For many years the school system in Finland has been very successful.

In the PISA survey, which compares

reading, math and science knowledge of 15 year olds around the world, Finland is not only the top European
country but also competes with Asian giants like Shanghai, Singapore and South Korea. But what makes the
educational system in this small country so strikingly different from others in the western world.
First of all, the Finish government makes it possible for all children to attend preschool, which comes after
kindergarten. Compulsory education begins at 7. Teachers work with their pupils in school as much as possible.
They have little homework to do when they get home. When teachers are not with the pupils they spend a lot of
time in schools working on the curriculum and new projects. They teach in teams if it helps them reach their
goals. That is why dropout rates are low compared to other countries.

In contrast to other nations teaching in Finland is a highly admired profession. Finland selects its teachers
very carefully. Only talented students go on to a university and receive a masters degree in education. Finland
only takes the best to educate its youth.

Schools in Finland are small, at least for international standards. More than in any other country teachers are
ready to prepare children for life. In some cases they know every pupil in their school and can adjust to them.
Teachers try everything to succeed with their pupils. Most of the pupils get additional help in their elementary
school years, either by the teachers themselves or through specially trained educators.

South Korea Switches to Digital Textbooks in the Classroom

South Korea is planning change from paper to digital textbooks in the next few years. All content of South
Koreas school subjects will be available on PCs, iPads and mobile phones by 2015. The education department
has announced that South Korea is preparing for a new digital revolution that will change schools of the future.

The project was started last summer. Classrooms throughout the Asian country will be equipped with
wireless LANs so that students can access learning materials whenever and wherever they want. Pupils wont
have to carry heavy schoolbags and satchels any more.

South Korea is a model nation when it comes to using modern technology. The OECD found out that
youngsters in South Korea lead the world when it comes to getting information from the internet and working
with computers. The country focuses on teaching children the basics of technology at a very early age.

Compared to South Korea, western nations lag behind. American president Barack Obama has announced
that United States is installing a national learning centre which is to improve teaching standards and develop new
teaching methods.

Shanghai is Number One in World Education Rankings

A global educational study called PISA (Program for International Assessment ) tests over 500,000
pupils in over 70 countries every three years. The 2010 results showed that pupils in Shanghai are the worlds best
in reading mathematics and science . PISA studies 15 year olds and their abilities in the three fields. The study
did not rank China as a whole but Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macao as separate countries.

South Korea, Singapore Taiwan and Japan were other Asian nations that ranked well. In many western
countries the reading score was down. In Europe, Finland still stays in the number one spot although it
is ranking third overall. Americans are, at best, average , ranking 17th in reading, 23rd in science and
31st in mathematics.

Why have Asian countries overtaken Europe and America in the tests? First, they put more focus on
education. Children, parents and teachers know that a good education is the key to being successful. They are
not tolerant when pupils fail . Asians believe that if you do hard and succeed in school you will be successful
in your job as well.
 Starting at a very early age China teaches its children that you can only succeed if you are better than the
others. They are tested as soon as they come to school. Only the best can go to college and then get a good job.
Examinations are held very often and lists of students rankings are posted on the walls of a school. Shanghai
students study much harder than western pupils do and they spend less time on extracurricular activities or
sport. Teachers are also respected , paid well and highly motivated .

Virtual Worlds are Useful for Children

A research report says that virtual worlds can be important places where children practice what they will do
in real life. They are also a powerful and attractive alternative to more passive adventures like watching TV. The
research was done with children using the BBCs Adventure Rock virtual world, aimed at those aged 6-12. It
surveyed and interviewed children who were the first to test the game.

The online world is a theme island built for the BBCs children channel by Belgian game maker Larian.
Children explore the world alone but they use message boards to share what they find and what they do in the
different creative studios they find around the virtual space.

At times children were explorers and at others they were social climbers eager to connect with other players.
Some were power users looking for more information about how the virtual space really worked. The children
could try all kinds of things without having to be afraid of the consequences that would follow if they tried them
in the real world. They learned many useful social skills and played around with their identity in ways that would
be much more difficult in real life. According to the study what children liked about virtual worlds was the chance
to create content such as music, cartoons and videos.

The publishers of the report say that virtual worlds can be a powerful, engaging and real interactive
alternative to more passive media. They urged creators of virtual spaces for children to get young people involved
very early on because they really do have good ideas to add and they are very good critical friends.

Why do Students Drop Out of School?

Some American high schools have a dropout rate of up to 50%. There are many reasons for students
leaving school, which are for two thirds of the dropouts motivation is the problem. They cant just work hard
enough, almost half of them said that they had missed so many classes that they could not catch up any more,
many said that they were not prepared well enough in their earlier school and for a third of them getting a job was
more important than finishing school.

High school dropouts have more problems in society and in their future lives. They are more likely to be
unemployed or live in poverty. There is also a big difference in income if you compare high school dropouts with
graduates. According to data by the US Census bureau Americans with a bachelors degree earn about $ 50,000
, those with a high school diploma about $28,000 and dropouts only about $ 20,000.

Many pupils do not understand the implications of dropping out of school. They often demand better
teachers, more lessons to catch up in subjects and more help with learning problems. Some schools have adopted
to this situation. They offer evening classes or allow students to come back at a later age.

