American Reacts to Why Finland's Schools Outperform Developed World

[@MikkoRantalainen]

3:14 Even little children laugh at the idea of a tipping jar. That's how remote the tipping culture is here in Finland.

[@reviewguy12]

Good catch

[@Necrotechian]

"lol tips. We actually pay our workers so they dont have to get tips to live"

[@caseyalanjones]

@@pvahanen-dh5rt , what is your opinion based on?

[@pvahanen-dh5rt]

@@caseyalanjones Not any opinions, just the latest PISA tests! Which of course are no longer publicly published in Finland.

[@samiviljanen2751]

@@pvahanen-dh5rt Oh sut up, kids in here perform very well in every aspect

[@davidmalarkey1302]

Joel, Americans don't see any benefits from their taxes. In the likes of Finland their taxes benefit the people with, education, healthcare, workers and parental rights and are seen as basic human rights not a benefit as they are in America. American taxes fund the military and provide nothing for American citizens. In America everything is run for profit your prison system is run for profit . In Finland the citizens come first not profit. Ask yourself which system provides for its citizens and which does not.

[@SO-Negative]

Yeah the U.S prison system has been marginalized for profit where humans have become the cattle behind bars.

[@Mike-h8m]

Y'all Europeans are just jealous because USA is the most powerful country on the planet.

[@xenotypos]

The thing is, the culture needs to be right for such a system to work. It doesn't really work where I live (France). Nordic countries generally have disciplined citizens, a relatively homogenous population who cares about the "community". That sense of community, of everyone working in the same direction, doesn't really exist where I live, nor in USA honestly.

[@RickTheClipper]

You missed the point, how fluent those young children were in a foreign language i.e. English and how responsible they acted

[@JOKEMMM]

This usually happens in smaller European countries, where a lot of English movies and series are shown in the original language. As a kid you just absorb the language like it's nothing. On the other hand bigger countries (France, Spain, Brazil, ...) they watch everything dubbed in their own language, hence the bigger language barriers over there and more mono lingual people. USA even goes one step further and just buys the rights to said European movie and just remakes it in their own vision and language :) ("A man called Ove) Is a good example ;)

[@mikaeljakobsson8288]

It's not only that they can speak a foreign language. Finnish is not even Indo European so it's completely different. Most Finns speak with a strong accent and struggle to pronounce common sounds like th, ou and st.

[@wiebren2498]

That is what I noticed too. Good point!

[@daveamies5031]

@@mikaeljakobsson8288 When I was in Finland earlier this year I had no issue understanding the English of anyone I meet. Admittedly I was there for an IT conference and most of the people I interacted with were IT people, but I did go to shopping centres and ate in food courts and café's, bought gloves (the ones I brought from Brisbane didn't cut it). I really enjoyed my time there, the people were great, but I couldn't live there it's too cold for me

[@RickTheClipper]

@@daveamies5031 Hard work is the warmest clothing

[@mikeanderson2730]

About the taxes. Studies have shown that an American that want´s the same standard of living as a Scandinavian, have to pay more than an person living in North Europe. This because the basic taxes are lower in the U.S, but social security insurance, healthcare insurance, tuition for schools, taxes payed in stores, tip in restaurants etc. makes the U.S citizen pay a substantially higher price for the same services. (Service level often quite a bit lower in the U.S too) Best insight is in the end of this video, if more North Americans realized that as long as you all follow the money, it will only set the top 5% free. The rest of people on this once great nation are left behind.

[@retrieveri]

I was an exchange student from Finland in a big high school in the US in 1980's. I took the hardest math and scince senior classes. But everything they taught, I already had studied in Finland in 8th or 9th grade. And BTW, even university studies are free here. Or there is a payment: the government pays university students monthly fee, basically enough for dormatory rent and books. You can also get a low interest student loan, and if you graduate fast enough, that loan is changed to grant (no paying back).

[@femaleonthewatch]

My niece went to an US highschool as an exchange student, her stay was scheduled for half a year. She returned after three months saying that there wasn´t much to learn for her there, so she came back to continue her studies in an european school.

[@samhartford8677]

Haha, the same for me in the early 1990s. My math, French and Spanish teachers through me out of class in a couple weeks. I didn't even have to do anything for math but I just did the exams for French and Spanish. None of it was valid in a Finnish high school. Worse I tried to refresh my French when at uni in the United Kingdom. Let's just say the level was worse than in middle school/peruskoulu (and this was not general studies French but actually degree level/minor subject level French teaching). I would have rather sliced my wrists than sit a year in that class.

[@Ms._Cacao]

The government doesn’t pay it. You do with your own taxes

[@user-gr5tx6rd4h]

@@Ms._Cacao Of course. But (here in Europe at least) we get very good value for that money!

[@vez3834]

​@@Ms._Cacao yes, but you get to pay later and get to focus on studying

[@satuhanna-wi4eq]

I am a Finn with average salary. So far I have made this year 40 000 euros. From that I have paid 10 000 euros in taxes. I am a happy tax payer. And oh, my daughter just graduated from the university of Helsinki, master's degree in data science, and I think she needed to pay some 50 euros a year or something for the university studies. So that's about 20 years of practically free, and quite good quality education.

[@alyare]

When I was in teachers college I did my thesis on Finland's education system. The amount of time on research was not only insane, but I really loved learning all about it. I love the Finnish education system.

[@sikkepossu]

5:48 A Finn here. I have "a middle class" salary and my tax is about 23%. Not bad IMHO.

