REPOST: What The U.S. Can Learn From Finland, Where School Starts At Age 7

NPR correspondent Claudio Sanchez delves into Finland’s primary education system, where all teachers have a bachelor’s degree and all kids under 7 enjoy the right to child care and preschool.

Finland, a country the size of Minnesota, beats the U.S. in math, reading and science, even though Finnish children don't start school until age 7.

Despite the late start, the vast majority arrive with solid reading and math skills. By age 15, Finnish students outperform all but a few countries on international assessments.

Krista Kiuru, Finland's minister of education and science who met with education officials in Washington recently, chalks success up to what she calls the "Finnish way." Every child in Finland under age 7 has the right to child care and preschool by law, regardless of family income. Over 97 percent of 3- to 6-year-olds attend a program of one type or another. But, says Kiuru, the key to Finland's universal preschool system is quality.

"First of all, it's about having high-quality teachers," Kiuru says. "Day care teachers are having Bachelor degrees. So we trust our teachers, and that's very, very important. And the third factor: we have strong values in the political level."

Political consensus and support help, Kiuru says.

Author Amanda Ripley says she didn't really believe it, so she went to Finland and several other top-performing countries to see for herself. She wrote The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way. Compared to Singapore, South Korea or Japan, she says, Finland's approach is pretty laid back, even though its standards — like what preschoolers should know and be able to do — are set by Finland's National Curriculum Guidelines for early childcare.

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"Kids are almost all in some kind of day care, all of whom are working in the same curriculum that's aligned with what they're going to learn in school," she says. "That's a level of coherence that most U.S. kids will never experience because we don't have a coherent system with highly trained people in almost every classroom."

It's a level of coherence that President Obama has repeatedly called for. Until there's a national consensus on standards and what quality preschool should look like, Ripley says early childhood education in the U.S. will remain fragmented.

Then there's the money issue. In Finland, of course, preschool and day care are basically free, because people pay a lot more taxes to fund these programs. Another glaring difference is the child poverty rate, which is almost 25 percent in the U.S. — five times more than in Finland.
"And in most countries I've traveled to, they see poverty and education as linked. You cannot separate them," Ripley says.

In Finland, children from poor families have access to high-quality preschool. In the U.S., most poor children get poor quality preschool, if they get any at all.

"It's very clear from the research in the U.S. that our problems with inequality [and] school failure are set when children walk in the school door," says Steve Barnett, director of the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University. Sixty percent of the poorest 4-year-olds in the U.S. get no preschool. Most, says Barnett, start school 18 months behind.

"Those kids are going to be in a spiral of failure, and we set that up by not adequately investing before they get to kindergarten," Barnett says. "We certainly can learn from countries like Finland."

Kiuru says she's in no position to say why the U.S. is struggling so much with this issue, but if her country has a lesson to offer, it's this: "If you invest in early childhood education, in preschool and day care, that will lead [to] better results," Kiuru says.

That, she says, is the "Finnish way."

Ken Von Kohorn is a socio-political writer and a big believer in quality education for all. Read more about his views and advocacies on this Facebook page.

REPOST: Cats Host Big Brothers Big Sisters Clinic

Aside from the basketball, the NBA is also known for its charitable acts.  Recently, the Charlotte Bobcats and the Lady Cats welcomed the Big Brothers Big Sisters for a basketball clinic.  Read the full story in this article from NBA.com.

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Members of the Charlotte Bobcats and the Lady Cats reached out to the community by hosting the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Charlotte for a basketball clinic on Jan. 27, 2014 at Time Warner Cable Arena.

The night began with an introduction of the Bobcats players, then children ages 6-13 and their mentors dispersed and participated in several stations set up to teach them important basketball skills. Players instructed the kids on the value of practice and teamwork through passing, shooting, dribbling and defensive drills.

Guard Ramon Sessions reflected on his childhood and stressed the importance of the event being an enjoyable experience for the kids involved.

“I reminds me of growing up as a kid just being out here and having fun,” Sessions said. “Just seeing the smiles on their faces, it’s tremendous. It is really a joy to be here.”

Forward Cody Zeller also enjoyed his time with the kids and was thankful to be in a position to give back.

“I remember coming to camps like this growing up and how big of an impact it had on me,” Zeller said. “I feel that it’s a part of my duty to give back to the kids and it’s neat to team up with the Bobcats to put on an event like this.”

After mentors and kids spent six minutes at each of the five stations, they were given the opportunity to ask any question to the Bobcat players. Some of which evoked laughter from the players and kids. After the Q&A, kids, mentors and players posed for a group photo and the kids were given a gift bag upon leaving.

