1 00:00:03,080 --> 00:00:05,960 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind from how Stuff 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:14,560 Speaker 1: Works dot com. Hey, wasn't it stuff to blow your mind? 3 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:16,840 Speaker 1: My name is Robert Lamb and m Julie Douglas. And 4 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:19,200 Speaker 1: you know, we don't talk a lot about education on here, 5 00:00:19,239 --> 00:00:21,239 Speaker 1: but it's something that's that's always on our minds. I mean, 6 00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: you as a parent, uh, me as a scene to 7 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:27,760 Speaker 1: be parent and uh. And we're ultimately engaged in sharing 8 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:31,040 Speaker 1: information with the world. We're a curiosity brand. We're about 9 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:34,199 Speaker 1: discussing the science of of of the world most of 10 00:00:34,240 --> 00:00:37,600 Speaker 1: the time. And we've had the the privilege of working 11 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:41,879 Speaker 1: with Discovery Education UM here and there to promote educational endeavors. 12 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:45,720 Speaker 1: That's right. We actually worked with them on a STEM presentation. 13 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:49,640 Speaker 1: This is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics and STEM education. 14 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:53,600 Speaker 1: The US has been on educators and policymakers minds for 15 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:55,640 Speaker 1: for a while now, and one of the reasons is 16 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 1: that we've become far less competitive as a nation in 17 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 1: terms of knowledge based information. Right, that's kind of fallen 18 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:05,920 Speaker 1: away from our society. Yeah, I mean, it's a it's 19 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:08,840 Speaker 1: a sad story and one that I think everyone's absorbed 20 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:12,119 Speaker 1: through the media that we're we're not doing as well 21 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:14,640 Speaker 1: at all on our on our science and our math 22 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:17,119 Speaker 1: and our physics, where we're getting pretty good, I guess 23 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:21,080 Speaker 1: about you know, learning about the science of magical aspects 24 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:24,200 Speaker 1: of the world and how with the latest pop singers doing. 25 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:26,480 Speaker 1: But we're not We're not necessarily all that great when 26 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:29,160 Speaker 1: it comes to science and math, right, And so we're 27 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:31,320 Speaker 1: not going to try to actually, you know, take this 28 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:34,240 Speaker 1: hon as a topic of why the United States is 29 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:37,839 Speaker 1: failing in this area. Instead, we're gonna try to look 30 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:40,720 Speaker 1: at a model that is working. And it's actually in Finland, 31 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:45,240 Speaker 1: and uh and it is actually predicated on on this 32 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:51,760 Speaker 1: idea that all children have a good, solid quality education. 33 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:55,720 Speaker 1: And it's a very simple idea, right, It's not like, hey, 34 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:58,320 Speaker 1: let's create superstars here. Let's not you know, get the 35 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:01,600 Speaker 1: number one rankings the world. But lo and behold, they 36 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:05,000 Speaker 1: have done that. So um as the United States is 37 00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:07,440 Speaker 1: one of the richest industrialized nations, you kind of have 38 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:11,160 Speaker 1: to sit back and wonder why would our education system 39 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:15,679 Speaker 1: lagged so far behind less prosperous countries with far less resources. 40 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:18,000 Speaker 1: So we're gonna try to, you know, take on Finland, 41 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:21,720 Speaker 1: see what they're doing, and tease out what what might 42 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:24,320 Speaker 1: be at the bottom of all of this for the 43 00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 1: United States and really the rest of the world. Now, 44 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:28,560 Speaker 1: I know what some of you are wondering, and you know, 45 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:30,560 Speaker 1: no no judgment, but some of you are probably wondering, 46 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:34,600 Speaker 1: where is Finland exactly and what is it? Well? Uh, 47 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:40,519 Speaker 1: Finland is a far north European country. It is Scandinavian 48 00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:43,320 Speaker 1: and it borders Russia. So if you can picture the 49 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:46,840 Speaker 1: I guess you call it the Horn of Scandinavia, then 50 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 1: Finland is a nice vertical slice of that bordering Russia. Yeah, 51 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:55,400 Speaker 1: it's one of the three fingers of that Nordic area. 52 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:57,240 Speaker 1: In fact, I always think of it as the quieter 53 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:01,680 Speaker 1: sister of Norway and Sweden. Yeah. And I have to 54 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:04,400 Speaker 1: say that I don't know a ton about Norway, but 55 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:07,079 Speaker 1: I do know it's the home of Nokia. Yes, and 56 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:10,640 Speaker 1: I do know that Lapland that area of Finland is 57 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:14,079 Speaker 1: home to Santa Claus Village. Yeah, this is the reindeer 58 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 1: camp that your your brother keeps trying to get. My 59 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:19,320 Speaker 1: brother keeps saying like they're they have real reindeers. There's 60 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:22,200 Speaker 1: a Santa Claus. You take these reindeer rides, and I 61 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:28,360 Speaker 1: just keep thinking about on their backs. Their backs are 62 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:31,799 Speaker 