In Teachers We Trust: The Finnish Way to World-Class Schools

by Pasi Sahlberg, Timothy D. Walker, Andy Hargreaves (Foreword)

Seven key principles from Finland for building a culture of trust in schools around the world. In the spring of 2018, thousands of teachers across the United States―in states like Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Arizona―walked off their jobs while calling for higher wages and better working conditions. Ultimately, these American educators trumpeted a simple treat us like professionals. Teachers in many other countries feel the same way as their US counterparts. In Teachers We Trust presents a compelling vision, offering practical ideas for educators and school leaders wishing to develop teacher-powered education systems. It reveals why teachers in Finland hold high status, and shows what the country’s trust- based school system looks like in action. Pasi Sahlberg and Timothy D. Walker suggest seven key principles for building a culture of trust in schools, from offering clinical training for future teachers to encouraging student agency to fostering a collaborative professionalism among educators. In Teachers We Trust is essential reading for all teachers, administrators, and parents who entrust their children to American schools.

Genres: Education, Teaching, Nonfiction, Teachers, Parenting, Professional Development

216 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2020

Reviews

[Douglas · Rating 2 out of 5]

If this book were billed only as an exploration of the Finnish school system, it would be much more valuable. But it has a thesis, that Finnish educational outperformance is attributable to the high degree of trust placed in Finnish teachers, and that thesis is badly defended. The book's biggest issue is its refusal to make comparisons against any other school system than that of the United States. Sure, it is persuasive that trust in teachers is a prime differentiator between the two, but does it explain Finland's success? I'm a teacher here in Canada and while a sense of teacher persecution is often overstated across the country, I don't think anybody would seriously suggest our school system receives an exceptional amount of trust from the public or - especially - politicians. Yet we perform every bit as well on the PISA tests (with some interprovincial variability) as Finland does, and in recent years better.

Not only do Sahlberg and Walker employ unsound methods of argumentation, they fail to address any of the concerns or necessary research questions that they themselves mention in the book's early chapters. Most importantly: in the last decade or so, Finnish results have actually been declining. Rather a serious concern, don't you think? Again, the authors actually do mention this, but then never bring it up again, anywhere in the book. Further, there is not just a lack of comparisons to other high-performing school systems around the world. For a thesis revolving around a cultural trait, it is incredible there is no comparison made to culturally similar countries (i.e. Norway, Sweden, and Denmark). These are all high-trust countries with obvious societal similarities. Why do their school systems not perform as well? Once again, the authors mention this rather important paradox, but never return to explain it.

All that can be said about the Finnish school system based on this book is that it does well, and here are some things that they do. Later in the book, the authors examine a variety of student-centred practices which I know have research backing, but they have at best an indirect relationship to the thesis. Finland certainly seems like an enjoyable place to teach, but that is a very different issue from the determination of which aspects of its school system deserve widespread adoption. Accepting that time and resources are limited, the reader wishing to learn more about the learning practices of high performing school systems should skip this and read Lucy Crehan's excellent Cleverlands instead.

2.5/5

[Alison Rini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of great ideas. I got to visit a school today that Tim Walker helped design and it was heavenly. The kids and teachers were all so happy. 💖

[Faisal Chairul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Masih belum memuaskan dalam menjelaskan kenapa pendidikan di Finlandia berbeda dari negara-negara lain, terutama dengan negara-negara serumpun (negara Nordik/Skandinavia).

Beberapa kali ditemukan cherry-picking dalam memperkuat argumennya, misalnya dalam mengutip salah satu artikel ilmiah berjudul 'The Finnish Miracle of PISA: Historical and sociological remarks on teaching and teacher education' yang ditulis oleh Hannu Simola (2005). Artikel ini cukup menggambarkan perspektif sejarah dan sosial budaya dari munculnya/berkembangnya "trust" antara pemerintah, guru, dan orangtua murid dalam sistem pendidikan Finlandia, dengan memberikan perspektif geopolitik dan sejarah, sementara penulis hanya mengutip sebagian isi/kesimpulan yang sama sekali tidak representatif, dengan hanya mengutip poin tentang "trust" untuk kepentingan mendukung argumennya. Berikut kutipan penulis:

"Guru Finlandia tampaknya menikmati kepercayaan dari masyarakat luas dan juga elit politik dan bahkan ekonomi, yang mana jarang sekali terjadi di banyak negara lainnya. Simola (2005, p. 465) menghubungkan rasa percaya terhadap guru dan juga sekolah ini sebagai unit sosial dengan 'budaya yang sedikit kuno, otoriter sekaligus kolektif' dan keperfayaan sosial dan apresiasi terhadap guru dan masyarakat, termasuk para elit. Di saat yang sama, 'ada tendensi terhadap politik dan pedagogi yanf konservatif di antara para guru' yang menjadi hal yang pentinf terhadap pola rasa percaya yang lebih luas terhadap guru." - h. 44-45

Selain itu, Hannu Simola juga membeberkan aspek perubahan sosial budaya di dalam artikel yang ditulisnya. Perubahan drastis di dasawarsa 1970-an sampai 1990-an, dimana Finlandia merupakan salah satu negara yang terlambat dalam mengadaptasikan dirinya menjadi negara industri. Perubahan ini juga pada akhirnya berimplikasi juga terhadap sektor pendidikan. Dalam konteks politik, perubahan drastis ini memungkinkan, seperti yang dijelaskan oleh Simola, dengan kebijakan totalitarianisme.

Aspek-aspek seperti geopolitik, sejarah, dan sosial budaya di atas yang kurang dieksplorasi oleh kedua penulis di dalam buku ini, padahal aspek-aspek tersebut yang menjadikan Finlandia "khas", sehingga dapat bisa lebih menggambarkan kekuatan sistem pendidikan Finlandia dan menbuatnya berbeda dengan negara-negara serumpun maupun Amerika Serika menurut konteks di dalam buku ini.