[@xnor64]

That is around 2900usd a month and income tax is only part of the taxes and since the taxes are progressive, if you get a 100usd raise you would take home about 60usd because even at that level the marginal tax is about 40%. There is VAT that in general is 25.5% for food 14%, gasoline is taxed at over 100% (of the price about 60% is tax), about a third of electricity price is tax. Insurances are taxed which makes absolutely no sense. On the other hand property tax is negligible and pension payment is hidden from people which slihtly explains the low wages, but it is a ponzi scheme so the pension is not owned by the employee. Infact if your employer has an extra 100usd they could afford to give you as raise, you would get less than half. I think taxing is most unfair around there where people work hard for their money and any extra effort is heavily penalized with high marginal taxes. Of course things could be worse in other ways, but taxes cannot go much higher.

[@joona2000]

I've heard many times foreigners saying "but you pay 60% tax in Finland". I don't know where that comes from. Maximum tax is 56,4% and for that your monthly salary needs to be 80 000€ which is insane amount. Mid range salary is around 3000€ per month and for that you have 23-24% tax. Last time I worked part time I paid 16% tax, not 60% as it's often incorrectly said by the people who don't know how things are in Finland.

[@Jiusonium]

Ei kyse ole pelkästään palkan verotuksesta, vaan kokonaisveroasteesta. Se on suomessa aivan järkyttävän kova. Esimerkiksi autosta maksetaan todella kovat verot sitä ostaessa, sit se kerran verotettu kapistus verotetaan vuosittain uudelleen. Lisäksi sun on otettava siihen vakuutus, josta maksat vakuutusveroa ja polttoaineesta kahta veroa; alvia ja polttoaineveroa. Aivan järjettömän kallista elää tässä maassa.

[@joona2000]

@Jiusonium Näin varmasti on. Omaa kokemusta minulla ei ole autosta kun en omista, enkä osaa ajaakaan. Vaikka osaisin, ei olisi siihen varaa.

[@xnor64]

​@@joona2000 You can earn at 0% tax if your yearly income is small, but that is only in name because you still pay around 9% pension and employer pays about 18%, which adds up to roughly 25%. Pension system is a ponzi scheme by design in Finland. The money you pay goes to the current pensioners and is not saved as you might think. That is why it is more accurate to call it a tax than anything else. The tax system is complicated and deceiving. If you take a job to earn a small amount of money to buy a thing, you have 0% tax rate but ended up paying 40% in taxes anyway due to "pensions" and VAT.

[@koalameat9523]

Im Danish and happily pay 42 pct in taxes for the system we enjoy

[@ravenfin1916]

In Finland, everything depends on how much you earn, but our taxes are still not as high as in Denmark. I would still pay more taxes if they were for the common good. In America, it's called communism.

[@stzi7691]

So glad it works for you guys. In Germany we pay also nearly 50% and our schools are a mess. We get (and got) pulled over the table by our politicians big time!

[@baph0met]

Im Czech, I don't happily pay 60% in taxes for broken roads, horrible traumatic non-functional educational system and medieval style healthcare.

[@Ville-u8g]

Yes brother! Same here. I am way happy to pay taxes for what we get in return. Plus those kids are going to be our future, keeping the system going strong 👍

[@femaleonthewatch]

@@stzi7691 That may be your personal view. I´m generally ok with the spending of the taxes I pay here in Germany. There may be issues that could be handled better, but it´s certainly not "a mess".

[@merjakotisaari9046]

As a Finn, my total tax is about 57%, but it pays for education, healthcare, elderly care, unemployment insurance, housing support, if you apply for a job in another city or country, taxes pay for travel to the job search location. Taxes also pay for some of the medicines you need.

[@fu6817]

I have no income and i still have to pay 20% taxes :D

[@Fortuna88828]

Plus the overall infrastructure like roads, railways, and security and safety (police, army), etc.

[@mutkaluikkunen3926]

Another Finn here. Have to you had to use the public healthcare recently? It was pretty bad before the savings implemented by the current government, but now it's gotten really bad.

[@user-gr5tx6rd4h]

@@mutkaluikkunen3926 I guess you have to spend much more than earlier on strengthening your military defense becauise of the Kremlin fascists? Sad but necessary.

[@Fortuna88828]

@@mutkaluikkunen3926 yeah, now it depends quite a lot on where you happen to live. I have received excellent care here in the capitol region, but my cousins in a small town in central Finland have no access to health care in their home commune which is very sad.

[@t.a.k.palfrey3882]

One element of school life which you missed, Joel, is that in Finland teachers are accepted as the professionals they are. Just as in Australia, elsewhere in the EU, in the UK, and in Japan, teachers are generally well respected for their qualifications and their unique roles in society. Yes, parents may help out, but they have little or no say in curriculum, how classes are run, or what facilities the school has. It always bemused me whilst in the US that untrained parents tried to tell education professionals both how and what to teach. They don't ask to participate in surgery on their kids, in piloting the planes they ride in, in repairing the buses they go to school in, or even in cooking at the restaurants where they occasionally eat. So why should a parent, who may be a lawyer or a hairdresser or a police officer or even a truck driver, feel they know enough to tell teachers how to do their job?

[@daveamies5031]

I find it hilarious that the parents allow religion can dictate what can be taught in science, reminds me of some other countries that do that too like Afghanistan and Iraq.....

[@sophiemoser1752]

The problem is, every parent once was a student as well, so they think they are experts because they all went to school. But the teacher's point of view is totally different

[@paiviliias7387]

Nice reaction, thank you 😊 In grades 1-9 every child will learn at least 2 foreign languages: if I remember correct, first foreign language starts at age 9 and Swedish is mandatory as we have two official languages here. I went to school ages ago (lol) and studied German, then Swedish, later English and Estonian at work. And what comes to taxes: I consider myself as quite typical middle class income with 25% taxation - happy to pay considering our society and services within. Greetings from snowy 🇫🇮 and merry Christmas!

