For years, Finland worked their system, unnoticed by the world. Teachers were required to have a Master's Degree, and were paid well and treated respectfully. In fact, only the best are selected to be a teacher in Finland. Students don't begin school until they are seven years of age. When they start, there is a lot of play time (recess) given. Students receive fifteen minutes of recess for every forty-five minutes of instruction. School hours are much shorter there than American schools. There is little to no homework, especially in the early years. Thirty percent or more of students receive special help if needed (one-on-one). The teachers in the early years often have the same students for several years in a row, allowing them to get to know their students and how they learn. Class sizes are small. There is no standardized testing until the student is about to graduate high school.
And, at age fifteen, these students are scoring top scores in the world. Ironically, they are changing their model system to even more of a loose, topic-based education instead of subjects. While some predict disaster, I don't believe so. Every study of learning shows that children learn this way better than in traditional models.
As a homeschooling mama, this has been eye-opening to me. While I don't want to be a complete unschooler, I do believe that I have pushed my children too hard at times, and I have watched the light go out of their eyes. I have watched the joy they used to have dim, and the curiosity about the world around them die. School has become drudgery. They comply, but it isn't what it should be.
"But, Cathy, kids need to learn now that there will be things in life that they will have to do that won't bring them pleasure, that they won't want to do. Not everything is fun."
Is this the goal of education? I doubt every child in Finland is a bottle of sunshine, but this model of education does give so many benefits to students. In America, we kill the love of learning and instill dread and drudgery instead.
For instance, the students start compulsory school at age seven, but in America we start at five or six. That year or two makes a big difference! Students in Finland do have preschool, but the emphasis is on play and socializing, not academics. That means that the when the students begin school, some can read and some can't. But the ones that haven't learned to read at five or six aren't labeled as slow learners, as they are here. Right from the start, here in America, we are pushing children to do more and more academically at earlier and earlier ages. The students that might have brains that aren't ready are stressed are often treated as slow. In truth, many aren't slow, they simply need more time for their brain to mature.
Second, the rates of learning disabilities in Finland are not much different than here in the States, but the approach is different. Students in the younger years are given fifteen minutes of free time in outside play for every forty-five minutes of instruction. In fact, these breaks are not looked at as a break from learning, but as a strategy to maximize learning. Since the students aren't beginning school until they are seven, and have lots of time to run and play, this makes a difference. Many of the students with ADHD are not treated with medication. Also, the school day is much shorter than here in America (20 hours per week in Finland compared to 35 hours in America) and homework is limited or not given at all. This allows a lot more time for a child to play and grow and mature at a slower pace than what is demanded in America's pushy, stress-filled, do more and more, earlier and earlier educational method. And if a child is still in need of help in learning, the teacher and special education teachers will take the time to give the student one-on-one instruction and tutoring.
Third, the teachers are not treated or paid like American teachers. Teaching is respected in Finland, and is considered one of the most prestigious jobs in the country. Only ten percent of those that apply to be a teacher are accepted. The training is rigorous. The result is that teachers can impact the quality of the education their students receive in incredible ways. The salary of a teacher is a good one. The teachers teach less hours than here in America. Since there is only one standardized test in a student's schooling years, teachers aren't pressured into teaching to that test. In fact, teachers in Finland are looked at as professionals and trusted to choose the teaching methods they see will work with the students they have. Each teacher has a Master's degree. They are highly trained in child development, in how children learn, in curriculum development, and in their field of expertise. They are empowered to work with the students and other teachers. They are trusted. There is no script. Ninety percent of Finnish teachers stay in the profession until retirement. In contrast, fifty percent of American teachers leave in the first five years.
I'll be honest, I don't trust many American teachers. I think many are great and are motivated to enter into teaching because they want to help children. But the few bad apples have spoiled it all. I've had teachers call a child of mine stupid. I've had teachers pass the jocks and rich kids, and leave the rest to take remedial English or not graduate. In nearly every school system, there has been a teacher arrested for inappropriate conduct with a student. If we want the best and the brightest for our children, we need to have teachers that honor and respect childhood, not ones that want to make children into little adult machines. I have spent the last few years learning how children learn so that I can give my own children a quality education. Truthfully, I have a lot of issues with the American model of education.
The focus in the Finnish education system is not competition. In fact, all the schools are publicly funded. There isn't competition between them to outdo the one in the next town. The goal is completely different. It's about creating life-long learners. It's about teaching life-skills. There is a lot of art and poetry and music. There are different languages taught, such as English in third grade and Swedish in fourth.
Obviously, it isn't perfect. There are problems, but on the whole, the system is working.
This research into a different way of education has inspired me to make changes to my homeschool. As much as I have had issues with the American model of education, it is easy to stick with what I know. But as I watch the natural spark in my youngest daughter die out, I realize that I want her to have better. As I plan this upcoming year, I find myself relaxing. I find myself questioning what I really want her to learn.
One article I read about Finnish education stated that school is where kids learn how to live and that they are needed, not just how to have a job. There is an emphasis on things that many American schools have gotten rid of or diminished: handcrafts, cooking, art, music, community service, etc. There is a balance between academic and non-academic learning that is emphasized.
I want to bring that to my home. I want to bring that to my homeschool and to my parenting. I want to raise a child that has a chance to find life, not just success as defined by money and things. I want my child to have a passion for learning. I want her to develop skills. I want her to know her faith, so she can understand why it is important. I want her to know how to love life and learning, not just how to get through the stuff she doesn't like. Basically, I'm giving her less so she can be more. And, I plan to do so with one daughter in her last year of homeschool, and with my ten year old with eight years left.
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