Global Context
Education is universal. Although we have many different systems of education in the world, everyone is educated formally or informally. However, just because education is universal, it doesn't necessarily mean that everyone is receiving formal schooling the way they should. In the United States specifically, it is hard to determine a set education plan because education is not incorporated in the United States constitution every state has its own different curriculum and policies. Federal government can only influence through funding that it may provide but this also is not a major factor as to how the U.S education system is set up. Authors Michael M. Crow and Mariko Silver, of American Education Systems in a Global Context, explain that in the United States, although public education systems differentiate in each state, there are certain motives that influence each educational system in the U.S such as “universal access to education, local and independence, and competition at all levels.”
Education is universal. Although we have many different systems of education in the world, everyone is educated formally or informally. However, just because education is universal, it doesn't necessarily mean that everyone is receiving formal schooling the way they should. In the United States specifically, it is hard to determine a set education plan because education is not incorporated in the United States constitution every state has its own different curriculum and policies. Federal government can only influence through funding that it may provide but this also is not a major factor as to how the U.S education system is set up. Authors Michael M. Crow and Mariko Silver, of American Education Systems in a Global Context, explain that in the United States, although public education systems differentiate in each state, there are certain motives that influence each educational system in the U.S such as “universal access to education, local and independence, and competition at all levels.”
One of the better education systems, Finland, has one of the most improved educational systems as of right now. They are known for high success rates in education, and coming up from reforming their schools systems. According to Williams, Doctoral Candidate University of California Berkeley, and Research Assistant CEI, high school graduation rate in Finland is at 93% which means 2 in 3 of their students will attend college. Many aspects contribute to this. Finland tends to look at education as a way to get students involved instead of getting them to compete against one another. Finns believe that education creates identity. One thing that Finland has done differently is recognize and take their teachers into consideration. Teachers in Finland are highly rated in society. School teachers are considered just as important as lawyers and doctors.
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To become a teacher in Finland you need to go through a very long process. Only the best are chosen to move on and receive their masters along with a published thesis. Only the top 10% of graduates are accepted into graduate programs. Teachers also are rarely overworked due to the fear that over working teachers will cause them to perform poorly. Finnish schools give teachers a twenty hour week for preparing and teaching. In Chicago Public School Systems teachers are only given 10 hours for this. Another thing that really stood out to me was that in Finland grades are not given until you reach 4th grade. The benefit from this system is that you are able to teach students how to learn so that when they advance, they are able to do it themselves. The most interesting part about the whole educational system in Finland is not what it consists of, but the improvements that were actually made. Finland was essentially one of the worst education systems in the world, but now - almost a century later - it has completely turned around and re created its education system to climb to the top of the list. If the U.S really wanted to pull its educational system together and reform it they are able to. We spend millions upon millions of dollars on unnecessary things, such as standardized testing. Some States waste $1.7 billion a year on standardized testing, while Finland only has one standardized test at the age of 16. It is important that we know it is not impossible to reform an education system, although it takes dedication, support and time, it can happen.
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