Director of Match Support for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Charlotte, Jenelle Martin, expressed the importance of the event for the program.

“It’s great that they have role models to look up to that are positive,” Martin said. “It’s a really great opportunity for our littles to experience interacting with the players and having fun.”

A philanthropist, Ken Von Kohorn has been an active “Big Brother” in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, working with a boy who will be in college this fall.  Follow this Twitter page for more articles about the Big Brother Big Sisters program.

REPOST: Science Education In The U.S. Is Mediocre. Here’s

WBUR.org contributor Jacqueline Miller laments the dismal state of science education in the U.S. She then discusses in the article below concrete actions that would help develop science-literate citizens.

Jacqueline Miller: American students are simply not learning the content and skills that will help them succeed in the 21st century, where technology and science are core to everyday life.
(Image source: wbur.org)

Once again, U.S. students have performed poorly on an international test and the hand wringing has begun. This time it is the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, which measures how well students can apply what they have learned in reading, mathematics, and science to practical problems. Out of 34 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development member countries, United States students ranked 17th in reading, 26th in math, and 21st in science.

As observed by Diane Ravitch and other education historians, the U.S. has rarely fared well on the lineup of international tests that began in the mid-1960s. Whether these tests are a meaningful indicator of the quality of education and global economic success is subject to debate.

What is not debatable, though, is that science education for all students in this country is, in and of itself, mediocre. American students are simply not learning the content and skills that will help them succeed in the 21st century, where technology and science are core to everyday life.

Over the years, I have observed classrooms where students had already decided that science and math were not for them. “I hate science, I hate math,” came the exasperated refrain. But when I asked them what they hated and how it could be made better, I discovered that they actually loved the experimentation of science and were engaged by the relevance of math to their lives. What they hated was how these subjects were taught.

As stated in the National Research Council’s 2012 report “Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century,” students thrive when they are engaged in course content that focuses in depth on core concepts within a discipline, contextualizes the learning in real-world situations relevant to their lives, and provides investigative experiences that require transfer of knowledge to address a challenge or answer a question.

Yet, for most students, the study of science is still an exercise in memorization and regurgitation. A jumble of disconnected facts is presented, unaccompanied by opportunities for investigative, problem-solving experiences. We are not educating students to succeed on international exams, but, more importantly, we’re not developing science-literate citizens or encouraging future scientists, either.

Studies have shown that curriculum and teachers are the two most important determinants of student learning and achievement. Effective curriculum shapes not only what content is taught but how it is taught. This, in turn, affects student achievement of the learning goals. Today, far too few schools are using pre-K through 12 science curricula that:

• Build students’ understanding of big, fundamental concepts over time in a coherent conceptual flow
• Explore fewer topics in greater depth
• Promote understanding and use of the practices and competencies required of scientific investigations
• Incorporate ongoing assessment to inform instruction
• Motivate students to learn by engaging them in hands-on investigations and real-world problems

Simultaneously, far too few teachers have the opportunities or support they need to implement these types of materials. Extensive testing requirements have driven too many teachers to cover massive amounts of content and teach to the test. A lack of instructional and pedagogical resources thwarts their chances to move their own practices to a more ambitious teaching model. And although we know that digital tools can enhance student learning and extend teaching practice, few teachers have access to training and support in using these tools appropriately.

Achieving deeply rooted change that ensures students’ success and equips them for life in the 21st century starts with our teachers. Providing these dedicated individuals with ongoing professional development experiences that help build a strong content background, knowledge of effective teaching strategies, and understanding of appropriate uses of digital resources should be the standard, not the exception.

We also need policymakers who are more concerned with what students are learning than how they are performing on international exams. If, as a nation, we make a concerted effort to improve the learning and teaching of science, then better test results will surely follow. Policy-making groups who will lead this effort must include teachers who, more than anyone, understand the reality of the classroom and can lead U.S. science education from mediocrity to excellence.

This indictment of science education goes far deeper than PISA scores. But we know how to fix what’s wrong. Let us start now — and not lose a generation of science-literate citizens, mathematicians, and scientists to a failure in teaching when the inspiration to explore, to experiment, and to learn is all around us.

Nonfiction writer and philanthropist Ken Von Kohorn believes that literacy helps shape the future of America. Follow this Twitter account to keep track of the reforms in the U.S. education system.

Failure as motivation to success

One of the key problems with education in the United States at the turn of the 21^st century is the increased focus on self-esteem as a driver of student performance without objective justification for the merits of such paradigm.  It had been correctly assumed as late as the early 1990s that self-esteem was related to better exam results, but the correlation between them was misinterpreted.  Students were made to feel good about themselves with the hopes that this would help them excel.

