American vs. Finnish Education

American vs. Finland Education

In different continents the value of education is placed differently. Americans sets high standards for their nation, but do not set their educational value to where they are placed highly in international standards. Finland is a country that deeply believes in the rule of equality, so no one is better than each other. Finland's educational system is the most different from all other educational system in the entire world. Every kids wants to move to Finland because they do not have to go to school until the age of seven. In America the teaching position is given to just about any college graduate. In Finland all teachers are required to have masters degree, and teachers are chosen from the top ten percent graduates. In America the learning environments are different for specific groups of children. The advanced children are together, the mediocre kids are together, and the kids with learning disabilities are all together. The separations bluntly identifies who is better in school. In contrast, Finland does not separate the students. Everyone is put in the same classroom whether one is a slow on understanding or one greatly understands the material. In Finland education is all about equality and improving the teachers' skills in relaying information to the students. In America, education is all about competition. One student has got to be better than the others. Of course in Finland there are students who absolutely excel and those children are given different kinds of tasks compared to their classmates who are not so accelerated. Children are given nearly two hours of recess time in Finland, the children have more time to socialize and exercise which is needed for a students life. In America recess is usually only thirty minutes that is nearly one-third of the time for Finland. The students get really little time to develop themselves mentally, socially and physically. Average subject test scores. In Finland there is only one mandatory standardized tests meanwhile in America there are more than ten mandatory standardized tests. Even though tests are supposed to accurately measure what students do not and do understand in order for teachers to focus on specific topics, America still does not score highly in an international ranking. According to 2012 PISA records Finland scored higher than the USA in all subjects tested which were math, reading and science. In Finland there is the same amount of teachers that are in New York, however the number of students different. A little over half the number of students in New York exist in Finland. The small classes are more productive because the teacher can give more dived attention, and can control the class better.

America's and Finland's educational system obviously differ from each other, but some similarities can be found. For instance, advisers and teachers all want the students to exceed in school. The two countries just have two different ways in trying to makes the students be successful. Neither plans are perfect and not every aspect of the educational system is bad, there are just some problems that need to be addressed and fixed. Both countries produce students who are prepared for college and ready to join the work force, so it is not as if either country does not readily prepare students for the real world.