The Global Search for Education: More Focus on Finland
C. M. Rubin – “The Finns had a crisis,” life-long educator, best-selling author, and Harvard professor Tony Wagner explains as we discuss his new film, The Finland Phenomenon….
Finnish teachers talk with Harvard Professor Tony Wagner in "The Finland Phenomenon."
“The Finns had a crisis,” life-long educator, best-selling author, and Harvard professor Tony Wagner explains as we discuss his new film, The Finland Phenomenon, made with acclaimed documentary filmmaker, Bob Compton. “Their economy was failing. Their education system was poor. They knew that to grow their economy, they had to transform their educational system.” Starting with the principle that cooperation is a key pillar of success, the Finns revised their educational framework.
“I saw teachers in Finland that were better than 90% of the teachers I see in America,” says Wagner. There were many things that led to Finland topping the international education league tables (ten years and counting). A key driver: a tremendous investment in teaching made it the most sought-after profession in Finland.
Compulsory schooling now begins at seven. School is a place where students discover who they are and what they can contribute. National testing and school inspections are banished (teachers are trusted to assess their students). Classroom size has been reduced (limited to 20 students). Students are permitted to transfer to an academic or vocational school at the age of 16, and no university fees are charged for Finnish or European Union students.
This educational reformation has made them world leaders. Not surprisingly, global policy makers are paying more attention. Pasi Sahlberg, Director General of CIMO in Helsinki, Finland (the Centre for International Mobility and Cooperation) now advises policy-makers in over 40 countries on matters relating to education and its reform. Four months before the release of his highly anticipated new book, Finnish Lessons: What can the world learn about educational change in Finland, Pasi Sahlberg spoke with me about the characteristics of successful educational systems, and about what is missing from many systems around the world.
What kind of education system will permit a country to have the people skills needed to compete globally?
The education system must be equitable, accessible, and flexible. Global competitiveness requires that all people develop competencies for life and work, not just some people. This means that a successful education system should help young people to discover their talents and build their lives based on them. Reading, mathematical, and scientific literacy will remain important, but their role as ‘core subjects’ in competitive education systems will be challenged by creativity, networking skills, and imagination.
An equitable education system makes sure that all students will perform well. It will provide early support to those who need more help in their learning than others. It will also emphasize caring and well-being in school (through healthy nutrition, medical, dental and psychological health), rights of students in school, and shared responsibilities in education and upbringing of children with parents.
Accessibility means that the education system provides good schooling for all, regardless of where people live or what they do. The education system that can offer unified and comprehensive basic education, rather than diversified provision of schooling (through private or non-public schools), will have better opportunities to respond to the changing needs of the competitive and complex world.
Flexibility is about providing adequate individual personalization in school, and freedom for schools to craft their curricula based on their capacities and local needs.
I know that Finland has banished national testing. How do you see the problems with standardized testing?The main problem with standardized testing today is the quality of these tests. As learning in the globalized world is becoming increasingly complex and diverse, to test what pupils have learned through standardized tests is becoming more complicated. The increasing amount of what students learn cognitively today, let alone what they will learn tomorrow, is due to out-of-school influences, not the teacher or school. Standardized tests by definition are designed based on curriculum and textbooks, not the real world. Therefore, most standardized tests promote narrowing pedagogies, focus on core subjects and knowledge, and prevent teachers from teaching their curricula flexibly. Another problem with standardized tests is that as soon as you have invested in them, you want to also use them for all sorts of purposes for which they were not meant to be used, like determining the quality of schools and comparing them to each other, or measuring the effectiveness of teachers.
What elements are missing from the preponderance of the current systems?
Education systems in general pay too little attention to helping everybody find their own talent in school. It is evident everywhere that most people, after they have completed compulsory education at the age of 16 or 17, think that they are not good at anything. There is a small minority of those young people who say that they know what their talents are and that this is because of what they did in school. Another missing emphasis in current education systems all around the world is focus on helping young people to develop social skills and competencies that they need in their lives (that are dominated by communication through gadgets). This could also be called a lack of focus on developing social intelligences in school.
What can be done to better address the emotional well being and intellectual potential of the individual, which appear to be suffering under current systems?
Emotional well-being can be addressed by reducing the academic dominance in schools and by increasing the social and creative aspects in what students do. It is a common misconception that competitive economies in a globalized world would require that children and students be prepared for them by environments that are based on more competition. It is the opposite. To prepare young people for the competitive world requires more cooperation in classrooms and between schools. All national programs, like Race to the Top, will jeopardize school, teacher, and student efforts to cooperate as they reward winners in the race and punish losers in public tests.
From a larger perspective, does your country’s definition of educational excellence take into account the quality of life of individuals and of a society?
Educational excellence in Finland is a broad concept that spans far beyond academic achievement measured in standardized tests. Indeed, quality of life, overall well-being, and happiness are important criteria when teachers and schools decide whether their individuals or organizations have performed well or not. Artistic and cultural achievements are seen in most of our schools as the main indications of being an educated individual.
