The Finnish “paradox”

Over at Parenting is Political, NorthTOmom has a great post about the “paradox” of the Finnish educational system. An excerpt:

The Finnish education system is a paradox to American education “reformers” in the same way the French diet is a paradox to mainstream medical scientists. In Finnish education less is more. Kids start formal education late by North American standards (at age 7), and their school hours are shorter. Finnish teachers assign very little homework and carry out minimal standardized testing (performing sample testing only); teachers are less bound by rigid national curriculum standards, and are largely unburdened by hysteria over “accountability.” In Finnish classrooms there is little technology—fewer smart boards, more blackboards. There are no gifted classes, the idea being that the more able students will benefit from interacting with, and helping, the less able students in the classroom. Yet despite all this, Finnish students’ scores on international tests are among the highest in the world.

Read the full post here. Also posted here.
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