100 word response 1 reference due 6/24/2023
Hampton
After reviewing the material on the Finish education system, there are three points that stick out that would be of great value to our own education system:
- The Finish system treats education as a job to be revered. Educators from a respect perspective are equal to some of the most important professions in the nation. They are not formally evaluated, but treated as professionals who do good work. Their system and its results support this treatment. It is something we as a nation should consider, as teachers are not treated with the highest levels of professional respect in America.
- The curriculum is mostly developed at the local level, even at the teacher levels. There are some national guides, but it is very minimal. Allowing those closest to the students to determine the curriculum, standards and norms is a sign of trust that our teachers do not receive in America. Much of what our states adopt is developed through national standards, legislation and the next fad in evaluation.
- There is a seamless relationship between the Secondary and Post-secondary systems. It is not separate and disjointed like it is in America. The use of model schools, which are usually higher education institutions, is something students benefit from as they receive support from collaboration with the universities. This is not a common model in America, outside of some dual enrollment opportunities we provide.
There are some challenges with bringing these models over to the United States education system:
- We as a culture have devalued the teaching profession. In the US, where we treat pay and status as the greatest indicator of worth, teachers are among the lowest paid. For that to change it would take major reform and a change in culture. We also force teachers through annual evaluations, place them on improvement plans when we feel they are underperforming, and often times expect the same high results, regardless of the level of student in their classroom.
- The second challenge is that we treat our systems so separately. Higher Ed and K-12 are not considered a part of the same system, and it is much more difficult to collaborate. The funding sources are so different, and the government support is declining more and more each year for Higher education. This means that separate funding sources will force further separation, as each entity is searching for what will individually support their students.