1: two weeks. Yeah, and there are elves and all of 63 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:34,960 Speaker 1: that freaks me. No, but I mean, you know, they 64 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:37,840 Speaker 1: go to great links to make this look as as 65 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:41,920 Speaker 1: realistic as possible. That you know where Santa might live, right, Yeah, 66 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:44,920 Speaker 1: well it's also troll country, so I would be very 67 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:47,560 Speaker 1: concerned about that. I just keep thinking of the movie 68 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:51,080 Speaker 1: Rare Exports. Yes, that was a finished movie. That was 69 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:55,480 Speaker 1: a finishing which involves like these evils elves in this 70 00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: crampus white creature. So whenever he brings it up, creature, 71 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:02,640 Speaker 1: but crampus ish, I guess you could you could throw 72 00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:05,440 Speaker 1: some Crampus in there. YEA Crampus is like the anti Santa, right, 73 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:09,600 Speaker 1: wonderful the scenes with a lot of old man natity 74 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:12,000 Speaker 1: in it. That's great, great for the whole thing. Yeah. 75 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:15,160 Speaker 1: So unfortunately that that's sort of like my baseline of Finland, 76 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:17,760 Speaker 1: you know, in addigit the fact that it is the 77 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:23,839 Speaker 1: home of like two thousand lakes, right, beautiful and very cold. Yeah, 78 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:26,640 Speaker 1: I guess my main you know, I obviously I've never 79 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:30,159 Speaker 1: been to Finland. Uh. I have a great deal respect 80 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:34,280 Speaker 1: for their sauna culture. As as sana traditions fell out 81 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:37,159 Speaker 1: of practice with the most of the rest of Europe, 82 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:40,760 Speaker 1: Finland held onto it the most and it remains a 83 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:43,440 Speaker 1: strong part of Finnish culture. If you if you're if 84 00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:46,200 Speaker 1: you live in Finland, if you're finished, you have a sauna, 85 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:48,159 Speaker 1: or you make sure you have access to a sauna. 86 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:50,640 Speaker 1: Even if you are in the army or in prison, 87 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:53,560 Speaker 1: you will have a sauna because it is that important. 88 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:56,280 Speaker 1: And I love a good sauna. I wish I had 89 00:04:56,320 --> 00:04:58,560 Speaker 1: time for more of them, or the office would finally 90 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:03,159 Speaker 1: install man Um. I love a good sauna. The fins 91 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:05,280 Speaker 1: love a good sauna, so I can't help but love 92 00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:09,600 Speaker 1: the Fins on that count. Also the Russo finished productions 93 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:13,120 Speaker 1: of such films as Jack Frost as they were made 94 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:16,880 Speaker 1: famous over here by Mry Sentence Fetter three thousand. I'm 95 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:18,520 Speaker 1: a big fan of those. And then also they have 96 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:21,320 Speaker 1: a rich folk tradition. You have some monsters such as 97 00:05:21,839 --> 00:05:26,120 Speaker 1: Yoka Heinen vast frost giant formed and primordial times from 98 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:28,440 Speaker 1: the melting of giant icicles at the edge of the world, 99 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:31,160 Speaker 1: and he lives in the far North. Um there are 100 00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:35,360 Speaker 1: the Mahas, which were earth dwellers, little people and guardian 101 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:37,960 Speaker 1: spirits that live in the ground. And then this is 102 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:42,280 Speaker 1: pretty cool too. There's a tonto, which is a household spirit, 103 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:45,040 Speaker 1: and the way to get a Tonto was to make 104 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:47,600 Speaker 1: a pack with the devil at a graveyard, okay, and 105 00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:49,960 Speaker 1: then this invites the Tonto back to your home, where 106 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:52,840 Speaker 1: you make sure the tonto has access the spirit has 107 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:56,680 Speaker 1: access to the best accommodations and a really nice seat 108 00:05:56,680 --> 00:05:59,719 Speaker 1: at the dinner table. And in return, the tanto enriches 109 00:05:59,760 --> 00:06:03,760 Speaker 1: your alse, generally at your neighbor's expense. So there you go. Well, 110 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:06,039 Speaker 1: so that's so much better than living in Sweden and 111 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:08,360 Speaker 1: just going to Ikea. Yeah, exactly, you can. You can 112 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:10,359 Speaker 1: go to well, yeah you can. You can go to 113 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:13,680 Speaker 1: Ikia where you can can here in Atlanta if you want. 114 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:17,760 Speaker 1: But you know, as Ikeia had its beginnings in Sweden, 115 00:06:17,839 --> 00:06:20,520 Speaker 1: I say, hey, there you go, Sweden, you know, little 116 00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:22,320 Speaker 1: thumb of the knows there. I should also point out 117 00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:25,080 Speaker 1: that Finland is a parliamentary democracy, that's right, and get 118 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:27,920 Speaker 1: that out. Yeah, And they had emerged to um hite 119 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:31,560 Speaker 1: succeeds I believe from from from Soviet influence, and I 120 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:34,719 Speaker 1: guess they're right up there. They're the neighbors, you know, exactly. Hello, Um, 121 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:37,640 Speaker 1: so they really did try to remake their society, to 122 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:41,040 Speaker 1: try to to hearken back to their rich folklore, their 123 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:44,800 Speaker 1: rich tradition. They're rich history. And part of that is 124 