[Local-Maine-Schools] (from Roberta Raymond, re: Finnish schools)

[Dick Atlee]

Roberta Raymond sent a message to the list that was stopped because she 
was subscribed under the old Union 98 address, but mailing from MDIRSS. 
It had an graphic portrayal of an article as an attachment, which was 
too large for the list.

I searched for the article so I could substitute a link to the article 
for the large attachment, and was tickled to find that the article was 
the same one I'd sent an email about to many people back in December, 
but apparently not this list. Here's that email, which will be a good 
stand-in for the note that was blocked.

(Note: I'm now in the middle of reading the book mentioned in the 
article -- "Finnish Lessons." In spite of being a relatively small book, 
it costs $30 from Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0807752576/), but 
well worth the price. I would think schools would find it worthwhile to 
order a copy to share around the school.

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Subject: Finland and education -- maybe not what you think
Date: Thu, 29 Dec 2011 18:09:34 -0500
From: Dick Atlee <atlee at umd.edu>

I heard from my elder stepson that his Finnish journalist wife had
published a piece in The Atlantic online about Finland and education.

What Americans Keep Ignoring About Finland's School Success
    The Scandinavian country is an education superpower because
    it values equality more than excellence.
By Anu Partanen
The Atlantic online
December 29, 2011
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/12/what-americans-keep-ignoring-about-finlands-school-success/250564/
or
http://bit.ly/steoRz

I'd heard a fair amount about the incredible Finnish education that puts
much of the world (including us) to shame. But I'd always rationalized
it a being something nontransferable from a relatively homogeneous society.

This article opened my eyes. It re-focuses on the REAL issue. Not any
theoretical, bleeding heart liberal tract, but a concentration on
real-world reasons. And in the end, there's only one -- equity.

There are also some great quotes. There apparently is no word in Finnish
for "accountability." Huh?

     "Accountability is something that is left when responsibility has
      been subtracted."

Whoa! Competition? Merit pay?

     "Real winners do not compete."

Local evaluation. Free meals for all. No public schools or colleges.
Teachers respected and well-paid. But in the end, all these details
reflect one basic value -- equity.

And in case you, like I, have a conscious or unconscious defense of,
"Hey, it's a homogeneous society," prepare to have that block knocked
off. It's about....  equity.

And we can't hear that. THAT's what might make it nontransferable to us.

Dick