"What Makes Finnish Kids So Smart?" WSJ Asks

From today's Wall Street Journal, a story about how Finnish high school students rated among the most intelligent according to a recent PISA assessment test.

US delegations to Finnish schools wondered how schools without tons of homework, gifted programs or uniforms manage to produce such results. And, more pertinent to the toddler-set I hang out with, how does it happen in country where children don't even start school until age 7!

Virtually all the preschools we toured in the San Diego area we live in touted their curriculum-based approaches -- even for babies like Tex with topics like 'socks' for a week. They all talked about how their students learn letters, numbers and other such skills in the 2 - 3 year olds classes.

Most of the Finnish mamas I've met in my time in Dallas, Boston and here are very laid back in that sense. They DON'T want to start teaching their toddlers these things. Certainly, its OK if they pick it up, but there is no pressure and they don't seek out schooling based on that criteria.

My feeling is that Peanut and Tex have plenty of years of formal schooling ahead of them, no need to spoil it now. Then again, I spent time to teach Peanut her colors, shapes and many letters because she seems to enjoy it. We don't do flashcards or anything like that. Mostly they come up as we are doing arts and crafts, doodling or reading. Peanut puts the words to use daily as she now has many ways to describe and ask about the world. In picking out a preschool for her, I look for one that offers more time for play than sitting in circles or filling in worksheets.

Tex, I suspect, may not have the patiences Peanut expressed for sitting and quietly exploring these concepts. So, with him, we'll take another approach.

5 Things I Miss about Texas

1. Smooth rides on the roads and highways - Bouncy, bouncy, boom goes the car wherever we drive here! A pothole here, manhole cover there and then just indiscriminate lumps & bumps cover all the roads. Plus, in Texas, it was always pretty easy to tell when you were on an interstate, main highway, larger city street or in a neighborhood: the roads got progressively smaller and the speed limits dropped. Here you can be on a major thoroughfare, yet its path cuts through neighborhoods with cars speeding well past the posted 35 MPH.

2. Mothers Day Out! - No such wonders for moms around here. Really, no one has even heard of an MDO. Childcare centers and preschools abound - most offering full time care. A state guideline age of 2 years 9 months which delineates a preschooler & means a program can have a ratio of 10 children to 1 caregiver also cuts down on the number of programs willing to staff programs that require 1 caregiver to 4 children under 2. 9 months.

The costs have also been a shocker. In Texas, Peanut went to a 2 day/week, 9 am - 2 pm MDO at a church for $180/month and later to a child development center program for around $230/month. Here, roughly equivalent programs of about 4 hours/day range from $440 --- $600/month and up.

3. A friendly chat at check out - I know it sound cliched, but I don't mind a nice little 'hello, how are you? isn't it hot today? how cute your children are!' at the check out line at the store. We usually get a perfunctory 'hi', an occasional 'aw, the baby is sweet' and a rare "Aw, what the hell!? Are they nuts in the deli putting this label here?! Geez!"

4. Wild times at the library - Peanut, Tex and I have been going to the weekly storytime at the local library since we arrived. The first time we went the librarian in charge made a point of telling all the mamas not talk to their friends while in the circle. And, then in the dimly lit room, she began in a very hushed voice to sing slowly "open, shut them". If you listened very closely, you could hear other moms whispering the words to their children. After the song, it was time for a story -- and quietly, obediently the children sat in their mamas laps. The tempo never really picked up and the closing song had me wondering if we'd wandered into a commune. I now know its by Raffi, a beloved children's musician, but at first I didn't know what to think of the swaying and slow spinning.

For those of you who know Peanut, it may mean something to hear that she was the wildest & loudest one in the room racing around me in circles, laughing as she danced.

Back at the Coppell Library, storytime was a social affair for all and sometimes even totally Out of Control when the Kindermusik lady arrived with her instruments and soaring operatic singing!

I appreciate that the library is a quiet place for enjoying books and have come to enjoy the storytime in all its mellowness. It means Tex can come along and not be overwhelmed by the noise and action and that Peanut leaves satisfied for singing, dancing and hearing stories, but not totally wired.

5. Our Friends, Ms. Kim and our little-bitty backyard.

Property of Peanut

Does anyone have a solution to the labeling of your child's stuff?

Now that Peanut is in baby school and regularly hangs out with a group of other toddlers, I have a need to have her sippy cups, plates, spoons/forks, etc. labeled with her name. Ideally, the label should be different enough from the other children's labels so I can see from across the room if she is drinking from her cup or her friends. Also, the labels would be dishwasher safe.

I currently just use pieces of freezer tape and handwrite her name with a permanent marker. Not pretty. And, not very practical since I have to re-do it every time. They have been easy to distinguish though.

I found several companies that sell labels, but wonder if they are really so durable:
Mables Lables
Name Stickers
Label It or Lose It

Starting "Baby School"

I figured it was an easier for Peanut to understand that "today is a Baby School Day" rather than "today you are going to Mother's Day Out".

While there isn't much formal learning going on -- and I don't think that there needs to be for an 18 month old -- Peanut is learning about socialization, independence and creativity every Baby School Day.

When she went for her first day, mama also had to learn another lesson about separation and how independent her baby is. I managed to only go by the "school" twice that day to peek in through the two-way mirror. Every time I looked in, Peanut was busily engaged with caring for a baby doll, eating or playing with the fun toys they had for her. She looked happy to see me at the end of her five hour day, but was also pretty glad the next time we pulled up to the "school".

