Comparing The Finish Education System

Countries around the world take a world exam to see their students’ scores and to see where they rank globally. Finland has done a great job in their testing by being of the few countries to be on top. Parthanen says “Finland national education system has been receiving praise … Finnish students have … highest test scores in the world” (969). It shows that Finland has an effective method to help their students to reach to the top. The author primary audience is mainly the world to notice the achievements that Finland accomplished and try to follow their steps on education

"What Americans Keep Ignoring About Finland's School Success" by Anu Partanen begins by talking about the great success Finland has had with their school system after they reformed. Finland completely changed their outlook on school and how it is perceived. Finland now has the highest test scores among the world without all the standardized test and ample amount of homework. The focus is on engaging children in creative play and providing a healthy, safe environment for children. There are no private schools in Finland and children are provided with free schooling, free meals, easy access to health care and counseling. From pre-K to a Ph.D there are no tuition fees. The three major reforms made to the school system

With the development of the modern state, education has been a decisive factor in affecting the international status and impacts of a country. People pay more attention to education quality and provide advanced study facilities so that their country can have a faster development. With many conflicting different education forms, it is necessary to compare and contrast them for getting a better understanding of the education system in the world. The education here refers to teaching quality, different education level system, the policy and the well-being from the government about education. I will explain the similarities and differences about the education in Finnish and Japan.

In Anu Partanen’s article “Finland’s school success, what Americans keep ignoring,” she talks about how Finland transformed its education system to one of the top education systems in the world. First Finland’s success comes from engaging student’s creative imaginations, and demanding less in homework. In addition since the 1970’s, the education policy in Finland is that no child would be left behind. Regardless of background, every child will have the same opportunity to obtain an education.

This article is about how using standards and assessments do not fully measure the educational quality of the students. It also suggests that the standardized assessments promise something that is not possible with all students. It is important to keep the standardized assessments simple and not go to deep into each subject.

In the essay entitled "What the Best Education Systems Are Doing Right," Amy Choi, journalist, writer, and Editorial Director of a media and consulting company, provides a thoughtful estimation on Finland's accomplishments. Choi points out that within a few decades, Finland's educational system was transformed from struggling to thriving. One important feature of that transformation Choi highlighted was the prioritization of providing students with qualified teachers. In Finland, the standards are high to become a teacher and the annual continuing education requirement is extensive. On the other hand, the number of hours a teacher in Finland spends teaching in the classroom per year is almost half the hours required of a US teacher. Their investments are high and their educators are elevated. We can and should look to their example regarding our own educators. Putting the same high expectations and high economic rewards into the profession would be worth the

America’s test scores are barely average compared to other countries. 470,000 15-year-old students took the OECD test in math, science, and language arts. The test was scored on a 1,000 point scale. The U.S average score in math was 487 meaning that 24 out of the 34 countries ranked higher. This includes Finland who scored a 541. In science, America scored an average of 502 which placed them at 17th. Once again Finland was a leader on the scoreboard. Finally, in language arts the U.S scored a 500 putting them in 14th place. Finland still ranked higher; they were in the ranks with places like Shanghai. “The brutal fact here is there are many countries that are far ahead of us… this should be a massive wake up call”, says U.S Education Secretary Arnie Duncan (Hechinger). So why is education so important?

The Finnish Model will work well on reforming the U. S. because it provides equal education and opportunity for everybody. In the country of Finland, “there were no high-tech, interactive whiteboards in her [Kim’s] classroom…no police officer in the hallway” (p. 83). This suggests that these students do not need fancy equipment or armed protection to be the smartest kids in the world. In addition, the Finnish want everyone to be successful despite their circumstances at home, and one way they do so is possessing academic and vocational schooling. This gives students a choice between two equitable options of education instead of forcing them down a one-way path to graduation. The U.S., in my opinion, would greatly benefit from allowing this option in their schooling system because it allows students freedom over their future.