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:49,520 Speaker 1: of course rebuilding with a great education system. So when 125 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:53,080 Speaker 1: we talk about Finland today and all that it has accomplished, 126 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:55,640 Speaker 1: we're talking about something that has been in the making since, 127 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:00,520 Speaker 1: uh the seventies. Really, so what have they done? Okay, Well, 128 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:03,839 Speaker 1: they have ranked at or near the top in three 129 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:07,760 Speaker 1: major international education studies since two thousand. We're talking neck 130 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:12,520 Speaker 1: and neck with superachievers like South Korea and Singapore. So 131 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:16,640 Speaker 1: the students in Finland have been, you know, in some 132 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:21,120 Speaker 1: cases sort of outranking these other countries. And yet they're 133 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:25,480 Speaker 1: not putting in nearly as many hours studying and preparing 134 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:30,760 Speaker 1: as their counterparts in some Southeast Asian countries. So recently, 135 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:34,240 Speaker 1: they scored first in science and second in reading in 136 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:37,920 Speaker 1: math on the standardized test administered by the Program for 137 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:41,400 Speaker 1: International Student Assessment, and this is conducted among industrial niche 138 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:46,600 Speaker 1: industrialized nations every three years. And then in contrast, American 139 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:50,120 Speaker 1: students finished twenty five in math, seventeen in science, and 140 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:55,040 Speaker 1: twelve in reading on the latest UH PISA assessment. Yeah, 141 00:07:55,080 --> 00:07:59,120 Speaker 1: it's it's such a contrast between like U schools. Increasingly 142 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:02,160 Speaker 1: it's all about these standardized tests. It's about prepping for 143 00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:04,680 Speaker 1: these tests, and it gets to where it has a 144 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:07,120 Speaker 1: tendency to suck out a lot of the creativity that 145 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:11,720 Speaker 1: goes into teaching a classroom. We my mom's a kindergarten teacher. 146 00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:13,520 Speaker 1: I even hear from her all the time, and you 147 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:16,880 Speaker 1: generally think of the kindergarten classroom as a pretty open 148 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:19,760 Speaker 1: and creative environment, but there's she's always talking about. I'll 149 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:21,600 Speaker 1: ask about, oh, do you still do that thing with 150 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:24,480 Speaker 1: the with the ublic or with the with this book 151 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:26,680 Speaker 1: or that book or this art project, And there's so 152 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:29,160 Speaker 1: many of those things you can't do anymore because they 153 00:08:29,200 --> 00:08:31,760 Speaker 1: have to make room for these tests. UM. I encountered 154 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:34,240 Speaker 1: it just a little bit when I very briefly taught 155 00:08:34,800 --> 00:08:37,080 Speaker 1: high school. Uh, And you know, it's like a whole 156 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:39,280 Speaker 1: part of the year ends up being just about prepping 157 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 1: for these tests, getting ready to take these standardized tests, 158 00:08:41,920 --> 00:08:44,959 Speaker 1: rehearsing for these standardized tests, and it becomes more about 159 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:49,600 Speaker 1: um preparing yourself for a simulation of knowledge rather than 160 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:53,120 Speaker 1: an actual understanding of knowledge, which is really specific, and 161 00:08:53,160 --> 00:08:57,880 Speaker 1: it's handed down from policymakers at a national level, which 162 00:08:57,920 --> 00:09:00,240 Speaker 1: is then interpreted at a state level. Some of the 163 00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:02,840 Speaker 1: problems that we continue to have in the system have 164 00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:05,319 Speaker 1: to do with no child left behind because again we're 165 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:08,960 Speaker 1: talking about the stringent testing. Um, So trying to throw 166 00:09:08,960 --> 00:09:11,840 Speaker 1: off those shackles and again find more room for the 167 00:09:11,880 --> 00:09:14,160 Speaker 1: actual teaching and learning as opposed to as you say, 168 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:17,440 Speaker 1: preparing is really important here. Well, you know, it comes 169 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:19,520 Speaker 1: down to a very American way of dealing with problems. 170 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:22,200 Speaker 1: You first thing you do, you have a meeting about it, 171 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:24,720 Speaker 1: and then you have another meeting about it, and then uh, 172 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:26,680 Speaker 1: and then if you reach it the bureaucracy level, then 173 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:29,440 Speaker 1: you start making some mandates. And that includes all these 174 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:33,240 Speaker 1: mandated tests. How many mandated tests does Finland have? Uh? 175 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:36,960 Speaker 1: They have one at age sixteen, you enter at age seven, 176 00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:41,760 Speaker 1: and then at age sixteen you have one one mandatory test. 177 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:44,360 Speaker 1: So already you can begin to see that this is 178 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:48,440 Speaker 1: very contrary to what we do here in the United States. Um. 179 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:52,000 Speaker 1: This is from and you partin in from Atlantic magazine. Uh. 180 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:56,160 Speaker 1: She had said that when she spoke with Passy Salberg, 181 00:09:56,440 --> 00:09:59,320 Speaker 1: who wrote a book called finishal lessons what the world 182 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:02,320 Speaker 1: can learn from educational change in Finland? That he said 183 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:06,080 Speaker 1: that Americans are consistently obsessed with certain questions. How can 184 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:08,160 