Early years education: Sweden versus the UK Part 2 (of 3)

[insomniacgrace]

Interesting and impressive!

[leafs121688]

What amazes me is hoe quiet these kids are in class. When I was in elementary school it was hard to get kids to focus, they'd be antsy all the time

[cama9103]

@Inflameeslover rösta sd då :p

[cashernandes1]

What I find most impressive is how everyone seems to have a pretty good level of English!

[aryllia]

@cashernandes1 Well, when I went to school we were taught English already at age... 9 or 10, with soft starts already when we were 8 where the teacher would pick up something like a pencil and tell us what it was called in English. It is also one of the "three big" subjects together with math and Swedish. You'd think we're a colony with the way English is obsessed over in school, giving it the same importance as our own language XD

[mjonas10]

@ReadThisIfYourStupid Ironic that you point out Sweden's tiny population as some kind of flaw before proceeding to talk about entrepreneurship. Strange logic there. Isn't that tiny number, in relation to those exports you mentioned (and you could add Ericsson), the very proof that Sweden is an extremely industrious country?

[effidrin]

@ReadThisIfYourStupid

please were did you get youre information

Our economy is way better than the english Its really strong today.

A question to you:

how can you build a country of an small elite.

This solution of an small elite is what I see examples of when I work out of sweden.

Workers as myself behaving like animals, and people with higher education are behaving better in some ways.

I really dislike it and are sad for that theese peoples life are a waste.

[TheReliquary]

Interesting points there cherylwens. Sweden's inclusivity means compromises. In schools, the most gifted students aren't stimulated enough.

The tax system and strong unions reduce disparities in earnings but I think that's good. Personal happiness levels don't increase significantly with earnings beyond $60k/year so why legislate for higher earnings?

Sweden's good at a few things though, like engineering. I recommend a vid called "Be aware America..." (search youtube for that exact phrase).

[etowngftddummy]

I hate to sound like a jerk, but I kinda giggled when the girl at 7:32 faceplanted

I'm probably a terrible person....

[TheReliquary]

You probably are! But I'm glad you pointed it out because it's a good example of letting kids take risks even if it means they sometimes fall over and have to be picked up.

It was a little girl (I think) who fell over and I love how in Sweden they encourage girls to be just as adventurous and risk taking as boys. Too many kids are wrapped in cotton wool when young and then have no idea how to evaluate risk when older - youtube is full of funny vids depicting the painful results. Cheers!

[Lukestar1991]

The levels of learning English in Sweden are not 'very good', they are mostly excellent, and thats a fact.

[ImpactTeachers]

This approach is so refreshing and something we work to instill in our teachers. Making mission trips to Uganda, you can see the importance of engaging the children early on.

[Noahwig]

Our school in sweden helps to build an school in Uganda :) my father started it :)

[Noahwig]

And we went to uganda 2007 to meet our friends at the school that was really nice.

[IdanPink]

some people think that children shouldnt play around to much cuz they can get hurt but for me it dosnät matter when i was a kid i almost fell and hurt my self athleest once a day and it was so worth it even if it hurt at the time you can then think of have fun you had under the time beafore you fell and after... plus it makes you more confident and strong to be able to take a fall

[JeanetteW1nters0n]

English beer though - now that's another story!

[krewpart]

I think that the male British teacher, although quite aware of the value of the Swedish ece is mistaken in his thought that this approach can't work elsewhere. Young children have the same needs wherever they are and all children will benefit from the excellent vision of this type of programming.

[TheReliquary]

Thanks for your insights krewpart - I couldn't agree more!

[krewpart]

As a kindergarten teacher for 33 years in Canada, I was delighted to see these videos about Swedish preschools. Their vision reinforces exactly what I always believe about early childhood education and in many ways was similar to our original design of ECE .. Sadly, through politics and educational policies, we have lost this enriched and enlighted attitude towards children. Kudos to Sweden and other Scandinavian countries for truly believing in developmental programming instead

[feelinda]

I teach Kindergarten in California, USA, and I am required to teach and test for literacy--letters, sounds, sight words, numbers and homework for the kids and their parents every night. About a third of the kids are only 4 when they begin, and about 90% don't even speak English. I try to make it fun, but it's still hard for most of them to succeed in a system like this. I need my job, or I'd quit.

[notblondeswede]

"Mulle" saved my childhood!

[TheReliquary]

Thank God for Mulle!

Bamse though - he's weird.

[notblondeswede]

Haha Mulle was always a women dressed out, remember?:D

What  ? Ive always loved Bamse.

Heja Bamse! Starkast är vår Bamse! Men han tycker inte om att slåss. Dunderhonung, farmors dunderhonung, äter han för att bli stark förstås.

Men jag inser nu att han är en riktig slagskämpe mot Vargen och de onda, han drar ju folk i öronen osv.

Räknas inte det eller? :D

Dubbelmoral

[TheReliquary]

Exactly!

But in the middle of the night, it is Bamse's unnaturally big, lifeless and terrifying eyes, staring at me, drawing me into his strange world that turn my dreams into nightmares...