World Wisdom from Finland
Global competitiveness requires that all students develop competencies for life and work, not just some students. Therefore, a country’s educational system must be equitable, accessible, and flexible. Cooperation, not competition, is a principal pillar of educational system success. Also essential is a tremendous investment in teaching quality. But beware of standardized testing, as it will undermine the achievement of these objectives.
In The Global Search for Education, join C.M. Rubin and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Leon Botstein (US), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (US), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (US), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. David Shaffer (US), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (US), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais US), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (US), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.
C.M. Rubin has more than two decades of professional experience in development, marketing, and art direction for a diverse range of media businesses. She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice In Wonderland.
Wednesday
June 1st, 2011
C.M. Rubin Contributor EducationNews.org
Filed Under
"Finnish Lessons: What can the world learn about educational change in Finland" "Race to the Top" Bob Compton C. M. Rubin educational reform Finland schools global education Harvard professor Tony Wagner Howard Gardner Pasi Sahlberg PISA rankings RTTT Standardized Testing the Finnish Phenomenon The Global Search for Education world wisdom
Subscribe
Enter your email to subscribe to daily Education News!
Hot Topics
- California Education
- UK Education
- Charter Schools
- Education Technology
- Teachers Unions
- New York Education
- Education Reform
- New York City Schools
- C. M. Rubin
- Cost of College
- Obama Administration
- UK Politics
- Florida Education
- Los Angeles Schools
- New Jersey Education
- School Funding
- Julia Steiny
- STEM Education
- Parent Involvement
- Early Childhood Education
- Online Classes
- Education Research
- Washington DC Schools
- Illinois Education
- Teacher Evaluations
- NCLB
- The Global Search for Education
- College Admissions
- Literacy
- School Budgets
- School Choice
- Tennessee Education
- Chicago Schools
- Standardized Testing
- Pennsylvania Education
- Colorado Education
- Texas Education
- School Nutrition
- Republican Party
- Online Education
- Michigan Education
- Indiana Education
- Bullying
- Student Debt
- UK Higher Education
Career Index
Plan your career as an educator using our free online datacase of useful information.
- Select a City Subject
- Psychology Schools in Boca Raton
- Psychology Schools in Clearwater
- Psychology Schools in Daytona Beach
- Psychology Schools in DeLand
- Psychology Schools in Fort Lauderdale
- Psychology Schools in Fort Myers
- Psychology Schools in Gainesville
- Psychology Schools in Jacksonville
- Psychology Schools in Lake Wales
- Psychology Schools in Lakeland
- Psychology Schools in Maitland
- Psychology Schools in Naples
- Psychology Schools in Orlando
- Psychology Schools in Pensacola
- Psychology Schools in Saint Augustine
- Psychology Schools in Saint Leo
- Psychology Schools in Saint Petersburg
- Psychology Schools in Sarasota
- Psychology Schools in Tallahassee
- Psychology Schools in Tampa
- Psychology Schools in West Palm Beach
Comments
why why why won’t anyone in the USA take a look at the facts behind what is being said here and allow that to inform our education decisions?
Agreed, we can’t waste anymore time either. The Finns started reforming their system decades ago – what is interesting is that at that time they borrowed a lot of their pillars from the American system at that time. There is no quick fix. It will take time but what is more important than an excellent educational system?
Hi there – Did you see how I started the story – it took a crisis – the Finns had a crisis – Tony Wagner is a very smart man and educator and innovative thinker – the point is it takes a crisis (and we are close) for people to leave their egos outside the room and cooperate. And yet you still wonder why we wait – what could be more important than education?
There is nothing more important and I want to help move America’s children to a better option for education. I want to be involved when the crisis does happen. What do you see as the best and most impactful thing to do? Children should not suffer at the hands of egotistical and uncooperative adults.
What I find ‘wanting’ in articles like these, especially when used to support a particular solution for education in the US, is that they always neglect to point out the country is either very small, or very ethnically homogeneous. Not that those traits guarantee success, but they certainly create an environment with fewer hurdles.
Finland: population 5 million; 90% Finnish
Singapore: pop. 5 million; 75% Chinese
Hong Kong: pop. 7 million ; 95% Chinese
S.Korea: pop. 50 million; 90+% Korean
Taiwan: pop. 23 million ; 98% Han Chinese
Japan: pop.127 million ; 98% Japanese
Shanghai: pop. 23 million ; 95+% Han Chinese (a city, but tested separately).
The US is big, very diverse, and has a zillion different educational fiefdom’s (school boards, teachers unions, PTA’s, publishers). I thinks it’s amazing we do as well as we do internationally. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still crappy. I think we suffer most of all from gross inefficiency. How can so many smart people get it so wrong? Perhaps that would make a more meaningful subject. Not how a country with a homogeneous population of 5 million people finally figured out how to right the ship. Those 50% tax rates in Finland don’t hurt funding needs either.
Perhaps if we can start to cut down those fiefdoms, maybe we can start the revitalization of the US educational system. In a city that has more the 10 school districts, the duplication of resources (such as multiple school boards) that could be eliminated could help free up money that could upgrade schools, reduce class sizes and more importantly support and encourage great teachers to stay in the profession.
