Spring may be just around the corner in this poor part of Helsinki known as the Deep East, but the ground is still mostly snow-covered and the air has a dry, cold bite. In a clearing outside the Kallahti Comprehensive School, a handful of 9-year-olds are sitting back-to-back, arranging sticks, pinecones, stones and berries into shapes on the frozen ground. The arrangers will then have to describe these shapes using geometric terms so the kids who can't see them can say what they are.
在赫尔辛基（芬兰首都），春天临近了，但地面上还是覆盖着积雪，空气又干又冷。在卡拉提综合学校的户外，一群9岁左右的儿童背靠背坐着，在冰封的地面上用木棍、松果、石头和浆果摆放成各种形状。为了使其他没看到的小孩能说出这些形状是什么，摆放的人必须用几何术语来描述这些形状。
"It's a different way of conceptualizing math when you do it this way instead of using pen and paper, and it goes straight to the brain," says Veli-Matti Harjula, who teaches the same group of children straight through from third to sixth grade. Educators in Sweden, not Finland, came up with the concept of "outside math," but Harjula didn't have to get anybody's approval to borrow it. He can pretty much do whatever he wants, provided that his students meet the very general objectives of the core curriculum set by Finland's National Board of Education. For math, the latest national core curriculum runs just under 10 pages (up from 3 1⁄2 pages for the previous core curriculum).
这群孩子的老师，名叫Veli-Matti Harjula，他从三年级一直教到六年级，他说：“跟用笔和纸对比，这是一种不同的数学教学理念，它可以直接印到孩子们的脑海里。”“户外数学”教育的概念实际上出自瑞典，而非芬兰。但Harjula也不必得到任何人的许可。只要他能够让他的学生达到芬兰教育委员会规定的核心课程总目标，他可以采取任何他想得到的方法来实施教学。就数学而言，最新的核心课程只有10页纸（比之前的版本多了3页半）。
The Finns are as surprised as much as anyone else that they have recently emerged as the new rock stars of global education. It surprises them because they do as little measuring and testing as they can get away with. They just don't believe it does much good. They did, however, decide to participate in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), run by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). And to put it in a way that would make the noncompetitive Finns cringe, they kicked major butt. The Finns have participated in the global survey four times and have usually placed among the top three finishers in reading, math and science.
在全球教育界，芬兰人俨然令世人瞩目的一颗新星，就连芬兰人自己也有点吃惊。他们只不过是尽量减少对学生的测试和考核，到现在，他们也不敢相信他们竟然做得那么好。为了给不喜欢竞争的芬兰人一个激励，他们参加了国际经济合作与发展组织（OECD）组织的国际学生评价项目（PISA）。这样全球范围的测试他们参加了四届，在阅读、数学和科学方面，他们三次名列三甲。
In the latest PISA survey, in 2009, Finland placed second in science literacy, third in mathematics and second in reading. The U.S. came in 15th in reading, close to the OECD average, which is where most of the U.S.'s results fell.
最近的一次PISA测试是在2009年，芬兰在科学素养方面名列第二，在数学方面名列第三，在阅读方面名列第二。美国几乎所有的科目成绩都有下降，阅读方面获得第15名，仅仅达到OECD的平均水平。
Finland's only real rivals are the Asian education powerhouses South Korea and Singapore, whose drill-heavy teaching methods often recall those of the old Soviet-bloc Olympic-medal programs. Indeed, a recent manifesto by Chinese-American mother Amy Chua, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, chides American parents for shrinking from the pitiless discipline she argues is necessary to turn out great students. Her book has led many to wonder whether the cure is worse than the disease.
芬兰的实际对手只有来自东方的教育强国南韩和新加波。他们采取的是大量训练的教育模式，让人想起苏联时代的奥林匹克项目。的确，最近一位美籍华人母亲，名叫蔡美儿（Amy Chua），她写了一本书，叫做《虎妈的战歌》，她宣称只有严厉的训练才能调教出好的学生，她批评美国式的父母做不到这一点。她的书引起了很多人的思考，他们怀疑这样做是否太过分了。
Which is why delegations from the U.S. and the rest of the world are trooping to Helsinki, where world-class results are achieved to the strains of a reindeer lullaby. "In Asia, it's about long hours — long hours in school, long hours after school. In Finland, the school day is shorter than it is in the U.S. It's a more appealing model," says Andreas Schleicher, who directs the PISA program at the OECD.
