As we met next time on the 22nd of August the topics weren’t as relaxing as last time. This time we spoke about system of education in Germany and Finland. As the discussion went on we found a great deal of similarities in these two countries. Both have elementary school that starts pretty much at the same age. After that there is secondary school followed by upper secondary school or some sort of vocational education. Secondary education is followed by academy-level education. At this point we came across the fact that German school system has been the role model for Finnish adoption for system of education. Even the timelines seem quite similiar. It didn’t take many decades for Finns to create our system after the Germans had developed theirs.
Some things are differently in Germany however. In vocational education working life connections and apprenticeship training is in much higher esteem and far more commonly used. Perhaps this is due to long traditions of craftmanship in middle Europe. Another difference was that ability groups are in use practically everywhere in Germany starting already from late primarily school. On one hand it helps to utilize and dicover the best potential from the adolecence right from the beginning. On the other hand it in a way does separate the groups from an early point and start to direct the future of children already at an age they likely are inaware of consequences to their future academic and working life.
Germany is of course a large country with multiple populaation compared to Finland. Perhaps where in a small country like Finland national social coherence is important even at the costs that most capable individuals might frustrate in a large country such procedure is possible and even needed to separate the wheat from the chaff. In addition my “sith sense” is observing trends in Finland directing towards the German system with both apprenticeship training and ability groups.
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