A Finnish friend informs me that there is virtually no poverty in Finland. As do other European nations, they offer healthcare to all. Additionally, the government subsidizes families to the extent that every Finnish child grows up having his/her own bedroom.
So, yes, they have made sound choices for their schools, teachers and students. Choices that are counter to the choices being made in American schools. Plus the eradication of poverty. Finally, of course, we must acknowledge that they are a far more homogeneous population without a steady influx of dirt poor families from developing countries who stress the system, to say the least.
We do need to wake up. Our choices are leading us further away from our goal.
Do you know what the tax rate is in Finland? Will Americans be willing to pay it? There is so little trust (rightfully so) of the government’s ability to do anything well…it at all levels has failed miserably at education for many, many students. Thank you –
If you are interested in Finnish tax rate, please use our tax rate calculator:
http://prosentti.vero.fi/veropros_tietojen_syotto2011.asp?language=ENG
It is true that the tax rate is high, but in contrast, I have understood that in USA you have to take an expensive health care insurance and save tens of thousands of dollars for children’s higher education.
For example, a young high school teacher (students aged 16-19) with master’s degree has wage of about 3000 euros/month or 36000 euros in a year. The tax for that wage level is about 22 %, according to the calculator.
Of course, the price level affects too. Cars are expensive in Finland (most inexpensive new cars cost little over 10000 euros, for example, price of Chevrolet Spark is 12990 euros). Apartments are expensive, if you live in or near the capital Helsinki.
Almost all consumer goods have VAT tax of 23 %, I think this is something like the US sales tax? For example, if I run a small business and sell something to get 10 euros for me, the price for the consumer is 12,30 euros. And of course I pay income tax for that 10 euros.
And, additionally, many thanks to EducationNews for publishing this informative article. Please keep up this good work.
Cathy Rubin has done a wonderful job in the series that will be published in the weeks and months ahead.
Pasi Sahlberg just makes sense. You hear what he says, and you think, how can US be on such a fractured and contentious ed reform path.
I admire the Finns, but Finland is Finland and America is America. There is only one minority group in Finland and they make up 5 percent of the population – the Swedes and they look like Finns. Articles like this make me so proud of the American educational system where education is unversal. We educate all children, with 56 languages, sometimes, in a school. There are 121 million children in the world who have no access to schooling, yet we take them all. We feed them, we love them, and we teach them. As the school year comes to a close I salute the teachers of America!
These are the facts on Finnish immigrants recently published by HELSINGIN SANOMAT INTERNATIONAL EDITION – HOME
“Immigrants account for half of Finland’s population growth The Finnish population is now growing largely thanks to an influx of immigrants. From 2007 onwards, more than half of the country’s population growth has been from immigration. Before that, most of the growth in the Finnish population was attributed to children born to Finnish citizens, as well as a relatively low death rate. “Immigration is no longer a marginal phenomenon. We are now at the European average”, says Arno Tanner of the Finnish Immigration Service.
The number of foreign citizens living in Finland has increased more than six-fold in the past 20 years. The total number of immigrants living in Finland is about 170,000. In 1999 fewer than 15,000 immigrants settled in Finland. Last year the number was nearly 25,000.”
Well stated Harry.
Perhaps its time to cut down on who we let in and try and focus on our own for awhile. I am not against immigration and actually support having a more streamlined process in bringing in immigrants. However, just like other programs, the system is broke and everyone knows that if they get here, we’ll let them share in the dream….but our own dreams are being flushed down the tubes.
School hasn’t even started here this term but I have been anticipating a weak school year since April of thsi year. I ordered workbooks for all three of my kids and aside for the first week of vacation, my kids have been working on their academics as I threw in fun projects that supported their own gifts that allowed them to grow as well rounded students. And as of July, I had already contacted and visited all three schools to present my positions on MY expectations, how I was there to support their future teachers and admins and to basically put them on notice that they may be expecting chaos because of the current economic system but I was doing my best to already counter act what I could.
As a disabled single mom of 3, limited budget or not the well being and education of my children come first. Yes, it is a different model of what is around us. But I know of other families with the same expectations and motivations and we still can get more done with what little we have. Maybe the rest of America needs to look around and realize that we may have to give up some things to get this educational revolution started….
I join with Harry in saluting the teachers of America. I have been to Finland about 6 or 7 times, and I have been in the schools and spoken with the teachers there- and observed the teacher training system. I join with Harry in saying Finland is Finland and America is America. And the educational philosophies are different. The teacher training system is different. The values are different. Parental support is different. The age at which kids begin school is different. The culture is different. Teacher authority is different. And concerned teacher above is correct. There is basically no poverty in Finland.
NOW, on the other hand, I can say that there are institutions in Finland for emotionally disturbed children. I can say that there are facilities for the mentally ill. And the number of children with ” special needs “, exceptionalities is quite small- for whatever reason. A teacher in Finland does not have to deal with inclusion or mainstreaming as much as teachers in America- for whatever reason.Finland is a wonderful country to visit and the people are wonderful. And the educational system is way different from America and the teacher training system is vastly different.
