Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During this Education Week the buzz on the street is about the possible move towards educational reform. I’d like to inform the discussion based on the experience of Finnish educator Dr. Pasi Sahlberg.
When the Finns began retooling their education system 30 years ago, they didn’t set out to be the best, but today it’s one of the most successful public education systems in the world. They just set out to make schools the best possible place for children.
Finnish education is based on three principles: all education is paid by the state, from preschool to primary through to university; every school is a “basic school,” similar and unified in programming through to Grade 10 so that everyone has the same equity of access. Laudably, the Finns insist that teachers be superbly trained, with everyone required to have a Master’s degree. The teachers’ education is rigorous. They also qualify as educational researchers. Although salaries are only average, teaching is a coveted job and highly respected.
Students don’t start school until age seven. Before that, publicly funded child care and early childhood programming emphasizes play and activity. Finnish schools are standardized test-free zones, with their first tests administered as they leave school. Dr. Sahlberg notes: students achieve better when they’re not fueled by fear of failure.
Student and teacher performance evaluations are done by sample testing and teacher assessments of pupils. Their government invests 30 times more in teachers’ professional development than it spends on testing its students.
Homework is minimal in early years to maximize play time, gradually increasing to high school. The emphasis is on development of thinking skills and personal strengths.
Putting student well-being and happiness first creates a dramatic reduction in drop-out rates and world-class increase in success rates. Education helps students identify and develop their personal strengths. The philosophy is not to equip students to get a job, to produce credentialed workers, but to prepare people to meet the challenges of life, including employment.
Finland set out three decades ago to create a school system aimed at equity and built one of the most successful systems in the world. Will this government consider these clear lessons in any reform of our NWT school system?
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
