Work 11: Critical Reading

Why Findland’s Schools Are So Successful

Source : https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/why-are-finlands-schools-successful-
49859555/

For many years the school system in Finland has been very successful. In the PISA survey,
which compares reading, math and science knowledge of 15 year olds around the world, Finland
is not only the top European country but also competes with Asian giants like Shanghai,
Singapore and South Korea. But what makes the educational system in this small country so
strikingly different from others in the western world.

First of all, the Finish government makes it possible for all children to attend preschool, which
comes after kindergarten. Compulsory education begins at 7. Teachers work with their pupils in
school as much as possible. They have little homework to do when they get home.  When
teachers are not with the pupils they spend a lot of time in schools working on the curriculum
and new projects.  They teach in teams if it is needed to help them reach their goals. That is why
dropout rates are low compared to other countries.

In contrast to other nations teaching in Finland is a highly admired profession. Finland selects its
teachers very carefully.  Only talented students can continue their education to a university and
receive a master’s degree in education. Finland only takes the best to educate its youth.

“Whatever it takes” is an attitude that drives not just Kirkkojarvi’s 30 teachers, but most of
Finland’s 62,000 educators in 3,500 schools from Lapland to Turku—professionals selected
from the top 10 percent of the nation’s graduates to earn a required master’s degree in education.
Many schools are small enough so that teachers know every student. If one method fails,
teachers consult with colleagues to try something else. They seem to relish the challenges.
Nearly 30 percent of Finland’s children receive some kind of special help during their first nine
years of school. The school where Louhivuori teaches served 240 first through ninth graders last
year; and in contrast with Finland’s reputation for ethnic homogeneity, more than half of its 150
elementary-level students are immigrants—from Somalia, Iraq, Russia, Bangladesh, Estonia and
Ethiopia, among other nations. “Children from wealthy families with lots of education can be
taught by stupid teachers,” Louhivuori said, smiling. “We try to catch the weak students. It’s
deep in our thinking.”

The transformation of the Finns’ education system began some 40 years ago as the key
propellent of the country’s economic recovery plan. Educators had little idea it was so successful
until 2000, when the first results from the Programme for International Student Assessment
(PISA), a standardized test given to 15-year-olds in more than 40 global venues, revealed Finnish
youth to be the best young readers in the world. Three years later, they led in math. By 2006,
Finland was first out of 57 countries (and a few cities) in science. In the 2009 PISA scores
released last year, the nation came in second in science, third in reading and sixth in math among
nearly half a million students worldwide. “I’m still surprised,” said Arjariita Heikkinen, principal
of a Helsinki comprehensive school. “I didn’t realize we were that good.”
In the United States, which has muddled along in the middle for the past decade, government
officials have attempted to introduce marketplace competition into public schools. In recent
years, a group of Wall Street financiers and philanthropists such as Bill Gates have put money
behind private-sector ideas, such as vouchers, data-driven curriculum and charter schools, which
have doubled in number in the past decade. President Obama, too, has apparently bet on compe-
tition. His Race to the Top initiative invites states to compete for federal dollars using tests and
other methods to measure teachers, a philosophy that would not fly in Finland. “I think, in fact,
teachers would tear off their shirts,” said Timo Heikkinen, a Helsinki principal with 24 years of
teaching experience. “If you only measure the statistics, you miss the human aspect.”

There are no mandated standardized tests in Finland, apart from one exam at the end of students
senior year in high school. There are no rankings, no comparisons or competition between
students, schools or regions. Finland’s schools are publicly funded. The people in the
government agencies running them, from national officials to local authorities, are educators, not
business people, military leaders or career politicians. Every school has the same national goals
and draws from the same pool of university-trained educators. The result is that a Finnish child
has a good shot at getting the same quality education no matter whether he or she lives in a rural
village or a university town. The differences between weakest and strongest students are the
smallest in the world, according to the most recent survey by the Organization for Economic Co-
operation and Development (OECD). “Equality is the most important word in Finnish education.
All political parties on the right and left agree on this,” said Olli Luukkainen, president of
Finland’s powerful teachers union.

Until the 1960s Finland’s school system had been influenced largely by its neighbor, the Soviet
Union.  Most students left school after six years; some went on to private school. Only
the wealthy ones got a better education. In the middle of the 1960s the Finish government saw
the need to change and modernize their education system if they wanted to be
internationally competitive. Lawmakers made a simple decision: a single school for all the 7 to
16 year olds.  They also put a focus on language learning. Students learn Swedish as their second
and English as their third language.

Finland’s schools were not always a wonder. Until the late 1960s, Finns were still emerging from
the cocoon of Soviet influence. Most children left public school after six years. (The rest went to
private schools, academic grammar schools or folk schools, which tended to be less rigorous.)
Only the privileged or lucky got a quality education.

The landscape changed when Finland began trying to remold its bloody, fractured past into a
unified future. For hundreds of years, these fiercely independent people had been wedged
between two rival powers—the Swedish monarchy to the west and the Russian czar to the east.
Neither Scandinavian nor Baltic, Finns were proud of their Nordic roots and a unique language
only they could love (or pronounce). In 1809, Finland was ceded to Russia by the Swedes, who
had ruled its people some 600 years. The czar created the Grand Duchy of Finland, a quasi-state
with constitutional ties to the empire. He moved the capital from Turku, near Stockholm, to
Helsinki, closer to St. Petersburg. After the czar fell to the Bolsheviks in 1917, Finland declared
its independence, pitching the country into civil war. Three more wars between 1939 and 1945—
two with the Soviets, one with Germany—left the country scarred by bitter divisions and a
punishing debt owed to the Russians. “Still we managed to keep our freedom,” said Pasi
Sahlberg, a director general in the Ministry of Education and Culture.

In 1963, the Finnish Parlia-ment made the bold decision to choose public education as its best
shot at economic recovery. “I call this the Big Dream of Finnish education,” said Sahlberg,
whose upcoming book, Finnish Lessons, is scheduled for release in October. “It was simply the
idea that every child would have a very good public school. If we want to be competitive, we
need to educate everybody. It all came out of a need to survive."

Analysis
 I want to make sure that the information in the text is:
o There is clear (the purpose)
o Logical
o Open-minded
o Informed (valid reference)
 Determine the purpose of the writer, it is to inform the readers
 Who is the author? Is she expert in the topic?
The author is Lynnell Hancock. Yes, she is, because she writes about education and
teaches at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.
 How does the author support their arguments? Do they support their arguments with
facts or is it just speculation or opinion?
The author support their arguments with fact and from the result of her
research.
There is in the text : “By 2006, Finland was first out of 57 countries (and a few cities)
in science. In the 2009 PISA scores released last year, the nation came in second in
science, third in reading and sixth in math among nearly half a million students
worldwide.” Etc
 The argument is logical, because what she wrote is a fact.
 Did the author cite the reference? Yes, she did
Example : “according to the most recent survey by the Organization for Economic Co-
operation and Development (OECD). “Equality is the most important word in Finnish
education. All political parties on the right and left agree on this,” said Olli
Luukkainen, president of Finland’s powerful teachers union.”
 Do you agree with what the author says? Yes, I agree with her. Because she wrote
based on her research and fact.