The New York Times Speaks Out on Testing

The New York Times issued an editorial this morning acknowledging that we have a serious problem with the way we do testing in the United States. The editorial is a must-read, but I will say that the NYT decries test prep as a replacement for instruction and points out that the top performing nations in the world (including Finland) do not test like we test in the US. Definitely worth a read, especially if you are a legislator or a policymaker... Click HERE to read the editorial.

A Finnish Education Field Trip

If you're intrigued by what's been happening in schools in Finland over the last several years, you now have an outstanding opportunity to get an intimate look into one of the world's best education systems. (If you don't know what's been happening in Finland, check my last post and look for my next post.) Now, let's take a field trip to Finland...

OK, as much as I'm sure you'd like to empty your professional development coffers for a ticket to Finland, I have a much more affordable plan. I have some great resources for you to really see what's happening in Finland's schools. First, I recommend you watch The Finland Phenomenon on DVD. You'll recognize your tour guide through Finland to be Tony Wagner, author of The Global Achievement Gap (highly recommended) and Harvard education guru. The Finland Phenomenon takes you inside Finnish schools and presents a firsthand account of what has made Finnish schools so successful in recent years. I guarantee you'll find the documentary fascinating and inspiring. Hopefully, after you watch the DVD, you'll be asking, "If I can't move my school to Finland, how can I bring some of Finland to my school?" I did.

After you watch the DVD, pick up a copy of Finnish Lessons by Pasi Sahlberg. This book provides much more detail than the DVD on the nuts and bolts of the Finnish education system. Furthermore, the book explains the history of the education reform movement in Finland. Sahlberg paints a very clear picture of why education matters in Finland, why Finland made the move toward a new educational paradigm, how teacher training changed and what makes the educational process in Finland markedly different from the rest of the world. Get a pen, some paper and several highlighters because this book contains a wealth of information, facts, data and educational philosophy that should get your mind racing about the possibilities of reforming teaching and learning in your school or district.

Below are a few articles about education in Finland for those of you who want extra resources or who can't wait for the book and DVD to come in the mail:

• From The New York Times
• From The Atlantic
• From the NEA
• From The Australian
• From Business Insider Europe

Have fun on your field trip to Finland!

In my next post, I'll present some of the key strategies Finland used to catapult themselves into the world educational spotlight, some characteristics of Finnish schools and some Finnish educational philosophy.

Fascinated With Finnish Education

If you've been paying attention at all to education news over the last several years, you surely will have noticed that Finland keeps coming up in discussions about education reform. Finland first caught my attention some time ago because its educational system drew rave reviews from a few articles in a number or publications. The more I read, the more fascinated I became.

How is it that this nation with a population not much larger than the city in which I live has propelled itself to the top of OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) nations whose students sit for the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) exam every three years? How is it that this seemingly random nation consistently has outperformed students in Korea, Japan, Singapore and other places well-known for intensely rigorous educational systems?

All the articles I read touted teacher recruitment and teacher training (teacher programs at universities are very competitive and all teachers must have a master's degree, for example). While I realized that was a step in the right direction, I knew that couldn't be the only variable that set Finland apart. I scoured the internet for more articles and read them voraciously. Then I discovered two more items that really filled in the gaps for me and, quite frankly, inspired me.

What are those two items? I've recently finished (I so wanted to type "Finnished" but I figured that would be too corny) an excellent, recently published book and I've watched (multiple times) an inspiring video, both of which are intimate looks at the Finnish educational system. What happens in Finland is markedly different from what we do in the United States. In my next post, I'll share the info about the book and the DVD, and I'll give some bullet points about what Finland does that has landed Finnish schools in the international spotlight.