According to this essay, what are some of the major differences between how schools are run in the United States and how they are run in Finland?
On page 980, first paragraph where Salhberg explains, “parents in American can choose to take their kids to private schools”. “But here in Finland, parents can do the same but the options all are similar”. This is an absolutely hands down important thing he just said. Why? Well, think about it, many children here in the U.S. are all different and receive a different education due to where they come from, and how they learn things. Where’s as in Finland, no matter where you take your son or daughter, even to a private school. The Education system is the same.
Second example is on page 979, it explains on how American’s all do test constantly in which is similar. But in Finland each individual student in the class room have independent test that are created for themselves. This is also very important since every person in the world, regardless who they are or where they come from can learn things in much more different manner but still receive the same lectures as any other student.
Last but not least, on page 980 second last paragraph. Salhberg explains on how Finland starts with the basics. Finland offers all pupils free school meals, which is great because many students may not have the money to afford their breakfast or lunch. Finland has easy access to health care, and psychological counseling. Especially individualized student guidance, it’s incredible to me on how the U.S. doesn’t do this. Many students don’t get the necessary help that they need, which results into doing poorly in school or dropping out here in America. Access to health care is astounding; many families can’t affo...
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..., we had to pay $300 or more for the laptops. Why? Because the school needs money and if they weren’t spending it on pointless things such as improving the football field or buying equipment that doesn’t work then we are just being robbed.
What kind of evidence does Partanen provide to support her argument? How does she use sources? How convincing is the evidence and the sources of it?
Annu using test results from each country on how they score, turns out the United States isn’t even close on the ranking in the list. She uses sources from test scores, to college financial problems, examples on how the system teaches their students. It’s quite convincing because as a student who use to attend high school here in the U.S., I can stand by what she says as in she’s right. We are terribly taught and need to be looked as equally regardless who we are, or where we come from
All of this leads to obsessing over disciplining and having high test scores to compete with other school around the area. In Finland, they have no standardized tests that students need to take. When people are in trouble in Finland, an approach is taken to help them and support them. This is different in America. This supports the example of Harold as none of the teachers at the school took the approach to help Harold or even to support him. Many accusations were said that Harold is the problem and not the teachers. However, as Rose took a stand for Harold and helped him as he started to give up. With the standardized testing, it puts students with similar scores in the same classes. From this, Millie was put in a remedial class which was stated as an average class. As the schools soon start to care about the results of the standardized tests, the school start to focus on math, science,and reading which leads kids to being the same. This makes school not fun and the students end up dreading on going to school. In Finland, not only do the school focus on math, science, and reading they also focus on other important studies such as the arts, humanity, and physical education. Focusing on it all gives the students the ability to become creative and be their own individual person. Ken Robinson also proves that giving students the individual attention that they need helps them thrive to meet the goals that they have in education. Ken Robinson claimed, “Education does not go on in the committee rooms of out Legislative Buildings, it happens in the classrooms and schools. And the people who do it are the teachers and the students. And if you remove that discretion it stops working” (TEDtalks 13:15). When a teacher teaches a student will learn. Taking the actions to actually
Changes need to be made in American school systems. In fact, once American schools are reformed it would make it easier for those who want to learn receive an education. In the essay, “Lets’ Really Reform Our Schools” by Anita Garland, Garland explains why schools need to be reformed. Garland claims that American schools are in trouble and that they are a disaster. Garland also mentions that we need to restructure our thinking about the whole purpose of going to school and what one should expect from students. To start off, attendance shouldn’t be mandatory and one must stop forcing everyone to attend school. Next, cafeteria lunch is always a big problems with students. Students are hyped up with all
The greatest country in the world still has problems evenly distributing education to its youth. The articles I have read for this unit have a common theme regarding our education system. The authors illustrate to the reader about the struggles in America concerning how we obtain and education. Oppression, politics, racism, and socioeconomic status are a few examples of what is wrong with our country and its means of delivering a fair education to all Americans.
She specifically emphasizes on the providence given by the American education system to resume studies after a break. In Japan, this provision is not provided for. Many of the students were of the view that the American education is quite superior compared to the Japanese education system. They observed that the learning environment is more learner-oriented. Specifically, they noted the keen follow-up on students ' assignments, which is not evident in the Japanese system. They also emphasized the cordial relationship between teachers and the students. However, they noted that the Japanese system might be more superior in the sense that students are more serious about their studies since it may cost their lifetime. In the Japanese system, the ministry of education as opposed to the American system designs the curriculum where the curriculum is designed by the state. This affirms the fact that the government greatly influences what is taught in schools. It is noted that "This limits the role played by curriculum developers hence weakening the education system" (Kim). Hence, the fact that each state is given freedom to design its curriculum creates disparity in the education system. This action was greatly objected by the students interviewed as they viewed it as a method of enhancing disparity in the education system. They also claimed that it caused discrimination when seeking interstate job
The United States of America has placed low on the educational ladder throughout the years. The cause of such a low ranking is due to such heavy emphasis on standardized testing and not individual student achievement. Although the United States uses standardized testing as a crutch, it is not an effective measure of a student’s ability, a teacher’s competency, or a school’s proficiency.
This assignment has discussed two examples of curricula and it has been concluded that the Finnish curriculum is more suited to preparing individuals to life in the modern society. It has been stated that Finnish schools are ‘the schools of civilisation in an information society’ (Sarajala, 2001b) and therefore, they arguably educate and prepare young adults more sufficiently than the schools of England, who simply provide basic foundations for future development after education.
