Skip to main content

Home/ EDF3604 - Social Foundations of Education/ How the U.S. compares to the rest of the world...
Aldreka Everett

How the U.S. compares to the rest of the world... - 35 views

curriculum FInland The Common School

started by Aldreka Everett on 16 Feb 12
  • Aldreka Everett
    #1 Aldreka Everett on 16 Feb 12
     
    http://www.greatschools.org/students/academic-skills/1075-u-s-students-compare.gs

    "There is understandable anxiety that our students are not being as well trained in reading, math, and science as their European and Asian counterparts" (Hirsch 3).
  • Amanda Rose
    #2 Amanda Rose on 24 Feb 12
     
    With the increasing struggle of the United States to emerge as a leading force in the education field, officials might consider taking advice from Finland, as "Students in Finland perform remarkably well, regardless of the school they attend." The ever pressing conflict over equalizing opportunities for students in America is a prime aspect to address the improvement of all schools across the board. While I found all the bullets about Finnish schools equally interesting and important, the following point is most valid: "Becoming a teacher in Finland is highly competitive. Just 10% of Finnish college graduates are accepted into the teacher training program; as a result, teaching is a high-status profession. (Teacher salaries are similar to teacher salaries in the U.S., however.)" Unfortunately, in many cases, teaching isn't considered a high-status profession in America. It is continually looked down upon, and after all, doesn't the role of the teacher play an extremely large part in the success of the student? Perhaps a transformation in the stereotype surrounding the teaching profession would begin to improve teacher's and society's attitudes, thus positively effecting education as a whole.
  • mnconnin
    #3 mnconnin on 25 Feb 12
     
    Let's all move to Finland! Although I enjoyed learning about how wonderful the fins are when it comes to their education system, I found this article to be quite frustrating to read. I find it impossible to compare nations based upon their education systems because there are numerous factors contributing to why some educational policies work for one nation and not another. I definitely think we could try to learn something from Finland, but to completely adopt their educational philosophy would most likely not produce the same results in the United States. Although, there are two pieces of advice I found helpful in this article. First of all, "all of Finland's schools receive the same per-pupil funding, in contrast to the United States where school funding is based upon a complex formula that uses a local-funding component and creates inequities between affluent and poor communities." By changing our system in this way we could create an even playing field amongst students, giving all students an equal opportunity to succeed. On a similar note, if college were free like in Finland, this would create equality as well. More educated citizens means a more successful society. Education has the ability to prevent poverty, crime and many other economic issues. Finland, unlike the United States has created a system in which education is a priority that is why they are doing so well.
  • Elise Costa
    #4 Elise Costa on 25 Feb 12
     
    The quote from this book is definitely applicable to today's society. There is always a comparison of American students to Asian and European countries. Even Asian students that are American are often assumed to be smarter; it is a part of their stereotype. In this article, I did not expect Finland to be the top country in education. I like that their system includes a national curriculum. I thought it was strange that they did not have gifted classes, but one of the bullet points was, "Diagnostic testing of students is used early and frequently. If a student is in need of extra help, intensive intervention is provided." I thought that this was a very interesting concept. It would be wonderful if we could adapt a similar practice in the US. Unfortunately, there are many factors that could prevent this, such as, students needing to leave immediately after school to catch the bus. There were other great ideas like watching other classes for professional development. There may be other factors that come into play for why the US in ranked around the middle. The US is very diverse and mobile. The high mobility of our citizens certainly comes into play. This article was very interesting and I think certain practices could be adopted to improve the curriculum here.
  • Caitlyn Cozart
    #5 Caitlyn Cozart on 27 Feb 12
     
    This article was very interesting and actually sort of surprised me. I didn't expect Finland to have to best education system. However, I can see why. Many of their education system features are very understandable and true. They make a lot of sense and I strongly believe that the United States should take these ideas and add them to our system today. The biggest feature to me was the few financial features. I believe that is a huge downfall to the United States education systems. Everyone needs to have the chance at school no matter if they are wealthy or poor, they all deserve it. This would dramatically help equality in the US. I wish that the United States education systems would look at these other countries and take into account why they have amazing education systems and programs.
  • Ashley Jacobs
    #6 Ashley Jacobs on 28 Feb 12
     
