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The Martin Institute Hosts Screening of "The Finland Phenomenon: Inside the World's Most Surprising School System" on Feb 4

on Wednesday, 14 December 2011. Posted in Events and Conferences

The Martin Institute for Teaching Excellence is pleased to present a free public showing of the education documentary “The Finland Phenomenon: Inside the World's Most Surprising School System” on Saturday, February 4 at 10:00 am at Malco’s Studio on the Square Theater.

Finland’s education system has consistently ranked among the best in the world for more than a decade. Why Finland? Documentary filmmaker, Bob Compton, along with Harvard researcher, Dr. Tony Wagner, decided to find out. A life-long educator and author of the best-selling book "The Global Achievement Gap," Dr. Wagner is uniquely qualified to explore and explain Finland’s success.

In the documentary, “The Finland Phenomenon,” Dr. Wagner guides the viewer through an inside look at the world’s finest secondary education system, seeking to understand the elements that explain Finland’s consistent, superior performance in reading, math, and science education. From spending time in classrooms and through interviews with students, teachers, parents, administrators, and government officials, Dr. Wagner reveals the surprising factors accounting for Finland’s rank as the #1 education system in the world.

Filmmaker Bob Compton is formerly of Memphis and also produced the films "Two Million Minutes in China" and "Two Million Minutes in India." There are many possible conversations that this movie can spark like why one of the top performing educational system doesn't require homework? Or, how does what the Finns do possibly motivate us to rethink mentoring relationships, teacher performance evaluations, and most especially, teacher education?