![]() ![]() Finnish schools accomplish this without lengthening the school day, assigning much homework, or skimping on less academic subjects like arts and crafts.įinland rose to the top in international rankings by deliberately tackling educational inequalities that were once worse than in the United States today. Partanen describes Finland’s educational system as “one of the highest-achieving public education systems the world has ever seen.” Finnish students consistently rank near the top in international assessments of reading, math, and science. ![]() By placing more emphasis on cooperation and the public good, Nordic countries are noted for a high standard of general excellence. The price we pay for that is leaving so many people behind, the slogan of “no child left behind” notwithstanding. The American system does produce a lot of high achievers, with its relentless emphasis on competition and its concentration of rewards at the top of the distribution. Of course, if critics of the Nordic countries could show that such a system makes people lazy and underachieving, that would undermine her argument. Anu Partanen does a good job critiquing the American mindset that pits individual liberty against “Big Government” or the “welfare state.” She argues that a system of social supports available to every citizen is actually liberating, contributing to more rather than less freedom, independence and opportunity. ![]()
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