Summarizing Finnish Education

I'm flying away from Finland now.  This educational fact-finding trip left me with more questions about our own system of schools and teacher training. The Finns were extraordinarily helpful and informative throughout our visit to more than four schools at all levels.  

This I know for sure. In the Finnish school system they

• focus on the whole child
• place many resources and develop far-reaching health and education systems that support children
• emphasize and educate professional teachers who have the autonomy to make decisions about learning
• enjoy pedagogical consistency throughout the years and even decades: in other words, they are all on the same page about what is important to sustain in education

 In the United States we 

• have many excellent practices in place in the US classrooms
• have research on learning and thinking that is state of the art
• care about children and learning

On the other hand our schools are competitive by nature stressing test scores and accountability.

We don't give teachers the ability to make informed decisions about teaching and our system is loaded with complex solutions to simple problems.
We asked a Finnish preschool teacher about "getting students into programs according to tests." She answered that the education experts meet with the parents to determine the readiness of the child. There are no tests or entrance exams, no criteria, just the teachers and parents making decisions that support the needs of the child including when they will begin school.  Usually special needs students attend the preschools to have trained teachers. 

There are no learning goals  by age. Children are given infinite chances to learn and grow without stigma or consequence. There are no children left behind.

To promote a school system in the US that is non-competitive and loosely regulated may seem like a stroke of madness.  Maybe what we need to do is to take a deep breath, and start allowing more autonomy to teachers.  Train teachers in the best practices then let teacher do the work through collaborative groups, parent involvement and supportive leadership.

Teacher training schools in the US should produce highly qualified, consistently trained teachers but it does not. We just need the will, and the motivation to change the system. The discussion should be open to include National Board Certified Teachers at every level and the use of these teachers as leaders and change agents. 

We can never really mirror the Finnish system but we can take up key cues to help make our system even better.  We are a vast and diverse nation but we need to invest in our children and align our educational system to reflect that belief.