Speaker 1: you keep track of a student's performance if you don't 185 00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:11,280 Speaker 1: test them constantly? How can you improve teaching if you 186 00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:15,160 Speaker 1: have no accountability for bad teachers or merit pay for 187 00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:19,000 Speaker 1: good teachers? How do you foster competition and engage the 188 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:23,320 Speaker 1: private sector? How do you provide school choice? Now, he says, 189 00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:26,840 Speaker 1: for finished educators, none of these questions are relevant, none 190 00:10:26,880 --> 00:10:29,680 Speaker 1: of them. And uh, we should take a quick break, 191 00:10:29,679 --> 00:10:31,920 Speaker 1: and when we get back, we'll get into why they're 192 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:36,040 Speaker 1: not relevant Finland and and perhaps why this is part 193 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:48,240 Speaker 1: of the reason they're so successful in academia. All right, 194 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:50,160 Speaker 1: we're back. Just want to grow a more quick set 195 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:54,240 Speaker 1: around here before we go into the land of Finland's um. 196 00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:58,320 Speaker 1: The two thousand and nine National Assessment of Educational Progress 197 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:02,079 Speaker 1: found barely one third of fourth graders in the United 198 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:05,640 Speaker 1: States were at or above the proficient level of science, 199 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:10,840 Speaker 1: with those proportions slipping tot in eighth grade, in twenty 200 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:13,480 Speaker 1: one in twelfth grade. What this means is that we 201 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:17,240 Speaker 1: have a large population here, some of whom are going 202 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:20,800 Speaker 1: to college and they're not actually prepared, particularly in the 203 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:24,040 Speaker 1: area of science. So what does that spell out for 204 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:27,680 Speaker 1: the future of science brainiacs here in the United States? 205 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:31,920 Speaker 1: A little dim? Right? Meanwhile, in Finland, children are begin 206 00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:35,439 Speaker 1: setting outerbra geometry and statistics in the first grade. Yes, 207 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:38,080 Speaker 1: and by age fifteen they tend to speak three languages. 208 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:41,000 Speaker 1: Though that's not really that uncommon in Europe because you're 209 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:43,280 Speaker 1: gonna have the local language. You got Russia right next door, 210 00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:46,640 Speaker 1: you got English kicking about so well. In the official 211 00:11:46,679 --> 00:11:49,920 Speaker 1: languages are Finnish and Swedish, so you can't really just 212 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:52,760 Speaker 1: hang out which is Finnish language if you want to 213 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:56,679 Speaker 1: hang out with the rest of the world, right, especially culturally. Right. 214 00:11:57,080 --> 00:11:59,720 Speaker 1: So Okay, we talked about this education reform happening in 215 00:11:59,720 --> 00:12:01,840 Speaker 1: the seven in these in the eighties and that finished, 216 00:12:02,040 --> 00:12:07,320 Speaker 1: policymakers wanted to really try to recast their education system 217 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:11,040 Speaker 1: because they felt like that would bolster the entire country, 218 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:13,880 Speaker 1: and they would do this by providing equity, by making 219 00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:16,080 Speaker 1: sure that each kid got a fair shot at a 220 00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:19,800 Speaker 1: good education. It was actually a pretty prescient move of them, 221 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:21,760 Speaker 1: because I think that this put them on a track 222 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:24,160 Speaker 1: to really compete globally because they realized they didn't have 223 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:27,400 Speaker 1: much to be competitive with. They couldn't rely on manufacturing 224 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:31,120 Speaker 1: or natural resources, and they instead had to invest in 225 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:34,160 Speaker 1: a knowledge based society. Now what does that sound like today? 226 00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:36,480 Speaker 1: Very much like the United States, though we do have 227 00:12:36,800 --> 00:12:40,240 Speaker 1: American exceptionalism, right, don't we have? No? Well, maybe we 228 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:43,960 Speaker 1: don't have that sometimes that I don't know about that. 229 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:47,720 Speaker 1: So what does their school system look like? Percent of 230 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:50,560 Speaker 1: the schools or public. Only a small number of independent 231 00:12:50,559 --> 00:12:54,079 Speaker 1: schools exists in Finland's that's three percent that are independent 232 00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:58,520 Speaker 1: or private, and they are all publicly financed. Finland offers 233 00:12:58,559 --> 00:13:02,199 Speaker 1: all pupil's free school and meals, easy access to healthcare 234 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:06,920 Speaker 1: which is really important, psychological counseling, and individualized student guidance. 235 00:13:06,960 --> 00:13:09,360 Speaker 1: So it's not just hey, we have a great education system. 236 00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:13,800 Speaker 1: They have everything in place to actually support uh, everything else. Right, Yeah, 237 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:16,079 Speaker 1: and this family is really telling as well. The people 238 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:20,440 Speaker 1: in the government agencies running these schools, they're there and 239 00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:24,240 Speaker 1: this goes from national offices to local authorities. They are educators. 