而芬兰这种轻松的教育方式，能够获得世界级的成功，吸引了美国和世界各地的考察团蜂拥到赫尔辛基来学习考察。在OECD负责PISA项目的Andreas Schleicher说：“在亚洲，学生在学校的学习时间很长，下课后的学习时间也很长。而在芬兰，学生在学校的时间比美国少，这是一个吸引人的模式。”
There's less homework too. "An hour a day is good enough to be a successful student," says Katja Tuori, who is in charge of student counseling at Kallahti Comprehensive, which educates kids up to age 16. "These kids have a life."
而且芬兰学生的家庭作业也很少。卡拉提综合学校教育16岁以下的学生，在该校负责学生咨询工作的Katja Tuori说：“对于一个优秀的学生而言，一天一个小时的家庭作业就足够了，这些孩子也有他们的生活。”
There are rules, of course. No iPods or portable phones in class. No hats indoors. (They also tried a no-coat rule, but it was just too cold.) But not much else. Tuori spots a kid texting in class and shoots him a reproachful glance. He quickly puts the phone away. "You have to do something really bad, like hit somebody, to actually get punished," says Tuori.
当然，他们也有校规。在课堂上不允许使用iPod和手机，在屋内不允许戴帽子（他们甚至想规定不准穿外套，但因为天气实在太冷而没有实施）。但也就这么多了。Tuori有一次在课堂上发现一个学生发短信，他用带有责备的眼光瞪了他一眼，他就乖乖地把手机收起来了。Tuori说：“除非学生确实做了坏事，比如打了人，他才会受到惩罚。”
Finland has a number of smart ideas about how to teach kids while letting them be kids. For instance, one teacher ideally stays with a class from first grade through sixth grade. That way the teacher has years to learn the quirks of a particular group and tailor the teaching approach accordingly.
在把孩子当作孩子来教育方面，芬兰具备很多聪明的理念。比如，一个老师会一直跟随一个班级，从一年级直到六年级。这样，老师就有几年的时间来观察学生，因材施教。
But Finland's sweeping success is largely due to one big, not-so-secret weapon: its teachers. "It's the quality of the teaching that is driving Finland's results," says the OECD's Schleicher. "The U.S. has an industrial model where teachers are the means for conveying a prefabricated product. In Finland, the teachers are the standard."
但芬兰教育能取得如此广泛的成功，更大程度上来源于一个不是秘密的武器：他们的教师。OECD的Schleicher说：“是教学的质量引导芬兰教育的成功。在美国，教育已经成为一种工业模式，教师只是一种用来传输预制品的工具。而在芬兰，教师本身就是标准。”
That's one reason so many Finns want to become teachers, which provides a rich talent pool that Finland filters very selectively. In 2008, the latest year for which figures are available, 1,258 undergrads applied for training to become elementary-school teachers. Only 123, or 9.8%, were accepted into the five-year teaching program. That's typical. There's another thing: in Finland, every teacher is required to have a master's degree. (The Finns call this a master's in kasvatus, which is the same word they use for a mother bringing up her child.) Annual salaries range from about $40,000 to $60,000, and teachers work 190 days a year.
这也是为什么有那么多的芬兰人希望成为教师的原因之一。因此芬兰可以从一个很大的人才库中精心挑选教师人选。有据可查的最新数据是在2008年，1258名本科生申请参加小学教师培训，只有123人被接纳，占申请人数的9.8%。这种典型的培训历时5年。另外一个事实是：在芬兰，每一位教师都必须具有硕士学位（他们称之为教育硕士，他们的用词是kasvatus，和母亲教育孩子的用词一样。）教师的年薪介于40000美元和60000美元之间，每年工作190天。
"It's very expensive to educate all of our teachers in five-year programs, but it helps make our teachers highly respected and appreciated," says Jari Lavonen, head of the department of teacher education at the University of Helsinki. Outsiders spot this quickly. "Their teachers are much better prepared to teach physics than we are, and then the Finns get out of the way. You don't buy a dog and bark for it," says Dan MacIsaac, a specialist in physics-teacher education at the State University of New York at Buffalo who visited Finland for two months. "In the U.S., they treat teachers like pizza delivery boys and then do efficiency studies on how well they deliver the pizza."
