Pericles
In some ways the Finnish education system is quite simple, and in other ways it is quite sophisticated.

For example:- Each teacher is required to have a Masters degree in education.

A major difference is in the starting age of the students. They realised some time ago that the best learning environment for a child is play, which is the natural learning environment of a young child. So they leave them at home to play until they are 7, and then gradually ease them into the school environment.

This is quite different to our highly Marxist/feminist education system, where families are destroyed and the children are institutionalised into pre-school and primary school at the youngest of ages.

Their education systems in colleges and universities are almost a one on one type learning environment, with courses customised to suit the individual. This appears to be producing better results, as compared to our Universities where a student is lucky if they can even see the lecturer in the lecture theatre. And of course the students have to fit in their studies with their job, which is necessary to pay for their HECS fees.

If there is to be testing and results published, then the results have to be compared to something else. The Finnish results seem to suit their society, their industry, and also their students.

The biggest problem with education today is the way it is served and administered.

School should be a place where children go to learn. If they are not learning then they are wasting their time.

Children learn at different stages and ages and more importantly speed. This process the Education system has of grouping kids according to their age as opposed to their ability, interest and need is causing many of the problems school face today.

Then, every year when the student progresses into the year above they have to review the end of the previous year (for the sake of those who didn't get it) and then start at the begining of the new Year. Many of the students do not need to revise the curriculum over and over again. They got it the first time. Children are being held back from progressing in a forward fashion by the manner that children are graded and the level and speed of the curriculum presented to them as they progress up the years.

It doesn't seem fair to me. Children should be permitted to progress through education at a pace and level that is appropriate to them in the different subject areas. So that every child has their needs met.

Education - Keeping them Honest
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/
Our children deserve better

The South Australian Advertiser's lead story this morning is about the changes to the SACE - a further downgrade of maths and science requirements in the political interest of being able to say that more kids are completing high school and getting a certificate.
Is this what we want? Is this fair to those provide any form of post-secondary education (particularly the universities who must now provide bridging courses to get the students up to standard)? Is it fair to employers?
There are university level science courses in Australia that do not meet the standards of GCSE "A" level in the UK - and in the UK there are complaints that standards have dropped to unacceptable levels. What sort of standards have we got?
Of course it is not true everywhere. There are excellent students, excellent schools and excellent standards - but they are being pulled down by politicised marking systems because of demands for 'social equality' which then flow on into the post-secondary area and further reduce standards leaving employers wondering what, if anything, is being taught in schools.
The AEU has a lot to answer for. In their quest for social equality they have lost sight of their real role - educating the children in their care. With their demand that all children be allowed (read required) to aim for university we have thrown out technical education. The end result is that they have achieved the opposite of what they set out to achieve and some kids will always be branded as 'failures' when they might have been success stories in technical areas.

HRS, I'm not at all sure the two are mutually exclusive.

>>In some ways the Finnish education system is quite simple, and in other ways it is quite sophisticated. For example:- Each teacher is required to have a Masters degree in education.<<

One of the highest forms of sophistication, surely, is effective simplicity. And to require teachers to have this level of qualification is a masterpiece of that art. At a stroke, you give the profession the dignity and respect it deserves, and (I'm guessing here) in all probability the financial rewards that go with it.

The concept of a single teacher for six years is also simple but deeply thoughtful, and addresses any number of issues created by the pot-luck system we have of "how good is your teacher this year?" Continuity of contact cuts a considerable amount of waste in the challenge of continuous assessment, I would imagine.

The reason I don't see it catching on here is that it is too simple, and too sophisticated. It would take an entire generation, I suspect, to wean the present participants from their addiction to the present system, even if there were the political will to do so.

People hate change, and change of this magnitude would terrify all but ten percent of folks I have so far met in the teaching profession.

>>The Finnish results seem to suit their society, their industry, and also their students.<<

The sad reality may well be that our system suits our society, the members of our teaching profession, our students and our politicians.

After all, you don't actually have to think, in order to do absolutely nothing. And we are really good at that.

I confess to being appalled at the piteous state of literacy in this country. The reading, writing and spelling standard is deplorable.
To lay blame solely upon the shoulders of our teaching staff is self-deluding and more than a little insulting.
Children learn most of their habits from their parents. If the parents are not pro-active readers and exponents of the written word then it's a fair bet that their children will model that behaviour. After all, parents exhort their offspring to follow their (the parents)lead, both directly and indirectly and if there is no encouragement to become proficient in matters grammatical and numerical, then the child will not see it as necessary.
I am forever thankful to my parents for giving me basic readers as a child and continuing to encourage further reading throughout my early years. It made it easy for me to comprehend situations and events and allowed my teachers to be more productive. I believe that a thorough grasp of reading and writing is more than half the battle in the getting of further knowledge in any endeavour.
Before anyone says,"Not everyone has the same opportunity,blah blah blah...", know that my partner came to this country at age 18 from Iran with no knowledge of English. She learnt English out of necessity, fueled by a desire to get ahead in her new home. Her comprehension and verbal ability now far outstrip those of a lot of native born Aussies.
Message: Parents be more accountable to yourselves and your children. Don't absolve yourself from responsibility and whinge when you don't like the outcome.

HRS: This is quite different to our highly Marxist/feminist education system, where families are destroyed and the children are institutionalised into pre-school and primary school at the youngest of ages.

How can sending kids to school at any age between 4.5 - 6 years be seen to be connected with a 'Marxist/feminist education system'? Some kids want/need to be at school earlier, some kids later. Parents make their choice based on the needs of their child and family. It seems to me (having a child in the system and watching other parents grapple with when to send their child to kindy) that it's a product of our *capitalist* system that determines when a child goes to school. After all, if parents need both incomes to afford a monstrous mortgage on the McMansion, 2x plasma TVs, overlarge 4WD and regular skiing holidays, then the kids go to school so both parents can work!