MS
Dear Michael,
I am a frequent reader of Ed News and have great respect for your reporting. I must differ, however, with your attempt to diminish the importance of the Finnish phenomenon. Finland turned its ed system upside down and arrived at a system that now ranks as one of the top 5 in the world on the well regarded PISA test. We all know that the US has some serious problems that need to be addressed. The greatest educational thought leaders of our time believe that we have a system that will lose ground against the leaders every year going forward, unless significant changes are made. The Finns are pointing the direction towards some of the things we need to do.
I’m sorry, I caught ‘Harvard professor’ there; where the common scuttlebutt is that it is hard to get into but not hard at all once you are there. Exactly how many years of K-12 education does the professor have?
There are so many differences between a homogeneous society like Finland or Korea and the U.S. that it is ridiculous to try and compare education systems.
Immigrants account for more than half of Finland’s population fyi
From Sweden and Russia. Still, basically a homogeneous society when it comes to culture compared to the U.S.
That is ONE of the differences. When I was in Germany, I was seated in a classroom of seniors. The year was over, grades were in, things were final! The students still had an assignment, they had all read it, and were discussing it. I was floored. These were graduating seniors! Their year was over. And, no one was absent.
I also asked the teacher about discipline issues (granted, this was a gymnasium) and he said ‘there is none’. ‘None’? ‘None!’
When this happens in America, we won’t have any gnashing of teeth about what reforms to make, hetero or homogeneous culture.
Hey Randy- you got that right…I was once lecturing in Germany at the University of Regensburg…the students met me at the hotel, had breakfast with me, walked with me to the University, took notes during the lecture, and then walked with me back into town to the hotel…now, if you have ever been to Regensburg, you know the walk from the University to the town. In a sense, things are very similar in Finland….and I have never seen such furious scribbling as when I lectured in Finland in TUrku, Helsinki, Lahti, Rauma and Yviskula….
MS
We are not the only nation that has cultural issues that require extra care. That’s not an acceptable dead-end for educational improvement, is it? Our leaders will have to figure out how to do this, or the “homogenous” populations will just get further ahead. I for one don’t subscribe to this.
No, for half its population growth. Not the same thing.
Your previous post stated immigrants account for more than 1/2 of the population GROWTH, which is not 1/2 of the population. Big difference. Finns are not having large families. Also, where are these immigrants originating and what are their demographics? If they are other Scandinavians, or Europeans, largely, this is very different from immigrants who are predominantly from developing countries who often have a limited education and are struggling.
Immigrants, per se, are not the “problem.” Most of the Asian immigrants to the U.S. arrive here with a strong work ethic and their children excel in school, which strongly supports the role of the home culture upon educational outcomes.
While there are exceptions in any group, on the average we see a different attitude and mindset leading to very different outcomes associated with different immigrant groups.
So, the issue is how to overcome the considerable influence the home culture has upon the student’s academic performance while ALL students are receiving an equally (ideally) stimulating education. How do we lift one group that is not benefitting academically from the considerable number of hours spent in their home and neighborhood (the actual % of childhood spent in school is quite small) without deliberately trying to hold the more advantaged students back?
The influences that create the developmental inequality that manifests as the “achievement gap” operate throughout a youth’s childhood. These influences do not vanish once the child begins school. At present, we have control over only a small percentage of a student’s waking life.
How are the front line teachers reacting to the federal take over of schools though the Common Core Standards? It would seem they are trying a model after Finland.
I guess we are going to have to figure out how to systemically address the cultural issue in order to move ahead. All constructive comments welcome.
Actually from what you cited earlier it is “half of Finland’s population GROWTH”, not raw population.
The pop. of Finland is about 5.3 million (2009 data) and the ethnic groups in Finland break down like this: Finn 93.4%, Swede 5.6%, Russian 0.5%, Estonian 0.3%, Roma (Gypsy) 0.1%, Sami 0.1% (2006 data). So while immigration in Finland may be growing, it doesn’t seem that it could be anywhere close to 2.6 million folks are now immigrants, even with data from 5 yrs ago.
It’s ok, you were probably schooled in an American education system and so aren’t good at math, understanding statistics, and comprehending data. But some of us persevere;)
And I think the elephant in the room is that there will never be the political will to reform education in the extremely profound way that’s needed; no matter how much lip service is given to Whitney Houston’s old saw “I believe that children are the future.”
Gimme a break, rich people can go private and poor people get left the dregs. And don’t raise taxes. Oh, and we don’t trust the govt. to come up with a general curriculum. And teachers unions will fight anything that takes away the lifetime employment idea.
An interesting line from the PISA report about Finland that doesn’t get highlighted when everyone talks teacher quality and no testing is:
-Basic education is completely free of charge (including instruction, school materials, school meals, health care, dental care, commuting, special needs education and remedial teaching). Let me know when all that gets provided along w/ the top-notch education in the U.S..
Child poverty rate in Finland = 4%
Child poverty rate in USA = 20%
Child Poverty in Finland is on the rise – an article you might find interesting:
http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/htimes/domestic-news/general/12914-once-banished-child-poverty-returns-to-finland.html
If child poverty in Finland went up 20% it would be 5% instead of 4%.