    The list of features that differ between Finland and the U.S. was very surprising - not in that they would help improve the academic success of students, but because they are so much different from the norm in the U.S. Some of these things are extremely hard to picture the U.S. doing. Obviously, these approaches are working and I would be very interested to see some of them being implemented in our American education system. "Students are not sorted into different groups or schools but different types of learners are learning together." This quote sounds wonderful, but I can't help thinking about my high school and how I would have personally had a much less intense education if I had been placed in different classes. We have different levels of classes because of reasons such as students have different levels of personal dedication, learning styles, and some have more support from home than others. It seems to me that if America were to try to adapt only some of the same practices as Finland, it would be kayos since many of the features listed intertwine and support each other. Finland's whole entire system by which they educate their youth is different, making it hard for the U.S. to change it's ways unless EVERYONE is on board.
  • Jordan Bender
    #7 Jordan Bender on 29 Feb 12
     
    I was disappointed and saddened reading this article because I believe that education is the foundation of this country. Reading that we are "lagging" in education means we are "lagging" as a country as well. Education is fundamental to development and I think there should be more of an effort to improve public education. I think that other countries have realized this. The article states that students did better in Finland regardless of the schools they attend. I think that we have amazing schools in the United States but every school is not amazing. Most schools are lacking funding and programs that could transform schools into an exceptional learning facilities. I also think that the teachers in Finland are respected and appreciated more. Some find teaching as a back up job, but in Finland, it is a highly competitive profession. I think America could use a few tips from these countries in order to improve our education system.
  • Alee Douglass
    #8 Alee Douglass on 29 Feb 12
     
    "Preschools are nonacademic in the sense that no clear academic targets are set. Socialization into school culture and learning to work together with children is the central role."
    I think all of the things said about the Finnish school system depicts what the American school system wishes to be. Personally I think that the Finnish school system does something great by keeping preschool out of "grading standards". Preschool in America was originally founded for the purpose of learning through play, and I think that it has gotten really far away from that; especially because day care begins at a young age, parents want children to be learning at that young age.
    I also think that the county wide curriculum helps keep Finland on track, although after our readings in class I am not sure how I really view them.
    Overall, I think that teachers being held to higher standards is something lacking in America that can easily be fixed without much opposition. No one will say "Why are those teachers so highly qualified. I don't want that!" and that would be a place to start fixing American schools.
  • Chelsea Townsend
    #9 Chelsea Townsend on 29 Feb 12
     
    This study compared the academic performance of 57 countries. The United States performed average. According to the study, "On average 16 other industrialized countries scored above the United States in science, and 23 scored above us in math." Researchers believe that the 'average' performance of the United States is due to the fact that the United States has a large gap between high and low performing students. Finland, who performed the best in the study, has the smallest gap between high and low performing students. I was stunned as to how different the American educational system is from the Finnish educational system. Some of the aspects of the Finnish educational system that surprised me were that Finnish schools do not have classes for gifted students and that children do not start school until age 7. I find it interesting that Finnish teachers must acquire a master's degree and that becoming a teacher in Finland is very competitive. I think that teachers are highly overlooked in the United States. In contrast, "Just 10% of Finnish college graduates are accepted into the teacher training program; as a result, teaching is a high-status profession. I feel that if teachers were looked more highly upon in the United States we would have a stronger educational system. The fact that college is free in Finland probably plays a large role in the success of their students. If more under-privileged American students were able to obtain a free college education the performance of our educational system would drastically increase.
  • anonymous
    #10 anonymous on 29 Feb 12
     
    The article explained that the United States is a superpower nation compared to other countries but we lack superiority in education. The article further explained that Finland's education system is very effiective in their education resulting in their education system being number one in the world. For example, Finland's education system requires that all teachers must have master degree, students do not have a lot of homework, and children do not start school until the age of seven. A quote from our readings connects with this article "The nation has a right to demand intelligence and virtue of every citizen, and to obtain these by force if necessary" from Americanization: Match and Mismatch by David B. Tyack (page 232). I chose this quote because it is true that we need to make sure that we have the best education system for the future.
  • anonymous
    #11 anonymous on 01 Mar 12
     
