Is Finland’s Education a Model for the Future, or a Model of the Past? Upon first assumption, school systems are believed to be most successful when students are assaulted with hours and hours of time in school combined with another couple hours outside the classroom. Makes sense right? The more time one spends practicing material, the better students will be able to comprehend and apply the material to real world situations. Viewing very objectively, this is true in most cases; however, one country for the past few decades has stood out from all the rest, Finland. Comparatively, Finland is only a fraction as big as most other top education contenders. It relies heavily on a government funded; pro-equality system that utilizes the taxpayer’s
…show more content…
and give out much less homework, with 15 year old students limited to only 30 minutes per day (Pollanen 20). The relaxing nature of Finland causes many to criticize it and point out that despite students scoring high, their model can only last as long as students still have the desire and passion to learn. This is why the Finnish believe that starting school at such an old age is beneficial to the students due to the fact that by the time they enter school they have the desire to learn. After six years of a beginning level education they then move onto three years of a secondary school (Pollanen 20). After attending secondary school one either goes to upper secondary school, much like our high school, or vocational school, much like learning traits to help you in a not as highly skilled job. The Finn believe that not everyone has to go to college and receive an upper education that they don’t need, with only 30 percent of students getting accepted into a university (Pollanen 20). This elementary and middle school type school systems allow for a smooth transition from beginning level education to advanced. Finland depends on equality of education and doesn’t allow charter schools or any private schools due to the desire to close the gap between rich and poor (Sahlberg 29). The Finn believe that if you give the opportunity to receive a better education by paying more you will only further …show more content…
At one time the Finnish model used to symbolize that relaxed and teacher powered system would be the best, now some other concerning information tells otherwise. With a 22 point overall fall since 2009 into 2012 on the Program for International student assessment test (PISA) out of a scale of 1000, with 500 being the average, many conclude that the European nation is on the trend of overall decline in Finland’s schooling system (“Finn-ished; School Leagues Tables” 62). With even the Commissioner of the National Center of Education Statistics, Tom Loveless, quoted saying “Finland’s exaggerated reputation is based on its performance on PISA, and assessment that matches well with its way of teaching math” (Robelen 8). Meaning that due to the relaxed style of teaching math, the Finn benefit from more from the type of math on the PISA that requires more outside the box, creative thinking unlike the type of math that Asian students are used
and give out much less homework, with 15 year old students limited to only 30 minutes per day (Pollanen 20). The relaxing nature of Finland causes many to criticize it and point out that despite students scoring high, their model can only last as long as students still have the desire and passion to learn. This is why the Finnish believe that starting school at such an old age is beneficial to the students due to the fact that by the time they enter school they have the desire to learn. After six years of a beginning level education they then move onto three years of a secondary school (Pollanen 20). After attending secondary school one either goes to upper secondary school, much like our high school, or vocational school, much like learning traits to help you in a not as highly skilled job. The Finn believe that not everyone has to go to college and receive an upper education that they don’t need, with only 30 percent of students getting accepted into a university (Pollanen 20). This elementary and middle school type school systems allow for a smooth transition from beginning level education to advanced. Finland depends on equality of education and doesn’t allow charter schools or any private schools due to the desire to close the gap between rich and poor (Sahlberg 29). The Finn believe that if you give the opportunity to receive a better education by paying more you will only further …show more content…
At one time the Finnish model used to symbolize that relaxed and teacher powered system would be the best, now some other concerning information tells otherwise. With a 22 point overall fall since 2009 into 2012 on the Program for International student assessment test (PISA) out of a scale of 1000, with 500 being the average, many conclude that the European nation is on the trend of overall decline in Finland’s schooling system (“Finn-ished; School Leagues Tables” 62). With even the Commissioner of the National Center of Education Statistics, Tom Loveless, quoted saying “Finland’s exaggerated reputation is based on its performance on PISA, and assessment that matches well with its way of teaching math” (Robelen 8). Meaning that due to the relaxed style of teaching math, the Finn benefit from more from the type of math on the PISA that requires more outside the box, creative thinking unlike the type of math that Asian students are used