[@vez3834]

I started English in 3rd grade and Swedish in 7th. From what I remember, Swedish was made to start earlier for the poor souls after us. To something like 6th or even 5th(?) grade. Not sure.

[@dangerousalphabets5267]

My child is seven and in the first grade. They started English right away. There was also an option to start with French instead. The next option for a second language is in the third grade. In our school it is either German or Swedish but you don't have to start anything. Mandatory Swedish starts in the sixth grade.

[@urosleijona]

And they say at America is land of the free... If you leave kids play without adult outside on apartment yard, somebody calls cops, CPS, fire department, ambulance and etc. When I was 8 or 9 I took a bus and went along to city center or swimming hall. But that's just normal life in Finland.

[@Polydeukes68]

We pay less than Americans if you consider all you have to pay separately vs. what we get for our tax money. There has been many videos about this where they calculate it out.

[@SO-Negative]

Finnish taxes are like from the people for the people where as U.S taxes are from the people for some of the people.

[@vez3834]

Instead of having politicians that are held accountable, the US has for-profit health care, prisons and schools.

[@90Pekkis]

”I don’t want to pay high taxes but i’m ok paying $30k a year for my childs education.”

[@phoenix-xu9xj]

And health insurance,

[@daveamies5031]

From looking at the Finnish tax rates I think most people would not even pay that much in taxes, so if people in the USA just put what they spend on education and health alone into taxes, they could fund a world class healthcare and education system, instead of being put to shame by countries like Indonesia

[@mattilahde5220]

With 100 000$/year in USA you can not get the same lifestyle you get with 50 000€/year in Finland

[@stzi7691]

@@daveamies5031 That seems to be the price for the biggest military in the world. But defend what when nothing is left, except the freedom of US countries rocks to roll downhill into the nearby abandoned town?

[@daveamies5031]

@@stzi7691 The funny part is most people in Europe are more "free" than the US, at least that's how it seems to me as an outsider from down under, I look at places like Finland and think if it wasn't so cold I could live there, I look at the USA and think there is no way I could live there, too restrictive.

[@Pietruska17]

It used to like this. Now every class in bigger citys have 5 or more kids who speak finnish as second language. And they need more support. Teachers burn out and there is big problems with violence. Good times are in past. I used to work in school, never again.

[@jroutasula5250]

yes it is better than real professional teacher do work and try to do their best for future to Finland.

[@kv6uf]

Much love from Finland 💙 Nobody is perfect, but I think nowadays we try to decide and do things with the best intention for the next generations in mind.

[@OrcCorp]

All the finnish people won the lottery of being born in the best place possible. I'm happy for my 6yo son to start elementary school next autumn (he is currently in the pre-school for 5-6yo children). No better place on earth for him to grow up.

[@anttijarvio8790]

Did you notice that Minttu is about ten years old and she already speaks English. It is quite common for Finns to speak up to six languages.

[@annicecooper8105]

Because no-one learns Finnish for fun! It's why we Brits get so lazy with languages, everywhere we go speaks English. That's no excuse however.

[@khatack]

No, it really isn't. I don't know what sort of bubble you live in but speaking more than two languages is NOT common at all in Finland, six is almost unheard of.

[@daveamies5031]

You might find they actually pay less in taxes than the USA, from what I found online their income tax ranges from 12.6% to 44% depending on income with 0% for lowest income people, then they have VAT (like sales tax or GST in Australia) of 25.5% but some items have lower VAT rates of 0-15% seems like a quite fair system, from looking at the scales it looks like I'd pay about 5-10% less tax in Finland than I do in Australia for the same income.

[@MikkoRantalainen]

You can be a temporary teacher even without Master's degree but you do have to earn Master's degree even to have a permanent primary school teacher. Even preschool education requires Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education degree for the teachers here in Finland. The biggest gap in the Finnish teacher education is ability to use computers. As I see it, the teachers would need to be able to teach kids stuff about computers that those kids will need for their first job. Instead, those teachers are typically behind the curve when it comes to computers because the university system that educates those teachers is still about paper and pen mostly.

[@kaisapyo]

The teachers that use most tech, computers and other devices, are middle aged women.

[@Fortuna88828]

The cost per pupil in average public school in 2022 was 5500 euros in Finland and 15 000 dollars in the US.

[@MikkoRantalainen]

8:10 I think this is not exactly accurate. Schools in Finland do get compared at government level and poorly performing schools get extra financial support to get to the same level with other schools. So the comparision is done but it's used to make sure every school performs equally well, not to find out best schools for the rich parents.

[@lucalisko]

I'm also wondering if it depends on where you live? Is the municipality (kunta) responsible for placing the funds etc. I'm just thinking that some schools seem to have much bigger and advanced facilities but maybe that's just the school's values on how they choose to spend the money? My former school where i live would have never set up a playstation or other fun for kids to do indoors or allow us to stay inside for recess unless it was -25 c because they see it as harmful or at least not at all beneficial for children's education. Also the teachers seem to not care for the students as much in some smaller schools based on a few of my friends' experience in another school in our municipality. I'd be interested to know as a third year in high school (lukio) if you have any more insight on this?

[@nntflow7058]

You misunderstood what he said. He said the data is collected and used by "Us" aka the school which is part of the government system. They did use this data to compare the school. BUT what the reporter means by comparing is to compare test scores between students in the same school. Which is the normal practice in Australia and the rest of the world.

