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We all are part of a system. This is proved by the fact that we all are governed by rules and regulations.
When you drive a car on the road, you’re part of a traffic system. It means that you’re going to drive in your lane.
You’ll always notify the fellow drivers by switching on the indicators when you’re shifting the lane or simply taking the turn. You stop at the red light and only move ahead when it turns green.
The people driving around you keep a distance from you so that they don’t collide with your car. They also stop at red light and let all the vehicles on the other side pass.
Why do you do so?
Because you’re driving in a system. A set of principles are working together as part of a mechanism is a system.
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The importance of education system
Above, I explained to you what a system is.
So, for students there is an education system. It is responsible for imparting quality education to its students.
It comprises of teachers, schools, curriculum, books, blackboards, pens and many more things which you must have seen as a student around you.
A lot depends on the education system. The quality of the education system determines how the students will turn out.
The quality of education which students get determines how the next generation will turn out and a good next generation will be commensurate with the future of the country.
Currently, one of the major problems in education system (globally) is the pressure on the tender minds. Children don’t even reach the age of 5 and they are shown dreams of becoming doctors and engineers.
You need to pay attention that they are shown dreams, they don’t see those dreams. There is a huge difference between the two. When the dreams are shown which don’t concur with their interest then comes the pressure hidden behind the heavy word of competence.
This makes the education systems across the world pressure cookers where small kids are competing in a race with no knowledge of where the goal post is.
Sometimes, it’s necessary to take a step back and look into some of the flaws of the system such that we can rectify them.
No system is ideal, no system is perfect but we can better it by looking at some of the best education systems of the world.
One of which is the education system of Finland.
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1. Children start late and live childhood
One of the most distinctive feature of the Finland education system is that children start going to school at an age of 7 unlike 3, which is an age of going to school in most education systems of the world.
In the past few years, the competition has increased so much that parents start the pre schooling of their children at the age of 2. The pressure starts right here.
Giving a kid 7 years before he/she gets into the mode of compulsory education in Finland gives them so many years to live their childhood and develop their minds. The years of no-stress which god has blessed kids with must stay as they are and shouldn’t be fiddled with.
However, there is a pre-primary education of 1 year which the 6 years old take before they start the basic education at the age of 7. I will explain in detail the complete education system of Finland.
This feature is actually the key feature to why Finland education system is the best.
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2. There are no examinations
A great teacher of mine once told me that 3 hours are not enough to assess a student’s potential. Tests are not the basis to conclude how a student will turn out in life.
Often, there are many teachers who are in the habit of telling their non-performing students (those who score low in tests) that they are useless and would not fare much in life. That’s totally wrong.
Finnish education system agrees with this mindset.
Students are not asked to sit in tests unlike other education systems rather the assessment of a student is done based on a grading system set by the teachers of school.
The performance of the students throughout the years is tracked and forms the basis of grading.
One of my friends in college was regularly lectured by his professors to always be exam oriented and study accordingly. He was taught to focus on scoring well and the result is - ‘learning’ is out of the education system.
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3. Say no to competition
Finns don’t believe in competition.
They however believe in team building and collaboration. The Finnish education system teaches its young minds to work together, empathize and collaborate for problem solving.
All these team building activities and collaboration help students to learn life skills.
Pressure kills the desire to learn and grows an unnecessary desire of scoring well in exams. By chugging out the mentality of competing, Finns actually let their students breathe and prepare themselves for life skills.
4. Teachers become family
Kids, especially those younger than 11 years, get attached to their teachers. If the teacher is an awesome person and is more amiable to kids then it becomes hard for the entire class of students to move on to the next grade at the end of the year.
The feeling of separation from their favorite teacher doesn’t go down well with them.
But teaching in Finland is different. Finnish education system cares about its students so much that the same teacher teaches its students throughout different grades for years.
The teacher student bond doesn’t break and for kids the teacher becomes their family. This factor makes kids available more to learning and listening.
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5. Finnish say no to waking up early
When I was a student, I would fight a battle every morning to get up and get ready to catch my school bus at 7:10 AM. It used to be a nightmare every morning pushing yourself through the first period in the school.
Yawning was a regular activity in the first 2 periods.
But it is surprising how no education system in the world has done anything about it except the Finland education system.
Yes, Finnish schools start at around 9:30 am giving plenty of time to students to sleep well in morning, get up without much hassle and going through every lecture without yawning.
6. The adjective that describes a Finnish school is ‘relaxed’
If your kid is showing reluctance towards school then you may want to check out if there is a genuine problem your kid is going through for which the environment in school is responsible.
Usually, schools competing against each other put hell of a pressure on their students. Some are unable to cope with the pressure hence, a reluctance is developed.
Unless and until, schools become a go to place for the kids, learning will not happen.
The solution to this issue has been found out by the Finland school system and they have done everything to keep the school atmosphere relaxed.
The teaching schedule of the students is not crammed with n number of lectures rather there are only a couple of periods every day.
Students get a lot of breaks and activity time every single day in school. This gives them time to relax, collaborate, breath in fresh oxygen and grow the right way.
The Finnish schools also treat teachers with high regards, thus, they are also given the time to relax after their respective lectures. The ‘no pressure’ policy makes Finland education system one of the best education systems in the world.
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Sneak peek into the Finnish Education system
The education system of Finland is categorized into various levels
a) The Pre-primary education
Like I told you above, children start going to school at an age of 7, however, there is one year of pre-primary education which children start at the age of 6.
Children are prepared during this period to get into the next level of education which is the 9 year mandatory basic education. You can think of it as play-school where children are involved in a lot of outdoor and recreational activities. Also, they are taught letters.
On an average, children attend pre-primary classes 4 hours a day.
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b) Finland primary education system(age 7 to 16)
The next level in the education system is the basic education level which is mandatory for every student in Finland to attend.
In total, there are 10 grades. For the first six years, the number of school hours per week is 4 but later the number increases.
The basic education is funded by the municipalities and is free of charge.
c) Upper secondary education
This level of education spans for 3 years and students can opt for general upper secondary education or the vocational training.
The subjects in this level are an extension or you can say, a specialized version of what students study during their basic education period.
A matriculation examination is written by the students at the end of this education level.
For students opting for Vocational qualification, a vocational examination is conducted which opens the gateway to the higher education.
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d) Higher education system
The final level of the Finnish education system which is actually the university level. After passing the upper secondary education, students can apply for the admission in universities of applied sciences or in the universities of various other courses.
These universities have the authority to award degrees and doctorates.
Here is a beautiful Infographic created by www.oph.fi which will help you visualize the levels of Finnish education
If you’re reading this line, I am sure that you have liked this article. Which is the best feature out of all that you liked?
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