Indeed, almost everything Finland does contradicts what some experts in America advocate: Most mothers work outside the home; most children are in child care by age one; school begins at age seven and then only for half days; children remain in the same school from age seven to age sixteen; there are no gifted programs; class size often reaches thirty; there are fifteen minutes of recess for every forty-five-minute class (Finnish students spend less time in class than any other developed nation); there is no national curriculum and no standardized testing until age sixteen; all meals are free,
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