赫尔辛基大学师范系的负责人，名叫Jari Lavonen，他说：“用5年时间来培训我们所有的教师非常昂贵，但这也使得教师可以获得高度的尊敬和赞扬。”外界对此反响强烈。位于布法罗市的纽约州立大学一位物理教育专家，名叫Dan MacIsaac，他在芬兰考察了2个月，他说：“他们的老师在教授物理方面比我们准备得更好，芬兰人让他们自由发挥，而不是派只看门狗整天看着他们。而在美国，人们对待教师就跟对待必胜客的送餐员一样，研究怎样才能更快地把比萨饼送出去。”
The Finns haven't always had everything figured out. In the 1960s, Finland had two parallel education systems after primary school; brighter kids went one way, laggards went the other. Reforms began in 1968, scrapping two-tier education in favor of one national system. Things still weren't right. "In the beginning, we weren't happy at all," says Reijo Laukkanen, a counselor at the Finnish National Board of Education.
芬兰人也走过了一段曲折的历程。1960年代，芬兰人小学毕业后有2套平行的教育系统，聪明一点的走一条路，迟钝一点的走另外一条路。1968年进行了改革，开始废止一个国家两层教育的系统。事情无法一蹴而就。一位芬兰教育委员会的顾问，名叫Reijo Laukkanen，他说：“刚开始的时候，我们根本就不满意。”
In the '80s, Finland stopped "streaming" pupils to different math and language tracks based on ability. "People in Finland cannot be divided by how smart they are," says Laukkanen. "It has been very beneficial." Next to go, in the '90s, were inspectors who oversaw annual school plans. Schools were so hostile that the inspectors became afraid to make on-site tours.
在80年代，在数学和语言方面，芬兰终止了根据能力来“分流”小学生的做法。Laukkanen说：“在芬兰，不能根据聪明程度对人们进行分类。历史证明这一做法获益良多。”接下来，在90年代，每年安排了检查员对学校的教学计划进行审查，但学校方面非常反感，以至于检查员们都对驻点巡查感到恐惧。
"Finland is a society based on equity," says Laukkanen. "Japan and Korea are highly competitive societies — if you're not better than your neighbor, your parents pay to send you to night school. In Finland, outperforming your neighbor isn't very important. Everybody is average, but you want that average to be very high."
Laukkanen 说：“芬兰是一个公平社会，而日本和韩国则是高度竞争的社会——如果你不能比邻居做得更好，你的父母会花钱让你上夜校。在芬兰，比你的邻居表现出色显得不是很重要，每个人都达到平均水平，当然这个平均水平相当高。”
This principle has gone far toward making Finland an educational overachiever. In the 2006 PISA science results, Finland's worst students did 80% better than the OECD average for the worst group; its brightest did only 50% better than the average for bright students. "Raising the average for the bottom rungs has had a profound effect on the overall result," says MacIsaac.
这一原则导致芬兰在教育方面取得出人意料的成功。从2006年PISA科学素养方面的测试结果看，在最差组别，80%的芬兰学生得分高于OECD的平均分；但在最优组别，他们的学生只有50%得分高于平均水平。MacIsaac说：“从整体上看，提高底线水平获得了深远的效果。”
Some of Finland's educational policies could probably be exported, but it's questionable whether the all-for-one-and-one-for-all-ness that underlies them would travel easily. Thailand, for instance, is trying to adapt the Finnish model to its own school system. But as soon as a kid falls behind, parents send for a private tutor — something that would be unthinkable in Finland. Is Thailand's Finnish experiment working? "Not really," says Lavonen. Would that it could, in Thailand and elsewhere.
芬兰的一些教育政策也许可以输出，但其“人人为我，我为人人”的理念能否轻易输出值得怀疑。以泰国为例，曾经尝试在其自己的教育系统中引进芬兰模式。但一旦一名学生出现落后状况，父母就为他请来家庭教师——这在芬兰是无法想象的。泰国的芬兰式实验获得成功了吗？Lavonen说：“事实上没有。”如果芬兰模式在泰国能够获得成功，那么在世界其他地方也可以成功了。