Learning - the Finnish way

[Jarlaxle]

Learning - the Finnish way | Edvantage

By Sandra Davie
The Straits Times
Monday, Sep 30, 2013

Like Singapore, Finland, which has a population of 5.4 million, is an education superstar.

Its students consistently do as well as top-performing Singapore pupils in international maths and science tests.

But a recent study trip by The Sunday Times sponsored by Lien Foundation found that Finnish students take a completely different route to academic excellence.

Before going to Primary 1 at age seven, all that Finnish children in pre-schools seem to do is play.

And once in school, they do not undergo formal assessments or examinations until they are 18, when they sit for a matriculation examination to enter university.

There is also little homework for primary and lower secondary students, and no nationwide standardised testing.

And tuition? That is a concept foreign to most Finnish parents.

Teachers say the equivalent of Singapore's gifted education scheme or Normal or Express streams would be illegal in Finland because its education policy calls for all children to be given the same opportunities.

wah their education system sounds damn different from most of the countries
i wonder if its CSB that it really works

anyone has lived or worked with finnish b4 to share ?

 

[Inix]

Me thinks its a cultural thing. Asians (especially Chinese, Koreans, Japs) are naturally very competitive and it would be hard to institute structural changes.

Me thinks our educational system is actually very good. So good that we CAN make do without Tuition. I did it when I was younger. But how many parents / kids actually believe in it?

 

[cancer81]

Japanese have a homogeneous school system up till University as well

but private schools run entrance exams as far as I know and are very expensive.

I know that in the past which university you attend will mostly affect your career greatly as old boys clubs are everywhere... not very certain abt the current state of things now

 

[koxinga]

Me thinks its a cultural thing. Asians (especially Chinese, Koreans, Japs) are naturally very competitive and it would be hard to institute structural changes.

Me thinks our educational system is actually very good. So good that we CAN make do without Tuition. I did it when I was younger. But how many parents / kids actually believe in it?

We cannot say just reform the educational aspect of the structure without considering the wider societal one. In a way, our tuition system/pressure cooker environment is also considered as training for your future working life (as a corporate slave).

 

[Inix]

We cannot say just reform the educational aspect of the structure without considering the wider societal one. In a way, our tuition system/pressure cooker environment is also considered as training for your future working life (as a corporate slave).

Absolutely. And sometimes, I think we parents are just passing the buck to the government. All kids are naturally curious, but when parents like ourselves train our kids to be seen and not heard, we are suppressing their curiosity in more ways than 1.

We get the government to change and try to teach them creativity. But seriously, why don't we just let them be creative from the start?

 

[bukitimah]

You why we are struggling? Our scholars pick the best from all over the world and put them together thinking we have adopted the best practices. Alas, they didn't look back home we already have rojak.

Don't send them all over the world anymore.

 

[Mr. Wood]

Teachers say the equivalent of Singapore's gifted education scheme or Normal or Express streams would be illegal in Finland because its education policy calls for all children to be given the same opportunities.

this cannot be say for the same for Singapore's system where the rich can afford better pre-school, better tution, better enrichment etc

 

[Jarlaxle]

You why we are struggling? Our scholars pick the best from all over the world and put them together thinking we have adopted the best practices. Alas, they didn't look back home we already have rojak.

Don't send them all over the world anymore.

ouch.
thats painful!!!

 

[cancer81]

Absolutely. And sometimes, I think we parents are just passing the buck to the government. All kids are naturally curious, but when parents like ourselves train our kids to be seen and not heard, we are suppressing their curiosity in more ways than 1.

We get the government to change and try to teach them creativity. But seriously, why don't we just let them be creative from the start?

the scores u get for PSLE, O levels, A levels and even in Uni (hey, unless u are on the freaking Dean's list go to talk my hand) does not mean you are that much better.

it also does not translate into career success...

correct learning attitudes, proper moral fibre, proper respect for elders and be able to form ideas and communicate them. These are life skills that school will give you and will actually matter in real life.

 

[sunzoner]

the scores u get for PSLE, O levels, A levels and even in Uni (hey, unless u are on the freaking Dean's list go to talk my hand) does not mean you are that much better.

it also does not translate into career success...

correct learning attitudes, proper moral fibre, proper respect for elders and be able to form ideas and communicate them. These are life skills that school will give you and will actually matter in real life.

Tell that to the scholars on Admin service.

 

[cancer81]

Parents' collective attitudes need to evolve too. And they need to take part too, not that all of them just pass the buck.

Teachers are under pressure from the parent committee to push for better avg T-scores as more and more parents consider it the teacher's KPI.

Then u get the parents who think that any advantage is an advantage. so tuition all dah way baby!!