[@metalmusicdiscord]

the main differences are that the teacher is merely an aid, a tutor if you will to guide the pupils and make sure to guarantee their learning success. the students mostly learn at their own pace. teachers are extremely well educated in Finland and it's seen as a prestigious job. They are very respected there. And there are few.. if any private or "elite" schools. So people of all income groups visit the same schools.

[@SuperHawk0413]

i've lived in Norway and there are quite a lot of private school there...Finland may be different.

[@metalmusicdiscord]

@@SuperHawk0413 from wikipedia: "There are few private schools. The founding of a new private comprehensive school requires a decision by the Council of State. When founded, private schools are given a state grant comparable to that given to a municipal school of the same size. However, even in private schools, the use of tuition fees is strictly prohibited, and selective admission is prohibited, as well: private schools must admit all its pupils on the same basis as the corresponding municipal school. In addition, private schools are required to give their students all the education and social benefits that are offered to the students of municipal schools. Because of this, existing private schools are mostly faith-based or Waldorf schools"

[@jvalfin3359]

This would never work in the U.S because this system is not in the interest of campaign donors. It's sad but it's the truth, politicians are pretty much bought and paid for, even though the people would probably want this.

[@jroutasula5250]

education is business in USA (as healt care too).

[@Mr4dspecs]

That’s an Australian Broadcasting Corporation report! I wish Australia would adopt Finnish educational methods.

[@insiainutorrt259]

Cannot fix schools only they are one among many parts of society.... need to take a look in the mirror

[@Biljoona]

Not for long if the current trend continues at 0:10. Greetings from Finland.

[@matshjalmarsson3008]

Not sure about Finland, but in Sweden we pay around 30% of income tax (more if you earn a lot), but then we don't have to pay for dental up to 21 yo or so, we don't need to have health insurance, we get free of charge education (including college/Uni), ambulance rides are free etc etc. I'm happy to pay taxes.

[@bertillassenius8604]

My public school in Finland had two mottos already 60+ years ago: We learn for life, not for school and Freedom under responsibility. But this extraordinarily heterogeneous boys' school was ahead of its time in many ways!

[@portlyoldman]

The amount of tax you pay is entirely irrelevant. The only measure is what you get for the money one actually takes home and the standard of living one enjoys. it's very difficult to see how the overall standard of living for the average person in the USA is better than other countries with (arguably) higher taxation. Lower levels of taxation lead to the illusion of better standard of living.

[@MrZiizeli]

Nice reaction, thanks! I really feel sorry for all you smart and intelligent guys over there, and now you have 4 years of absolutely horrible disorder... 😞 Stay strong, stay united, and maybe evacuate to Finland?! 😀

[@sophiemoser1752]

I'm a teacher too, but in Austria, not in Finland. There are many things wrong with our system, but when I compare it to the US-school-system, oh boy... What really scares me: the US is such a huge area and I don't know how the people there will get out of their hamster wheel

[@veijo4618]

Kids from the '80s and early '90s had the privilege of experiencing one of the world's best education systems in Finland. However, for those born later, the decline has been steep-and it's no surprise why. Political decisions have played a major role, but so have shifting societal dynamics. Many children today seem to lack respect, responsibility, and empathy, and socioeconomic factors undeniably play a significant role in the erosion of educational standards.

[@Phiyedough]

Imagine in USA if someone went to a school and talked to the kids in Finnish!

[@jroutasula5250]

or something else language than english or spanish.

[@elisam.5760]

@jroutasula5250 or *some *other language

[@rakrega]

Imagine an American reporter at a Finnish school…

[@jroutasula5250]

@@elisam.5760 I am very sorry my weak english.

[@keijolehtinen5668]

Why here are different.. Because we have TRUST.... If you lose it... TRUST is very important.

[@rakrega]

They have Trump. Almost the same, only 2 letters difference.

[@MikkoRantalainen]

Countries such as USA waste money into pockets of private companies in medical system and education. Taxes are high here in Finland but the money you have left over after mandatory taxes and expenses is still about the same as in the USA after people in the USA pay for schooling and medical insurance. And for poorer families, the system in Finland is even more beneficial.

[@cinderellaandstepsisters]

At last someone tells the facts.

[@jamesharvey9426]

Hey Joel, Im English living in Australia (25 years) in recent times i have become so dispondent with not just US politics, but world politics in general, I would suggest..... Move to Australia! i can vouch it it a bloody awsome place (Melbourne) i have switched off from all politics and my life is so much better, i have also done the same as you and traveled, trust me... Aus is the place, amazing people and great options. Yes expensive! but nothing is for free... a person like you will make it work and your life will be far better for it... i promise! good luck to you brother.. :)

[@hotlineoperator]

As a Finn, I can say that my school system is excellent, the resources were quite good, libraries, sports facilities, school supplies and books, meals - the same for everyone. In addition, there are facilities for sports and hobbies. I should also mention that the army also has good education and food - this is what almost all boys do after school at around 20 years old.

[@mennovroom5537]

In Europe children are thought that "freedom" comes with "responsibility"

[@SuperHawk0413]

*taught not thought...

[@lolafan9]

5:30 THAT’S NOT TRUE OUR SCHOOL IS POOR, AND NO WE DON’T HAVE ANY PLAYSTATIONS!!!!!!!!!!

[@IIIJG52]

Like a regular teacher here in Germany is also a Masters degree level thing right ? I wasnt aware it could be different. Its definetly overkill to be basically a full masters to teach elementary school level math, but oh well.

[@ANONYMOUS23211]

I had one teacher through 1-3 and she decided she wants to educate 7-9 students. I saw her again in year 7 and when i was moving to year 8 she decided again to move up and educate students in vocational school. So i think its good to have masters degree so you have more freedom to decide where and how old students you want to educate.

