Finland has become a mecca for miracle-seeking educators, writes Sam Chaltain on Letters from the Future (of Learning). Teaching is an elite profession: Less than one in 10 applicants for teacher education is accepted.
He visited schools "marked by an orderly, active hum, the kind that emerges only when everyone knows one’s role, responsibility and contribution."
He was disappointed by the classroom lessons he observed, which were "teacher-driven, content-heavy, 'sit and get' instruction." They were "OK," but hardly miraculous.
The Finns prioritize equity rather than innovation, Chaltain writes. The "goal is not to spark the creation of spectacular schools -- it’s to ensure an entire country of good ones."
Perhaps Finland's secret is that teachers know and teach content in the old "sage on the stage" style, rather than trying to be a "guide on the side."
Yes, and free college in Europe comes at the cost of the US taxpayer who foots the European defense bill. Free college doesn't necessarily mean that everyone is admitted and admission is likely very competitive.
Finland's PISA scores have been dropping since 2006:
A better translation is that the public schools in Finland focus on the left hand side of the Bell Curve and leave the right hand side to the tiger moms and helicopter parents.
Kind of a sidebar to this comment. I always get a chuckle when Americans want to compare our schools to places like Finaland and Japan, and my first question is: "Great, so when do you want to start kicking the under-performing minorities out?"