The world of a student is a very complicated place with either two options: a relaxed childhood filled with quality learning and experimenting, or one that is so demanding and exhausting that students cannot handle it anymore. Presently, the deciding factor for which path students will travel is the conditions and environment provided to students by the previous generation. For example, Finland is one of the most successful countries in creating proper educational settings for students to excel when it comes to world competition. The policies created by Finland’s government and its authorities are more than suitable to extract the most potential out of students without the negative side effects. Finnish students receive the

For instance, in Korea their “pressure cooker”(24) style of education “school never stopped”(57). In comparison, Korean student typically went to school from 8am to sometimes 10-11pm, while in the United States generally school is from about 8am to usually at the latest 4pm. With this style of schooling the Koreans never use excuses found commonly in the United States such as, “the test was unfair or not everyone can be good at math”(57) instead their mindset was “You didn’t work hard enough”(57). While Ripley and Korean Education minister Lee Ju-Ho think this method is extreme she uses this comparison to show that their is no denying that working harder in school whether it be more rigorous or lengthy improves scores tremendously. In Finland the utopia of education, many comparisons were linked to the teachers as well as students. In Finland “all education schools were selective”(85) meaning that most finnish teachers had received “the highest levels of education in the world”(85), in comparison to the United States where an Oklahoma algebra one teacher’s college had “low standards and little rigor”(88). This comparison also shows how seriously foreign countries take teaching compared to the United States where “jobs were protected by powerful unions”(84). Many finnish kids also were

A major issue that both teachers and students find with American schools is the overemphasis on standardization. One example that can be found on this is the excessive use of standardized tests. In the United States, the average schoolchild will take a total of 112 mandatory standardized tests, a number that has many educators and parents concerned that “too much emphasis has been placed” on standardization (Layton; Strauss). For example, standardization has placed too much emphasis on test-taking and scoring high on mandated examinations rather than actual learning (Wright). And even though both federal and state governments have policies of standardization in education, multiple studies have found that “there is no evidence” that such practices

First, Finland’s multidisciplinary school curriculum and why it’s better than the U.S. Most people think it’s better to have more subjects, but that means that you're lacking in depth. With Finland, you can go into more depth with each topic. You will learn in depth so that you truly grasp the concept being taught. You learn more with that single topic and only move on once you have the skill mastered. Each student is more engaged in Finland than in U.S. schools. This is an effect of having smaller sized classes. Also, it is helpful getting 10 minutes of free time for every 45 minutes of work so that you don't have much energy during a lesson. An upside to the way Finland teaches is the fact that one class can teach two things thing at

As America is not a leader in academic achievement, it would be helpful to take note of what more successful nations are doing for their students. Finland is regarded as one of the best at educating their students, according to the World Economic Forum. As the New York Times Article “From Finland, an Intriguing School-Reform Model” describes, there are many lessons that we can take from their successes. Many of their practices seem unorthodox to us, but it is hard to argue with the results. Finnish students do not start school until they are seven years old, and they are not given homework or tests until they are well into their teens. They are also given on average three times as long of a recess as

The American education has tried to make recent changes to accommodate higher education and learning by implementing Common Core Standards. According to “The Common Core State Standards” magazine by Allison Jones and Jaqueline King, “Common Core Standards were created to ensure that all students graduate from high school with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in college, career, and life…” (Jones and King 37). Although the common core emphasizes these values, it is still an ongoing process with some issues. On the other hand, Finland focuses on these values and invests in the future of their country through their education system. Finland is ranked as one of the best educational systems in the world and uses different approaches to ensure the success of their students. Both countries have strengths and weaknesses in their education system, overall, Finland has a better education system than United States and by implementing some of the Finnish approaches the American education can be more successful.

     For years, people have always felt that the Japanese school system was superior or more effective than that of the United States. Although some feel this way, others feel that the Japanese system is too strict and not flexible enough for those who may need extra help along the way. Through researching two different case studies, and also reading other materials, I have found many similarities along with many differences between the two, including teaching methods, overall emphases, and student involvement. Both countries have developed very effective and intricate systems of teaching, which compliment, and clash against one another. The Japanese system is not in all ways