Imagine not having to learn math, physics or chemistry ever again. No more sitting through an hour of biology, dreading the next hour of English with that teacher whose pronunciation makes you cringe. Imagine not having any subjects in school at all!
Confused? (Or outraged, as I imagine aspirational Indian parents would be)
So was the rest of the world when Finland became the first country to ban traditional and compulsory school subjects. Since Finland has always been a leading force in education, the world was hesitant to criticize before knowing all the facts. So, before you form an opinion on it, let me tell you what exactly is going to happen.
Finland has been preparing for a shift from traditional subjects to phenomena and event based learning almost for a decade now and hope to make the complete shift by 2020. This interdisciplinary format of learning means that students in the future would learn about economics, statistics, probability, propaganda, American history and comedy while studying the U.S. Presidential elections of 2016. It also allows students to study vocations like Working in a Café or Shop, building relevant language and communication skills along with accounts. This curriculum will allow the students to choose their topics based on interest rather than compulsion. Maybe if I’d got the chance to study it in school, I’d be an astronaut right now.
Teachers are also being retrained to create a set of highly specialised professionals to teach in this communicative format. There’ll be no more hiding behind the desk and eating when the teacher isn’t looking because the concept of one teacher for forty to fifty students is being removed. Students will study in groups with more than one teacher, specializing in different subjects.
This new system has been received with mixed views because no one likes change, do they? Even some teachers in Finland seemed sceptical about this radical shift so to ease them and the children into the program, it was made compulsory to have at least one phenomenon-based learning project over the year, for 7 to 16 year olds in all schools in Finland in the last year.
This reform has pros and cons:
On one hand, it does away with the rigid education system that was developed in the 90s, that focused on building repetitive skills relevant to the industrial development era. Instead, it focuses on developing those skills that students will actually use in their lifetime rather than just lifting standardized testing scores. Never again will a Finnish student have to wonder why he or she needs to know those fifty trigonometrical identities or when he or she will use the periodic table in real life and for once, you’ll know why you need to find x.
On the other hand, it is very different from the rest of the world and is modelled around the needs of Finland, so it could be difficult for the students to adapt to the different curriculum if they leave Finland for higher education or jobs. It also allows a lot of freedom to children to choose from a wide range of topics and could lead to spontaneous or irrational decisions based on the child’s whim, and thus wasting a substantial part of a school year.
At the same time, it’s Finland. It’s education leaders have been revered and regarded as geniuses in the past.
All we can do is wait and watch how the reform plays out and if it looks successful, enrol our children in the batch of 2020.
(Opinion by Niyoshi Parekh)
Tags: Finland Finland child education Finland education
