Comments on: Finlandia http://www.quickanded.com/2008/12/lessons-from-finland.html The Quick and the Ed is an education blog published by Education Sector, an independent think tank in Washington D.C. The Quick and the Ed offers in-depth analysis on the latest in education policy and research. Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:46:09 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.1 hourly 1 By: Dick Schutz http://www.quickanded.com/2008/12/lessons-from-finland.html/comment-page-1#comment-431 Dick Schutz Tue, 10 Feb 2009 21:21:00 +0000 http://www.quickanded.com/wordpress/?p=1384#comment-431 Finland's National Standards are very different from the "National Standards being promoted in the US in that they specifically mandate much broader local control that the US currently has in standards set at the state level. To wit: p 8 of the Intro:<br/><br/>"The curriculum may be formulated so as to include a segment specific to the municipality, or segments specific to the region or school, as decided by the education provider. The coherence of the curriculum for basic education requires cooperation among different teacher group in drafting the curriculum. In particular, the pupils’ parents and guardians must be able to influence the definition of the curriculum’s educational objectives. The pupils may also be involved in the curriculum work.<br/><br/>"As it concerns pupil welfare and home-school cooperation, the curriculum must be drafted in collaboration with authorities charged with tasks that are part of the implementation of the local authority’s social and health services."<br/>...............<br/>Present US standards are de facto "national." They vary only cosmetically from state to state.<br/>Text and test publishers sell the same products to all states. <br/><br/>CA just went through its English Language Arts (in which reading is embedded) without any change in the standards which were formulated by committee in 1997-99--before NCLB when "whole language" ruled<br/><br/>TX conducted an elaborate 3-year process to revise its English Language Arts and Reading Standards. Then the night before they were to be adopted by the State Bd of Ed, a few members cut and pasted "revisions" that were adopted by the Bd. Not to worry. When State Dept of Ed staff tidied up the doc it came out looking very much like the old 1997 doc.<br/><br/>Extrapolating from the Finnish to the US teacher ed apparatus is also risky. US teachers consensus and anlyses of what is taught in teacher ed inadequately prepare teachers to teach. How long and at what cost will it take to "reform" teacher ed? It's not in the cards.<br/><br/>It seems to me that the most prominent difference is that the Finns give some thought to an efficient system that works for them.<br/><br/>US education is currently driven by politics at local, state, and Fed levels. Rhetoric substitutes for technical sensibility.<br/><br/>For a week's work, you are "above proficient" in your report--plus 300 Euros ahead from your Casino winnings--unless you later lost it. Finland’s National Standards are very different from the “National Standards being promoted in the US in that they specifically mandate much broader local control that the US currently has in standards set at the state level. To wit: p 8 of the Intro:

“The curriculum may be formulated so as to include a segment specific to the municipality, or segments specific to the region or school, as decided by the education provider. The coherence of the curriculum for basic education requires cooperation among different teacher group in drafting the curriculum. In particular, the pupils’ parents and guardians must be able to influence the definition of the curriculum’s educational objectives. The pupils may also be involved in the curriculum work.

“As it concerns pupil welfare and home-school cooperation, the curriculum must be drafted in collaboration with authorities charged with tasks that are part of the implementation of the local authority’s social and health services.”
……………
Present US standards are de facto “national.” They vary only cosmetically from state to state.
Text and test publishers sell the same products to all states.

CA just went through its English Language Arts (in which reading is embedded) without any change in the standards which were formulated by committee in 1997-99–before NCLB when “whole language” ruled

TX conducted an elaborate 3-year process to revise its English Language Arts and Reading Standards. Then the night before they were to be adopted by the State Bd of Ed, a few members cut and pasted “revisions” that were adopted by the Bd. Not to worry. When State Dept of Ed staff tidied up the doc it came out looking very much like the old 1997 doc.

Extrapolating from the Finnish to the US teacher ed apparatus is also risky. US teachers consensus and anlyses of what is taught in teacher ed inadequately prepare teachers to teach. How long and at what cost will it take to “reform” teacher ed? It’s not in the cards.

It seems to me that the most prominent difference is that the Finns give some thought to an efficient system that works for them.

US education is currently driven by politics at local, state, and Fed levels. Rhetoric substitutes for technical sensibility.

For a week’s work, you are “above proficient” in your report–plus 300 Euros ahead from your Casino winnings–unless you later lost it.

]]> By: sarah http://www.quickanded.com/2008/12/lessons-from-finland.html/comment-page-1#comment-359 sarah Wed, 07 Jan 2009 07:19:00 +0000 http://www.quickanded.com/wordpress/?p=1384#comment-359 I recently came accross your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I dont know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.<br/><br/><br/><br/> Sarah<br/><br/><a HREF="http://www.thetreadmillguide.com" REL="nofollow">http://www.thetreadmillguide.com</a> I recently came accross your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I dont know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

Sarah

http://www.thetreadmillguide.com

]]> By: Crimson Wife http://www.quickanded.com/2008/12/lessons-from-finland.html/comment-page-1#comment-358 Crimson Wife Tue, 06 Jan 2009 23:28:00 +0000 http://www.quickanded.com/wordpress/?p=1384#comment-358 One of my mom's good friends emigrated from Finland because she was a "late bloomer" and got tracked into secretarial training based on a test she took when she was an early adolescent. At age 20, she decided she had higher ambitions so she came to the U.S. and ended up winning acceptance to a very rigorous and competitive pharmacy program. She's been very successful in her career as a pharmacist.<br/><br/>The U.S. may have more problems in our education system than in Finland, but we've got more opportunities as well. Our culture embraces a higher risk/higher reward system than the Finns do. We're more comfortable with there being winners and losers while they're more egalitarian. One of my mom’s good friends emigrated from Finland because she was a “late bloomer” and got tracked into secretarial training based on a test she took when she was an early adolescent. At age 20, she decided she had higher ambitions so she came to the U.S. and ended up winning acceptance to a very rigorous and competitive pharmacy program. She’s been very successful in her career as a pharmacist.

The U.S. may have more problems in our education system than in Finland, but we’ve got more opportunities as well. Our culture embraces a higher risk/higher reward system than the Finns do. We’re more comfortable with there being winners and losers while they’re more egalitarian.

]]> By: Angela http://www.quickanded.com/2008/12/lessons-from-finland.html/comment-page-1#comment-344 Angela Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:39:00 +0000 http://www.quickanded.com/wordpress/?p=1384#comment-344 Thank you for sharing. Very enlightening. Like you, I don't see in Finland a lot of concrete applications for our educational system, but it's inspiring to see nonetheless. Thank you for sharing. Very enlightening. Like you, I don’t see in Finland a lot of concrete applications for our educational system, but it’s inspiring to see nonetheless.

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