Can being competitive result from being equal?
There are some surprising things in this article about
what makes a successful school system.
No standardized tests, no accountability in terms of teacher
performance, no private schools or competition between schools. Could this work anywhere besides Finland, as
this article claims? What would need to
change in Slovakia for us to even consider a program like this?
Finland is not only the country of thousand lakes, but it has also been ranked as one of the world's countries with the highest quality of life by Newsweek. One of main qualities about Finland is its education system, since in the past years the students in Finland have been reaching some of the highest results in international tests in the world.
ReplyDeleteOne of the secrets behind the great education system in Finland is that the students do not ever get any homework. In addition, the children are encouraged in creative play. This improves their fantasy and helps them to stay focused on the classes. The way how the teachers approach the students is considerably different. The teachers focus on the ways how they could attract the student´s attention and by these methods they improve also their creative thinking.
Another very interesting fact about the school system in Finland is that there are no private schools. This definitely supports the equality in Finland and in addition it makes the students more independent, since they cannot rely on their parents.
I also think that the way how the education system is working in a country depends on the lifestyle of the particular country. For example, people in the USA are used to competing. They are raised in the manner that if you want to be successful in life you need to be independent, different and better than others. This is a whole different trend than the life style in Finland.
What I mostly appreciate on the Finland´s education system is that the student´s marks are based on the individualized grading chosen by each teacher. However, this could also be considered a disadvantage, since the teachers may have a subjective opinion and choose the student´s mark according to their relationship to the students. Therefore, grading according to tests might be a better idea, because then the grade is not based on the teacher´s opinion.
I am not quite sure if this type of education system might work in Slovakia, since Slovakia is not as developed country as Finland. In a way, people in Slovakia might not be mature enough to handle this type of education. Firstly, however, the teacher´s salary would have to be much higher. The teachers in Slovakia are not paid what they deserve, and since I think the education depends mostly on the teachers, they are the ones who should be motivated, so they could motivate the students.
In conclusion, there are many things Slovakia could learn from Finland, and we should definitely try to improve the education system we have here in Slovakia. After all, as Gilbert K. Chesterton once said: „Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another.
I have never believed in equality. People are not born equal and so there is no reason to try and make them. When someone is better, why should be held back to keep on level of worse ones? You say that the worse one should be uplifted to better one's level. Still, if such could be achieved – how is it we are not equal yet? I do however believe in equality of chances – everyone should have equal chance of demonstrating and developing his talent. Such is also the aim of Finnish school system.
ReplyDeleteEquity in this context does mean (I believe) that everyone gets access to the same base of education. That is a good start, but it does not allow better students to fly. That is what are teachers for: In Finland, there is 1 teacher per roughly 15 pupils, which allows him to give personal approach to the students. Such is allowing them to aim higher as well as help other students to develop.
This also depends on culture and mentality of students. Finns are much kinder than citizens of USA in general. Then they are more willing to share and try to achieve equality. In USA however, the trend is "Me first" and the same goes for children. It is highly unlikely that USA will somehow unify schools, since many may and will argue: "I want the best for my children. If this is the land of free, how come I can't?" I would like to see the system improved. I really do. I just can't see it happening.
This comment is from Kristina. It got put under the wrong article originally.
ReplyDeleteAfter having read the article, I wish I grew up in Finnland. I adore their ability to produce high quality and responsible teachers, as I think these are the key to success in the equity-based provision of public education. If only this worked in Slovakia too! Nevertheless, I should be still grateful for having the opportunity to study at a public school, recently being ranked the top 1 high school in Slovakia, as my chances would be significantly reduced if our educational system had more (good) private schools than publicly financed. It is our luck that many dumb kids study at private schools and the intellectual elite grows in public school mainly.
The one thing that is not obvious from the article and would interest quite much, is what is the quality of universities in Finnland. The article states that those are public too and I admit that Finnland seems worth considering to me. Although it's not my dream country, as the Scandinavian countries are, Finnland bears the only handicap that I know very little about the country, its culture and mentality. Though I have heard about some people from Slovakia that went study to Finnland, I have not heard yet about any particular university there. However, compared with Norway, whose educational system is according to the article more like the American one, Finnland may eventually turn to be an advance of my Scandinavian dream.
There are Slovaks who studied at prestige American universities and told about how the fierce competition help them in personal progres, but I think that it is not convenient for many people. The amount of stress due to high requirements on student's performance is not necessarily right. I think that education should be taken less competitively, rather by path of enthusiastic discovering that forced drilling. Last but the most notable, the American system is immorally unfair to the lower income social groups. I believe that equity in education is one of the founding stones in modern democracy, if this is not achieved, the system does not serve its citizens well.