Finnish Education - what are they getting right?
David Bosso recently posted in the Centre for Teaching Quality blog. It makes for interesting reading and seems to bear out the assumption that our obsession with testing and constant assessment, does not equate to a quality or well rounded education. Hi writes, "Finnish students do not begin their formalized education until the age of 7, standardized testing is unheard of in the formative years, and autonomy and play are encouraged throughout the curriculum. Contrast such norms to what is common in the United States, and Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s observation cuts deeper: “We spend the first years of our children’s lives teaching them how to walk and talk, and the rest of their lives telling them to shut up and sit down.” Our system seems intent on control and compliance, rewards and punishments, and a warped sense of rugged individualism that forsakes the value and power of collective responsibility. "Reprinted with permission from the Center for Teaching Quality, home