240 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:26,600 Speaker 1: They're not business people. They're not military leaders and not 241 00:13:26,679 --> 00:13:30,120 Speaker 1: career politicians. Um and uh. And every school has the 242 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:33,240 Speaker 1: same national goals and draw from the same pool of 243 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:36,079 Speaker 1: university trained educators. Yeah. It really is one of those 244 00:13:36,120 --> 00:13:39,640 Speaker 1: things where it's so homogenized, but it works. Right. The 245 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:43,520 Speaker 1: homogeny here is quality. So if you have quality across 246 00:13:43,559 --> 00:13:47,720 Speaker 1: the board, then everybody gets the same education. Uh. And 247 00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:50,880 Speaker 1: that is where you began to see these numbers, these 248 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:56,000 Speaker 1: incredible numbers. Fully of Finns graduate from high school. That's 249 00:13:56,040 --> 00:14:00,240 Speaker 1: seventeen point five points higher than American students. And stick see, 250 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:03,520 Speaker 1: six percent are accepted to college and that's a higher 251 00:14:03,559 --> 00:14:06,280 Speaker 1: rate than the US in every European nation. And they 252 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:09,120 Speaker 1: have a zero dropout right right, there's no there is 253 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:12,360 Speaker 1: no Why would they drop out? Is sort of their idea, Okay, 254 00:14:12,360 --> 00:14:14,720 Speaker 1: because they're moving through this system and they're really learning 255 00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:19,880 Speaker 1: from it now, and all of this with significantly less homework. Yes, 256 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:24,240 Speaker 1: that's true, that significantly less homework. Actually, don't I think 257 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:26,680 Speaker 1: they have said that from from most of the reports 258 00:14:26,680 --> 00:14:30,440 Speaker 1: that we read in Smithsonian and Atlantic that at the 259 00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:33,600 Speaker 1: most maybe a half hour of homework. Yeah, because I mean, 260 00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:35,960 Speaker 1: I'm going to sound like you know, twelve year oldier, 261 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:38,480 Speaker 1: but homework is ridiculous. It's kind of like, I mean, well, 262 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:41,080 Speaker 1: why you spend all day there and then you have 263 00:14:41,160 --> 00:14:43,360 Speaker 1: to go home to supposedly learn the stuff that you 264 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:46,320 Speaker 1: were doing during the day. That well, then half the 265 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:49,560 Speaker 1: people or more aren't gonna do it. So yeah. Yeah. 266 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:53,400 Speaker 1: The other thing is that, um, through throughout the school day, 267 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:56,440 Speaker 1: especially for the younger children, they have like forty five 268 00:14:56,480 --> 00:14:59,240 Speaker 1: minutes of school and then fifteen minutes of play. Forty 269 00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:01,800 Speaker 1: five minutes of school, fifteen minutes played throughout today, so 270 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:04,080 Speaker 1: you do get those mental breaks. And we've talked about 271 00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:06,040 Speaker 1: this before how important it is to be able to 272 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:08,160 Speaker 1: sort of take that break so that your brain can 273 00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:12,640 Speaker 1: absorb the information. So they're certainly doing it the right way. Um. Okay, 274 00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:14,600 Speaker 1: So some people might say, well, I think this is 275 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:18,560 Speaker 1: super expensive. Well, okay, here's the big news here. Finland 276 00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:22,160 Speaker 1: spends about thirty percent less per student than the US 277 00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:26,720 Speaker 1: does to achieve which is obviously far superior results. Let's 278 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:29,200 Speaker 1: talk about the teachers. Who are these who are these 279 00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:31,520 Speaker 1: these cogs in the system that are making making this work, 280 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:34,600 Speaker 1: because they're more than just cogs for starters, We're talking 281 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:38,240 Speaker 1: about highly educated people university degrees and then they have 282 00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:41,479 Speaker 1: a remarkable amount of freedom and how they educate their classroom. 283 00:15:41,560 --> 00:15:43,800 Speaker 1: I've I've heard it. You know, they're not having to 284 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:47,560 Speaker 1: worry about about sticking to some sort of rigid, standardized 285 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:51,400 Speaker 1: curriculum all the time, and they're able to creatively engage 286 00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:55,120 Speaker 1: the students. Right. So, at the the national level level, 287 00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:59,240 Speaker 1: or by UH, I should say, the education ministry, they say, okay, 288 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:01,720 Speaker 1: when it comes to math, here are ten pages of 289 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:03,520 Speaker 1: things that we want you guys to cover and make 290 00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:07,400 Speaker 1: sure um kids are learning now that is and start 291 00:16:07,480 --> 00:16:09,920 Speaker 1: contrast to like hundreds of pages that are usually handed 292 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:13,360 Speaker 1: down by education systems, and by the time it gets 293 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:16,360 Speaker 1: to that particular school or that teacher, they still are 294 00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:19,320 Speaker 1: allowed to have a bit of interpretation of what that 295 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:23,280 Speaker 1: means and flexibility and how they teach it. How is 296 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:25,680 Speaker 1: a really big part of this, right, So you have 297 00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:29,200 Speaker 1: a centralized government that is helping to structure it, but 298 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:33,560 Speaker 1: they are giving uh teachers that that leeway. Yeah, I 299 00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:36,080 Speaker 1: mean it also gives them the ability to look at 300 00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:38,160 Speaker 1: the classroom and say, how am I gonna engage this 301 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:40,320 Speaker 1: group of people, Like, what is what is going to 302 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:43,160 Speaker 1: engage them? Is it going to be reading the Great Gasbee? 