[@hiekkaroopi]

I'm a Finn. The amount of tax we pay in Finland relates to the amount of income. At the moment I'm paying about 8% tax off my wages.. My husband is just about to retire. We both have been in a low wage category. We own our house and a summer cottage. We own a car. We have everything we ever wanted. I never have to skimp and save on anything.

[@annina134]

Greetings from Finland.

[@Michael_from_EU_Germany]

Merry Christmas to you all! Michael_from_EU-Germany, retired Lecturer for national and international economics

[@merjakotisaari9046]

Taxes also pay for parents to be with the child after birth, and a package with everything necessary for the child's first 3 months.

[@jroutasula5250]

and childbirth costs few hundred euros in Finland, not 10 000$ like in USA.

[@rakrega]

9:35 Hi Joel, you’re right, it’s an investment in a country’s future. It feels to me that the lobby oriented US is focused on short term effects (money) and social democratic countries are more focused on long term effects. The approach to the concept of education is very broad in Finland, so it seems. In all facets I see that everything is used to let the children learn. They learn to make their own choices (to choose your own meal) and take responsibility (clean up after themselves). Through play, children also learn to make choices and discover who they are and where their talents lie 5:02 . Learning does not only come from books. During dinner, I noticed that they eat together with their teachers. 3:30 (How many families in the US eat together at the table every day?) It seems they all drink water and the food looks healthy 3:25 . Due to the absence of mobile phones, they learn to become social beings. It wasn’t the teacher who reminded the girl to go to the canteen. Instead it was the girl who took her own responsibility for her task 2:41. In the canteen the kids learn to cook/bake, trade and count 3:06. I dare to bet that the children are allowed to decide (together) what will happen with the ‘profit’. Not all children in the world can go to school and if they can, unfortunately equality of opportunity is often already decided in the womb by their governments. I find that sad. The youth are the future. Finland understands that sowing and reaping are related. Bravo! No wonder 🇫🇮 is the happiest country of the world🥇for 10 years on a row.

[@Sclero80]

how cool! for the first time and with one of your videos I was able to try automatic voice translation! so I saw you speak Italian, even if your voice changes! 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@Skege1000]

Americans pay enough taxes, but most of the money goes to the military. 7 to 10 % from the military budget would be enough to give "free" healthcare and schools

[@PurpleAlienPlanet]

The funny thing is that the States spend more tax money per capita on healthcare than any country in the EU. It's not that the US doesn't have the money, it's how it's spent that's the issue.

[@kognak6640]

National defense budget is 13% of total US federal budget, $830B of $6160B. 10% of it is $250 per capita($83B divided by 345 million people). Maybe it could buy one week of healthcare and schooling. 62% of total budget is spent for social security(mostly retirement payments), medicare, state support(medicaid etc), veterans, food and medical assistance. On top of that US collects way too few taxes as they run massive $1700B deficit, twice as much as national defense. Numbers are from FY2023.

[@flo2677]

There is also private schools in Finland and rest of the EU as well, but the main policy is to have a good quality public education/facility system.

[@PurpleAlienPlanet]

And private schools in Finland (the few that are there) are not allowed to charge tuition fees and get the same amount of money from the government. They also have to adhere to the national curriculum, etc.

[@mikekelly702]

Man, after watching this, I now realize.....like hitting a brick wall....how BAD the American education system IS.

[@JoriDiculous]

Main difference, besides the hours (which are pretty similar for the Nordics though); is the Teachers are in charge. Not so much in Norway anymore where the students right to misbehave trumps and teachers are not allowed to "be hard". In Finland the students respect their teachers words, sit quiet and learn. Finland really have a school system everyone should work hard to come close too. Even in Norway where we have a lot more money per captia (and in general) than Finland will ever have, are far behind Finland when it comes to the schools and school system.

[@brandonjames7408]

Love these comparison videos Joel. Great for you to expose the "evils" of Socialism. As an Aussie I'm happy to pay higher taxes for healthcare, education and social security. All the best for Xmas and New Year. X

[@neeag4112]

Your teachers don't have a masters degree...?

[@vez3834]

In the US, a bachelor's is the general requirement. But every state can decide it for themselves. The job is not respected or paid well, and some good teachers pay for school supplies from their own salary.

[@MikkoTikkanen]

Well, if you think about it, the Finnish system is pay-to-play as well, everyone just is required to pay for it through taxes.

[@JeremyParker072]

You said it….it depends what you (ie the government) values.

[@juhagabrieltakkinen1131]

for the taxes, I earn over the median salary and pay roughly 26% but I do not have insurance payments to make, which most if not all Americans forget to tally in these discussions. My health is provided by both the state and also my employer. I would argue that from a pure cost of living index and PPP comparatively, we keep a higher portion of our earnings that a similar American would. And can afford to live in roughly every possible rent environment available.

[@Zarniwooper]

I dont have health insurance. I pay 2.5€ per prescription in pharmacy. Not per drug. Per prescription. If i want to take 1 box of drug its 2.5€. If I want to take 5 boxes, its 2.5€. This drug is up to $250 per box in USA.

[@gerwinbitter4968]

There was a close working relationship on educational issues between Finland and the old GDR so I have heard.

[@bertillassenius8604]

I believe that two reasons why Finland has been classified as the world's happiest country for six years in a row are: That we value intangible values ​​highly and That trust is important; both for each other and for society. For example, 80-90% have great trust in both the legal system and the tax authorities!

[@KrK-EST]

In 🇪🇪Estonia (south nabour of Finland) we have the same results but with fraction of the funding. (Yes still free food and free education for children)

[@LudwigRohf]

Most Americans don't know about the awesome school system in Finland. Most Germans do and we have done the opposite for years! That's even worse!

