Joe D’Aloisio from the GECDSB Middle Years Collaborative Inquiry project had recently recommended that I watch the Finland Phenomenon documentary regarding their educational system and what the government is doing to keep them at the top of worldwide educational rankings each year.
There is a country where:
students start school at a later age…
take fewer classes…
enjoy a 3-month summer break…
spend less time in school per day…
have barely any homework…
are rarely tested…There is a country where:
teachers are respected professionals…
quickly receive tenure…
are rarely evaluated…
earn average salaries…
have a strong union…There is a country where:
schools receive modest funding…
develop their own curriculum…
research and adopt new technologies…
have no achievement gap…
and leave no child behind…This country ranks at the top of the world by almost every measure.
Welcome to… Finland.
As Joe did for me, I definitely recommend watching the documentary below. Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.
http://youtu.be/kkNK3gY-rxg
If you took the time to watch the video, you would probably agree that Finland seems to have their priorities straight when it comes to education. It doesn’t take long before you realize that education is a top priority to all stakeholders including government, parents, and the public. While Canada is typically known to have a strong publicly funded education system, we can definitely learn quite a bit from the Finnish system.
Moving away from constant assessment “of” learning and delivering a static curriculum designed for an entire province of unique learners, increasing practical experience for new teacher candidates, and adopting a “less is more” attitude through the implementation of authentic learning experiences are just a few of the improvements that jumped out at me while watching the documentary. However, I think a change that is imperative to implementing a shift towards a system such as that in Finland involves changing the culture of education in North America.
The culture of education in North America is damaged. For many, school is simply something we have to “get through” and doesn’t excite students to learn. In secondary schools, many students view and value success as a mark rather than the learning. Many students have lost the curiosity to learn and approach assignments and tasks as a chore similar to what they might expect when they land in a job they dislike after they finish their schooling.
If we truly want our students to become life-long learners and to experience some of the successes experienced in Finland for years, we need to change the culture of what it means to participate in publicly funded education.
Until we can change the mentality that the mark is more important than the learning, education in North America will simply be a piece of paper yielding little return on the taxpayers investment.
WANT TO LEARN HOW TO TEACH THROUGH TASK?
Share With Your Learning Community:
About Kyle Pearce
I’m Kyle Pearce and I am a former high school math teacher. I’m now the K-12 Mathematics Consultant with the Greater Essex County District School Board, where I uncover creative ways to spark curiosity and fuel sense making in mathematics. Read more.
Read More From The Blog