Education From Around The World by Eric

Education From Around The World by Eric - August 2018 Scholarship Essay

I’ve always hated school. I never felt engaged in it. School was a chore, not a place to learn like it should be. Rather than engage the students and challenge them, the classes are easy and test driven. I could easily do the minimum and still get an A. The expectations don’t are low, so you don’t strive to push yourself. It’s like treading water in a pool. The teachers teach to a test because their jobs depend on how well their students do on that test. Those monstrosities are used as a guideline for funding too. The county I live in is wealthy, so our test scores are higher than a poorer county. This is because the parents could afford private tutoring and the latest school supplies. This means our test scores are higher, therefore we get less funding because it’s not seen as a need. With the lack of funding comes a miniscule teacher salary, so my county gets the leftovers. We get the teachers who couldn’t find a job anywhere else. The expectations are lower and the information we get is poor. It’s surprising our test scores aren’t lower. Still, the standardized testing and introduction of competition can make school stressful, boring, unengaging, and pointless. This is why in my podcast I would explore other education systems like Switzerland, Finland, and Germany.
The European educational system is one that consistently produces wonderful results. One podcast episode would specifically highlight the Finnish education system. There, standardized tests don’t exist. There is no competition amongst students and schools. The government plays a big role in the system. The standardized curriculum helps make sure every school is teaching the same thing. Also, there is one pool of educators who graduated from a university that school’s higher from. This ensures that a child will always have the same education. The application process to becoming a teacher is difficult. It’s not easy to become one, allowing only the best to become teachers. The system is more relaxed than the American one. Going outdoors is encouraged as it helps relax the students. School isn’t as long which allows for teachers to plan better lessons. It also helps the students relax more and actually rest. The Finnish system also allows teachers to move with and keep their students since they know what they’re like and how they operate. Even if a child doesn’t want to go to a formal school, Finland offers vocational training. This allows students to pick up a trade and be a productive member of society. Highlighting and bringing the Finnish system to light would help inspire others to try and change our system.