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cheap canada goose uk Only 10% of 7,000 teacher applicants to primary school programs accepted Canada Goose Parka in FinlandFinland tops international tests rankings, but doesn’t use standardized tests domestically”It is a patriotic, national calling to be a teacher,” said one Finnish teacher(CNN) When newly minted West Virginia Schools Superintendent Dr. Steven Paine canada goose deals told parents, teachers and educators in 2005 that he wanted to use Finland as a model for their education system, he got a lot of blank stares: Finland? What, people asked, does West Virginia have to do with Finland?The contrast couldn’t be more stark: In West Virginia, many children face poverty, illiteracy and broken homes and lack easy access to health care or proper nutrition.Finland has a largely literate and relatively homogeneous population, little immigration and almost no poverty or social problems. They also offer a vast network of social supports including free meals and Canada Goose Outlet health care for school children.Still, Finland was Canada Goose Jackets and remains at the top of international test rankings for elementary through high schools and after studying and observing Finnish schools buy canada goose jacket for several months in 2004, Paine was Canada Goose sale convinced they had useful things to teach West Virginia.But rather than concentrate directly on test scores, Paine thought West Virginia should concentrate on developing more rigorous standards, curriculum and perhaps most importantly teacher supports. education.But Paine thought an overemphasis on standardized tests leads to a narrow, unimaginative curriculum that isn’t in the best canada goose black friday sale interests of kids.Develop the right curriculum, standards and teacher supports, Paine said, and test scores will take care of themselves.In this, he was following Finland’s lead: Finland doesn’t use standardized tests to assess teachers or schools.”If we’re going to spend the effort and money necessary to raise standards,” Paine said at the time, “we might as well shoot for the top and align them with the best practices for global achievement, since that’s where our young people are going to be competing canada goose outlet in the 21st century.”Paine did not help his case when he warned of a short term drop in West Virginia’s standardized test scores.This was the toughest part for many parents and cheap Canada Goose educators to swallow. It flew in the face of major federal funding initiatives canada goose clearance such as No Child Left Behind and canada goose store later, Race to the Top funding that a poor state like West Virginia could not afford to turn away.But Paine was undeterred.Lower test scores in the short term, he said, would be a product canadian goose jacket of more rigorous tests canada goose coats and passing thresholds, not lower performance.Because federal programs such as NCLB leave it up to the states to define https://www.canadagoosejacketsoutsale.com what it means to call a child “proficient,” unscrupulous states simply put the proficiency bar low enough to ensure federal funding. In line with his philosophy on standards, curriculum and teacher supports, canada goose Paine wanted to put an end to this by aligning West Virginia’s testing with national and international benchmarks.Paine prevailed in the end and the result became Canada Goose online Global21, a statewide initiative launched in 2005 with the purpose of developing “self directed, motivated and life long learners.”But West Virginia could not simply transport Finland’s system whole they had to carefully pick and repurpose policies for their own use.They started with teachers.’The most honorable of all professions’The most important lesson the United States can take from Finland is the “preparation and development of high quality teachers,” Paine said.This starts with honoring the profession, he canada goose clearance sale said.In addition, like other professions, canada goose coats on sale teachers gain seniority and tenure primarily on the basis of training and experience, and teacher unions have a strong voice in shaping education policy all very controversial in the United States.The profession is held in such high regard that competition to get teacher training is fierce. Nationally, only about 10% of some 7,000 applicants to primary school programs are accepted annually to Finnish teacher training programs, according to statistics from the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture.And it’s not about the money.”In Finland, they do attract the very best and brightest into the profession, and it has nothing to do with money. It has everything to do with the respect that is given to the profession,” Paine said cheap canada goose uk.