The United States’ Key to Education Through Finland
The school system in the United States has been looking to improve its educational system in recent years to try to get up in the ranks of South Korea, Japan, Finland, and even the United Kingdom. What other way to improve the schooling system in the United States is to look at the schooling system in the country that does it much differently than the one the United States has right now. That country is Finland. Finland has outstanding scores and literacy rates in the country and uses a school system completely different than the ones used around the world. With the United States’ struggle for rebuilding their outdated and doddery education system, it seems looking to Finland is a great option
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According to Finnish National Agency for Education’s PDF of Finnish Education in a Nutshell, “ In Finland, education is free at all levels from pre-primary to higher education. ” meaning no matter your financial situation, everyone gets a chance at education in Finland. While in the United States not everyone can get a quality education without having a good enough financial standing to support a child or oneself for the education they need. If the United States can adopt and integrate this into their own educational system it can result in many more children getting the needed learning and life skills needed to grow up and become productive and smart citizens in the future and truly make a global …show more content…
The educational system in Finland is dedicated to furthering a student’s education to grow and become smart and efficient in their daily lives. After primary schools students are able to continue to further their education to high school and they will do their best to support you so you can pass and go onto college smoothly. Unlike in America, the students are only coaxed into finishing high school and won;t supported in their education thereafter. Instead of helping you through your challenges and giving you a smooth transition to college, schools in the United States leave the challenges onto the students and not training them properly to transition over to college and further their education for the greater good. If America can change this so their students will have a drive to further their learning expeditions after high school. This will make it easier and less costly for a student to attend a college or trade school and help them pursue higher education and overall creating a smarter, well-rounded, future of students to boost America’s academic
All of this leads to obsessing over disciplining and having high test scores to compete with other school around the area. In Finland, they have no standardized tests that students need to take. When people are in trouble in Finland, an approach is taken to help them and support them. This is different in America. This supports the example of Harold as none of the teachers at the school took the approach to help Harold or even to support him. Many accusations were said that Harold is the problem and not the teachers. However, as Rose took a stand for Harold and helped him as he started to give up. With the standardized testing, it puts students with similar scores in the same classes. From this, Millie was put in a remedial class which was stated as an average class. As the schools soon start to care about the results of the standardized tests, the school start to focus on math, science,and reading which leads kids to being the same. This makes school not fun and the students end up dreading on going to school. In Finland, not only do the school focus on math, science, and reading they also focus on other important studies such as the arts, humanity, and physical education. Focusing on it all gives the students the ability to become creative and be their own individual person. Ken Robinson also proves that giving students the individual attention that they need helps them thrive to meet the goals that they have in education. Ken Robinson claimed, “Education does not go on in the committee rooms of out Legislative Buildings, it happens in the classrooms and schools. And the people who do it are the teachers and the students. And if you remove that discretion it stops working” (TEDtalks 13:15). When a teacher teaches a student will learn. Taking the actions to actually
The greatest country in the world still has problems evenly distributing education to its youth. The articles I have read for this unit have a common theme regarding our education system. The authors illustrate to the reader about the struggles in America concerning how we obtain and education. Oppression, politics, racism, and socioeconomic status are a few examples of what is wrong with our country and its means of delivering a fair education to all Americans.
Julian Nava was one of the people who fought to end IQ testing. He believed that students that did not get high IQ scores still had the potential to be something greater than a factory worker.
The American school system is no stranger to criticism, but everybody seems to have a distinct idea of what should be done to improve it. It was not too long ago that we had no public schooling system at all. A man would change that forever, immortalizing himself as the “father” of American education. It was surprising to me that I had never heard of this man, especially considering I had finished my journey through free and compulsory education two years ago. The man who went on to change American education, was Horace Mann, the first Secretary of the Board of Education in Massachusetts. Horace Mann tirelessly campaigned for the public to be educated, heralding it as a “great equalizer.” So why is the gap between social classes rising exponentially? There are fundamental issues holding us back from fulfilling Horace Mann’s dream of an education system which empowers citizens by leveling the playing field for everyone, including pedantic policies, a limited curriculum, and standardized testing.
