Maybe I should teach in Finland...

Read an article in the September 2005 edition of the Reader's Digest. In the article titled "Top of the Class" by Fergus Bordewich, he mentioned a couple of reasons why Finnish schools are one of the best in the world.

1. Finnish teachers are among the best trained in the world: Though the salary ain't that spectacular, the teacher selection process is even more stringent than those for lawyers and doctors.

2. Teachers enjoy a high degree of autonomy: Teachers are free to use whatever classroom methods they like and with curriculums that have been devised by teachers themselves. Once hired, teachers are not subject to regular inspection or evaluation. Teachers are trusted by the system hence less paper-work is needed to be done by teachers to document their progress.

3. Standardised teaching is shunned: Less focus on standardised testing as every student has their own strengths and weaknesses.

4. Students are taught to evaluate themselves: Students learn to take responsibility for their own work, thus they work more freely.

5. Students are encouraged to work independently.

6. School atmosphere is flexible and easygoing.

7. Slow learners receive intense support. Students do not regard remedial help as a sign of failure but as an opportunity for themselves to improve. Maybe we should start calling it improvement classes or something rather than remedial due to the social stigma.

If you are thinking that it is not possible to achieve this, well, read the article. And for some of you who are thinking that Finnish students' results are not that good, well, in the OECD PISA 2003 report highlighting the mean scores in reading and science, Finland came out top for reading and science, ahead of countries such as Korea and Japan respectively (where we know the education system is like a pressure-cooker).