303 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:47,360 Speaker 1: Probably not? All right? Right? And here's another thing, Um, 304 00:16:47,520 --> 00:16:50,360 Speaker 1: some people might say, oh, they must be getting paid, 305 00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:52,440 Speaker 1: you know, an amount that we just couldn't do here 306 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:55,200 Speaker 1: in the United States. Well finished teachers starting salaries are 307 00:16:55,280 --> 00:16:58,040 Speaker 1: lower than in the US, but high school teachers with 308 00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:01,200 Speaker 1: fifteen years experience make one two percent of what other 309 00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:04,920 Speaker 1: college graduates make in the US. UH the figure is 310 00:17:04,960 --> 00:17:08,240 Speaker 1: six of that. So eventually, over time, finished teachers are 311 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:13,720 Speaker 1: paid more than UH United States teachers. But still, um, 312 00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:17,320 Speaker 1: they're not too off in terms of the payment. What 313 00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:22,160 Speaker 1: the big story here is is that teachers in Finland 314 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:27,440 Speaker 1: are regarded very highly. And um. This is from The Atlantic, 315 00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:30,680 Speaker 1: the article why are Finland Schools so successful? It says 316 00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:33,720 Speaker 1: the critical decision came in ninety nine when reformers required 317 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:36,800 Speaker 1: that every teacher earned a fifth year master's degree in 318 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:39,680 Speaker 1: theory and practice at one of the eight state universities, 319 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:42,719 Speaker 1: which are free, by the way, at state expense. So 320 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:44,840 Speaker 1: they did at state's expense. From then on, teachers were 321 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:48,879 Speaker 1: effectively granted equal status with doctors and lawyers, and applicants 322 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:52,160 Speaker 1: began flooding teaching programs, not because the salaries were so high, 323 00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:54,840 Speaker 1: because we know they aren't, but because autonomy and respect 324 00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:57,919 Speaker 1: made the job attractive. In two thousand and tends some 325 00:17:58,119 --> 00:18:02,359 Speaker 1: sixty applicants vibe for six hundred and sixty primary school 326 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:06,919 Speaker 1: training slots. So we're talking about here is really passionate 327 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:11,080 Speaker 1: people who you know, they get to occupy the status 328 00:18:11,119 --> 00:18:15,160 Speaker 1: as molders of um, you know, the future of Finland. 329 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:18,200 Speaker 1: And I don't mean to disparage any teachers in United States, 330 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:23,120 Speaker 1: because there's so many wonderful passionate teachers, UM. But there 331 00:18:23,119 --> 00:18:26,040 Speaker 1: are also a lot of people who could also be 332 00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:29,240 Speaker 1: wonderful passionate teachers, but they don't because when you look 333 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:32,200 Speaker 1: at being a teacher here in the United States, UM, 334 00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:36,440 Speaker 1: it's just not as as highly positioned as other things, 335 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:40,680 Speaker 1: right correct. Um. You know, Also, when I was looking 336 00:18:40,680 --> 00:18:44,520 Speaker 1: around at various articles and blog posts about this, you 337 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:49,640 Speaker 1: inevitably encounter somebody talking about, oh, what's it's a socialist system, socialism, 338 00:18:50,119 --> 00:18:54,160 Speaker 1: and especially in the United States that the term socialism 339 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:58,280 Speaker 1: is often thrown about without any real understanding of what 340 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:00,639 Speaker 1: it means. But I find it interesting that um Clark 341 00:19:00,640 --> 00:19:03,880 Speaker 1: Howard uh was a local, uh well not a local 342 00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:06,800 Speaker 1: you can hear all over the country, but based in Atlanta. 343 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:09,840 Speaker 1: Generally he's about, you know, finding cheap ways to live 344 00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:12,760 Speaker 1: your life for more economically feasible ways to live your life, 345 00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:14,399 Speaker 1: that sort of thing. He's a big fan of the 346 00:19:14,400 --> 00:19:19,720 Speaker 1: Finland system and he actually compares it compares the teacher's 347 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:22,639 Speaker 1: freedom in the classroom to their approach to the way 348 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:26,880 Speaker 1: an entrepreneur would treat a business. Lots of ability, you know, 349 00:19:27,359 --> 00:19:30,719 Speaker 1: on the field in the classroom, doing what's best for 350 00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:33,480 Speaker 1: this environment and making it as as you know, great 351 00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:36,199 Speaker 1: a classroom as possible. You know, what's really cool too, 352 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:39,639 Speaker 1: is that the teachers do individual assessments of the children 353 00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:42,240 Speaker 1: throughout the year. So again there's no big test, but 354 00:19:42,320 --> 00:19:44,359 Speaker 1: what they're doing when they do that is they're looking 355 00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:46,919 Speaker 1: at the strength and the weaknesses of that one child 356 00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:49,640 Speaker 1: and then they're figuring out, well, okay, this kid might 357 00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:51,719 Speaker 1: need more support here in math or reading or so 358 00:19:51,760 --> 00:19:55,600 Speaker 1: on and so forth, and creating a curriculum that is 359 00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:59,960 Speaker 1: geared just for that child. Right, um, so, and now 360 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:04,679 Speaker 1: away you do have the homogeneous everybody gets a quality, 361 00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:07,560 Speaker 1: high quality education. But at the same time you get 362 00:20:07,600 --> 00:20:11,200 Speaker 1: that everybody gets the support that they need to access 363 00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:14,880 Speaker 1: that information and to learn it, which is really key. Yeah, 364 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:16,679 Speaker 1: and you know a lot of the reason that they 365 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:18,879 Speaker 1: can do that is that they spend fewer hours at 366 