True Learning

Authors Note: I came across a very interesting picture and decided to write an essay  on it, I think all school systems should copy Finland's

Schools in Finland don’t assign homework until students are sixteen, there is 75 minutes of recess, and students take one standardized test in their school career. They are the leading country in Europe education-wise, why? Because students have more interaction with teachers. I think we all need to start having schools like Finland or we will all fall behind.

There are the same amount of teachers in New York City as Finland, but there are around half the students in Finland than in New York City. The student to teacher ratio is kept very low so students have more interaction with teachers, while all Finnish teachers have a masters degree, only the top 10% of graduates are accepted into teaching. Finland’s scores on the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) are unmatchable, in 2006, their scores were significantly higher than any other country.

In America, we have shorter recess, longer days, less teachers per student, more standardized tests, and lower PISA scores than Finland. The average American 5^th grader gets around fifty minutes of homework while students in Finland only start to get homework when they reach high school. Another big deal in Finland is standardized testing, before a New York student reaches high school he/she will have taken 10 standardized tests, there is only one test which Finnish students take, and that is when they are sixteen.

In conclusion, I believe the USA school system should consider the Finnish school system. This would take a lot of stress off of the students and the parents since there will be less homework and standardized tests. This would also boost the scores on our PISA tests. There isn't much left to say except if you had a choice on what school system to choose, would you choose the Finnish system?