The USA has a terrible education system for one reason and one reason alone. The uncome gaps between the rich and the poor are wider in America are wider than any other developed democracy. If you are not prepared to tax the rich and spend the money on health and education for all then throw in the towel now. There will be NO progress.
Addressing poverty may well help the marginalized focus more on education, not having to worry about their next meal. Education is also a way out of poverty, so one does not have to precede the other. And we don’t necessarily have to tax the rich in order to make the subtle shift in national spending priorities that would generate significant additional funds for education. Let’s start by facing up to the problems, not pre-judging them.
The adroit manner in which the above teachers of childen dismissed the supposed authority of certain educational “leaders” clearly illustrates one of the reasons why instruction to children from low-income homes has so long been so ineffective. In short, almost all of the advice from these leaders has turned out to be irrelevant. As a longtime teacher, and teacher educator, it appears to me that until teachers actually run their individual schools, children from poor families will continue to suffer badly.
The United States is considered one of the richest countries in the world. We can certainly afford to deal with the poverty problems that exist.
We have been trying for years with trillions already spent trying to fix the problem of poverty. Where is the money going to come from anymore? The Great Society under LBJ has destroyed generations of minorities. The only benefit is those working for the gov. agencies that get most of the money anyway.
Jimmy: Doing a story on an educator with the biggest vision for global education I have ever come across. Seriously the guy is exhausting and passionate about education in this country and he tells me over and over THERE IS SO MUCH MONEY FOR EDUCATION IN THIS COUNTRY YOU JUST NEED TO KNOW HOW TO ASK FOR IT – maybe we could get him in the White House – I believe he could get the job done – believe me you will not believe what he has accomplished in this country already!!!!
Like what exactly?
As for the money, you are correct. My school has received many federal grants which are bogus, do nothing but prop up old teachers in cushy jobs, and are a waste of tax payer money.
The grantee will then fudge numbers to make it look like it is working.
If tax payers only knew.
The money should not be primarily used to fund welfare. It must be used to create jobs primarily through massive infrastructure investment similar to the old Tennessee Valley Authority.
There is a massive unmet need to re-wire America, to create alternative energy, to fix bridges roads and sewers. There is a total aversion in America to taxation on rich people to fund all of this.
The point is to put everyone to work. Public sector investment has massive spin offs in contracts with the private sector. Somehow you understand that when it comes to military spending but not for construction of public housing, roads, trains, harbors, airports, etc.
You need to tax more and spend less on the military.
In Africa Education is considered a way out of poverty.
There are so many differences between a homogeneous society like Finland or Korea and the U.S. that it is ridiculous to try and compare education systems.
I think if you read Pasi Sahlberg’s writings as well as the works of other Finnish educators you will see that they borrowed a tremendous amount from the American system to reform their own and make it the success story it is today.
Wait a second when you’re trying to fix a problem – any problem – don’t you usually start with looking at what the people who don’t have the problem are doing? I don’t get your point?
I agree and it would appear that is exactly what Finland did – they went through the painful process of redefining their goals and objectives for their educational system – I’d bet they looked around to see who they could learn from.
Guys, we are killing ourselves trying to figure out what to do about teachers, schools, pedagogy, etc.. We are looking at the wrong side of the equation. Until we can address student and parent motivation that IS the problem for 95% of students who ‘aren’t getting it’ we are just blowing hot air.
Randy — I wish it were as simple as looking solely at parent and student motivation…the issue is bigger than that. Teachers need to have a legitimate voice. Today they are silent(ed). Yes, parents need to send kids prepared to learn to school…I did but my kids needs were not met as:
government education catered to boosting the bottom but did not focus on the higher achieving kids, where are the high expectations for all kids, where was the rigorous curriculum that went deep into the subject and required kids to think and question, mainstreaming is a joke and hurt my kids as the teachers were always repeating for those that should not have been in the class, bring back ability grouping, bring back a rich curriculum in the arts, science, history along with math and english…we need the best and brightest in the classrooms, force the schools to focus on the only thing they are suppose to know best and that is educating…leave everything else to the community and agencies, stop social promotion, hold kids accountable for their actions (or lack thereof), enforce the disciplinary code, look for the good vs the bad in students, hold administrators accountable…need I say more? Look at your own house…As a parent I am sick of being blamed for the ills of government education…clean up your own house…I did my part…private school saved the day for my kids…
Excuses, excuses, excuses.
tim-10-ber, you make some valid points.
NCLB is directly responsible for further degrading our public schools. AYP is an average and the best way to bring up an AYP is to boost the lower achievers who drag down the average.
You need to make your concerns heard, again and again. In the meantime the administrators and other folks who determine policy continue to insist that all teachers can effectively differentiate to meet ALL student needs in their classrooms (and these include behavioral and emotional needs that often require counseling).
