<
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/mar/27/free-lunches-brain-breaks-and-happy-teachers-why-estonia-has-the-best-schools-in-europe>
"Today’s subject in the sci-fi class at Pelgulinna State Gymnasium is
Blade
Runner. Thursdays are “voluntary” lesson days, where students at this upper
secondary school in Estonia’s capital, Tallinn, can choose from a range of
subjects; others taking place today include a rights and democracy course,
programming and creative writing in English. The seven 17-year-old students in
the sci-fi lesson have just finished watching 30 minutes of the film and are
preparing to discuss it when I sneak in at the back, switching to perfect
English for my benefit. “We’ve talked about Jungian archetypes, persona and the
superego,” says Triin, one of the students. “It has been really helpful for me
to understand the different aspects of being human and how to create deeper
characters.” They’ve also studied
Brave New World and
2001: A Space
Odyssey. In the few minutes I am there, the students touch on US history,
child labour, empathy and more. “I have so many questions,” says Triin.
Me too. How did Estonia, a small country that is relatively poor compared with
most of the EU, become an educational powerhouse? In the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development’s Programme for International Student
Assessment (Pisa) rankings, which measures 15-year-olds’ abilities in maths,
reading and science, the top spots are held by a handful of Asian countries,
but Estonia ranks next – the best in Europe. Its teachers are highly educated,
the focus is on social and personal skills as much as academic learning and the
typical curriculum is packed with a wide range of subjects, from robotics to
music and arts. British politicians are taking note. In 2022 Labour’s shadow
education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, visited to see what Estonia is doing
right."
Via
Positive.News
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*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
