A visit to Finland...

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A whilst ago, I did a posting on Finland ranking #1 in Math + Science in PISA. I was extremely interested to learn more about Finland and I was excited when NBC paid Finland a visit to learn more about their education system. It is amazing to learn that just 40 years ago, Finland's education status was no way near where it is now. Their smart government saw where technology was heading and decided to change things around. Although 40 years seem like a long time, I find it impressive that the country has turned its eductaion system 360 degrees in such, my opinion, a short span. I believe too, that is is not only important, it is vital that our teachers should also have a master degree. Why? Not only will this help us find a pool of more qualified tecahers for our children, it will also weed out a lot of teachers, who are simply getting a teaching degree because it is easier and less time consuimg than most other majors. We need to start looking for teachers who are truly passionate about teaching. I also find it important that we need to have teachers who teach the same group of students for a few years in a row. As a tutor myself, it takes a while to get to know each child well and to find out what their strengths and weaknesses are. It is even more difficult to learn how to motivate them with such short interaction with them. I believe that we will find that teachers will be able to drastically improve their students' scores and capabilities if they were to stay with them longer. That being said, before that can be done correctly, we must first improve the qualifications and quality of the teachers we are recruiting. I wouldn't want my child stuck with the same teacher if he/she wasn't passionate about teaching them. The U.S. is starting to head towards the same direction but there are still miles and miles for us to travel vefore we will get to a good stage in improving our education!