Finland vs. U.S.

[sleigh]

An interesting article pointed to by Toby Buckell: Finland’s education system has consistently ranked among the best in the world for more than a decade. Yet in Finland, there is no standardized testing of schoolchildren, they're not 'taught to the test' but instead taught critical-thinking skills, and the difference between the highest performing school and the lowest performing school is less than four percent.

"So they began in the 1970s by completely transforming the preparation and selection of future teachers. That was a very important fundamental reform because it enabled them to have a much higher level of professionalism among teachers. Every teacher got a masters degree, and every teacher got the very same high quality level of preparation.

"So what has happened since is that teaching has become the most highly esteemed profession. Not the highest paid, but the most highly esteemed. Only one out of every 10 people who apply to become teachers will ultimately make it to the classroom…

"This is what Finland has done that's different -- they've defined what is excellent teaching, not just reasonable teaching, and they have a standard for that. Second, they've defined what is most important to learn, and it's not a memorization-based curriculum, but a thinking-based curriculum."

Could something like this work in the U.S.? Discuss.

Comments

Our Republican

[lsanderson.livejournal.com]

Masters would not like this system.