    This article brought to light many possible flaws in U.S. education. Most of them can be seen from the list of features in to Finnish schools. "Researchers also make note of the fact that while the United States has one of the biggest gaps between high- and low-performing students in an industrialized nation, Finland has one of the smallest." How amazing would it be if everyone that passed through the U.S. education system left being on the same performance level as their peers? I believe that the Finnish feature list notes some things that could help this. Such things like a lighter HW loads, no gifted classes, and the competitiveness to become a teacher. Looking back, I think aspects such as these would have made my grade school experience much smoother and put me more at ease in the learning environment.
  • Tiffany Morgan
    #12 Tiffany Morgan on 01 Mar 12
     
    "Students in the United States performed near the middle of the pack. On average 16 other industrialized countries scored above the United States in science, and 23 scored above us in math. The reading scores for the United States had to be tossed due to a printing error." I don't think you can compare students in the U.S. to students from other countries.The U.S. is a very diverse nation. With students from many different backgrounds. Our schools differ vastly, some schools have amazing teachers and provide students with a great learning environment, where other schools focus on making sure students are safe. These schools have metal detectors to make sure students don't come to school with weapons.This precaution is usually used by schools that are in bad neighborhoods. Where the students are exposed to violence and may be likely to inflict it on other students. Yes, it is saddening to know we are following behind other countries. But at the same time, can we really compare our schools to those in other countries.
  • Cassandra Hayne
    #13 Cassandra Hayne on 01 Mar 12
     
    Finland seems to have the right idea when it comes to education. They have methods for better education I have never even thought of such a comprehensive preschool program that emphasizes "self-reflection" and socializing, not academics, competitive teachers pay, free college, and no grades until high school. Maybe the United States should take a lesson from some of the other countries. We pride ourselves on having some of the best education around but we need to take a deeper look. It seems we had a great school system but is now being perfected in other parts of the world as we lag behind
  • Amanda Stafford
    #14 Amanda Stafford on 01 Mar 12
     
    I think that some of the qualities that Finnish schools have should be taken into serious consideration and applied to the United States. Some of the criteria, such as free college, developmental screenings, and no competition among the students seems like a wonderful idea in our country. It makes things a lot less stressful so that the students can focus on the content they are learning instead of trying to be better than their peers. Also, I thought that the developmental screenings would be extremely helpful. As someone who has needed extra tutoring in the past, I think that if we adopted the ways of the Finnish, we would be better off.
  • Lindsey Wilkinson
    #15 Lindsey Wilkinson on 02 Mar 12
     
    I found this article to be very interesting and enjoyed reading about the Finnish schooling. Maybe this is the patriotic American in me, but I found some of the Finnish practices to be impractical for America and I feel that American schools face problems that Finnish ones do not face. As the melting pot of the world, American schools are comprised of a highly diverse set of backgrounds, ethnicities, and most importantly, languages. As a result, we spend a lot of time and effort getting students on the same page so that everyone can be taught the same things. Thus, a universal curriculum is far more difficult for a geographically spread out and densely populated nation like the US. However, I do enjoy the Finnish ideas of creativity and socialization in young students and think that this is something that we could easily implement.
  • Hope Kim Doit
    #16 Hope Kim Doit on 02 Mar 12
     
    It seems like Finish school system has an equal balance between students and teachers performances. Although they seek to help their students and assist them with their educational needs, they also make sure that the teachers are continually learning and training. On top of being a masters graduate in order to teach, they also have groups of teachers visiting and observing each others work. They even have professional development once a week. I cannot speak for all teachers because I am not one, but I don't think this kind of training and teaching improvement does not happen in the U.S. most of the time. U.S. education seems to focus more on being able to pass standardized exams and training children and we neglect to look at the teachers' performance as well.

To Top

Start a New Topic » « Back to the EDF3604 - Social Foundations of Education group