00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:20,520 Speaker 1: school each day, and they spend less time in the 367 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:23,840 Speaker 1: classrooms than American teachers, and they use the extra time 368 00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:27,359 Speaker 1: to build those curriculums and assess their students. So again 369 00:20:27,359 --> 00:20:32,720 Speaker 1: they're not hamstrung by all of these different uh bits 370 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:37,960 Speaker 1: of standardized testing that are handed down. That being said, 371 00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:41,080 Speaker 1: American schools, at least you've got good football programs. So 372 00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:46,480 Speaker 1: there's always that now, But the hope here is it's not. 373 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:48,360 Speaker 1: You know, the whole reason we did the spot podcast 374 00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:51,240 Speaker 1: was not to be a little American education. Um. I mean, 375 00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:54,359 Speaker 1: certainly we're both products of American education. I'm a product 376 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:58,560 Speaker 1: of public schools, um for better and worse. But but 377 00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:00,359 Speaker 1: but but no, we we want to point out that 378 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:02,160 Speaker 1: that this is a system that a lot of people 379 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:04,199 Speaker 1: are looking at and they're saying, there's stuff we can 380 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:06,359 Speaker 1: learn from here. There's this is not something just some 381 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:09,120 Speaker 1: sort of a foreign model that doesn't mesh with our 382 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:12,439 Speaker 1: culture or our system. We could easily adopt some of 383 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:16,000 Speaker 1: these same principles, apply them to our own educational system, 384 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:18,840 Speaker 1: and years from now we could be the success story 385 00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:21,199 Speaker 1: that we've had. So many of us feel entitled to 386 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:24,080 Speaker 1: well that'll be the interesting thing to see Finland in 387 00:21:24,119 --> 00:21:27,040 Speaker 1: twenty years because already, you know, their quality of life 388 00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:30,040 Speaker 1: is pretty high, their economy is doing, you know, fairly well, 389 00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:33,400 Speaker 1: and then they have this education system to boot support 390 00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:35,959 Speaker 1: all of the rest of it. So you know, in 391 00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:39,200 Speaker 1: twenty years will they be a major player. I don't know, 392 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:42,200 Speaker 1: but some people will look at this and say, well, 393 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:45,040 Speaker 1: you know, they're a smaller country and it's much more feasible. 394 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:49,040 Speaker 1: Well so are their counterparts, Norway and Sweden, and they 395 00:21:49,119 --> 00:21:52,639 Speaker 1: still with their system, they best them in terms of, 396 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:56,040 Speaker 1: you know, how their students are performing. And if you 397 00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:59,480 Speaker 1: look at the United States, most of the school systems 398 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:03,040 Speaker 1: are stay run and you have at least eighteen states 399 00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:06,199 Speaker 1: that have the same population as Finland. So there are 400 00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:10,040 Speaker 1: certainly opportunities to to test this model out to see 401 00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:12,440 Speaker 1: to what extent it could be used. But of course 402 00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:16,400 Speaker 1: those takeaways aren't that, you know, we need to have 403 00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:19,840 Speaker 1: three years of maternity leave in place in order to 404 00:22:19,840 --> 00:22:21,960 Speaker 1: be successful, which is not as a country going to 405 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:24,600 Speaker 1: get to that point yet. Right, there are basic things 406 00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:28,080 Speaker 1: that Finland has that we won't. But again, this idea 407 00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:33,760 Speaker 1: of UM raising the profile teachers and having good quality 408 00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:36,760 Speaker 1: for every single child. Well, that's the whole theory of 409 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:40,000 Speaker 1: you know, when waters rise, all all boats rise, right, 410 00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:42,320 Speaker 1: um and again, and I want to harken back to 411 00:22:42,359 --> 00:22:43,960 Speaker 1: what you said to like, we're not trying to take 412 00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:47,159 Speaker 1: on the American education system. That's a huge, huge topic 413 00:22:47,320 --> 00:22:50,639 Speaker 1: and it's far more complex and nuanced than we've touched 414 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:52,960 Speaker 1: on here. Um. But I do think that you know, 415 00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:57,240 Speaker 1: a sense of pride in America and um and wanting 416 00:22:57,280 --> 00:22:59,879 Speaker 1: it to be a vital contributor to the rest of 417 00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:03,159 Speaker 1: the World's really important to have an education system in 418 00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:06,199 Speaker 1: place that can make sure that everybody plays together on 419 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:09,439 Speaker 1: a global scale. Yeah. Now to your point about to 420 00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:12,320 Speaker 1: what extent of Finland may be you know, a major 421 00:23:12,359 --> 00:23:14,879 Speaker 1: player in in the future. It is again worth the 422 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:18,960 Speaker 1: pointing out that it is apparently home to Santa, who 423 00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:21,639 Speaker 1: was already a major global player. We don't have Santa. 