NORMAL LIFE: The Proof Is In The Education

Only yesterday, I read online (see here) that Finland continues to be a 'superpower of education', along with South Korea. The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), based on 15-year-olds in 57 countries, shows that Finns excel at reading and maths. This is in addition to topping the Science league table, which was published last week.

This news didn't suprise me and, just this morning, I encountered an educated youth myself. It was dark and windy, and I was waiting for my tram to whisk me away to work. A young boy shuffled aimlessly along the platform. As he neared me, he looked up into my eyes and started talking to me. The boy couldn't have been any older than eight years old.

In Finnish, I explained to him that I couldn't speak his language very well and, automatically, he changed to English. "No problem," he said "could you please tell me what the time is?" I showed him my watch, taking this opportunity to teach him some more English. "It is ten minutes to eight!" I said. He smiled up at me, and I was left speechless.

Imagine an eight year old English child asking for the time in perfect German, French or Spanish. It's not going to happen, is it? The thing that surprised me the most was that his command of the language was spot on - he had phrased the sentence perfectly as if though he had memorised sentences from his last English lesson at school. This experience raises an interesting issue.

At one time, knowing how to speak English made you marketable. Twenty years from now, however, what will the English offer that the rest of the developed/developing world can't?