Benefits of Education from an Online High School

Whether you are an adult who never completed your primary education or the parent of a child in need of
special attention and flexibility, getting a diploma from an online high school may be the right choice for you.
With this option, you will have a number of benefits. You will be able to take control of your education. You can
learn everything you would be taught in a classroom in the comfort of your own home. You can take charge of
the decisions that you make and the path that you will take during your education.

An online high school can offer an array of advantages. Mostly, you will have complete control over your
education. You will have the ability to study your own assignments at your own pace. You can focus on the
assignments that may take you a bit longer to complete, while easily and quickly going through assignments that
are easier for you. The flexibility on education on the Internet is unmatched. Most programs allow you attend your
virtual class at any time of the day, so you can work around your busy schedule. Many people that take classes on
the Internet have busy schedules and often full time jobs. This form of education will allow you to work on your
own terms and on your own time.

Traditional education for many people means more than just learning. When getting your diploma on the
Internet, you can avoid the distractions that come along with the traditional classroom. You wont have to deal
with the cliques and other distracting students while you work on your own time. You can study when you want
and where you want. Plus, many times a teacher in a traditional classroom just cannot spend extra time during
class time helping each individual student with his or her own specific problems. When working within the online
high school, if you do not understand a particular topic, you can take your time and pace yourself to gain a better
understanding of the subject.

Whether you are an adult with a full-time job, and you want to move up in the world, or you think that your
child would benefit from the pacing and attention involved in an online high school, this educational choice may
be the one for you. There are a variety of options out there, so do some research and find out which one will work
best for your circumstances.

Turkey allows schools to teach Kurdish

Turkeys government is letting some schools teach Kurdish. Only two decades ago speaking Kurdish in
public was a crime, but now the government is easing its restriction on the language of the Kurds. The Turkish
Prime Minister Erdogan has stated that this is a historic step for Turkeys largest minority group. The Kurds form
about 20% of the countrys population, mainly in the southeastern part of the country. But many have gone to
Istanbul and other cities in search of jobs and a better life.

Kurds have been fighting for more rights and a certain amount of autonomy in Turkey. In the last decades
thousands of people have been killed in fighting between the Turkish government and the Kurdish rebel group
PKK.

For a long time Turkey has banned Kurdish because government officials are afraid that it would separate
the country and make the PKK too strong. In the latest statement Erdogan said that if a school has enough students
who want to take Kurdish as an elective subject a school is allowed to offer lessons. The Turkish government has
found out that it cannot solve the Kurdish problem through violence alone. Kurdish language and culture is
spreading increasingly in Turkey, Iraq and Syria.

For Kurdish activists the action does not go far enough. They demand the right to educate students in Kurdish
in all subjects. The European Union has repeatedly put pressure on Turkey to pass better laws for Kurdish citizens.
It says that if Turkey wants to become a full member of the EU minority rights must be granted.

Next

Currently, many potential leaders, both local leaders and leaders of central will provide free education
for the citizen. They promised that if they are elected, they will provide a decent education for free.
However, in the field of free education discourse is quite impossible to be implemented. This discourse
will find some of the problems that will occur in the real life if it remains to do. Here are a few paragraphs
that the reasons why free education is not appropriate to be implemented in this country.

The first reason is, the word free in the discussion indicated that there was not a dime costs. But in fact,
there is still a school levy. Students will still be charged as buying sports clothing, uniforms, and other
school needs. This is because aid is given only help operasioanl alone, such as the cost of electricity,
water, books - textbooks, and etc. That's not enough because the school also requires operational costs
should be paid every day like, the cost of photocopies, markers, and others. So the school will definitely
keep charging their students. Therefore, the word free in this discourse is not appropriate and no more
only as a sweetener alone.
The second reason is, if it is free, students will have no sense of responsibility. They will go around
school because they think the school does not require sacrifice one bit. However, if they paying the
students will have a very high responsibility for learning. They will seriously follow the lessons in school.
because they would think, if they are not serious in learning, then they will lose their money.

Furthermore, if the government remains committed to the education as free, means the government will
disburse funds. However, that is a problem in Here in is not the funds, but the funds disbursement
process that will lead to some problems. As it is known that the disbursement of funds is usually carried
out in the central government, so as to achieve the school funds must pass through several post first.
This is what will create opportunities crimes. There will be elements that cut funding on the grounds of
administrative costs. As a result, funds to school is no longer intact as it was originally.
Moreover, this funding will happen very long. In fact, it takes many - months to get to school. In fact, the
school is very costly - the costs to finance the operational purposes of schools that must be paid. As a
result, the school - the school can not run optimally. For example, if the absence of markers, or
photocopy them definitely asking for funds to students san ends - ends they do not pay as well.

Based on the reasons that have been outlined above, it can be concluded that free education is just a
promise merely because it is impossible remedy is implemented and if implemented would be
ineffective. This is due to several things such as, funds provided by the government will not be enough,
making students become responsible, and the process is long and difficult. Therefore, the discourse of
free education is more appropriate and reasonable if it is replaced with cheap education.