Now, Peanut cheerfully goes to her classroom, gives mama a kiss and takes off to check on her baby dolls. I'm so glad that she enjoys her time there. I'm certainly enjoying my time to browse the book store, do some yoga, take a nap, make dinner, make phone calls, paint my toenails......just catch up on life! I think everyone around the house has been much more relaxed since Peanut started Baby School.

In our community, many Mother's Day Out programs are hosted by local churches. Some begin as young as infants and have classes through pre-school. The 'teachers' are often members of the congregation who have their own children enrolled in the MDO program. 'Teachers' recieve about 15 hours of training, including first aid and CPR, during the year, but don't need to have any other qualifications. Prices for the programs vary, but most are around $150 - $200 a month for two days a week, five hours a day programs.

However, not all MDO programs are licensed by the state of Texas. In order to be licensed a center 0r home-based care program must meet a list of minimum health and safety requirements and be subject to reviews. You can search their database to see the current standing of programs. If a program is not licensed, they do not have to follow the minimum requirements - frightening because they are pretty basic guidelines!

When I looked at the programs in the Coppell area, virtually every one of them had a citation of one sort or another. Some just one paperwork related one, others a whole series of repeating offenses. One got cited for an incident of toddlers on the playground looking at each other's bare bottoms....

Also on the agenda, how to fund education in Texas?

I'm not as well versed in this story as I'd like to be, but Texas is looking at a major overhaul of how education is funded in the state.

Currently, schools depend mainly on property taxes. In a simplification - this led to issued with poorer areas having poorer schools and lower quality of education. To ameliorate this problem 'Robin Hood' legislation was enacted to shift funds from wealthier areas to those with lower property taxes. But, I think the name says alot about how people feel about that (steal from the rich...) In 2004, the Texas State Supreme court ruled this type of funding unconstitutional.

This has led to a special legislative session called by Gov Rick Perry.

While lawmakers want to lower sky-high property taxes, they have stalemated repeatedly on how to replace that revenue – about $6 billion – with other taxes. Meanwhile, Mr. Dewhurst wants new money for schools, while Mr. Perry opposes raising taxes to pay for such reforms.

The two Republican leaders did unite on one issue: They both opposed a plan being circulated in the House that would usurp the state’s entire $4.5 billion surplus to lower property taxes, at least temporarily, without an offsetting tax bill. The plan would drop business and residential property taxes about 12 percent, and lawmakers could go home and tackle longer-term solutions when they return for the regular session in January.

“I recognize there are some folks who view our $4 billion-plus budget surplus as money that can be used to buy tickets for the fast train out of town,” Mr. Perry said, but he warned it would be a mistake. “We need to look at the long-term solution here, not just a short-term, quick fix.”

In the Coppell Independent School District, we pay very high property taxes to maintain the school system so I'm very curious to see how this pans out:
2003-2004 (per AEIS)
According to the state's most recently released (2003-04) Academic Indicator System (AEIS) report, the district's financial data is as follows:

Expenditure Per-Pupil $7,793
Total Budget $77,075,698
Percent Distribution of Revenue
Local 87.9 %
State 10.4 %
Federal 1.8 %

Tax Rate/$100 Assessed Valuation $1.735

CISD’s Recapture Payment (“Robin Hood”) was $26,198,913

Note: The AEIS report is released in January based on the previous year's data.

Give me a 'C' 'h' 'e' 'e' 'r' - what's that spell? DRAMA

For the past few months, a massive controversy has been brewing at a nearby high school over the cheerleading tryouts.

In Texas, cheerleading is more than just rooting on the team for fun. Its serious. Its social capital. And, its something parents -- and evidently school boards -- are hotly involved in.

The latest follow up story in the Dallas Morning News wraps up the drama.

A flurry of accusations, angry phone calls and threatening e-mails, along with spray-painted expletives and trash strewn in families' yards, have marked a three-month fight that the school board sought to end this week.

On Monday, trustees unanimously reversed their previous decision and reinstated all 33 girls who tried out for the Carroll Senior High School varsity cheerleading squad in December.

They said they upheld a January decision by the principal and superintendent to put all the girls on the squad because of a number of discrepancies and deviations from district policy.

More Finnish students opt for English

From the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper a story on the growing predominance of English as top foreign language chioce in Finnish schools:

The position of English as the first foreign language taught at Finnish schools has strengthened at the expense of others since 2000. More than 90 percent of pupils in comprehensive school take English as their "A-language".

Threat: No More Private Schools in Finland

A clash is underway within the cabinet on the future of private schools in Finland.

Two weeks ago, the Social Democratic Education Minister proposed that no more permits be issued for private schools.

It is a move which has aroused strong opposition from the Centre and the Christian Democrats.

The debate is focused on four private Christian schools which have applied for extensions for present operating permits, and all of which would have to close their doors under the proposal by the Minister of Education, Antti Kalliomäki.

In addition, it means a red light to expansion plans by two more Christian schools and for the start-up of three new private schools.

The Christian Democrats have begun a battle on behalf of the schools by circulating a petition which has already been signed by about 20 thousand people. Supporters of one private school in the town of Kerava have already delivered a formal appeal to the ministry.

In recent years, Social Democratic education ministers have often been less than enthusiastic about private schools, but permits have been forthcoming anyway. That may be changing. The cabinet can reject applications, even if a school fulfills all the legal requirements.

The schools and their supporters say that the present threat to their existence is more ideological and political than it is economic. Private schools, although they receive some state funding, cost the treasury less than do public schools.

There are close to 70 private schools in Finland. In addition to Christian schools, there are a number of non-religiously oriented schools such as Steiner and Montessori schools, as well as foreign-language schools. Of all primary education pupils in Finland, only about 2% attend private schools.

The cabinet is set to debate the issue late next week.


YLE24, Finnish News Agency