Olkaamme ylpeitä suomalaisesta tavasta opiskella

Mulla oli rästissä pari enkun kolmoskurssin kirjoitelmaa viime vuoden vikalta jaksolta, eikä mulla sen takia ole sitä kurssia suoritettuna. Päätin vihdoin tehdä jotain järkevää, joten menin Wilmaan lukemaan viime syksyn alussa saadun viestin enkunopettajaltani Reetalta. ''Vertaile suomalaisen ja jenkkiläisen opiskelua'' oli ensimmäinen 150-200 written taskin aiheena. Parempi myöhään kuin ei milloinkaan, joten päätin vihdoin aloittaa tuon lyhyen kirjoitelman kirjoittamisen. Ja sitten se venyikin kolminkertaiseksi. Tekstinihän on aivan täyttä puhetta, joten olisi sääli, jos kirjoitelman näkisi vain Reetta. Täähän on tietenkin enkuksi, kun englannin aine on kyseessä. Jokaisen lukiolaisen kuitenkin pitäisi englantia tämän tekstin verran osata. Jollei, sitten kannatan ottamaan enkun nollakurssin Reetan tai jonkun muun ihanan enkunopettajamme kanssa(tai sitten vaan käyttää helposti google translatea). 

Differences in studying in Finland and the US

Studying in the United States of America is really different when comparing how we study in Finland. I’ve been studying in Cedar Ridge high school in Round Rock, Texas for one semester now. First of all, you have to go to high school in the USA, in Finland it’s optional. We have the same schedule for the 1^st semester and when the 2^nd semester comes you usually have the same schedule that you used to have. In Finnish high school our schedule changes 5 or 6 times a year! We have this 6 weeks system: we get our grades in end of every six week to see if we’re failing. We also get report cards three weeks before the six weeks is about to end, that we can see are we failing that six week. Sounds complicated, but when you get in to it, it really isn’t.  So basically we get updates from our grades all the time. The school gets money from the government from every kid that comes to school every day here in the US. When someone doesn’t show up, it means that the school doesn’t get their daily money from that student for that day. That’s why in Texas you can be absent only 10 days for the whole year. In our school we have this AB-day system: every other day is different. Both days have four different subjects, so you have 8 subjects all together. I’ve heard that they made this system, so football players have more time to work out during school time. Football is really big in Texas so they wanted that kids would have more time to practice. Of course that’s not what they say to us, but that’s probably a really big reason to that system like one of my teachers said.

 Finland education level is really high and that’s why school feels so much easier here in Texas. We take a lot of notes and at the same time the teacher talks. We can’t really talk to each other while we’re in class, because we don’t have time for that. In Finland it’s all different. We do take notes, but teacher gives us time to write it all down before telling it. Finnish students read things from books, American students not really. We don’t have school books here, or we do have them in some classes, but we don’t really use them. The books aren’t our own, so we can’t take them home. In Finland we use books all the time. One other big difference is the exams. In Finland we do essays and short answers in every exam, it doesn’t matter what subject it is. In Texas every exam is multiple-choice! We don’t really do essays and short answers in exams, expect in English I think there is a short answer part. Even math exams are multiple-choices, so you can check your answer if you’re wrong.

I feel like in here we study just to pass the six weeks and semesters and teachers just want us to pass their subjects. We get reviews before exams and that’s usually everything you need to know in the exam. They teach us how to take exams and that’s all that they talk about. They know what we need to know in exams and that’s all that they tell us. Rest of the stuff doesn’t matter and maybe that’s why people don’t succeed so much in here than in Finland. In Finland we don’t study for school – we study for life. In Finland we learn things that matters and what we’re going to need in our lives after we graduate. That is maybe the biggest difference in the school systems between USA and Finland. I’m really blessed that I’ve had the opportunity to be educated in Finnish school system and I’m really proud of that.

C Korhosen Roosa 

Havainnollistava kuva miten Jenkkiläiset opiskelee Texasissa: ei kirjoja vaan tuhansia monisteita, jotka pitää tunkea jokaiselle aineelle tarkoitettuun mappiin. Tuunasin kansioni supersiistillä ilmastointiteipillä ja mun jenkkikoulun logolla jee.