School Reform: Thoughts?
in Students & Teens ·
David Palmer5 said:I don't know, just Google it yourself.🙂I can't make sense of that one. Could you clarify what you meant? kaže:
That’s just too much. Competitive. Let’s say we assume that every country has the exact same percentage of talented kids. If that were true, then the only thing separating one nation from another would be how much they actually invest in those kids. It really comes down to whether a society builds a ladder for them to climb or just leaves them standing there. It seems like the Finns just aren't as driven to spend half their lives grinding away at math or whatever else it takes to get ahead. Because they don't push themselves that hard, their results tend to stay pretty average.
It’s widely recognized that Chinese students tend to dominate math competitions and standardized testing, but it makes you wonder: what does an education system like that actually look like in practice, and what kind of daily life does the average person lead under that kind of pressure?
I’m not quite sure what they mean by being "too competitive." I mean, if they’re sending people to a competition, you’d assume they’re picking the ones who actually have that competitive edge, not the ones who don't. It feels a bit like saying someone is "too good" at their job—it's a strange way to frame it. 😁First off, we're primarily focusing on sending out the ones that actually have enough capacity to get the job done.
Comparing ourselves to China or Korea just doesn't make sense when you look at the sheer scale of their populations. With those kinds of numbers, they can easily pluck ten geniuses out of a crowd and find them. To be honest, I don't know much about how their school systems work, or even Japan's for that matter. 🤷.
Since there’s a similar percentage of gifted or high-achieving kids everywhere you look, it feels a bit strange that students in a top-tier system like Finland's don't always see those massive, standout results on international assessments. If their entire educational framework is designed specifically to nurture and support young learners, how is it possible that even the brightest ones occasionally slip through the cracks?I don't follow—are we talking about those little treats? If you're looking for something sweet and nostalgic, it's like finding that one specific candy from your childhood that just hits different. It’s all about those small, simple pleasures that remind you of being a kid. kaže:
A few years back, I came across this article that was trying to break down exactly why the Finnish model works so well. The real issue isn't just about policy or economics—it’s about our core values and the way we actually live our lives. Even here in the States, you see kids starting elementary school around age six or seven without necessarily being able to read yet. But when they come from families or communities that are absolutely obsessed with books, almost all of them are already reading fluently by that age. They’re constantly flipping through encyclopedias, asking a million questions, and hunting for answers. The curriculum in those lower grades tends to move pretty slowly, which works out well because they also have teaching assistants in the classrooms. This means the kids who might not have had that head start at home can get the extra support and motivation they need to catch up with their peers. And, yeah... The focus here is really on making sure the majority of students actually grasp the material, rather than just obsessively pushing the high achievers. The top-tier kids? They’ll find their own way regardless, leaning on their own drive or getting a little extra help from home when they need it.
I don't know, I'm not so sure about that. To me, it feels like a missed opportunity to just overlook our most capable people and leave them to fend for themselves. It seems only fair that we dedicate the same level of expertise, time, and energy to supporting them as we do to those with special needs.
But then where does that leave the average kids? If all our specialists are hyper-focused on both the high achievers and those with disabilities, what happens to everyone else in the middle?