tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post641093846431763894..comments2024-03-22T02:15:56.280-07:00Comments on Jersey Jazzman: Great Moments In Reformy BacktrackingDukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535645107179796099noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-70620204300859221722012-04-09T19:39:45.022-07:002012-04-09T19:39:45.022-07:00A better question would be: Why are Estonia's ...A better question would be: Why are Estonia's test scores so high, consistently second in Europe and well outpacing the US, despite spending about half of what the U.S. (and Finland) spend? And, why are the test scores of the Swedish speaking minority in Finland so mediocre? The answer is, Finno-Ugric, spoken officially only in Finland and Estonia. It is a pure, simple language, extremely easy to learn compared to English and other cobbled together languages. The jump start Finnish and Estonian kids get in speaking carries benefit all the way through. And, another piece of data, the Swedish speaking minority in Finland, despite being gernerally wealthier, do not perform as well as the students benefiting from the simple Finno-Urgic speech. Yet....you don't hear of any teacher union junkets to Estonia to see how they achieve so much on so little. I think half of Finland's GNP is on PR for their schools! Read all about it: http://finnish-and-pisa.blogspot.com/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-70153883311835207042012-04-09T07:36:06.632-07:002012-04-09T07:36:06.632-07:00A Nonny: I did not know that about Finland and spe...A Nonny: I did not know that about Finland and spec ed students. Do you have a source?Dukehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16535645107179796099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-35449386677874352402012-04-09T06:07:37.497-07:002012-04-09T06:07:37.497-07:00Ah, the troll will just move on to another line of...Ah, the troll will just move on to another line of attack--or another country. How about Singapore--the SL printed a story yesterday about a private school hero just back from that paradise--oh what they do with math there--and they have the gum-chewing problem solved too--WHACK!<br /><br />Well, he's just doing his job--professional chain yanker!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-67945554089364677752012-04-09T05:35:58.212-07:002012-04-09T05:35:58.212-07:00BTW- why Finland costs less to educate?
Special e...BTW- why Finland costs less to educate?<br /><br />Special education students are not educated in the regular system. They are educated under Finland's national healthcare system. Imagine how inexpensive our schools would be if we educated every classified child under a different line item in the state budget? It's not that they are denied an education, just that that education is paid for under a different program and NOT counted into the education budget.<br /><br />Just something to think about, when the cost of educating just ONE autistic student can top $30K per year. Finland probably spends quite a bit more per non-classified student than NJ does.A Nonny Mousenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-70259228643182411662012-04-08T07:25:22.363-07:002012-04-08T07:25:22.363-07:00Folks, do you notice that whenever the troll's...Folks, do you notice that whenever the troll's agruments are questioned, he switches to a different reformist talking point, (rather than defend the point in question)? What happened to Finland? They're just like us, except for their economy, health care, population, and history, right? <br /><br />Ah, go to Helsinki! (The noble Finns won't want you either.)<br /><br />What else do you have in your bag of tricks . . . status quo, greedy unions, bogus studies, lies, comparisons to (tiny) homogeneous populations, beneficent billionaires, phony charges of racism, exigency (We must do SOMETHING now!) are there logical fallacies you haven't used yet? <br />Just keep us running, it works--some of the most successful figures in history have used this plan--but you wouldn't want to be compared to them. <br /><br />Let's not forget your sincere concern: it's green, fits into your wallet, and can be exchanged for goods and services.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-26290024416434490492012-04-08T06:41:33.803-07:002012-04-08T06:41:33.803-07:00@anon 5:49 AM
Are you joking, are you out of your ...@anon 5:49 AM<br />Are you joking, are you out of your mind? Cut an education budget in half that has already been slashed? Gee, class size will be about 70 kids in a classroom. Instead of slashing the education budget to fund the anti-poverty program, why not reduce the defense budget to fund the anti-poverty program? A sizeable portion of the education budget goes to buildings, books, tests and upkeep of same. Cut the ed. budget in half more than it has already been cut and school buildings will be rotting in place.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-87343992049749978742012-04-08T05:49:56.787-07:002012-04-08T05:49:56.787-07:00That's the whole gist of your comments here an...That's the whole gist of your comments here and elsewhere: in this very post you mock the idea that teachers can do much good for poor kids, and elsewhere you constantly claim that teachers are only responsible for 10-20% of learning, while home environment is responsible for 60%.<br /><br />Ok, then, let's cut the education budget in half and put the money into anti-poverty programs. I'm all with you. Why spend near the tops in the world on teachers, when even teachers admit that they can't do much good compared to what anti-poverty programs could do?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-6493726349037020122012-04-07T20:01:42.420-07:002012-04-07T20:01:42.420-07:00Finland does NOT have charter schools, school vouc...Finland does NOT have charter schools, school vouchers or any of the school choice crapola. It's not about to undermine its national school system with all this reform nonsense that's going on in the US. By the way, in Finland, about 3% to 5% of their kids live in poverty while more than 21% of US kids live in poverty. Finnish kids spend less time in school than most of the other advanced countries, they do not test their kids to death, they don't have rich oligarchs trying to privatize their educational system. Home schooling is non existent. Finland has universal health care, generous social benefits and free university education. Finland is NOT burdened with school privatizer trolls that demonize unions and teachers 24/7. Oh yeah, Finnish teachers are all UNIONIZED.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-62759008338764517892012-04-07T18:08:30.138-07:002012-04-07T18:08:30.138-07:00"In my words..."
Please, find the quote..."In my words..."<br /><br />Please, find the quote where I say teachers "aren't going to make much difference anyway." You have two years of blog to wade through. Gp ahead, tell me where it is. Give me the link.<br /><br />As to your per country spending comparison: do Finland's costs include teacher health care and pensions?<br /><br />Come back when you have an answer.Dukehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16535645107179796099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-59927568577289907162012-04-07T15:01:00.729-07:002012-04-07T15:01:00.729-07:00I fully support your conclusion that we ought to s...I fully support your conclusion that we ought to stop spending so much money on schools. Finland seems to spend about $2,000 less per student per year than we do (see the second chart here: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/45/48/37864432.pdf ). We should take that money and direct it to anti-poverty efforts instead of wasting it on teachers who, in your words, aren't going to make much difference anyway.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com