Labaree discusses how the United State’s education is in a school syndrome, as people in America want schools to teach society’s ideals as well as let people express their individuality. These two demands are polar opposites that cannot be achieved. As the focus goes towards balancing these in hopes of improving society as a whole, the bettering of actual student learning is put on pause. Labaree talks about the beginning of education reform, in the 19th century, being the most successful in developing society; however, as education reform continued throughout time, its effectiveness wore off. He then addresses how the desire for education reform is more about improving society than it is about learning. He finishes his argument by providing possible solutions to fixing this problem, but states that fixing this problem will never happen because no one is willing to give up both demands. Overall, Labaree goes in wonderful detail explaining the problems of education reform. What made me choose this article was that he addressed the desire that people have on school systems in promoting both society normality and individuality. This correlates well with my topic in whether public school systems promote conformist ideals or individuality.
In The Smartest Kids in the World and How They Got That Way, Amanda Ripley investigates the education systems of three of the world’s highest performing countries offering insight into the components necessary to raise education in the United States from its current mediocre place on the world stage. By involving three teenage American exchange students, Ripley gained access to firsthand experience of the familiar US system as compared to the highly competitive systems in Finland, South Korea and Poland. The author proposes that, although the systems vary greatly, commonalities in cultural valuation of education, rigor and teacher quality have made students from these three countries the “smartest kids in the world.”
Education is one of the cornerstones and pillars to the establishment and preservation of democracy. In history, countless scores of philosophers and political thinkers believed that only an educated citizenry can take on the quintessential task of upholding democracy. Thomas Jefferson, the primary writer of the Declaration of Independence, stated that “an informed citizenry is the only true repository of the public will.” A renowned defender of public education, Jefferson proposed plans for an education system that included grammar schools in his presidency. As a result of these relentless policies for education, the United States expanded on the concept of public instruction through the establishment and upkeep of a practical education system. The United States continued this tradition and established a reputation as one of the best education in the world. Currently, this is no longer valid as other countries such as Finland, China, and South Korea are competing for the dominant position through rigorous reforms that aim to boost student performances (“Best Education”). Meanwhile, the American system is inefficient, inhibited by political obstacles and gridlock while Finland, the top ranked country in terms of schooling, is continuing to improve. According to the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) examinations that tested pupils across a variety of subjects such as reading, mathematics, and science of 2009, Finland’s students were ranked among the top (“PISA 2009”). The American students were ranked below average for industrialized countries in the world, revealing the reality of the educational crisis in the country. Finland’s education system, compared to the Americans, offers major differences that greatly ...
“Students are taking between ten and twenty standardized tests, depending on the grade. A total average of one hundred thirteen different ones by graduation.”(Locker) A few years ago the United States, along with other nations, was given a test to assess the academic strengths and weaknesses of each nation and rank them accordingly. When the results were released and the United States was ranked near the bottom, it was decided to start incorporating more testing through school. Between benchmark, TLI, PARCC, and common core standards, teaching technique was forced to change. Standardized testing has had a negative effect on teachers and students, implementing inadequate grading standards and the common core curriculum, such testing has made
Since the release of the report by Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) in December of 2010 many in the government and community are searching for ways to reform the American education system to give American students the greatest opportunity to succeed. According to the report, American students are not testing as high as other nations in the world (Duncan, 2010). There are many contributing elements that have brought America to her knees in the education system, however, the obsession with standardized testing is found to be one of the most influential downfalls.
Julian Nava was one of the people who fought to end IQ testing. He believed that students that did not get high IQ scores still had the potential to be something greater than a factory worker.
The information that I read about Finland’s child care is completely different than that of the United States. “We guarantee equal and universal day care for children, and we subsidize according to how much income you have. We believe that the day-care system is not just about taking care of kids, but it’s also about their education” (Chandler, 2014). In Finland, parents have the option to stay home and raise their children with benefits until they are three years old, although most parents only stay home for around one year. However, in the United States, mothers only have six weeks of paid maternity leave, which means that more infants are being placed in daycare earlier (Chandler, 2014). Also in the United States, parents have the option to put their child in preschool from the young age of three. On the other hand, Finland does not start compulsory schooling until the age of seven because “We have a lot of research showing that starting school earlier does not bring better results” (Chandler, 2014). I was not able to find any similarities between the United States and Finland regarding
Explain the characteristics of the different types of schools in relation to educational stages and school governance.
Everyday students attend school, but not every single student attends the same type of school nor do they receive the same type of education. This thought may be very concerning to some, but for others, this is all too much a reality. For example, some may ask how is it possible that students in public schools that are located within the same state somehow receive a different education; the answer is simple. The concept of quality is a factor that can hinder or facilitate anything, especially ones education. The difference between a public school education in a particular town compared to another is its demographic. Some students are fortunate enough to be afforded the opportunity to attend school systems that perform well, while others do not have the privilege to do the same. Something as simple as a couple of miles can be the difference, the difference that makes some feel entitled to certain things such as higher education while others can only hope to appreciate a secondary or trade school education. Therefore, education is not a right rather a privilege, and the level of quality is contingent upon the environment wherein the learning takes place. The immense importance of environment is self-evident in examples