424 00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:22,800 Speaker 1: What are we gonna do for me? You know, we 425 00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:25,800 Speaker 1: don't have Lapland And if holding them back, it's just 426 00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:29,560 Speaker 1: probably that that massive troll problem they have exactly that. 427 00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:33,639 Speaker 1: And um, well I depression because of those extremely long 428 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:37,400 Speaker 1: days of darkness. Yeah, but you know, you just buy 429 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:41,560 Speaker 1: a lamp, then you're good, that's true. Lamp At. A 430 00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:44,680 Speaker 1: study by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, which was highlighted 431 00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:47,080 Speaker 1: by John Metca for Atlantic Cities, points out that there 432 00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:50,240 Speaker 1: are a couple of barriers the decent STEM education in 433 00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:52,520 Speaker 1: the US. I just want to take them off real quick, 434 00:23:53,119 --> 00:23:55,679 Speaker 1: something for us all to ponder. The first is a 435 00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:59,679 Speaker 1: persistent reluctance to embrace the theory of evolution. In states 436 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:02,440 Speaker 1: like Ury and Tennessee, learning about Darwin's theory of natural 437 00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:06,119 Speaker 1: selection is still voluntary in schools um And recently there 438 00:24:06,160 --> 00:24:07,680 Speaker 1: was a news item, by the way, that came out 439 00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:12,080 Speaker 1: about UM kids who were taught to creationism and they're 440 00:24:12,119 --> 00:24:16,879 Speaker 1: really poor science UM skills. Well that's not surprising at all, right, 441 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:19,880 Speaker 1: uh So, and uh let me said a cath says, 442 00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:23,800 Speaker 1: says many standards also in events, a remarkable vagueness in 443 00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:28,000 Speaker 1: the goals that they hope to achieve. And math instruction 444 00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:30,840 Speaker 1: is lacking in many jurisdictions, and teachers don't have enough 445 00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:34,480 Speaker 1: guidance when it comes to building science instruction into their 446 00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:37,720 Speaker 1: lesson plans. So again, the support system isn't quite there, 447 00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:41,320 Speaker 1: all right, So there you have it. Uh again, we 448 00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:44,240 Speaker 1: just wanted to provide some information about this finished system 449 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:47,040 Speaker 1: that a lot of people were talking about. UM. Certainly, 450 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:49,480 Speaker 1: do some Google searches, you'll find most of these the 451 00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:51,160 Speaker 1: documents we're talking about. There are a lot of news 452 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:54,720 Speaker 1: stories without there a lot of blogs discussing the various 453 00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:57,359 Speaker 1: aspects of this that could be applied to the U 454 00:24:57,480 --> 00:25:00,760 Speaker 1: S system. Uh. In the meantime, we would love to 455 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:04,679 Speaker 1: hear from any teachers out there. Uh. You could be 456 00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:07,560 Speaker 1: American teachers, maybe your Finish teachers, anyone who has actual 457 00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:10,040 Speaker 1: firsthand experience with the Finnish system. That would be great 458 00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:12,040 Speaker 1: to hear from you to get your two cents on 459 00:25:12,080 --> 00:25:14,200 Speaker 1: all this. Uh. Oh, and I did want to just 460 00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:17,119 Speaker 1: just to underline it, um, my cat and lamp solution 461 00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:20,359 Speaker 1: to depression. I'm only talking about seasonal effective disorder, and 462 00:25:20,359 --> 00:25:23,600 Speaker 1: I'm doing so right kind of flippantly. Uh, But not 463 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:27,000 Speaker 1: to get into the much deeper subject of depression, which 464 00:25:27,040 --> 00:25:30,119 Speaker 1: we may may discussed in the future podcast. Indeed, that 465 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:33,560 Speaker 1: is for another topic. And UM, yeah, we would love 466 00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:35,239 Speaker 1: to hear from you guys. And I also would love 467 00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:38,720 Speaker 1: to hear any success stories as a student or a teacher, um, 468 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:41,240 Speaker 1: And what sort of models you may have experience that 469 00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:43,240 Speaker 1: works for because I think this is really honestly a 470 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:47,200 Speaker 1: fascinating topic. You can't say that we're not all interested 471 00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:49,920 Speaker 1: in some level. We all support good education, right yeah, yeah, 472 00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:53,600 Speaker 1: I mean it would be madness, not too so. How 473 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:54,919 Speaker 1: you can how you can find us, how you can 474 00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:56,399 Speaker 1: get in touch with us, How you can see what 475 00:25:56,440 --> 00:26:02,280 Speaker 1: we're up to, various blogs, podcasts, eos, holograms, whatever we're 476 00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:04,800 Speaker 1: doing in the weeks ahead. You can find us at 477 00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:07,480 Speaker 1: stuff to Blow your Mind dot com. That is the mothership, 478 00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:10,800 Speaker 1: that is where all content begins or ends. It's the 479 00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:13,960 Speaker 1: center of our universe. And uh, you can also find 480 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:17,040 Speaker 1: us on social media. We're on Facebook We're stuff to 481 00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:18,960 Speaker 1: Blow your Mind. There, on tumbler, We're stuff to Blow 482 00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:21,640 Speaker 1: your Mind. On Twitter we are blow the Mind. And 483 00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:26,480 Speaker 1: on YouTube our handle is mind stuff to show. So 484 00:26:26,600 --> 00:26:28,520 Speaker 1: let us know that you are out there and feel 485 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:30,600 Speaker 1: free to drop a line. You can do so at 486 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:37,320 Speaker 1: below the Mind at discovery dot com for more on 487 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:39,879 Speaker 1: this and thousands of other topics. Is it how Stuff 488 00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:46,639 Speaker 1: Works dot com