The Finnish school that said goodbye to subjects

Shorter lessons and few homework. But not only. Farewell also to the classic subjects. This is what happens in Finland. The country, known for one of the most advanced school systems, aims for an interdisciplinary approach where history is not just history and mathematics is not just mathematics. The disciplines integrate and learn in a different way



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Shorter lessons and few homework. But not only. Farewell also to the classic subjects. This is what happens in Finland. The country, known for one of the most advanced education systems, is aiming for a approach interdisciplinary where history is not just history and mathematics is not just mathematics. The disciplines integrate and learn in a different way.



Thathe Finnish education system is one of the best in the world, it is not new and we are certainly not the ones to say it. Finnish students always rank among the best prepared in the tests of Pisa, the Program For International Studen Assessment. But that's not enough. The country goes further and is trying to break free from traditional subjects.

A closer look at the Finnish school system was there with the BBC who has seen what happens to the Comprehensive School of Hauho, a "middle school". Here, during a lesson on Pompeii and the eruption of Vesuvius, the 12-year-old students also learned to compare ancient Rome with contemporary Finnish society, comparing the Roman baths to today's spas and recreating a model of the Colosseum thanks to 3D printing. .

“This is a history lesson with a difference,” he says Alexis Stenholm, Hauho school teacher. “Children are also acquiring skills in technology, research, communication and cultural understanding. Each group is becoming an expert on a topic, which they will present to the class ”.

For 20 years, Finland's education system has been regarded as one of the best in the world, with high academic achievement. Children start school proper no earlier than 7 years old, have long holidays, few tasks at home e may exams. This almost utopian school system has long fascinated education experts around the world.

The Finnish school that said goodbye to subjects

Nevertheless, Finland is still changing, an important move in a digital age where children are no longer dependent on books and the classroom to acquire knowledge.



Thus, in August 2016 a obligation for Finnish schools: teaching collaborative. Students periodically choose a topic that is relevant to them and address it from all points of view, from using technologies and sources outside the school to visiting museums and consulting experts to find out more.

The Finnish school that said goodbye to subjects

This is the so-called PBL (Project or Phenomenon-Based Learning), a type of learning that is not based on subjects in the strict sense but which aims to provide children with skills needed to live in the 21st century, as Kirsti Lonka, professor of educational psychology at the University of Helsinki explains. Basic skills include critical thinking which helps to identify fake news and also to avoid the Bullying computer but also the ability to install antivirus and connect to a printer.

The Finnish school that said goodbye to subjects

“Traditionally, learning is defined as a list of topics and facts to acquire - such as arithmetic, ”continues Lonka. “But when it comes to the "vita" real, our brain is not divided into disciplines in this way, we have to think very holistically when we reflect on the problems of the world, global crises, migrations, the economy ”.

According to Lonka, we did not give our children tools to deal with this intercultural world.

“I think it is a big mistake to lead children to believe that the world is simple and that if they learn certain facts, they are ready to go. Learn to think, learn to understand, these are the important skills ".

How to translate all this into reality?

This is what the Hauho school is working on, for example, located between woods and lakes, about 40 minutes from the city of Hameenlinna.



With just 230 pupils aged between seven and 15, there is a family atmosphere in the school. Shoes are left at the entrance, the yoga balls they are used in place of chairs in some classrooms.

But most of all yes it would be open. As we told in a previous article, in Finland there are more and more schools in the woods. According to the Finnish program, 14-15 children spend four days a week, from 8:30 to 12:30, outdoors with a teacher and two assistants.

The Finnish school that said goodbye to subjects

Not only Natura, there is room for i topical issues experienced firsthand. For example, last year the topic of'immigration, trying to find out more about the flow of migrants and the continuous landings in Europe.

15-year-old Hauho school boys carried out street investigations to gather local views on immigration and visited a center and interviewed asylum seekers. They then shared their findings via video-link with students from a German school who had carried out a similar project.

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Obviously this teaching method does not agree with everyone. There are those who believe that it tends to increase the gap between the best and the least talented, that it is suitable only for the brightest, favoring the freedom to learn at one's own pace.

Of course, Finland knows what it is doing. In a few years we will see the fruits of this new approach.

Francesca Mancuso

Photo: with the BBC

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