Fascinating article in The Atlantic, What American’s Keep Ignoring About Children’s Success. We think it’s worth taking note. They are always at the top of the list, we’re always in the middle. It may well be because they do things OPPOSITE of the way we do it.

There are no private schools in Finland.

Finland has no standardized tests.

There’s no word for accountability in Finnish. Accountability is something that is left when responsibility has been subtracted.

All teachers and administrators are given prestige, decent pay, and a lot of responsibility. A master’s degree is required to enter the profession, and teacher training programs are among the most selective professional schools in the country. If a teacher is bad, it is the principal’s responsibility to notice and deal with it

Sounds almost subversive, doesn’t it? Or, I’m thinking perhaps that it sounds like keys to success for both students AND teachers. Radical thoughts, no?