Last week we had the privilege of hearing William Doyle and Dr. Michael Hynes talk about Finnish schools. The conversation flowed freely, the audience was engaged and asked a lot of questions. The discussion could have lasted all night!

7 lessons for U.S from Finland by William Doyle that we learned:

Select, train and respect teachers as elite professionals.
Fund schools equitably, make public education “a right available to all on equal terms”.
Correct class sizes.
Have teachers assess learning, not standardized tests.
Invest fully in special ed and vocational/technical ed.
Mission: student well being: less stress, much more arts, recess and high-quality PE.
Let the Children Play!

As a Finn who has gone through the Finnish schooling system, I approve of their message. There is a lot of misinformation about the Finnish school system. One can see headlines like “there is no homework in Finland” or “ Finnish schools have no subjects” or talk about how we don’t have exams, all false. During Hynes’ and Doyle’s conversation I caught myself thinking “ ...yes, ..and?”. As they described the Finnish school system, it felt like they were describing my experience as a kid, which didn’t feel like anything special. But now I’ve learned just how special it was.

“What is the purpose of school? Is it taking exams and standardized tests or something else. The answer defines the narrative how your school experience will be.”

— Michael Hynes

I wanted to add to the conversation with this blog post in hopes that the event wasn’t just a conversation but something bigger, a start of a new way of thinking.

The event started with an informative presentation by William Doyle who summarized the Finnish schooling system well. Recess and play were really the biggest take-aways of the whole evening. In the U.S, prisoners get one hour of supervised time outside but schoolkids don’t. Doyle and Hynes emphasized the importance of play and recess that occur for 15 minutes after every 45 minute-class in Finnish schools. Usually kids are made to go outside during recess, they can’t stay indoors (yes, even if it is -18 degrees / 0 Fahrenheits outside). This might sound excessive, but the fresh air does wonders and keeps them moving. Playing is the key for better learning in school and for life. Kids have fun at school; as Doyle told, his child was sad to leave school in the afternoon because it felt like home to him.

The teachers in Finland are respected and they have studied teaching and learning as their degree. It is a job that kids dream about. As teachers are trusted by the public, parents and kids, it is not an easy job. The solution is that the teachers trust their students (even with possible hazardous objects like hammers and nails for carpentry class from the first grade forward). This mutual trust was highlighted in the discussion.

In Finland we don’t use standardized tests. Teachers follow their students’ learning and make their own tests and gradings. The test doesn’t determine the grade solely either, one’s class work is a big influencer. As a good student I didn’t have to get the highest score on a test to get a good grade in the class. This is made possible by small class sizes of 24. The teachers get to know the children’s learning habits personally and they follow the kids through their first few years. I can personally also say how important the class size is, as I was in an exceptional 32 student class (due to a school student issue) and I can say, it didn’t work as well. The peace and quiet wasn’t the same either.

Finnish school is a right available to all on equal terms. In Finland schools, books and meals are free until high school, after that books cost and higher education costs about 100 Euros a year - yes, you read that right, 100 Euros. If one can’t afford this, it will be provided for them. Schools have no big differences and it doesn’t matter from which school you are from, because the quality is the same. It doesn't matter which university one got their degree from either. This all is a totally different discussion that was not addressed at the event.

If we have learned to love school, our early education works and it’s free, so it is no wonder we are a well educated country and were ranked as the most literate nation.

The career and technical education path was raised in the conversation. In the U.S, young people have stress of fitting into the mold of being a good academic student and going to college after high school. There need to be other pathways too. In Finland we have a vocational school option alongside high school. Youngsters who are not that into school, don’t have academic future interests and don’t perform as well with the grading system usually choose this option. This was deemed to be a good way to lessen the stress and desperation of fitting in that one system because the students have more options.

Make no mistake, it ultimately still is the choice of the kid. As an example, my brother didn’t perform well before high school and had difficulties being motivated to study, so he was “a good candidate” for the CTE option. In the end he chose high school, had more difficulties keeping up, so he needed more work and effort than the average but he graduated with mediocre grades and now he is graduating as an engineer. (He could have ended up in the same place with the CTE too, it doesn’t rule out options in higher education but it might make it more difficult.)

The severe learning difficulties among children and how they were taken into account in the Finnish school system was a big question in the event but I am afraid I can’t help share light on the issue any better.

So, what can a parent do in New York ?

Don’t be a helicopter parent and bubble wrap your kid. Kids tend to get scraped knees that is part of growing up. Once my brother was picked up from school because he had hit his head in the jungle gym. (He still has a Harry Potter scar on his forehead to prove it) No one was to blame, as they say: stuff happens, kids test their limits and learn by playing. They won't learn if they are watched over all the time, take it from the “world’s worst mom”, who let her 9-year-old ride the New York subway by himself. (She was in the audience by the way.)

You can opt out of standardized testing too, it is within your rights. I learned this during the discussion.

See these organizations below who were represented in the audience who are part of a movement for changing the American school system. You can also join William Doyle on his trip to Finnish schools.

You can watch a livestream of the event on our Facebook page: Finland Center NY.