Stupid people

[bouillon]

Last year's OECD world education rankings make uncomfortable reading for the bulk of posters here:

http://www.guardian....science-reading

The only solace for the UK is that we rank above the US, based on our average score over the three subjects . But why are we both so low, and falling? What's going on here? Take at look at who's at the top. Finland??? I mean, no disrespect, but what's so special about Finland? How is it that they appear to be doing things so much better than us?

I can't comment on the US education system, but here's a few observations on ours:

My sons are 12 and 14. When I started to read their teachers' comments on their homework many years ago, I was shocked to see that whereas they were criticised for poor handwriting, no attempt whatsoever was made to correct their spelling, and rarely their grammar. When I queried this at parents' evening, I was told that they don't do it anymore. Why? Because it would 'discourage the really bad spellers' . Furthermore, on one of the few occasions that their grammar was corrected, the only error I could see was made by the teacher.

My elder son is a maths genius. Since Year One, he has been about three years ahead of his classmates' standard. He used to love the subject, but now he hates it. Why? Because his school is unable to give him challenging work. They argue that their budgets have been cut. I argue that it would cost no more if he were given more advanced textbooks to study, instead of him wasting his time doing stuff he knew how to do two years ago. They don't listen - and now it doesn't matter anymore, because he no longer has any interest in the subject.

Over the past 30 years, the standards of our O-Levels and A-Levels (taken at 16 & 18 years respectively) have fallen to such an extent that a modern A-Level is hardly more difficult than an O-Level used to be, with the result that everyone is now getting A-grades. So now they've had to introduce tiers of A-grades.

And of course, anyone and their dog can get into university these days. Not a proper university, you understand - mostly second-rate establishments that used to be called Polytechnics, like Luton or Liverpool. They were all upgraded to university status awhile back, to cure the social evil of elitism. So nobody leaves school at 16 anymore to work an apprenticeship in the traditional manual trades. Instead, they go to an ex-Poly to do a degree in Media Studies, or Self-Actualisation Through Macrame. Of course, they all end up unemployed, and hey presto - double whammy: we no longer have enough home-grown plumbers or electricians, so we have to import them all from Lithuania.

Many graduates go on to become teachers - not, as used to be the case, as a vocation, but because there are no cushy jobs-for-life anywhere else anymore. But guess what? Half of them are barely literate (see above points), so they become substandard teachers, and so.....the cycle starts again, and the self-perpetuating downward spiral continues.

Any thoughts?

[ninelives]

My observations on the system in the US is that for starters, we teach to take these standardized tests which measure nothing more than how well you test. So kids are learning how to take a test but not learning concepts - basic grammar, math, history for the purpose of bettering themselves and for us to develop critical thinkers. Kids are getting turned off to learning and with what I see, I can't blame them. There is also the whole "no child left behind" program which pushes kids forward when they really would benefit from being held back and repeating the grade. By the time they reach high school, they're so far behind academically that sadly, many end up dropping out. I also think that technology, video games, the internet has impacted students' ability to retain, think creatively, analyse. They have information at their fingertips and what they grow up with is video - lots of images, fast moving etc. and that's what holds their interest. Many educators (teachers) feel things need to return to the basics. All this whole language, grouping, data driven instruction etc. isn't working and I don't know why the powers that be are afraid to admit it and make changes.

[spidersandsnakes]

Very interesting:)

[Strider]

The education mess in the U.S. is one of those problems that, like the Middle East, seems so exasperating and irretrievably broken that you end up wanting to throw your hands in the air and shout "FUCK IT! Let's nuke it and just start all over."

And EVERYBODY shares in the blame: government, the educational bureaucracy, teachers, parents, students.

I know a couple of teachers and they are good people, love their job, are hardworking and in it for the right reasons. And I hear the horror stories.

But I also know there are quite a few bad apples out there, and trying to get rid of these teachers can prove almost impossible thanks to union and tenure rules.

But to me, at least here in California, it all started to go wrong in the late-70's, when the twin events of Prop. 13 and Social-Engineering began to leave their mark on the school system.

Prop. 13 caused a reduction in local revenues, which simultaneously meant less money for schools and more money and concentrated power in Sacramento.