[@cinderellaandstepsisters]

Most Americans know nothing about Finland.

[@Michael_from_EU_Germany]

PISA test * 2022 Participating countries: 81 - Comparison USA/Canada/Europe selection Mathematics (in points/place) Average: 472 / Best: 575 (Singapore) Estonia 510 (07) / Canada 497 (09) / Ireland 492 (11) / Denmark 489 (12) / UK 489 (12) / Australia 487 (16) / Finland 484 (20) / Germany 475 (24) / France 474 (26) / Spain 473 (27) / Italy 471 (30) / Norway 468 (32) / USA 465 (34) / Science (in points/place) Average: 485 / Best: 561 (Singapore) Estonia 526 (06) / Canada 515 (08) / Finland 511 (09) / Australia 507 (10) / Ireland 504 (11) / UK 500 (15) / USA 499 (16) / Denmark 494 (19) / Germany 492 (22) / France 487 (26) / Spain 485 (28) / Norway 478 (32) / Italy 477 (33) / Reading (in points/place) Average: 476 / Best: 543 (Singapore) Ireland 516 (02) / Estonia 511 (06) / Canada 507 (08) / USA 504 (09) / Australia 498 (12) / UK 494 (13) / Finland 490 (14) / Denmark 489 (15) / Italy 482 (20) / Germany 480 (21) / Norway 477 (24) / France 474 (29) / Spain 474 (29) / Worldwide TOP5: clear winners comes from Asia Best in North/South-America: clear winner is: Canada Best in Europe: clear winner is: Estonia * The PISA test is only about these subjects. Nothing about economics, history or geography.

[@LudwigRohf]

@@Michael_from_EU_Germany Pisa 2000 in Germany Teachers, Ministers, Administrations: "O Dear, our pupils are so bad! Now we have to do something" Pisa 2023 in Germany Teachers, Ministers, Administrations (formerly known as the pupils that failed the Pisa-Test) "Dude, why kids so bad, hu?" I think, children should also develop a personality at school. School is about culture, about social skills, critical faculty ... not knowledge only.

[@arirytkola8119]

Anyone noticed how that 11 year old girl understood order made in English? Don't know when kids these days start learning English, but in my time it was 3rd grade (around 10 year old)

[@Urbankin]

Finland taxation is heavily deductable. Average is 45,9% but I would say it is closer to 35% after deductions like children, mortage. Big portion of goverment income is from VAT and Embloyer taxes. For individual,, roughly same taxation as in USA. We just don't spend half of budget on military

[@someone-fg9sz]

Thats some fancy school mine looked like an old factory or a box made from bricks

[@jurgenschmidt2759]

Interesting fact to know, the finnish school system is similar to the one in former East Germany (some say it was based on it, but that is probably not true), so when the wall came down in 1989 and East Germany became part of the West Germany, we actually gave up the better education system for the worse one. Sad truth. (But of course nobody misses the ideological conditioning coming with East German education system.)

[@cubertmiso]

Some students are stuck in "open space concept" schools too, just like their parents. Filled with constant noise -> ADHD-factory.

[@finnishculturalchannel]

That's more on the line of how it should be. In reality there are loads of problems in the Finnish school system. All those problems, wich are elsewhere, are also present in Finland, if not to the same extent. That been said, the Finnish school system has been forerunner E.g.regarding the free school lunches. Relating to school system, also library system is good and taken pride in. Probably one reason why the grownup Finns rank high in PISA study. The libraries are also often architectural jewels: "Why these Finnish libraries are the best in the world - Espoo, Finland", "TheRuudy Is This the World’s Best Library? Oodi, Helsinki" and "Aklatan Online 1 The National Library of Finland".

[@JYRIVIRMA]

It is bs that "we do not compare schools with each other" Yes the administration in Finland have tried to restrict comparing, but what can you do - the parents do it no matter what. And the older classes still get their diplomas with scores for each subject they study and the parents surely compare dirrerent schools as far as what kind of grades dirrerent schools deliver. Parent can move their children to any other school they want.

[@chansetwo]

I went through K-12 public education followed by public university in the US. I loved college because I love to learn - still do. But, K-12 was totally uninspiring. The subjects were bland, the teachers seemed disengaged, resources were lacking, and the students uninterested. There is much room for improvement in US public education.

[@Tyrisalthan]

The video was a bit dishonest when they said every school gets the same money, even though it is technically somewhat true. It is the same money per children, so bigger schools with more students also gets more money. For example a city school with 500 students get 50 times more money than small village school that only has 10 students. That's why many of the smaller schools have been closed, not enough students to keep them afloat. That school shown in the video was probably one of the larger schools in Finland, so they also get larger amount of money to afford all that fancy equipment.

[@anu83]

And getting to that university so you could become a teacher is not easy in Finland. I mean you really need to want it like the teacher in this video said, and even then you might not get in. I mean my cousin wanted to be a teacher and she got in to the university on her third year of trying and she was willing to go to Lapland that is like 12 hour drive. Which is crazy in Finland.

