The History of Estonia and Education Essay

The twentieth century only saw an increase in the industrialization and urbanization that began in the nineteenth century. The new social, political and economic problems that began to emerge due to all of the changes developing in America during these times led to a need for reform. Reform was needed throughout society whether it was in regards to immigrants, civil rights, regulating trusts, or woman’s rights to name a few. These problems extended equally into the problems that educational progressives sought out to reform. John Dewey is commonly used as the embodiment of progressive era reformation ideas but there were others as well, such as Grace C. Strachan, George Counts, and Booker T. Washington.

Tensions during the Cold War sparked many changes in American legislation, altering the way many lived their lives. One of the most obvious areas of change is education, with the fear of Soviet dominance causing transformations across the nation. The severe adjustment of government education changed the way students learned, the information taught in the classroom, and the allocation of funds, but it still failed to significantly improve American students’ international standing. As highlighted by the 1983 report “A Nation at Risk,” the reformed schools were unsuccessful in creating students at the level expected of them, or even at mediocrity.

In this Article, Partanen states the differences in America’s education system and Finland’s education system. She mentions that one of the leading Finnish authorities on Education reform, Pasi Sahlberg, visited the U.S. In this visit, there were many things revealed on how Finland has been so successful with their education,

The education system in America has a long history of struggle and change, as we have grown as a nation we have experienced an ever-increasing rise in diversity. This diversity has caused rigidities between groups and all stratus of society and has been a major impact in debates concerning the educational opportunities in America.

According to Daina Stukuls this was led by the devastation it did to the civilian population in the three countries. For example, Latvia population before the war was 2.5 million and by the end of the war it plummeted to 1.58 million (p.232). During this time some in the Baltic States supported the Bolshevik revolution. However, others wanted an independent state especially in Latvia. While others in Latvia specifically the German population wanting to unify with Germany. However, the fight for independence was won by the nationalist with help from the British. All three Baltic countries declared their independence in

Andrew R. Deras Dr. Jide Osikomaiya English 100 8 September 2016 The Most Compelling Problems In American Schools As we delve back into a new year for students and teachers alike returning to school to continue with the daily life of academics and learning, we all must be understanding of what exactly we are sending our peers and children back to. It should be no surprise to most of us that throughout the years we have seen countless upon countless examples from the news and through others, that our school system is flawed in some way, shape or form. It is no longer a coincidence that our students are only achieving 36th from the top in all total curriculum (Arnett). This is also evident to anyone who may happen to own a T.V. and has been a viewer to these numerous articles describing these horrible issues we have within schools firsthand (ABC News). Not only that, but schooling can also be further compromised by politics and law related issues (Ravitch). What my goal for the essay I am submitting to you is; to give my opinions on the current situation of public schooling in America, discuss the issues, and back my points I will be presenting, with concrete evidence I have uncovered in my research. I would like to make it clear that my stance on the current situation is that there is not only a singular problem with public education, but a number of issues that inhibit students to learn properly and function as productive members of society. An excellent place to start would

Education has been the subject of some of the most heated discussions in American history. It is a key point in political platforms. It has been subject to countless attempts at reform, most recently No Child Left Behind and Common Core. Ardent supporters of institutional schools say that schools provide access to quality education that will allow the youth of our country to gain necessary skills to succeed in life. Critics take a far more cynical view. The book Rereading America poses the question, “Does education empower us? Or does it stifle personal growth by squeezing us into prefabricated cultural molds?” The authors of this question miss a key distinction between education and schooling that leaves the answer far from clear-cut. While education empowers, the one-size-fits-all compulsory delivery system is stifling personal growth by squeezing us into prefabricated cultural molds.

The education system has been the cornerstone of freedom and equity for economic success in The United States. However, the history of education has never been so crucial to the collective future of our nation and to the young people. The public schools must struggle to provide equality in educational system as never before. The demand for education has become necessary and growing to provide education for all students to comply with the rigorous academic standards on a global scale (Baker, B. D., Sciarra, D. G., Farrie, D. (2010, p. 1).

There are already many articles about how Asian countries are surpassing America in education, but what about Finland? Finland, which is about the size of Minnesota, is top ranking in math, science, and language arts. Despite this, Finland’s education standards are more laid-back than ones in America. America's education system is lackluster in comparison to other countries, but it’s fixable by recognizing the problem, observing other countries, and updating our own standards.

The Finnish philosophy of learning starts at a young age—formal education starts at age seven. Kindergarten is not part of the education policy in Finland; in fact, it is not deemed as an educational system at all. Sahlsburg trusts this type of culture is favorable for the United States because it allows kids to be kids for as long as possible. This extended childhood concept is shared among many parents in Finland, and being able to play and enjoy childhood is a virtue more important than having to sit down at a desk for eight hours and have formal instruction. On a different aspect, students in Finland are judged against their own capabilities rather

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

Chapter 5 described Kim’s perspective of students in Finland. The chapter also explained the process to become a teacher in Finland in comparison to the United States. Kim was surprised about how serious and focused students are in Finland. She was especially shocked that even the stoner kids did well in school because back home in Oklahoma, she believed the

The following are three specific educational experiences from my past. I will describe the event, analyze it critically, and make relevant, explicit connections to the concepts, theories, and issues discussed in Education 162: Education and Opportunity in the United States. I will also comment on the significance of the event in my own education.

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 education system has been a controversial issue among educators. Requirements of school do not let student choose what they want to study for their future. It’s a big issue to force student study specific curriculums, which don’t help them improve, and what they like to create something. Educators choose a general system for education to all students which based on general knowledge. Intelligent or genius students have to be in that system of education, which doesn’t let them improve their creativity. Educators attempt to change that system to make it better, but their changing was not that great to be an example for the world. Also, did that change qualify education system to compete other systems or not? In some examples and