In her essay, “Finland’s School Success: What Americans Keep Ignoring,” Anu Partanen brings up the familiar topic of education reform (Partanen 976). Citing the PISA survey, put out by the OECD, Partanen makes the observation that the United States is not top on the list, but rather Finland (976). As a result, the United States invited the director of the Finnish Ministry of Education’s Center of International Mobility, Pasi Sahlberg to come and speak at Dwight School in New York City. Partanen uses the talk to draw comparisons and distinctions between Finn and American teaching philosophies. Partanen feels that most people missed many points in Sahlberg’s Dwight talk, one being the fact that Finland has no private schools (980). All education
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They design their own tests, lessons, and grading system. Becoming a teacher is also more arduous, requiring at least a master’s degree (979). The whole idea, Partanen claims, is equity (980). No matter a student’s background, they have access to high-quality teachers and education. It is this system Partanen claims is responsible for the success the Finns have had in education. Based on the Finnish system of education, Partanen observes that the United States would be well served to consider some, if not all, of the inconsistencies between American and Finnish education systems (979-981). Addressing an argument she believes will arise against her position, she discusses the size of Finland compared to America. Besides size, America has much greater ethnic diversity than does Finland. Partanen refutes these problems by bringing up that most education is run at the state-level, an area about the size and population of Finland (981). Ultimately, Partanen believes that Americans need to take an honest look at the inequality of education and consider the negative impact it is making on our education system …show more content…
In his article, “We Need Schools…Not Factories,” Mitra hones in on what he thinks is the real problem with education. Given the rise of the Internet and the relative ease of access to use it, Mitra claims the educators should take advantage of its power. In his vision, children will have access to the vast amount of knowledge available on the Web and investigate for themselves the questions and concepts involved in school. The teacher in this case, would be merely a guide in the background. Children in Mitra’s model would be learning through discovery. Through interactive online curricula, students would be asked broad questions about life, have conference call tutoring sessions, and access to peer review. Bringing up an example of impoverished Indian children, Mitra demonstrates that Internet can be a powerful mechanism for earning in disadvantaged areas. He relates how within hours, the children were able to operate a computer in English, and then teach other children how to use one as well. The ramifications of this are global. Every child partaking in Mitra’s education method would be able to interact with children in India as they learn. Regardless of background, the children would be able to learn with and from one another. This is Mitra’s
They design their own tests, lessons, and grading system. Becoming a teacher is also more arduous, requiring at least a master’s degree (979). The whole idea, Partanen claims, is equity (980). No matter a student’s background, they have access to high-quality teachers and education. It is this system Partanen claims is responsible for the success the Finns have had in education. Based on the Finnish system of education, Partanen observes that the United States would be well served to consider some, if not all, of the inconsistencies between American and Finnish education systems (979-981). Addressing an argument she believes will arise against her position, she discusses the size of Finland compared to America. Besides size, America has much greater ethnic diversity than does Finland. Partanen refutes these problems by bringing up that most education is run at the state-level, an area about the size and population of Finland (981). Ultimately, Partanen believes that Americans need to take an honest look at the inequality of education and consider the negative impact it is making on our education system …show more content…
In his article, “We Need Schools…Not Factories,” Mitra hones in on what he thinks is the real problem with education. Given the rise of the Internet and the relative ease of access to use it, Mitra claims the educators should take advantage of its power. In his vision, children will have access to the vast amount of knowledge available on the Web and investigate for themselves the questions and concepts involved in school. The teacher in this case, would be merely a guide in the background. Children in Mitra’s model would be learning through discovery. Through interactive online curricula, students would be asked broad questions about life, have conference call tutoring sessions, and access to peer review. Bringing up an example of impoverished Indian children, Mitra demonstrates that Internet can be a powerful mechanism for earning in disadvantaged areas. He relates how within hours, the children were able to operate a computer in English, and then teach other children how to use one as well. The ramifications of this are global. Every child partaking in Mitra’s education method would be able to interact with children in India as they learn. Regardless of background, the children would be able to learn with and from one another. This is Mitra’s