Belief Only Carries Us So Far (Guest Post by Emily Crum)
Originally posted at Oregon Save Our Schools’ blog
My heart is breaking over comments made by well-intended folks that if teachers just believed in their students, they can bring them out of poverty and into the arms of an ivy-league school. If I could, I would save every kindergartner that walks through my door of every injustice and societal failures they have and will continue to experience. In a recent article written in The Atlantic, “What Americans Keep Ignoring About Finland’s School Success” Anu Partanen points out the success in Finland’s school comes down to equity, “’There are no private schools in Finland.’ This notion may seem difficult for an American to digest, but it’s true. Only a small number of independent schools exist in Finland, and even they are all publicly financed. None is allowed to charge tuition fees. There are no private universities, either. This means that practically every person in Finland attends public school, whether for pre-K or a Ph.D.” Everyone is provided an education that all in the community has a stake in,