The education system that Finland has in place is better because of the requirements of becoming a teacher or principle, how long classes are and because there are no standardized tests in Finland. Teachers have to study very hard and go through years of studying before being able to be a teacher, or a principle. Stuck working there!--> With that being good the Finnish system; to me at least, is better than the one we currently use since teachers and principals are on somewhat equal ground over there with being in the same union and principals having to qualify for a teaching job to be principle and how the principals actually teach classes because they want to rather than being solely focused on administration work. Classes being shorter in Finland can be both good and bad, since if the student can enjoy a specific class it might seem like time is going by faster making shorter classes’ bad for those wanting more; while some classes may make someone feel like they’ve been listening to the teacher forever and can’t handle how boring a class can be especially nowadays with so many people having attention problems. Now teachers in Finland end up being better just by having to have an advanced degree not in the subject they want to teach, but in plain education, while according to the article; in the UK there seems to be a shortage on teachers so retired soldiers have been called upon to
It is the American dream to get out of high school and to start working towards your degree, right? Perusing a degree in the United States is not as dream like for some students. Many factors such as the learning environment, where you come from, and the knowledge and will power can shape how the higher education experience can go. While not all of these factors necessarily point to a rough or tough college experience, but also show that we as a nation could help our students be more educated and prepared to pursue and finish a degree. All students should be given equal opportunity and tools to become a successful member of society.
President Ronald Reagan once described America as, “A Nation at Risk,” He was addressing this statement to the education department thirty years ago and meant it as a wake-up call. He was aware that the United States was falling behind in education and needed to take action in order to prevent the demise of the country. Reagan correctly predicted the grim fate of America if education did not see improvement. Today, research finds that American education is failing to provide the necessary skills to succeed in college and various careers. The quality of education in America is a growing issue and every year graduate students are finding it more difficult to obtain high paying jobs and start his or her career. According to studies conducted globally, the curriculum in America is not as advanced and years behind international schools in countries such as China and Japan. There is much controversy in government over what can be done to reverse the situation in public schools but possible solutions that have been suggested are hiring more qualified teachers, more classroom time, and investing more money into education.
Academic excellence is the primary desire of every parent and student. However, there are varying perceptions of the role of education in the life of and individual. According to the survey carried out on the perception of the role of education in the life of an individual, it was established that eight out of ten students were of the view that they pursued education for the purpose of economic gains. Additionally, six out of ten students viewed education as serving the purpose of broadening their view and perceptions in life. Accordingly, the widening of the will help them rethink their ideas and values. This essay will focus on the reasons why students attend college and barriers to education in light of the book Rereading America.
