10 What Can U.S. Educators and Schools Learn from Finland?
10 What Can U.S. Educators and Schools Learn from Finland?
Some profess that teachers teach the way they were taught. It has also been postulated that college faculty teach not only the way they were taught but that their teaching is influenced by past experiences (Hora, 2013). In The Making of a College, a blueprint for the inception of Hampshire College, Longsworth and Patterson, propose a school that includes The Idea of the Student as Teacher. This philosophy encourages students to act as teachers, such as leading discussions and seminars, and forming collegial relationships between faculty and students. It recognizes that both teachers and learners may switch between those roles. It is about absolving the rigidity of teacher and student roles and recognizing that all of us can be teachers or learners throughout our lives (Longsworth, 1966).
Critical Question For Consideration
As you read, consider these essential questions: In what ways can the United States adopt practices from Finland to improve teacher preparation and schooling for its students? In what ways does equity impact teachers and students? In what ways does teacher autonomy impact learning and teaching? In what ways do the pedagogical and philosophical differences between schooling in the United States compare with those in Finland?
Introduction: Why Finland?
Walk into any school in Finland and obvious differences from U.S. schools will be immediately recognized. The density of parked bicycles near the entrance may be your first indicator. Depending on the size of the school, you may see hundreds of two and three-wheelers. This is because students in Finland walk or ride bikes to school. There are no school buses in the country, unlike in the United States, where thirty-eight percent of students ride a school bus. In the United States, students typically qualify for bus transportation if their designated school is two or more miles from their residence. Neighborhood schools in Finland are within three miles of most students’ homes and the commute is viewed as safe and an essential part of being outdoors (Pietarinen, 2009). Rarely do parents in Finland drive their children to school, as compared to the fifty-four percent of parents who do so in the U.S. (New York School Bus Contractors Association, n.d.). Even the youngest of children walk or bike throughout the school year, including the winter months when the temperatures may dip below freezing, and the absence of sunlight lasts for months.
Finland is a small country that espouses an education system steeped in equity, teacher autonomy, and quality education. Named the “happiest nation in the world,” it is a country that personifies not euphoria, but rather contentment. Its model of learning and teaching supports a belief that teaching is not a one-way street, that learning occurs when equity, respect, and meaning are paramount, and that education extends beyond the physical confines of a building. Finland is a model for the r