Morjes!

Welcome to my blog. I write about fitting in, sticking out, and missing the motherland as a serial foreigner.

Finnish school system myths vs. reality

Finnish school system myths vs. reality

Disclaimers: these probably aren't technically myths, but I couldn't think of a short way to say "things widely reported in the media to be true about the Finnish school system." Furthermore, these are based on my observations of one school, for less than a year.

1. Finnish schoolkids get tons of recess: True...ish? Judge for yourselves. A typical school day for my girls goes:
45-min lesson
15-min break (outside)
45-min lesson
15-min break (outside)
45-min lesson
40-min lunch/recess break
45-min lesson
maybe dismissal, on some days, or another lesson. If they do have another lesson, then there is another 15-minute break here.

So on a typical day, they could have 3hr45m of lessons and 1hr25m of recess.

2. Finnish schoolkids have a wide variety of subjects at school. TRUE. Some of those lessons I mentioned above? They're woodwork, or handicrafts, or orienteering, or cooking. This is one of my favorite things about school here. My girls get to try all kinds of activities beyond regular arts and crafts. And there is no gender separation for woodwork and handicrafts: the boys cross-stitch and the girls use table saws, no biggie. There are also free after-school clubs. My girls have tried dance and math clubs.

3. Finnish schoolkids enjoy greater autonomy at school. I would say this is mostly true, though what the 'greater' is comparing it to I couldn't speak to personally since I don't have any experiences having my kids in American schools. It is true that my kids lead their own parent-teacher conferences including a lengthy self-evaluation. It is also true that sometimes PE consists of "go run around in the forest. Just make sure you're back in 45 minutes. Should be enough time to do two loops." That was Miriam's experience today. And of course, kids make their way to and from school on their own.

4. Finnish schoolkids don't have homework. This is false. They totally have homework. It's not a ton, but it exists on most days.

5. Finnish schoolkids don't have tests. This is true and false. Magdalena almost never has tests. Miriam has had a few more, especially in her Finnish class (vocabulary quizzes and such). However, these assessments are purely formative and meant to check progress and inform the teacher's curriculum plans. There are no standardized tests whatsoever at this stage.

6. Finnish schoolkids get a free hot lunch every day. True! Still haven't gotten over how amazing this is.

Did I miss anything?

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