[Keane Neal-Riquier · Rating 4 out of 5]

With an interest in education from an outside point of view, this books provides vivid contrast between American and Finnish schools.

Pointing at the cultural foundations of Finnish success, it makes me wonder what historical mechanisms have lead to such a trusting social forum.

[Jennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book because I saw it on the library returns rack, and the title caught me. I thought it was quite an interesting book. I didn't look at the author names before starting the book, and found it a bit confusing the way the authors introduced themselves. (I thought when they started telling a story about Tim that he was a person they were telling a story about, not one of the authors. Same thing with Pasi as well).

This book explores the concept of trust in educational settings, using the trust that is present in Finnish schools as the template for how trust can be used to implement effective teaching and good learning communities. I thought it was quite interesting with a lot of ideas. Not teaching in a school, it was not directly relevant to me in that way, but it did make me think more about reading about learning as a tutor.

The understanding of trust as a concept was something I've not thought a lot about, but this also made me more curious about trust in general, because learning about the principles behind trust really excited my mind in that area, since trust is such a fundamental part of all human relationships.

There were lots of great things from the book - collaborative teaching, the trust shown to students, and how that actually looks in the classroom at different ages, but one of the ideas that I found most ingenious in the book was that in a middle school, they have a 9th grade buddy system for incoming 7th graders. The 9th graders are interviewed for these coveted buddy positions, which they are interviewed for, and then trained for. There is regular contact, and the 9th graders are also allowed to teach lessons to their buddies on social media, drugs, and bullying. I thought that this was such a great idea - to have these topics spoken about from older kids to me seems like it could be a very effective way to make sure the 7th graders would listen, because at that age, older kids are the coolest, and adults are lame. And so on these topics in particular, I think the message would resonate. Having the 9th graders prepare that as well seems it would help them learn more about those topics and take ownership of that knowledge.

That was one just small thing. There are lots of wonderful nuggets in this book.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book because I agreed with what it says about the need to trust educators and the need for educators to be able to step back into their professional roles. The book points out that there are systemic educational and cultural norms in place in Finland that do not exist in most U.S. school settings.

However, I found the discussion points and the tips at the end of each chapter a little disappointing. Would I like to reflect about and find strategies for increasing trust? Of course. However, as I read the tips, I realized I had belonged to several organizations that heavily emphasized standardized testing and had fairly rigid day-to-day instructional expectations in place for classroom teachers who used some of those same strategies a few times. The book is not trying to imply that you can use a strategy once and then - boom! Trust now exists within your school community! - however, I can see how a well-meaning administrator or coach might take one of those strategies in isolation, thinking it's the same as taking strides toward trust. Until the big systemic things change, it seems disingenuous to suppose that journaling at a meeting (or any of several of the other strategies) will transform school and community cultures into places which trust students to independently move to rooms and use tools, or places which trust teachers to organize the order of instruction for math or social studies, or places which are reflective about tests as a single data point among many to indicate success and guide future steps. I would love to see U.S. schools as places where teachers are expected - and given time - for deep collaboration and planning, and given time to observe each other's teaching on a regular basis, and encouraged to exchange ideas and brainstorm responses to challenges and roadblocks openly. I enjoyed reading some specifics about what the Finnish education system looks like. It's disheartening to see how far most U.S. schools are from some of these possibilities, but also impressive to consider all the good things that happen in spite of some pervasive distrust and burdensome mandates.

[Nan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This time Pasi Sahlberg, author of Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn From Educational Change in Finland?, focuses on the importance of trust in improving student and teacher performance. Rejecting the top-down style so prevalent in this country, Sahlberg makes a strong case that highly educated and challenged educators can ultimately devise the best ways to create classrooms that are engaging, effective, and successful. In the U.S. we have just the opposite: administrators who grab on to the the flavor-of-the-month, insist that one size fits all, and rely heavily on standardized testing to measure worth. And when it doesn't, teachers get blamed. It's an issue that still gets me worked up, mostly because I have little hope that things will ever change here. Sad, but true.

[Jdchaffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're an educator in the United States, you're going to find yourself saying, "We can't do that here" a lot. I suggest you push through that internal critic. There are many practical examples of how to increase and build a culture of trust among your colleagues and within your school.

[Steven Kolber · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book

[Kakajan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of new things

[Weerawat Yodmun · Rating 5 out of 5]

อ่านง่ายได้แรงบันดาลใจครับ

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but not convinced on all points.

[amalia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informasinya terlalu umum dan karena udah baca bukunya Timothy yg sebelumnya semakin terasa isi buku ini banyak membahas hal yang sudah sudah.

[Lissy Clement · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

I expected more depth but it is what it is. Basic. I am trying to analyze the Finnish system and wanted more deep sources.

[Kirsty Gebert · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for all educators.

[Mary Salamone · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many of these concepts would “fix” what’s wrong with the educational system in the United States. Also verified what teachers know and do in their classrooms is the right thing.

[Robby Haryanto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sebuah sajian yang cukup menggugah bagi saya yang baru "terjun" ke dunia pendidik. Di dalam buku ini banyak kegundahan saya seputar pendidikan, terutama persiapan menjadi guru ternyata sangat seserius itu di Finlandia. Baca buku ini jadi banyak berkaca pada perjalanan setahun saya sebagai guru dan mahasiswa pendidikan. Masih banyak PR pribadi, banyak hal yang bisa saya bagi di lingkungan pekerjaan, dan gairah untuk meningkatkan diri tentunya