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Reflections on books and the arts from the New Statesman culture desk

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Read all about it: NS Books of the Year 2012

The New Statesman’s friends and contributors choose their favourite books of 2012.

By New Statesman Published 29 November 2012 12:14
Image: Lori Nix (Library)
Image: Lori Nix (Library)

Index
Rowan Williams | A S Byatt | Ed Miliband | Ali Smith | Melvyn Bragg | Margaret Drabble | Ed Balls | Tracey Thorn | Colm Tóibín | Jesse Norman | Richard J Evans | Alain de Botton | Laura Kuenssberg | Douglas Alexander | Jenny Diski | Jon Snow | Julie Myerson | Simon Heffer | James Wood | Joan Bakewell | Mark Damazer | John Gray | David Willetts | Ruth Padel | Pankaj Mishra | Jane Shilling | Norman Lamont | Simon Blackburn | Michael Holroyd | John Banville | Laurie Penny | Geoff Dyer | Amanda Craig | Leo Robson | Tim Soutphommasane | Olivia Laing | Ed Smith | Colin McCabe | Adam Mars-Jones | David Marquand | Toby Litt | Adam Gopnik | Sarah Churchwell | Douglas Hurd | Adam Thirlwell | Talitha Stevenson | John Sutherland | Andrew Adonis | Christopher Ricks | Jonathan Derbyshire | John Burnside | Geoffrey Wheatcroft | Craig Raine | Peter Wilby | Benjamin Kunkel | Jason Cowley | Alex Preston

(Photo: Getty Images)

Andrew Adonis

My book of the year is Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn From Educational Change in Finland? by Pasi Sahlberg (Teachers College Press, $34.95), an inspirational story of social progress that masquerades as a technical account of the Finnish education system. It includes data from Finnish social surveys showing that Finnish men view teaching as the most desirable profession for a spouse, ahead of nursing, medicine or architecture; and that among Finnish women only medical doctors and vets rate higher than teachers in what Sahlberg calls the “Finnish mating markets”. “This clearly documents both the high professional and social status teachers have attained in Finland,” he adds with dry wit. If only the same were true of England. We could make it so, with a collective will.

 

 

 
 

2 comments

Natacha's picture

Fri, 2012-11-30 00:07 — Natacha (not verified)

Odd that Adonis shoule choose "Finnish Lessons" since it describes the particularly successful education system in Finland which is pretty much the polar opposite of everything Adonis has advocated in our education system.

His support for Free schools and Academies, doesn't sit well with the more unified system in Finland. His point about thestatus of teaching being high in Finland ignores the fact that this is achieved by giving teachers (CLASS teachers NOT Headteachers) more professional autonimy than they ever get in British schools, especially in the academies and Free schools that he supports. This status is also achieved without anything like Ofsted, without league tables and with politicians consulting teachers on any changes to the system.

A far cry from our system, in particular most of what Adonis advocates.

Old Indy's picture

Thu, 2012-11-29 22:55 — Old Indy (not verified)

...So basically saying we should appologize, sorry - "be honest" about New Labour's failings (Brown's, not Blair's of course!) while accepting, sorry, "be candid" of the Tory cuts. Or maybe he really just happen to choose THAT particular book... via David Miliband. While you're at it, am sure Blair would also LOVE it!

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