[Vision2020] best education system in the world

[bill london]

FINLAND JUDGED BEST EDUCATION SYSTEM IN WORLD

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>> In Finland children do not start school until they are 7, spending is 
>> $5,000 a year per student, there are no gifted programs and class 
>> sizes often approach 30. Finland topped a respected international 
>> survey last year, coming in first in literacy and placing in the top 
>> five in math and science. The question on people's minds is obvious: 
>> how did Finland, which was hobbled by a deep recession in the 1990's, 
>> manage to outscore 31 other countries, including the United States, 
>> in the review by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and 
>> Development last September? The rankings were based on reading, math 
>> and science tests given to a sample of 15-year-olds attending both 
>> public and private schools. United States students placed in the 
>> middle of the pack. Finland's recipe is both complex and unabashedly 
>> basic. If one trait sets Finland apart from many other countries, it 
>> is the quality and social standing of its teachers. All teachers in 
>> Finland must have at least a master's degree, and while they are no 
>> better paid than teachers in other countries, the profession is 
>> highly respected. So long as schools stick to the core national 
>> curriculum, which lays out goals and subject areas, they are free to 
>> teach the way they want. They can choose their textbooks or ditch 
>> them altogether, teach indoors or outdoors, cluster children in small 
>> or large groups. Students must learn two foreign languages - Swedish 
>> is required by law, and most also take English. Art, music, physical 
>> education, woodwork and textiles (which is mostly sewing and 
>> knitting) are obligatory for girls and boys. Hot and healthy school 
>> lunches are free.
>>
>>
>>
>> Lizette Alvarez
>>
>> Educators Flocking to Finland, Land of Literate Children
>>
>> New York Times, April 9, 2004
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>> <http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/09/international/europe/09finl.html>http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/09/international/europe/09finl.html 
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