10. Apples and oranges. Finland is an itty-bitty country with little diversity.

I get tired of the nonsense bragging about it.

[liberal_at_heart]

11. Why does it always seem like everybody but us has this stuff figured out?

[KurtNYC]

12. When the politicians started saying that our schools were to "compete" for dollars

they guaranteed that there would be losers. They say they want to "run government like a business" but what kind of business decides up front that half their customers will be losers ?

[LWolf]

13. Whatever it takes.

I certainly wish we focused more on student needs and less on tests, teacher bashing, privatization, etc., and I've been saying so since before the public education attacks went national with NCLB, let alone RTTT.

Whatever it takes.

Let me tell you what it "takes" for just a few of my students this year, and they are not outliers:

Student # 1: Please give him a place to live; a safe, clean, warm place to go home to each day where he can keep his things without losing them, have a decent meal, a bath, and get a good night's sleep. Clean laundry would be good, too.

Student # 2: His case worker is searching for his 8th foster home in 3 years. Let them find someone who will keep him, in spite of the difficulty and stress he brings to their lives, because he's almost out of time. He's been diagnosed with a bunch of stuff, and classified, at the age of 11, as a budding sexual predator, following in the footsteps of the abusive father he was taken away from way too late. If he's not going to grow into an abuser or spend his life behind bars or both, someone has got to quit pushing him away and be there. NOW.

Student # 3: His parents are divorcing, and his mom has announced to him that she's glad to be free, and never wants to see him again. His dad is overwhelmed, angry, and lacks parenting skills. He cares, but doesn't know how to provide the kid with stability, with that combination of love, patience, structure, and firmness that he needs right now. The kid is deeply angry, lashing out at the world, and is also on the more extreme end of ADHD.

Student # 4: A nice kid, a loving, if somewhat chaotic and scattered, family; he is smart, funny, fun, and lost in a cloud of disorganized confusion. He can't ever find what he needs. He walks down the hall with an armload of unorganized stuff, leaving a trail of papers, pencils, etc. behind him. This is not an exaggeration. He gets out of his seat every 2 minutes, on average, because he just remembered something that has nothing whatsoever to do with whatever he's supposed to be working on. He doesn't remember anything he's been told, even when he's been told every day for a month, until you tell him again, and he says, "Oh, yeah." He doesn't know which side of his paper is the front side, or what a margin is for, or how to write on lines.

Student # 5: A wonderful, engaging young man walking to the beat of a different drummer; reasonable intelligence, but completely uninterested in anything remotely academic or intellectual; has mastered the art of escaping into his fantasy world in any setting, while looking like he's engaged in whatever he is supposed to be doing. Will good-naturedly spend a little time on a task if I sit next to him and talk him through it, keeping him out of his own world and trying to learn, but only while I'm there totally focused on him. As soon as I move onto another student, he is "gone" again.

Students # 6, 7, 8 and 9: Drug babies raised by grandparents. Not related; 4 different sets of grandparents. Severe problems with focus, organization, and the ability to llisten, read and communicate clearly in spoken or written form.

Student # 10: Dad has never been in the picture, wasn't interested in being a father. Mom was more interested in partying, and dumped him off at her parents, never to be heard from again. He's spent the last 6 years being shuttled from one family member to another, NONE OF WHOM WANTED HIM, and moving from school to school as his living circumstances changed again. He's a nice kid. He's lovable. I don't know why his family doesn't love him, but this kid needs some therapy and a stable home.

Student # 11: Suffers from chronic depression; divorced parents are too busy fighting to get him the help he needs.

Student # 12: Doesn't eat at lunch because parents don't send her with food or money. Doesn't eat breakfast at home, either. I keep her supplied with "snacks" that I allow anyone to eat in class.

Student # 13: Suffers from anxiety disorder that severely impacts her ability to function academically. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I spend copious amounts of time "conferencing" with mom about it, and mom is usually crying and/or ranting, because her anxiety levels about the kid are more extreme than her daughter's. Mental health services are not included in the families insurance.

That's enough to go with; I could list a whole lot more. Whatever it takes: Where's the food, the stability, the love, the counseling and therapy, and the smaller setting with more one-on-one support that these students need?

[BelgianMadCow]

14. OP worthy

I got a lump in my throat from reading that. Thank you for what you do against these odds.

[LWolf]

17. You're welcome.

I'll skip over the 90 minute meeting after school today which was, of course, all about test scores and how they relate to our evaluations, and say that I do my best to love them first, and try to create a positive atmosphere in the midst of a lot of negative stuff.

[KurtNYC]

15. Wow. Sounds like Oxnard

Lots of stability and personal security issues. Lots of parental drug use and flaking out. Plus many ESL grade schoolers.

This is off topic but might make you smile. There was an loud argument in the grade school lunch room and they separated two kids, we'll call them Billy and Jane.

Teacher #1: What is this all about?
Billy (4th grader): She's a liar!
Jane: Am not!
Billy: She said she was virgin! She's a liar!

Whoa! Uh oh...time out...they take Billy to the Principals office. There have been a lot of issue at the school this year and the general feeling among the teacher and Principal is at this point 'oh gawd here we go again!'

Principal: Calm down Billy. She said she was a virgin?!
Billy: Yes! But she's not! She's a liar!
Principal: Liar is a strong word Billy.
Billy: but she IS a liar! I SAW her!
(adults exchange a look of "oh no&quot
Teacher #1: You saw her?
Billy: Yeah...in the lunchroom
(adults sweating bullets now, color draining from their faces...in the lunchroom!? )
Billy: (continues) SHE ATE A HAMBURGER!
(adults take a breath finally)
Principal: A hamburger, so what??
Billy: She said she is virgin but she's a liar...she ate a hamburger!
(a beat...then relief and holding back laughter as they figure out...)
Teacher #1 (triumphantly) Vegan!? She said she was a vegan?

What a huge and important job you do LWolf. Thank you!

[LWolf]

16. lol

You're welcome. The kids are worth it.

[Jefferson23]

18. Outstanding..and the US can't replicate this model because our country is too big.

That combined with NCLB and Race to the Top Toilet initiatives.

[liberal_at_heart]

19. kick to compare a good school system with our Common Core and Race to the Top.