In today’s society, we would describe high school as a four-year passageway into adulthood [college]. Ever since our current education system was implemented, high school would begin at the 9th grade level, and end at the 12th grade level. With the average age for 9th graders to be at 14 transitioning to 15 and for 12th graders to average in at 17 transitioning to 18; this have been the norm, for the American society for ages. In Leon Botstein’s “Let Teenagers Try Adulthood,” he writes an opinionated piece on how the current American education system is obsolete; plaguing the current youth by preventing their way into adulthood and isolating them from their experiences of it. From my experiences as a Junior in high school, I do have to disagree with Botstein’s statement that the current American high school is obsolete. Age and maturity would not, and should not be the main cause of the American high school system to go obsolete. Adulthood is not based by age, it is by the students’ own mentality; for some students, being a “late bloomer” would not be in their favor if the proposed solution by Botstein would have taken place. Using the Littleton [Columbine High School] shootings as a way to support his argument, is inconsequential. In no means I’m saying the current American high school system is the definition of perfection. The system is flawed, unsound, and imperfect, but for other reasons
Education is one of the cornerstones and pillars to the establishment and preservation of democracy. In history, countless scores of philosophers and political thinkers believed that only an educated citizenry can take on the quintessential task of upholding democracy. Thomas Jefferson, the primary writer of the Declaration of Independence, stated that “an informed citizenry is the only true repository of the public will.” A renowned defender of public education, Jefferson proposed plans for an education system that included grammar schools in his presidency. As a result of these relentless policies for education, the United States expanded on the concept of public instruction through the establishment and upkeep of a practical education system. The United States continued this tradition and established a reputation as one of the best education in the world. Currently, this is no longer valid as other countries such as Finland, China, and South Korea are competing for the dominant position through rigorous reforms that aim to boost student performances (“Best Education”). Meanwhile, the American system is inefficient, inhibited by political obstacles and gridlock while Finland, the top ranked country in terms of schooling, is continuing to improve. According to the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) examinations that tested pupils across a variety of subjects such as reading, mathematics, and science of 2009, Finland’s students were ranked among the top (“PISA 2009”). The American students were ranked below average for industrialized countries in the world, revealing the reality of the educational crisis in the country. Finland’s education system, compared to the Americans, offers major differences that greatly ...
Every year a significant percentile of the American population struggle with finding access to a quality education that their finances can maintain. Finnish writer, Anu Partanen, contrast the American School Systems and their lack in accomplishments as compared to the educational programs in America. Along with her contrast in the two countries she offers a probable fix to changing the way America operates in her recent essay: Finland’s School Success What Americans Keep Ignoring. Partanen juxtaposes both Finland and America, utilizes ethos, and even provides a visual in order to reinforce her argument on the situation.
Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, the American educational system has undergone much transition in response to our changing society. Though there have been many problems raised throughout the years in regard to what our school systems should be teaching our children, there have also been many developments.
The true purpose of school is to prepare children for their future in becoming lifelong learners and global citizens. For children with special needs, special education services prepare and provide support for them in dealing with the challenges they face daily. Laws such as Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has enforced schools to provide education to all children and reinforces the purpose of the school, which is to provide children the Least Restrictive Environment to help them develop to their optimal potential. There are myriad of concerns regarding inclusion’s effect on typical developing students, yet a research done by Bui, Quirk, Almazan, and Valenti shows that “[p]resence of students with disabilities results in greater number of typical students making reading and math progress compared to non-inclusive general education classes” (p. 3). Therefore, inclusion not only benefits children with disabilities, but it also benefits typical developing student’s academic skills and allows them to learn acceptance and respect for students with disabilities.
However, it still met with inconsistent criticism due to the myth that “positive intervention” doesn’t work and draining resources of regular courses. However, evidences shown prove the opposite effect. Special education is constant need of more funding – especially when it constantly gets budget cuts from congress and thus, schools are unable to keep up with the afford to provide the necessary need of special education (Wall 2014). So the myth of special education draining resources is the no way the truth. How could they be able to drained resources from other students if the programs themselves are in limited supply? Lack of understanding and easy to become a scapegoat for the blame of overall score of a school being poor is quite easy to pit the blame. Another reasoning is due to socialization—the label of being placed in special education is rather an unfortunate burden that could follow the child (Huerta 2015). Often times, stereotypes are attached and are considered inferior to other students, potentially adding onto potential fears. In order to improve any form of education for special education, funding a provided them resources should be considered the first thing to look
There are many important things children gain while growing up; the most important thing children gain growing up is their education. The educational skills children learn in school teach them the skills they need to perform outside of the classroom and in the workforce. With education being one of the most important gains in the lives of children, it has come to light how in recent years the United States has fallen further and further behind its peers in international rankings. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 2009 educational scores, the United States ranks “33” (1), which is lower than the 2002 ranking of “18” (CNN). With such a decrease in the United States ranking, parents wonder why American students are falling behind.