Finland performs much better than England and the USA in the PISA test. In this international test the students have to apply their knowledge in novel situations. It seems that their average pupils achieve

comparatively higher scores than those in other countries.

Does this reflect Government directives, the headmasters, the teachers, teaching methods, continual assessment, revision methods or parental involvement? It would seem that there is no one silver bullet for success and that this is only achieved by a complex well organized system which operates at several different levels. International visitors to Finland are usually perplexed by Finnish success probably because they only see one lesson.

Finnish pupils are made regularly accountable for their own learning and it is this which most probably explains their success. Our system that has ‘listen and learn’ lessons and prolonged cramming for SATs does not encourage pupils to develop their long term memory, which is the basis of successful learning.

Also the childcare is guaranteed during your work hours, and it’s cheap.

Now that I’m living away from Finland, there are so many things I just took granted in Finland. My sister pays less for childcare for 3 kids in Finland than I pay now for just 1 (pretty much half the amount I pay for one kid). Oh, and when we say free school, 1st years in Finland it really means free (up to the age of 16 on average).

You get everything from school, books, pens (including everything you need for art projects, and did we mentioned handcrafts we have in school, materials for those, and tools in schools to make anything), paper, notebooks, everything you need….

Even a musical instrument as learning to play it is part of the curriculum in Finland. And free health care includes dental care for kids, and those who keep up with check ups regulary after turning 18y. This is a big oversight that is missed in most countries where otherwise healthcare is cheap.

An adult now living in Europe and paying 25% in taxes on my meager salary, I am HAPPY to be giving that much to a system that guarantees me and my family quality non-elective health care, affordable education, and generous parental leave. Believe it or not, these “give away” actually incentivize hard work and stabilize society.

There are alternatives to the US approach. Each system has its own flaws and victories and maybe they can’t be mixed and matched. But don’t discount the Finnish model just because of high taxes.

If those great scientists didn’t give us the common people their inventinon or their discoveries we would be running with sticks in our hands hunting animals .

Its a sad thing that people curse while learning what they invented or discovered. The biggest insult to them is we learn for jobs for money but not out of curiosity or for the sole purpose of learning .

I home school our oldest. He’s ahead in all his subjects right now because of the one-on-one interaction. He now cares enough to tell us if he doesn’t understanding a concept or lesson, which shows us he actually cares to retain the knowledge.

When it comes to traditional schooling, we understand that it’s not the teacher’s or principal’s fault. The way the public education system is set up is a one-size fits all deal, though not all kids learn the same way, which is what was discussed in this video.

While people feel private schools offer better education, the lack of socio-economic diversity can affect the way a child behaves/interprets other groups of people.

He has a hard time doing homework and sitting still listening, and the horrible memorizing. BUT he can do anything technological on her own, he can write simple code, he watches tutorials and cooks, he makes anything and decorates all her clothes and room.

he LOVES to work with her hands, period. Doing projects on her own is her thing. We try to let her know that school gives you insights on what moves you, that it opens doors to choices, but that it doesn’t “test” what he is learning. It’s hard.