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It was discovered much later that the correlation, in fact, works in reverse.  While students should be encouraged to excel, artificially lowering the bar meant that they lost motivation to learn.  Moreover, denying children the learning experience gained from accepting failure curtailed development toward success.

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Handled correctly, failure can be used as a catalyst for future success.  Professionals such as Dr. Martin Seligman suggest that failure, if treated as isolated events that have specific causes, would encourage children to learn behaviors that would instead lead to success.  By treating failure not as something to be avoided but as a welcome challenge for further learning, students could top their current performance and be motivated to improve.

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As life is nothing without failure, children should learn to accept and learn from their mistakes as they grow and earn their sense of self-worth through their successes and through the failures they overcome.

Ken Von Kohorn is a Connecticut-based nonfiction sociopolitical writer who is deeply invested in the success and welfare of children. Visit this Twitter page for more updates on literature, education, and more.

Clandestine in Chile: Gabriel Garcia Marquez's nonfiction

When a Nobel Prize-winning novelist ventriloquises Chile’s prominent writer and filmmaker, the result is certainly a no blah-kind-of-reportage: it is eloquent in style, as though Garcia Marquez himself has put Miguel Littin’s shoes on during the years of his exile, as if Garcia Marquez and Littin are no different individuals—as though they bought braved the life outside Chile to plan on the fall of Pinochet.

Image source: www.nybooks.com

Garcia Marquez’s intentions are clear: he is writing Littin’s years of exile not just to highlight the benighted Chile in the hands of Pinochet and the United States but also to make Littin’s story as realistic as how really the filmmaker has lived his life outside the bosom of Latin America. The result: a first-person narrative of pure entertainment, desperation, and not-so-laughable realities that befall the filmmaker-turned-middle-aged caper and vainglorious artist.

Image source: www.guardian.co.uk

Clandestine in Chile is honest to its goal. It never disappoints and it is never more than picturesque as Garcia Marquez’s magic realist novels. It is pure reportage, as though magic, in its absence, has played well to make this short yarn dance gracefully. However, the real magic is in Garcia Marquez’s writing acumen, his keenness to unite the techniques he has used in novels with Miguel Littin’s unadulterated account of his self-imposed expiation to come up with a powerful book that could have awarded Garcia Marquez a separate Nobel award: The Peace Prize.

Image source: www.littinmenz.com

Ken Von Kohorn is a nonfiction writer who writes on socio-political issues. This Twitter Page shows an elaborate account of his works.

Children’s books, and when they become more than children’s books

Image source: Childrens Books and Music

To children, children’s books are just mere pieces of literature that tell stories of happy-ever-afters. Typically presented with flamboyant covers and with pages punctuated by colorful artwork, children’s books appear as though they were designed to accommodate the fledglings’ limited understanding.

But there is more to children’s books.

In a world that seems to be dominated by hi-tech video games and non-child-friendly TV shows, it has become even harder for parents to turn their children’s attention away from technology. In the 21st century, reading is still important, experts say, and parents must encourage their children to learn – and love -- reading.

Image source: Teach-our-kids.co.uk

Children’s books, from picture books to young-adult fiction, are a good alternative to video games and TV shows. They can be a child’s personal guidance to morality, to becoming a good member of society. Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat tackles, in the simplest form, worldly and political themes, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 teaches about the importance of books and reading, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince delves into the allegory of the human condition, Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer tells of the quintessence of dreaming and ambition, and Louisa May Alcott’s The Little Women speaks of family and personal development. These are just some of the many book titles that can help develop a child’s imagination, creativity, and social behavior.

Image source: www.ocde.us

It has been said time and again that reading is an essential element in a child’s formative years. Children’s books are more than just books – they serve as passageways to a child’s bright future.

A nonfiction writer, Ken Von Kohorn believes that literacy helps shape the future of America. Follow this Twitter account to know more about his advocacies.

REPOST: How To Get A Jumpstart On Your Philanthropy

Willa Seldon notes in her article for Forbes that “giving money away is easy.” However, “doing it right, so that you get more and better results over time, is hard.” Seldon is a partner in The Bridgespan Group’s San Francisco office, and coauthor of “High-Stakes Donor Collaboration,” which appears in the spring 2013 issue of the Stanford Social Innovation Review. 

Image source: forbes.com

Giving money away is easy. You just write a check or approve a grant proposal. But doing it right, so that you get more and better results over time, is hard. Newcomers to philanthropy often feel this tension most acutely. Many have good intensions that far outstrip their knowledge of the cause they choose to support.

