Shortly before a Finnish child is born, the mother receives a big box from KELA, the agency of social security benefits for all residents of Finland, filled with all the things she will need for her baby in the first weeks. If she prefers, she can receive about 14o Euros ($170) in cash but the contents of the box is worth at least twice that amount.
Each child is entitled to a Kita spot (German abbreviation for Kindertagesstätte) or Early Childhood Daycare which in Finland is also available around the clock. Municipalities provide slots and hours according to what parents need. These days in Finland there are many more single parents who rely on the availability of high quality day care for which they pay according to income. The facilities are also open on weekends and during school vacations and allow parents to work non traditional hours.
It's an expensive investment to provide extensive Early Childhood care but the government realizes that it would be much more costly in the end if children would not get proper early care. Providing high quality preschool and kindergarten learning pays off for Finland on PISA scores. They rank first, Germany thirteen.
However, looking at the 2009 average PISA scores on page 8, the results look like this:
Finland - 2
Germany - 16
U.S. - 15
The U.S. ranks in the middle, but so do Netherlands, Belgium Norway, Estonia, Switzerland, Poland, and Iceland with marginally more points, and Sweden, Germany, Ireland, France, Denmark, United Kingdom, and Hungary with marginally fewer points.
In Finland kids stay grouped together until 9th grade, and before class starts, they exchange shoes for indoor slippers. I wonder if that may add some sense of comfort and being at ease that facilitates learning. Even the teachers enjoy comfort in teacher lounges that resemble those set aside for business travelers in airports. No doubt all this contributes to a good PISA score and ranking.
Perhaps more important is the fact that many of the smartest students choose to become teachers, but for every ten applicants only one will get a slot. To teach in Finland, even in kindergarten, a Master's degree is required and only those who can also inspire students will be hired.
Teachers earn between two and three thousand Euros a month, less than what plumbers make, but they are satisfied because the occupation is one that is highly regarded and they are appreciated, and if that is not enough motivation, surely the ten weeks of summer vacation are a nice incentive. Teachers also have great autonomy. Even though there's a national curriculum which dictates what children should learn, all teachers are free in deciding of how they will teach it. They can be as creative as they like. "Creative teachers, another plus for the Finns on PISA".
The Finns spend more on education than the Germans and have more than double the number of kids who graduate high school. Finland also takes equitable learning opportunities seriously. Kids who struggle get specialized help. Another thing about Finnish children is that they are tenacious. The number of students who do not finish their PISA test is the lowest of all countries.
"The other kids are perhaps just as talented as ours and not any less educated, but they give up more easily. Ours go on to complete the test. The kid who gives up and does not put down an answer, automatically scores lower. The one who tries, still has a chance".
"In December the new PISA scores come out and no doubt Finland will take top honors again, thanks to highly educated teachers but perhaps too, thanks to the Kela Baby Box, or the Kita system, or because the kids wear house slippers in school, or learn early on to neatly line up. "
