FINLAND: WHERE THEY REALLY LEAVE NO CHILD BEHIND

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ELLEN GAMERMAN, WALL STREET JOURNAL - Finnish teenagers are among the
smartest in the world. They earned some of the top scores by 15-year-old
students who were tested in 57 countries. American teens finished among
the world's C students even as U.S. educators piled on more homework,
standards and rules. Finnish youth, like their U.S. counterparts, also
waste hours online. They dye their hair, love sarcasm and listen to rap
and heavy metal. But by ninth grade they're way ahead in math, science
and reading -- on track to keeping Finns among the world's most
productive workers. Finland's students are the brightest in the world,
according to an international test. Teachers say extra playtime is one
reason for the students' success. WSJ's Ellen Gamerman reports.. . . .

The academic prowess of Finland's students has lured educators from more
than 50 countries in recent years to learn the country's secret,
including an official from the U.S. Department of Education. What they
find is simple but not easy: well-trained teachers and responsible
children. Early on, kids do a lot without adults hovering. And teachers
create lessons to fit their students. "We don't have oil or other
riches. Knowledge is the thing Finnish people have," says Hannele
Frantsi, a school principal. . .

The Norssi School is run like a teaching hospital, with about 800
teacher trainees each year. Graduate students work with kids while
instructors evaluate from the sidelines. Teachers must hold master's
degrees, and the profession is highly competitive: More than 40 people
may apply for a single job. Their salaries are similar to those of U.S.
teachers, but they generally have more freedom.

Finnish teachers pick books and customize lessons as they shape students
to national standards. "In most countries, education feels like a car
factory. In Finland, the teachers are the entrepreneurs," says Mr.
Schleicher, of the Paris-based OECD, which began the international
student test in 2000.

One explanation for the Finns' success is their love of reading. Parents
of newborns receive a government-paid gift pack that includes a picture
book. Some libraries are attached to shopping malls, and a book bus
travels to more remote neighborhoods like a Good Humor truck. . .

Despite the apparent simplicity of Finnish education, it would be tough
to replicate in the U.S. With a largely homogeneous population, teachers
have few students who don't speak Finnish. . .

Another difference is financial. . . The gap between Finland's best- and
worst-performing schools was the smallest of any country in the PISA
testing. The U.S. ranks about average. . .

Once school starts, the Finns are more self-reliant. While some U.S.
parents fuss over accompanying their children to and from school, and
arrange every play date and outing, young Finns do much more on their
own. At the Ymmersta School in a nearby Helsinki suburb, some
first-grade students trudge to school through a stand of evergreens in
near darkness. At lunch, they pick out their own meals, which all
schools give free, and carry the trays to lunch tables. There is no
Internet filter in the school library. They can walk in their socks
during class, but at home even the very young are expected to lace up
their own skates or put on their own skis. . .

Mr. Erma's school is a showcase campus. Last summer, at a conference in
Peru, he spoke about adopting Finnish teaching methods. During a recent
afternoon in one of his school's advanced math courses, a high-school
boy fell asleep at his desk. The teacher didn't disturb him, instead
calling on others. While napping in class isn't condoned, Mr. Erma says,
"We just have to accept the fact that they're kids and they're learning
how to live."

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120425355065601997-
7Bp8YFw7Yy1n9bdKtVyP7KBAcJA_20080330.html


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