I watch and listen as parents become more concerned with their children learning facts. Parents worry about teaching children at a very young age to read and learn math facts. Parents want to know how to teach logic while teachers try to reassure parents that children are hardwired to learn, but when Susie next door can rattle off her math facts, parents become nervous. With the focus on test scores, it's not surprising that parents are concerned, but learning facts earlier isn't what makes more creative and better performing students.
Recently, there was an article in Time Magazine (http://tinyurl.com/3qtswcx) about the Finnish model of school and the outstanding Program for International Student Assessment scores (PISA) they reap because of their model. The Finns are not big on testing so they were surprised by their results placing well above the U.S. who was mediocre. Today, I read another article in Newsweek (http://tinyurl.com/27krc5j) about the declining creativity scores in this country, and the way one school changed by moving to the project approach model. There’s a great book about the project approach Engaging Children’s Minds by Lilian G. Katz and Sylvia C. Chard, and it sounds very much like the Finnish model.
As long as we keep doing what we always done (and doing it more intensely), our schools will remain well below other countries. The U.S. has an industrial model where teachers deliver a prefabricated product. Our teachers are treated like pizza delivery folks, and then we do efficiency studies to see how well they delivered the pizza. It’s not the teacher’s fault. They spend years obtaining their education, but in Finland, only the best become teachers. Of 1,258 undergrads that applied, only 9.8% were accepted, and the teachers are the standard. Their teachers are better prepared than ours are, and then the Finns get out of the way. We have a lot to learn, but first, we have to acknowledge it in order to make meaningful change.
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