Let's Kick Back

Today twelve year old Elina, a student in Finland, skied five kilometers during her school day.  Yes.  Instead of drilling herself on multiplication facts or quizzing her neighbor on the periodic table of elements she was outdoors, breathing fresh air, pumping blood through her veins.  Perhaps Finland is training it’s youth to become the next Olympians.  But how do you explain the results of Finnish students on the global exams, putting Finland in first place over the past twelve years?  Play.

The Finnish know how to play.  They know how to relax.  They know that a child eager to begin school is going to work much harder than a child left at the bus stop so that parents can rush to their jobs.  They also know that a child who has just skied five kilometers doesn’t have ants in the pants.  This child can sit and think.  

Imagine a teacher who has had the same twenty students for five years:  She knows everything about these children, from each member of that child’s family to their latest struggles and successes in school.  She’s Finnish.  Imagine a child who comes in with rosy cheeks, tousled hair, shoes removed and sits with legs curled under to concentrate on a science problem.  She’s Finnish.  Imagine a child who rushes to the aid of a peer who can’t figure out 5 x 7 and takes the time to draw a box with five rows and seven columns.  He’s Finnish.  Imagine a principle who tries to figure out how to meet the requirements of global test makers without giving tests.  He too, is Finnish.  

So why is it that the United States of America are so gun-ho about tests?  Why do government officials demand regular test scores in an environment that’s so competitive it’s stifling all of our learners?  Why is the latest educational reform called “Race to the Top” giving our students the message that getting an education is some sort of competition in a dog-eat-dog world?  We don’t know what else to do.  Our educational system is bound by teacher’s unions ensuring teacher’s tenure and securing employment for even the most morally-absent teachers.  Teachers unions are the biggest contributors to democratic campaigns, donating millions of dollars to a candidate of choice.  Wouldn’t that money be better spent on education?  Now there are charter schools and magnet schools popping up to work independent of unions and government.  These have become wonderful schools surrounded by severe brain drain tanks in inner-cities.  

Maybe it’s time to consider a work ethic more similar to Finland’s educational motto:  Everyone has something to contribute.  There’s no need to compete; we’re all in this together.  When there’s an economic recession, we all go down the toilets.  When the economy is booming, we all go out and shop.  Maybe it’s time to help thy neighbor, work collaboratively and creatively and embrace the best idea in the group.  Even if it’s not your own.  The Taj Mahal wasn’t built by architects clamoring to have their particular design built, it was built by a team, people who fulfill roles that are needed, assisting one another to build something amazing.  

So like Sam, let’s do everything in our power to help our friends and neighbors and those in need.  Let’s throw the ring into the vast pit of burning flames and pull Frodo back to safety.  Let’s return our world to peace and happiness where we can kick up our feet and relax or play or read or practice algorithms.  I’m up for a five kilometer ski.  Are you?