What’s the secret to Finland’s success in education?

Finland’s educational system is sought after by many countries and governments. Their children spend the least amount of time in the classroom, yet their test score averages are high.

A relaxed school environment, no transition between middle and high school, and blended classrooms where children of all skill levels are in one class are a few differences that Finnish schools have. Their focus is on the “whole child” education that we in early childhood try to offer in quality early childhood programs.

So what is the country’s secret? Good teachers and trust is all it takes. Click here to read the whole article and watch related videos, Why do Finland’s schools get the best results?, on the BBC website.

Young Children Respond to How Adults Behave Towards Others

Amrisha Vaish, postdoctoral researcher at Germany's Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, concludes that young children are very sensitive to the way we treat others. Her research showed that young children were less helpful to an adult when they saw that the person harmed another person. More remarkably, young children were also less likely to help a person they believed intended to harm another person without causing actual harm.

It seems that young children do notice how the people in their lives think about others as well as treat others. Its another reminder for those of us who care for children daily to be sure we are emotionally engaged with each child in positive ways.

Reference: Amrisha Vaish, Malinda Carpenter, Michael Tomasello. Young Children Selectively Avoid Helping People With Harmful Intentions. Child Development, 2010; 81 (6): 1661 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01500.x