[@Michael_from_EU_Germany]

Finland used to be at the top a few years ago. They have since fallen back a little in the rankings. The new generation of students is less fond of the Finnish system. PISA test * 2022 Participating countries: 81 - Comparison USA/Canada/Europe selection Mathematics (in points/place) Average: 472 / Best: 575 (Singapore) Estonia 510 (07) / Canada 497 (09) / Ireland 492 (11) / Denmark 489 (12) / UK 489 (12) / Australia 487 (16) / Finland 484 (20) / Germany 475 (24) / France 474 (26) / Spain 473 (27) / Italy 471 (30) / Norway 468 (32) / USA 465 (34) / Science (in points/place) Average: 485 / Best: 561 (Singapore) Estonia 526 (06) / Canada 515 (08) / Finland 511 (09) / Australia 507 (10) / Ireland 504 (11) / UK 500 (15) / USA 499 (16) / Denmark 494 (19) / Germany 492 (22) / France 487 (26) / Spain 485 (28) / Norway 478 (32) / Italy 477 (33) / Reading (in points/place) Average: 476 / Best: 543 (Singapore) Ireland 516 (02) / Estonia 511 (06) / Canada 507 (08) / USA 504 (09) / Australia 498 (12) / UK 494 (13) / Finland 490 (14) / Denmark 489 (15) / Italy 482 (20) / Germany 480 (21) / Norway 477 (24) / France 474 (29) / Spain 474 (29) / Worldwide TOP5: clear winners comes from Asia Best in North/South-America: clear winner is: Canada Best in Europe: clear winner is: Estonia * The PISA test is only about these subjects. Nothing about economics, history or geography.

[@biljancanin]

We pay taxes based on our bruto earnings. The more you earn, the higher your taxes. You can pay more than 40% taxes, but then you are like rich rich, or your taxes can be as low as 0%. It all depends. School is not the only thing that money is used for. It goes to literally everywhere.

[@TheeccenteictherapistBellaneph]

We should want it this way in the usa

[@RefurbIshment-z7l]

Half your country can't even speak English. Half listen to cop hating rap music. Full of people smoking weed. Etcetera why it won't happen 😅

[@just_passing_through]

I think a huge part of why parents in the USA feel the need to interfere with the education of their children and berate the teachers, the schools, and the entire system is that they get so frustrated because the education system is so bad to begin with, and outcomes and literacy levels are so poor. If the system was fixed, maybe they could have some faith in it and take a step back. When you know that 70% of high school graduates will leave school with the literacy level of a 12 year old, how can you expect them to sit back and not try to interfere?

[@ImportantAndUseless]

The system that we have for evaluating our teachers should apply to our politicians as well.

[@oreokeks9356]

Like in Germany manny things are free for students but some times u need to pay for books and stuff, as a child we go like 6h a day too school and in the vocational school we went from 7 till 15 a clock 😂 so we have like 4hours a day free time to use a day ( if u go sleep 6-8h , travel, eat and stuff) so the older u get the less free time u have and the lower creativity u can use and than everyone is in their life rhythm and so on. Kinda sad if u think about it. I like that Germany has a system at all but it could be so much better

[@SO-Negative]

10:50 This, because.... In U.S individualism is valued and that's what "American dream" means. They say "in America anyone can be anything" but that means anyone in singular form, anyone can be anything individually, where as Finland has more of "everyone can be anything" mentality. Whole country of USA was build on individual values by pilgrims, everyone came to be what they want to be as that was the selling point of moving to USA, sadly that method of building the country put the needs of one in front of the needs of many and came along with the heavy cost of genocide too. There is no nice way to say this but USA was build on greed.

[@johnfrancismaglinchey4192]

JOEL. This is a classic example of your content,, and what comes through almost every time is the fact that you’re going to find it almost impossible to stay in AMERICA and live a contented life,,, bring up a family and plan for your life in a way that doesn’t involve setting your principles to one side and be happy as just another person on the treadmill.

[@jyrisalminen2348]

Hi from Finland..

[@varajalka]

It would be interesting to see what would happen if USA banned private schools and public schools wouldn't be able to raise any additional funds outside of taxes. Would nothing change and rich families would just send their kids to another country to study. Would there pop up illegal underground private schools or a lot more home schooling and private tutors. Or would rich families lobby for raised taxes that would be directed into raising overall quality of all schools to acceptable level. I do feel that if wealthy are forced to use public services that usually leads to public services improving in quality, but I also don't think for a moment that this kind of change could happen in USA

[@zone700]

Reading skills have significantly deteriorated in schools today. In large cities, the integration of children with immigrant backgrounds can pose challenges, and there have unfortunately been reports of violence and criminal behavior in schools. Gang-related crime has increased, often driven by complex societal factors such as failed integration and social exclusion. These issues require proactive and effective measures to support the growth of children and youth in a safe environment.

[@SuviMatinaro]

Hi from Finland. I have seen several videos in which they compare costs between the US system and Finnish/German/Swedish system. Americans pay more.

[@SuviMatinaro]

…and benefit fom it less. Like health care. You have taxes and insurance, but you still might not be reinbursed for the recieved care. Here I can go to any hospital and recieve care free of charge. Also medication is very cheap here.

[@maiziedancing8946]

Our US schools have plenty of funding to do this, but that’s not the goal of our school system. Our system is to create low education factory workers. Enough education to push the right buttons at work, not enough education to understand how the world works. And the kids in this video don’t have just freedom, they have responsibility, which lets them know their own capabilities.

[@mbt2514]

I'm from Sweden and I'm afraid that we have americanized our system to the extent that private school grades don't even correspond to the actual knowledge of the students. This finnish system looks like the Swedish school systen from before, the way I grew up, when it was equal.

[@rakrega]

Imagine an American reporter at a Finnish school… You can only have an open mind if you are curious. If you think you’re the best in the world, you’re less likely to be curious. That’s why I’m not surprised that an Australian broadcaster is in Finland for research. If it had been a US reporter, I would have been astonished. In the top 10 happiness ranking for countries 2024, you’ll find 8 European countries, Australia and Israel. Finland is #1 for 10 years on a row 👏🏻 The US dropped to #23 (#15 in 2023) with a sharp decline in youth happiness.

