Finnish Lessons - What We Can Learn - Page 6 of 6

Finnish Lessons – What We Can Learn

Unlike companies elsewhere, many Finnish companies pushed to keep teaching and learning open to new ideas and creativity. From 1993 when Finnish schools were mediocre and unemployment was high, the schools and the economy have both enjoyed rises to the top as highly educated people are essential for success in today’s knowledge-based economy. Finland also spends 4% of its GDP on research and development, which is about twice the average for other developed countries. At the same time, the quality of welfare services is high and income inequality is very low. Finland was the first country to make broadband internet connection a human right for everybody.

Sahlberg see the following trends for the future in Finnish schools. The most important of which includes a continuous renewal and continuous systemic transformation.
More individual customized learning paths and less teaching drawn from a standardized curriculum for all – This will include a focus on creativity, problem solving, and communication.
More learning out of school through media, the Internet, and from different social networks – Hand-held devices will provide online access to knowledge and other learners.
More attention developing better skills for social interaction, both virtual and real along with learning to cooperate with people who are very different – Learning how to solve problems as part of diverse groups will get more attention.

It took Finland a while to go from mediocre to the top so we need to be patient. First and foremost we need raise our voices to convince policy makers to scrap our standardized testing and insistence on a national curriculum. If we build more trust and local control in to the system, we might encourage more top students to go into teaching. Next we should examine our needs and rate of teacher production. I suspect we are training more than we need and allowing just about anyone to enroll. Anything to make teacher education more selective and attractive is necessary. Teacher education should also require research.
High schools should be able to subdivide their courses so if you don’t do well you only lose six weeks rather than repeating an entire year. Students who come close should be given an option to finish at their own pace. If students plan to enter community colleges, don’t let them leave high school until there are ready for college. At the elementary level we need to bring special educators into the game early and often. We should also abolish grade retention except for extreme cases.
We just need the right vision at the top. Time to raise your voice!