14 OPINION
AMERICAN EDUCATION
IS NOT Lauren Upah Managing Editor Our curriculum is decided upon by our county; this means that everything we learn and are tested on is regulated by our state or local government (findlaw.com). However, even though the United States is considered to be the most powerful country in the world, our education system does not reflect our international standing In an international education study for reading, math and science, it was found that the United States places 14th in reading, 25th in math and 17th in science (Business Insider). One country that is consistently ranked in the top five is Finland, which is said to have one of the best school system in the entire world, and although it is quite unorthodox, it is evidently very effective. In the United States, a majority of students attend free public school, and since less and less money is now being given to the American education system, classes are usually very large, especially core classes of as English, math and history, and science with some classes even exceeding 30 students. However, in Finland, all schools are public and fully subsidized, or paid for, by the federal government, and due to the country’s comparatively smaller size and lower population, classes are small, allowing for what they call “phenomenon-based learning” (Finland.fi). Phenomenon based learning allows for teachers to instruct less in a classroom setting and more in
where it needs to be
a real world setting, making their classes more applicable and allowing teachers to be more accommodating to each individual student In Finland, teachers are selected from the top 10 percent of all graduates and are required to obtain a master’s degree at the very least. Teachers there are also revered similarly to lawyers or doctors, making the job more appealing. The only thing American teachers have in common with Finnish teachers are the undeservedly low salaries, (www. payscale.com) as well as the requirement for post graduate work. American teachers are by no means unqualified, but they are often treated badly, not given all the supplies they need and are frequently overworked. This prevents some teachers from being able to connect with their students, and it hinders their ability to take into consideration the different learning types of students. Many American schools are still respectable, but there are still many
TOP 5 COUNTRIES
Based on OCED scores in reading, math and science, respectively Statistics from the Organization for Co-operation and Development.
improvements to be made. While the small size of the Finnish population allows for more flexibility than we could ever have in the United States, there are still many things that we can improve, like focusing curriculums more on students and what they want to do, rather than just having a general curriculum that might not encompass what students actually want to study. There are already people working in smaller schools, striving to make education more inclusive and adaptable to students. Recently, major networks Fox, ABC, NBC and CBS ran the same story about the “Rethink High School” movement, in an effort started by XQ that is aiming to reinvent high schools by applying a method similar to phenomenon based learning used in Finland. Their efforts are rapidly gaining support because of the revolutionary effect that it could have on schools all over the country.
SOUTH KOREA 539 546 538
FINLAND 536 541 554
CANADA 524 527 529
NEW ZEALAND 521 519 532
JAPAN 520 529 539