[@GiantHaystack]

Unfortunately, by denying a rounded education and critical thinking skills, governments all over the world are able to keep people repressed and accepting of what they have because they're constantly told 'it's the best' and because the curiosity people have has been removed from this assessment of life, they believe and accept it. I would hope that more people see this and ask questions of their elected officials as to what this isn't the norm.

[@maximushaughton2404]

I really wish Americans would get off the idea of higher taxes in places like Finland. Yes they pay at the top rate 44%, which pays for a Public Health system, schools, and a lot more, plus everyone one is covered. In the US yes you may pay lower taxes to the government, but add in all the other taxes you have, then just add Health insurance, you pay around 43%, oh!! and that's not including the the copay's and deductibles that come with health insurance. Now who has the better deal?

[@Gabriell0684]

Taxes require trust in the system. I don't like any of the two sides, but you can tell if people hate taxes, they see them as a robbery, not as a social collaboration.

[@sphinxwar8529]

People in the US are not fine with paying high taxes, but you already have higher taxes than many EU countries that have free education.

[@calebloder4830]

Important to remember the population differences here. Finland: 5.6 million. USA: 335 million. It's much easier to "socialize" things like healthcare or education when you're dealing with 1.6% of the number of people.

[@erkkavilhunen7852]

Larger population, larger payer base. Many times people say USA is too big, it can't do what small countries do. What exactly is this mythical limit, 10, 100, 200 or 300 million people? Japan has 125 million and it can have proper education and health care. Other common reason given is diversity. Blacks and Latinos can't have proper health care for biological reasons? All just excuses. In reality USA has better possibilities than any other country to do best system anywhere ever. Reason why its not done is very simple. People are selfish. Its all me me me give me more and more money. Great majority of USA population would benefit from well educated and healthy population but they are sold full on selfishness from birth. This benefits top 1% the most rest be damned.

[@femaleonthewatch]

Did you know that home schooling is illegal in Europe? It´s considered as child abuse. Because it deprives the child from social experiences with all kinds of other children and also because it gives the parents unlimited power to manipulate the child, f.e. on religous and/or political views. Children here are not considered "private property" but rather a precious contribution to society in general and we want them to be well educated to be able to be critical and decide for themselves what they think or believe. It´s a completely different approach: children are seen as a contribution to common wealth, so accordingly the community is prepared to pay for their education.

[@ChefMatt420]

Not completely true with private school funding now. People can now get vouchers to send their kids to private schools on our dime, and that’s NOT COOL at all. Also, funding of public schools depends on local budgets. Coronado, CA with a huge millionaire population (and military that is counted on the census, but doesn’t vote there) has a much better budget than the schools across the bridge in San Diego. Our systems are designed to benefit the wealthy.

[@hoblon]

Finland's society is not homogenous. We moved here four years ago, and although we live in a small town, our daughter's class has kids from different countries. Even this little town has a specialized school for immigrant students' early adaptation. This video is quite short and does not describe many important details, but it's a good start. As for the taxes - Finland uses a progressive scale. The more you earn, the higher the percentage. There are some downsides to this system, but there is enough money to invest in education and medical care.

[@SK-nw4ig]

Nice continuum for this would be school lunch program in Finland. By law since WWII school has had to offer food for a student: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b3W1c6majamsh5o

[@Michael_from_EU_Germany]

1. The problem of education in the western industrialized countries is: Teacher generation 1 + student generation 1: The best pupils/students go into the economy after leaving school or university. The students who are mediocre become teachers. These mediocre teachers then train the next generation. From the new generation, the mediocre ones become teachers again. A few years later ... The new generation becomes the mediocre teachers again. 2. This system also works in politics. The best go into the private sector. The mediocre ones become politicians or civil servants. These mediocrities then decide on school policy. Do you understand? It is not the best who make school policy, but always the mediocre of a generation. This explains the decline in our western industrialized countries. 3. In Germany, this led to this from 1970 onwards: Incompetent politicians became ministers. Currently, a children's book author is the German Minister of Economics. His most infamous statement during his time as minister: I'm still learning ... An apprentice as economics minister. High-ranking politicians from the SPD and the Greens went into politics immediately after completing their training. They have never “worked”. Some are university dropouts. People, the education system in Germany described above - which also works in the same or a similar way in other industrialized countries has led to this result: The Losers ... the Lame-Ducks ... Those with an IQ far too low! determine our FUTURE, the FUTURE of our children. Michael_from_EU-Germany, retired Lecturer for national and international economics

[@Chaos2Go]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_in_Finland the big difference, and you must never forget that, is that the USA is purely capitalist, there it is simply valid, if something costs a lot, it is worth a lot, and those who have money get the best of the best, while the person who has little or no money gets nothing. in Finland it's the other way around, everyone pays a tax which, as you can see in the Wikipedia link, is not too high, but everyone benefits from it, that is, it doesn't matter whether you have a lot of money or little, from the pool of tax revenues everything is paid so that everyone doesn't know if you earn a lot or a little, can get the same education.

[@dragonfireshield1976]

Title makes it seem like Finland isn't developed.. haha

[@dragonfireshield1976]

Could add 'rest of' before 'developed world'

[@Wintermist-SWE]

People say that Americans just don't care, taxes and what have you... but just listen to everyone that does reactions like this. They want it just as much as we do, see it to believe it, and there we go.

[@GenXGamerGirl_]

America is supposed to be the land of the Free, but from the beginning we have made sure to keep people divided, to stratify based on socioeconomics and religion, as well as the obvious skin color divisions. We are so far from Free or Great, and yet we have so much potential for those things. I think there are a LOT of us that would be willing to pay high taxes if the services were provided - education, healthcare, housing, and a true corrections system instead of a broken punitive system.