The lowest functioning students, and some mid-range, who have significant academic and behavior problems are often very demanding upon the time and attention of a teacher. The lowest students often lack the skills to work successfully independently…all of this creates a situation where a teacher simply HAS to focus much more time and attention on the lower performing and leave the best and brightest to complete most work independently, or even use them a portion of the time as peer tutors.
Now, there are some nuances that you may not have the experience to appreciate, so I don’t endorse all that you have said, but our top students are too often not challenged appropriately.
Keep shouting, make your concerns known.
Tim-10-ber
I will stand by my statement, but also agree greatly with most of your assessment. Many teachers (18 years for me) have been fighting these ‘reforms’ to lift the bottom up. It is tearing down the whole system. Until new-wave Superintendents and politicians understand the real issues, we will continue to fight.
I will end with this. In my high school of 1300 kids; take the top 300 and you would have a population of kids that could compete with most any private school out there.
Canada does much better than the USA in PISA etc mainly because our income gaps between rich and poor are much narrower. Canada has a soft line socialist approach to society, medicare, public education, more generous social programs.
We just elected a moderate socialist party the NDP as our official opposition in parliament. This puts the fear of God in our conservatives who “officially” support single payer, state run medicare. If they said anything else they would instantly lose the next election.
The socialist NDP got 30% and is polling 34% now. The conservatives got 43% and are polling about 37%.
The debate has missed the nub of the issue – Finland trusts their teachers, America doesn’t
(Finland is one of the most homogenous societies on the planet – only 5,3 million people with 170 000 foreigners)
The issue is not the lack of various ethnic and racial groups in society. The issue is that some of these groups are poor and others are not.
Poor people do badly in education everywhere on Earth. Many western democratic societies with much the same average GDP/capita as the USA do much better than the USA. The issue is the maldistribution of wealth and the maldistribution of educational resources.
The single and only way to fix America’s education problem is new taxes on the wealthy, big cuts in the defence budget and the reallocation of this money to the poor in the form of job creation and to the schools in poor areas.
If you are not prepared to do this, you will never advance educationally.
We have tried this approach many times before and it doesn’t work. Free choice is a word the libs hate but it’s the truth God gives abilities in many ways and the person has the choice to act on them or blame others.
Doug — taxing the wealthy is only part of the problem…we have to stop the entitlement mentality…welfare was never ever meant to be a life style…this has to stop, medicare, social security, military spending are all out of control…this must be corrected. Taxes need to be raised on all in some form or another…people need to be vested in the programs in order to be successful…taxing our way out of the problem will not work…we need massive cuts too across the board….
The wealthy pay a much lower tax rate than you and I.
Capital gains is taxed at 15%. I am middle class and have a small investment portfolio and have, some years, made small gains through investments that I paid 15% capital gains taxes on. Most of my income is salary and is therefore (because we are a two income family, of necessity) taxed at about 30%. 90+% of my family income is subject to a 30% tax rate.
The ultra wealthy, the billionaires and multi-millionaires, take most of their income in stock, dividends, etc. and these are taxed at 15%.
A CEO who earned $40 million last year received, perhaps, a $7 million salary and the rest was in stock options and the like. Therefore he is subject to an average tax rate that is obscenely lower than yours and mine.
If middle class Americans who work hard, pay their bills and try to send their children to college must pay a 30% tax rate, then the multi-millionaire and billionaires should pay at least the same percentage. Fair is fair and the middle class forms the backbone of our economy in that we represent the majority of the consumers who keep American businesses going.
If you are, for example a hedge fund manager, you have structured your earnings to enable you to be taxed at the lower capital gains rate.
There is nothing wrong with making money and plenty of it. There is something very wrong when Warren Buffet’s secretary pays a higher tax rate than he (Warren has stated this himself).
The tax codes need to be revised to correct this. Perhaps the first half million of investment income can be taxed at the capital gains rate, and the remainder subject to income taxes. This would permit you and I to make some investment income, while ensuring the ultra wealthy who take most of their annual incomes in this format pay their SHARE. This alone would make a significant difference.
Doug wrote, “Poor people do badly in education everywhere on Earth.”
Actually, Education Trust in the United States has documented scores of public schools in the United States where students from low income families do well. Ron Edmonds, a Harvard professor, documented the same thing 2 decades ago.
Helping improve health care, helping people find jobs are valuable things to do. But it’s also valuable to learn from schools that are producing outstanding results with students from low income families.
I agree with Joe there are many examples of inner-city schools with high poverty and the kids do very well. The excuse we need more money or a national curriculum is pure hog wash.
The Haberman Foundations’ teacher selection interview has provided districts with the tool for hiring a teacher meeting certain guild lines not just a degree in education. Nothing happens without a good teacher. Blame the parents, poverty, kids and policy makers all you want too and nothing changes without a teacher that can work with kids in the classroom.
I am particularly pleased to hear this, but what troubles me is the tendency for folks to proclaim this “truth,” yet there seems to be a paucity of data to provide support.
I would like very much for more media attention to focus on these high achieving schools in poverty-stricken neighborhoods, and what these teachers are actually DOING.