If you fall into this category, take heart. You’re not alone. Philanthropy is deeply personal, which explains the profusion of US nonprofits supporting all sorts of worthwhile endeavors. Because philanthropy is deeply personal, it makes sense that funders invest broadly. But what about the portion of your philanthropy that is meant to be strategic? In such cases, flying solo often doesn’t lead to achieving the desired results.

As a newcomer with more passion for an issue than in-depth knowledge, the road to success can lead to working with like-minded philanthropists and foundations from whom you can learn. So before you invest time and money developing your own expertise in an area of interest, consider collaborating with other more experienced funders and learning from them. That’s a course charted by a funders’ collaborative called Oceans 5.

Launched in early 2011, Oceans 5 is dedicated to expanding marine reserves and constraining overfishing. The Oceans 5 founders wanted to bring in a variety of partners—whether or not they had marine expertise. In fact, one of Oceans 5’s objectives—and a key part of its long-term growth strategy—is to provide a forum for funders who lack expertise in ocean conservation but who want to learn from more experienced partners, like cofounder and Oak Foundation Chair Kristian Parker. He explains it this way: “Oceans 5 was an opportunity to reach out to less experienced foundations and philanthropists to share what we have learned in our 12-plus years of grantmaking in marine conservation. We hoped that for foundations that did not intend to hire specialized staff, Oceans 5 would provide a safe, well-informed platform from which to invest their philanthropic time and money.”

The group is comprised of five partners who commit at least $1 million annually for a minimum of three years and members who commit $200,000 a year. Board meetings give program director Chuck Fox, an experienced marine conservationist, an opportunity to review investment opportunities and present recommendations. “It’s been fantastic to watch these philanthropies come together, engage in deep dialogue around projects, and become far more strategic in their giving,” says Tracy Durning, a board member and cofounder.

For Addison Fischer, a board member and cofounder of Planet Heritage Foundation, the shared knowledge around the table and collective funding is critical to the success of the group. “As a smaller foundation with no ocean-specific expertise, we would not have been able to do this nearly as effectively on our own. So, from an investment standpoint, having a shared, high-level oceans program director in place is very beneficial in making far more strategic investments overall.”

Funder collaborations that share specialized information aren’t just for newcomers to philanthropy. They work for large, established foundations as well. The Energy Foundation is a case in point.

Launched in 1991, the Energy Foundation today is the largest philanthropic funder of nonprofits working on energy efficiency and renewable energy sources. It was started as a joint initiative of three newly appointed foundation presidents, Peter Goldmark of the Rockefeller Foundation, Rebecca Rimel of the Pew Charitable Trusts, and Adele Simmons of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. At the time, none of the foundations had an energy program. As Rimel recalls: “We were convinced that this could lead to a different model of grantmaking. At that time, people talked a lot about collaboration, and we thought ‘let’s just do it.’”

Recognizing their organizations’ limited knowledge in the energy arena, the three foundation presidents hired a recognized authority, Hal Harvey, to help identify a workable approach to boosting clean energy development. After months of research, Harvey and his team developed a business plan to launch the Energy Foundation as a grantmaker and advocate for change in the field. The three founding organizations collectively granted $100 million for the project over 10 years. The joint investment allowed the funders to share specialized expertise rather than pursue a similar path on their own.

A decade on, a second wave of funders, including the Hewlett Foundation, joined the collaborative—in large part persuaded by the expertise and platform that the Energy Foundation had developed. As Hewlett vice president Susan Bell explains, “If we wanted to make a difference on the issue, we would have had to staff up to do that, and the Energy Foundation allowed us not to. They served as our program staff and could navigate among existing organizations that needed funding.”

In effect, large and small foundations today can outsource all or parts of their energy programs to the Energy Foundation. Along the way, the foundation has grown in size, financial clout, and ambition. Working through grantees, it has had significant impact on promoting adoption of state and federal vehicle efficiency standards, more stringent residential and commercial building codes to reduce energy consumption, and development of renewable energy technology. In 2011 alone, the Energy Foundation made 592 grants to 347 groups, totaling $76.2 million.

Oceans 5 and the Energy Foundation are variations on a theme: collaboration is a great way for philanthropists and foundations—new and experienced—to share specialized knowledge and accomplish more together than acting separately. At a time when many of society’s problems are too big to tackle alone and with limited resources, donors can accomplish more together than apart. It’s a compelling way to jumpstart your philanthropy.

Ken Von Kohorn is an active member of the non-profit organization Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Like this Facebook page for timely updates on philanthropy.