What Makes Finnish Students Best in the World?
published on Sat. Jun. 7th, '08 by Swami AtmaIt seems when you compare countries on many factors Northern Europe in general and Scandinavia in particular seem to always fare very well.
This trend is true again as far as education is concerned. What's funny about it is the methods they use. Instead of overworking the kids they give them plenty of free time and freedom. What a concept!
High-school students here rarely get more than a half-hour of homework a night. They have no school uniforms, no honor societies, no valedictorians, no tardy bells and no classes for the gifted. There is little standardized testing, few parents agonize over college and kids don't start school until age 7.
So what makes us think their educational system is so good?
They earned some of the top scores by 15-year-old students who were tested in 57 countries.
This excellent story from the Wall Street Journal explores the many factors that lead to such outstanding results. Read it. It's a lot of fun.
I filed this post under politics because while all politicians talk a big game about schools and education I think the budget ratio education vs. defense department (read attack department in some cases) speaks volumes more than empty words.
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