I am not satisfied to read about KIPP schools (and KIPP knockoffs in high poverty neighborhoods) because they do not play be the same rules, and I have read prodigiously about them. It is common knowledge that they may require school visits, attendance at orientation sessions and signatures on contracts to gain entrance into their lotteries. These contracts permit them to “counsel” failing students into leaving, and expel when necessary. These apparently simple requirements effectively exclude almost all of the families that do not value and support education.
I am really interested in reading about the many neighborhood public schools in inner cities that are producing academic excellence, and who are taking all children simply because they live within their boundaries. I know we could all learn from these exemplary schools.
Also, I have a pretty high standard for what spells success: the school must produce strong results at multiple grade levels across more than a single year. When that occurs, we know we are on to something. Let’s profile and discuss them.
Concerned teacher, Doug and others who insist that “poor children do badly everywhere on the earth.”
Please see a column I wrote posted on educationnews.org several weeks ago that described major progress across seven year in the Cincinnati Public Schools. Please see more info that will be posted, I hope in the next week or so here.
Please also look at the Education Trust website.
We have a blog and a Twitter #hashtag for discussion on Finnish educational system:
http://finnedchat.blogspot.com/
The hashtag for Twitter -users is #finnedchat
Joe is reaching for straws when he laments that there ARE some poor schools that do well.
This is akin to the argument that I know a few folks who smoke and did not get lung cancer so therefore smoking does not cause lung cancer. The argument is bogus and Joe knows it.
If 99% of the education problems are in the bottom 20% of schools by income and 1% of the education problems are in the other 80% of the schools, it is pretty convincing argumentation that poverty causes education problems.
http://www.boldapproach.org
Sorry, Doug, I don’t agree that 99% of the problems are in the bottom 20% (by income) of the schools.
There are many problems in schools serving middle and upper income youngsters. This and many other states, for example, have literally thousands of young people graduating from suburban high schools who have to take remedial courses in college. Some suburban schools have major problems with drugs, alcohol an eating disorders.
I think you live in Canada. Perhaps it is true that 99% of problems are in the bottom 20% of Canadian schools (although having visited schools in Canada, and having been invited to speak in Canada many times, my impression is that many Canadian educators would not agree with your assertion. But I don’t have facts about Canadian schools.
I do have facts about public schools in Minnesota and many other US states. Those facts do not support the assertion that 99% of the problems are in the “bottom 20% of the schools.”
Joe P-L-E-A-S-E, all the testing data in Canada,(I live in Toronto) UK, where they call the results the legue table because they look like football listings rich private down to poor public., NAEP results, and every other place.
120 highschools in Toronto, first time results of tests shown 119 listed by decline from rich to poor. One school off its place. Which proves the rule, the 119 in class/income order or the one that was 8 places off? Try to be serious. Everybody knows that social class is the overwhelming factor in testing difference. The OECD says so for PISA TIMMS etc. Canada kills USA due to narrower income gaps. Average income actually higher in USA but maldistribution of income is behind almost every problem in the USA – crime, health, economy, education, racism, housing crisis, debt problems, budget problems, etc.
http://www.thelittleeducationreport.com/Geraldbracey.html
Thanks for sharing the info about League Tables in Toronto. Even if what you say is true, that does not equate your assertion that “99% of the problems are in the bottom 20% (by income) of the schools.” I gave a number of examples of many problems in middle and upper income schools.
This is the victim mentality that the most effective educators have rejected. Part of the work that our organization does is to identify, encourage and try to honor educators and schools doing a terrific job with students from low income families. Another part of our work is to help produce more of this kind of success, by helping share what these schools (district & charter) are doing.
I also agree that having excellent, widely available health care, decent housing and more jobs that can support a family are valuable things to work for.
I’m late to the discussion. But, since I just had a wonderful conversation with two young Finns to ask them, “Why is your system the best?” I’ll chime in with what I heard from a university professor and a public school aide.
1. There is trust in the system. Families trust the schools. Teachers trust families. That seems to be key! Trust is the key. Let’s repeat that! My comment:As far as I’m concerned, we need know nothing more….
2. teachers are well trained and highly respected in society.
3. The students and parents are pretty much a homogeneous group, for the most part, and there is general agreement about the purpose of education.
4. The system works with all students and gives slow students extra help when they are young. For example, in the first three grades, students start the four-hour day at different times in the morning, so teachers can work with different groups. I thought that was creative.
5. And these are the keys, as I learned them, from these two young people.
Joe,
Everybody is trying to help poor kids do better that is not the point. The point is :
There is no general problem in Canadian or American education. There is only one problem, the children of poor families do very badly in education whether they are white, black, hispanic, Amerindian or Asian.
As Bracey pointed out, if you remove the poorest 25% of American schools from consideration, the remaining schools are on par with the best nations in the world. The reason those nations do so much better is that they do not ALLOW the levels of poverty and the income polarization allowed in America. Your income polarization comes at a heavy price in crime, incarceration, death, health, education, housing, …
Income polarization is at the root of all of America’s problems, not just education.
People outside your country watch your deficit, debt, fiscal crisis from the outside and just scream TAX the RICH, CUT the MILITARY at their TV screns.
