Antwerp Local Schools Superintendent Dr. Martin Miller was selected as one of three professionals in the state of Ohio by the Buckeye Association of School Administrators to participate in the Education First Professional Learning Tour at Helsinki, Finland and The Hague, Netherlands. This event occurred June 20-27, 2016.
Finland was selected as the represented model of education due to its students consistently outperforming counterparts throughout the world including the United States. One of the educational experts was Amanda Ripley who wrote the book “The Smartest Kids in the World.” Amanda demonstrated and supported the claims of the experts.
The goal of the tour was to collaborate with educators worldwide to broaden and enhance education while gaining insight into forward thinking trends.
Marty stated, “I do not necessarily believe what I saw in Finland could be easily replicated in my community, our state, or our country.” He continued, “Finland is a unique place with many factors that work in unison to create a system that has demonstrated so much success.”
The history and culture lend to the success while at the same time the profession of teacher is revered. In fact, only 10% of applicants who attempt to become educational professionals make the grade.
The strong emphasis in the United States is on student test scores, in Finland it’s much broader. The goal is focused more on the complete student. A happy, well rounded child is stimulated to learn.
While it may not be replicated in our system, teachers are valued there in such a way that if some of those parts could be emulated, such as making teacher prep programs as challenging as it is to get in to medical school, it may go a long way to having a system that doesn’t need the heavy government oversight and the teacher can make the decisions in the class room versus at federal or state levels.
Dr. Miller was able to meet several respected leaders of the world while on these travels. First was Dr. Arun Gandhi, son of Mahatma Gandhi, sharing that “our world is what we have made it. If it is ruthless today it is because we have made it ruthless by our attitudes. If we change ourselves, we can change the world.” The second was keynote speaker Ndabe Mandela, grandson of Nelson Mandela, reiterating, “Education is the most powerful weapon which can be used to change the world.”
It seems that treasuring education would place emphasis on the students and satisfaction rather than the politics of test scores and how much money they can earn later in life whether they like their job or not.
“The schools in Finland are not looking at test scores, grades, post-secondary matriculation, or explicit academic achievement as the measure of success… or even as the point of education.” stated Miller. “They focus on balance, play, student interest, relationships, and experience. Their system is healthy and inspiring versus breeding frustration and discontent.”
Being that education is a fundamental right that ought be afforded to everyone, it is interesting to observe that those who seem to have the most opportunity to participate in the Human Right of Education (the U.S.) seem to treasurer it the least, while the individuals and countries who struggle to have the Human Right of Education treasure it the most. Education as a Human Right is worthy of our attention, energy, and investment.
In the words of Confucius, “Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace”.
So much more could be said of the event, but space limits what all can be written.
Dr. Miller came back from the educational conference reenergized to bring about great things for the Antwerp Local School District and the area.