Some of us scare easily you see:)

[notblondeswede]

You're wrong, it's in second grade, I'm only 16 so I should know, the first sentence I learned was "pick up sticks" haha

[TheReliquary]

Re: antheadakota - And I thought Australians were adventurous! Your reaction is similar to most British teachers - they think this school is awesome, yet it's just a very average Scandinavian preschool.

Anyway, I hope you get to implement some of the Swedish ideas if you get to run a school in Australia!

[TheReliquary]

Those translators need to go easy on the old jungle juice and stop smoking the wacky baccy before it fries their brains!

[TheReliquary]

No, I'm not the narrator! I just saw the film on a teachers' website and wanted to bring it to a wider audience because a lot of parents are interested in alternatives to what they do to kids in places like the UK and USA.

Someone should make a video/song narrating important Swedish place names so immigrants like me can learn how to say them. Here's an English example that was popular back in 1991:

watch?v=xRLG1kHvRO4#

If you ever make such a record and it becomes a hit, I want some cred!:)

[TheReliquary]

If I ever manage to correctly pronounce a town when buying a rail ticket in Sweden I feel it's pure luck! Anything beginning with Sjö or Skä... is impossible. It's hard for a Brit to get to grips with Swedish intonation as well.

A friend of mine moved to Tierp and calls it tie-erp and refuses to change - she's trying to start a movement (it'll fail)!

Brits get their revenge with "Maghull", "Burscough", "Keighley" - not forgetting "Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychw­yrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch"­!

[TheReliquary]

Maybe they want to show off how good they are at English! I agree that if the Swedes in the video spoke Swedish, we might hear even more nuanced ideas - you can tell that they sometimes struggle to find the exact words.

But translation is also interpretation and (in my experience) the translators who do subtitles often misinterpret, so I guess these Swedes felt they'd rather speak with their slightly limited English rather than risk being mistranslated - that's my theory!

[isabella2215]

I'd like to live there!

[effidrin]

@isabella2215 Dont take it wrong what Im about to write here.

Its not bragging Its just an explanation of what Ive seeen and experienced in my life.

Im from sweden and work a lot around the globe I mostly work with engineers that been studying on different universitys from China to UK. Me myself and my collegues are just plain and simple electricians nothing more. But still I notice that creativity when solving problems is clearly an advantage for a swedish person.

[effidrin]

@isabella2215 If I continues with life after work and hobbies.

I love to drive fast and we race with cars on the lakes during winter and you have to fight real hard to go faster than the other drivers. When I went to Nurburgring racetrack in germany I outrunned Porsches in my Ford Focus with 90hp. When Ive been fishing in UK/Slovenia/france its the same. And Im not the best in the world but I realized that if you grow up in a safe and quiet enviroment youre abillities will be perfected

[effidrin]

@isabella2215 If we compare how people behave in countries outside of sweden I will say. Youre much much more afraid of loosing face and thats why you never try things out to the fullest. I notice people are often afraid or not used to take risks/experiment, ofcourse errors coming up now and then. But it helps you advance to a higher level in the long run.. We also discuss and listen to each other..

I really hope all goodhearted people in nice and noble coutries will be like us one day.

[Sushimom000]

Are real montisorri or waldorf schools similar to this swedish-style in the united states? I'm not sure, but I think waldorf delays learning to read by a number of years while they focus on real play and natural education through exploration. Can anyone explain please?

[TheReliquary]

Yes, Waldorf preschools in the US are quite similar: * guided free play * real practical jobs * homelike classroom environment * holistic approach (physical, emotional and intellectual) * teach by example * oral language development focus through songs, poems and movement games * no TV or computers * reading & writing not taught till age 7 * the kids go on to outperform their mainstream peers who started reading aged 3-5. Worth considering if you have a young child!

[krewpart]

Best to look into how the Waldorf systems approach visual art. You may be in for a disppointment in terms of how young children need to explore and create without boundaries.

[TheReliquary]

Montessori preschools are a little bit like Swedish preschools:

* children grouped together across years with older kids helping the younger ones

* big emphasis on being outdoors and exploring nature

* children given control & can direct the pace of their learning

* no TV or computers

Montessori preschools include other ideas about education that seem really interesting & positive. Their success means that they're well worth exploring...

[krewpart]

Not really. I am familiar with both of these systems and they are developmental to an extent and have some appropriate objectives but they, in no way go to the extent of the Swedish preschool.

[JanniPink]

dont say just sweden finland is the same

[TheReliquary]

Thanks Janni. Check out my intro:

"Finnish children spend fewer hours in school than any other in Europe, yet their children's achievements in numeracy and literacy are the the envy even of Sweden."

So you see, I agree that Finland & Sweden aren't exactly the same. The differences are particularly great at secondary level.

In Sweden there's a big debate about how to get the secondary schools up to Finnish standards (i.e. make them the best in the world). We need another video about this!

[ThePolka]

The Revolution In Education is here.

Go to The Revolution In Education on YouTube.