There is an idiotic argument out there that those who point out that the dropouts, special ed kids, and those that don’t go on to college are overwhelmingly poor are somehow for the status quo. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is a slander.
I support radical increases in educational spending, much smaller classes especially in poor schools; much more comprihensive ECE until education beginning at toilet training is as common as kindergarten (Montessori); we need many more support staff, free tuition in post secondary, etc. The Jimmy types will bellyache “where will we get all the money for this”.
The beauty of it is the entire upgrade is better than free, it actually contributes massively to the national bottom line. The workforce is radically more productive and innovative; unemployment goes down as does welfare, crime almost vanishes as does the need for huge expenditures on incarceration, cops, courts, LAWYERS, and even the health care system is relieved of the burden of the poor people.
The ROI on eduction is better than blue chip investments. Ask yourselves this question. Is China cutting its education budget? The answer is no, they have the highest education spending / GDP ratio in the world now meaning they are spending everything they can on education.
Those who would not sell the family silver to spend it on national education condemn your country and mine to sharp decline in our standard of living and our standing in the world.
The highly educated nations “send men to the moon” not the cutback nations.
Thank you C.M. Rubin for your insights. I have twenty years of high-school teaching experience and everything you said resonates. 70% of my students are white, 20% Hispanic and 8% Native American. 80% are low-income. We take the students who have not been successful in a regular high school and their pass rate on the California High School Exit Exam ranges from 16% to 36%. I believe I have a particular talent for teaching; for twelve years 90% of my students have passed CAHSEE. In spite of this measurable success, I have been disciplined repeatedly for not sticking to the adopted standardized curriculum, but daring to supplement the proscribed textbooks with diverse relevant materials. This pressure to conform seems to come from district, county and state levels and I suspect is a result of the huge profits to be made in testing, publishing and administering a uniform curriculum.
Poverty, race, language, or immigrant status have very little to do with our educational problems. These are but the excuses cited by those with a political bias. We need a better attitude. My students are successful because I treat them and their families with respect. My educational system is flexible and builds on student strengths – it is called reciprocal teaching, because we learn together. My students and parents place a lot of trust in me – especially after so many previous educational experiences that were negative.
I can see I rambled on much longer than intended. It is so clear how Finland reformed their education AND their economy. They trust their teachers; they emphasize cooperation over competition; they value students and parents and they got rid of testing. They put their trust (and resources) into education, not administration. The key is that trust.
Don’t hurt your hand patting yourself on the back.
America suffers from what I call the “High Noon Syndrome” where Gary Cooper is the only star to save the town. This is a Fascist fantasy.We fall back on individual stars H, Escalante, “To Sir With Love” stuff. This does not work. It is like telling a young basketball team “first watch Michael Jordan- now do that!” A star system does not work. We need to upgrade a vast army of journeyman/women teachers slowly to the next level and then the one after.
It’s always fascinating to read Doug’s criticisms. So American suffers from “a Fascist fantasy.” Is Doug from Canada? I think so, but I’m not sure. Are you from Canada, Doug?
Can you point to a positive change in public education that you have helped to create, along with your assertions about our “fascist fantasy”?
I was a trustee for many years Joe, I helped to start 2 alternative (public) schools, persuaded to Toronto Board to radically upgrade its Adult Literacy efforts, supported hiring over 200 extra teachers for “inner city” poorer schools, I could go on and on about that. I worked in the classroom elementary, secondary, community college and university at York University where I taught “The Politics of Education Ontario 1945-2003″
I worked at the provincial office of OSSTF the Ontario high school teachers union, like a state official down there.
The point above is that America due to excessive individualism, promotes a STAR system whereas more socially oriented democracies (which is almost all of them) promote a team approach and tend to stay away from the individualistic star system. We favour the group over the individual but “individual strong, group weak” as in High Noon and much of the rest of American pop culture has people promoting stupid schemes like merit pay whereas we say, raise qualifications across the board and pay all teachers more like Finland.
It is simply not about star teachers although the general teacher cadre needs to be upgraded everywhere but especially in the USA. Read the New Zealand piece. You are using a high accountability low trust system. The successful nations are using a low accountability high trust system.
Everything America is doing in education reform is wrong, has no research basis and is the opposite of what successful nations are doing.
Idiotic mistakes: charters, vouchers, merit pay, testing, Mayoral (High Noon) control, NCLB/RTTT
The Successful formula: smaller classes, universal ECE, more money for poor schools less for suburbs, summer schools, after school tutoring, higher qualifications for teachers, higher pay for teachers.
The advice is free, call any time. Why not do what the smart kids are doing?
http://www.thelittleeducationreport.com
All the answers are there Joe. Free.
Class and Schools (Rothstein) Economic Policy Institute.
You have a lot of very bright, insightful people down there. You ought to pat attention to them.
why won’t anyone in the USA take a look at the facts behind what is being said here and allow that to inform our education decisions? I agree with him!!!
why won’t anyone in the USA take a look at the facts behind what is being said here and allow that to inform our education decisions? I was agreed with him!!!
good report
http://www.wholesaleuggbootsuk.com/