After watching “The Finland Phenomenon,” directed by Sean Faust, it is evident that this

film offers a thorough examination of Finland's educational system and the variables that shape
its achievements. The film insists that Finland's approach to education differs from the
conventional approaches used by many other countries, but it has been demonstrated to be
extremely successful. The documentary encourages officials and educators to reconsider their
educational approaches and implement some of the principles and practices used in Finland to
better student results. From the beginning of the film, Dr. Tony Wagner, an innovation education
fellow, and author, details the film's purpose and, most importantly, his research on Finish
education in the 21st century. Dr. Wagner not only does his own research, yet the research
conducted is also self-reflected by the Finnish educators and the students, which I found
interesting. As his research on the education system has encouraged Dr. Wagner to pursue his
interest, he tends to constantly stick to his own research questions to guide him through his
study. These questions are, “What has gotten the Finnish this far” and “what are some of the
lessons we can learn in our own country”? as it is clear that schools from Finland have ranked at
the top compared to the other countries. Therefore, I believe that the audience for this film
applies to educators and teachers in other countries around the world. With this being said, I
think that these teachers can look at the non-traditional techniques that are used in a Finnish
classroom, and apply them to their own, in order to increase the success rate and effective
achievement in their classroom. For example, the video demonstrates how standardized testing
and competitiveness in the US education system can lead to a lack of originality and an emphasis
on memorization. In Finnish schools, educators constantly encourage creativity not only in their
lesson plans but also with their own students regarding what they want to be when they are older.
Yet, it is essential to understand that although the education system of Finland is deemed
to be perfect, the filmmaker brings out some outcomes that arise from the education system,
where teachers seem to be the focus of these effects. It is necessary to highlight, however, that
the Finnish education system is not without defects. For example, the video mentions teacher
burnout and the difficulties in keeping a high standard of quality across all schools. It is obvious
Finland has great pressure of maintaining an excellent academic position compared to different
schools around the world. Moreover, it only makes sense that this burden is being placed on
teachers that are attempting to keep this ranked position at its highest point. They are frequently
attempting to come up with new and creative lesson plans in order for their students to succeed.
Additionally, the film also emphasizes the importance of teacher training and education in
adding to the success of the Finnish education system. Teaching is a highly respected job in
Finland, and teachers must have a master's degree before entering the school. According to the
film, this degree of education guarantees that teachers are highly skilled and knowledgeable,
which improves the standard of education that pupils receive.