[Ohiogift] "A different kind of lesson from Finland"

[Margaret DeLacy]

Friends:

Below is a link to and excerpt from an article "A Different Kind of Lesson from Finland" that appeared in Education Week this week:

Margaret


Commentary
A Different Kind of Lesson From Finland
By Chester E. Finn Jr. & Brandon L. Wright 

....Differentiated instruction certainly aligns with the Finnish culture and self-concept, and it's plenty popular among other educators, too, thanks to its obvious allure on grounds of both fairness and individualization. It's a very big deal among U.S. educators, and we found some of it in all 11 countries that we profile in our recently published book, Failing Our Brightest Kids: The Global Challenge of Educating High-Ability Students. Everywhere we went, we encountered some version of this assertion: "We don't need to provide special programs or schools for gifted children, because we expect every school and teacher to adapt their instruction to meet the unique educational needs of all children, including the very able."

But such solemn, wishful affirmations don't necessarily accord with reality on the ground. ...

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/11/04/a-different-kind-of-lesson-from-finland.html?cmp=eml-enl-eu-news2