Then there were the social do-gooders...suddenly it wasn't enough to just teach the 3 R's(reading, 'riting, 'rithmatic). No, now little Johnny and Sally had to feel "good" about themselves. In fact, students self-esteem started to become more important than actual achievement.

2+2=5? That's okay, at least Johnny tried. World War II occurred in 1967? No problem Sally...at least she knew what side won, right? Don't know where Europe is? Who cares...they're just a bunch of America-hating commie fags anyway.

Gold stars for everyone. Your team lost at baseball? Don't cry, everybody gets a trophy. Everybody wins. Cause god forbid someone's kid feels bad about losing or getting the answer wrong.

But that wasn't enough. The baby-boomers, once they started having kids, decided they were the most special and perfect kids in the world. And why not, for the baby-boomers themselves thought they were the most special and perfect generation in the history of mankind! They had invented sex, drugs and rock n roll...and had even ended the Vietnam War and gotten rid of Tricky Dick.

No teacher was going to say a BAD word about their precious child, let alone actually have the nerve to discipline said spoiled brat. So, over time, the power balance shifted in schools, as teachers lost authority and control over the classroom, as the students could pretty much get away with anything short of murder. This coincided with the rise in litigation, so schools began to fear doing anything to upset a student, lest the parents take the school to court.

As the spoiled brats grew up to have spoiled brats of their own, it got worse and worse, until now, where you have in certain schools a complete breakdown in discipline. I go back to my old high school...it looks more like a prison than a school. Every week you read the same stories. Students raping students...teachers raping students...students raping teachers.

Then there's the periodic decrees from the Federal and local do-gooders. Every 5 years somebody claims to have the answer to our educational woes. ESL. Bi-lingual education. Phonetics. Whole reading. New math. No Child Left Behind. It's like Stalin's Soviet Republic or Mao's Red China with their 5-year plans...that always failed.

How can you hope to succeed this way? It's like a sports team that keeps changing GM's and coaches. There's no continuity...no momentum built for the future. Everybody is tugged this way and that every couple of years.

I wish I knew what the answer was...other than dumping Standardized testing and No Child Left Behind and returning to the BASICS. This whole "teaching to the test" is a scourge. Kids don't have to read entire books anymore...the teacher just gives them the parts to read that they'll be tested on. They're memorizing, not learning.

But I fear that the decay has been going on for so long...over 30 years now...and is so ingrained, that nothing short of total destruction and a brand new start will ever get us back on track.

[spidersandsnakes]

The worst thing that can happen to any education system are the REVOLTING cases of paedophilia OFETN covered by up the Church!!!

[BIGDAN]

Last year's OECD world education rankings make uncomfortable reading for the bulk of posters here:

http://www.guardian....science-reading

The only solace for the UK is that we rank above the US, based on our average score over the three subjects . But why are we both so low, and falling? What's going on here? Take at look at who's at the top. Finland??? I mean, no disrespect, but what's so special about Finland? How is it that they appear to be doing things so much better than us?

Any thoughts?

Yeah Loads Bouillon,

In a nut shell, Finland doesnt have much Immigration, or noticable Class System whereas England does, so we tend to have to teach many people English as a second language before we can teach them anything else.

I have had contact with many Finns since the 80s through Martial Arts, they speak English better than the Natives here, they also arent exposed to the Rap Culture anywhere near as much as we are in England and so dont try to speak like a Rapper, maybe they arent trying to create a derogative subculture amongst their teenage citizens.

England is still a very CLASS orientated Country, Inner City Schools tend to be composed of a very large percentage of Immigrants and non-ethnic British Citizens and the Working Class White population, whereas Country Schools tend to be composed of mostly Middle Class White children, and so achieve more. Not because of Colour or Ethnicity or Class but because of Funding and the Fact that Middle Class Teachers, which accounts for most ot the teachers, would rather teach Middle Class White Kids than the troublesome working class and immigrant ones.

In my opinion the Working Class and Immigrant kids dont get a fair crack of the whip, and in the end its more to do with Good Teaching Methods and Good Disipline, like the Catholic Schools impose that makes the difference, untill England rids itself of the Class System Dogma be prepared for further movement down the list.

Kind Regards, Danny

Edited June 18, 2011 by BIGDAN

[bouillon]

I also think that technology, video games, the internet has impacted students' ability to retain, think creatively, analyse.

A good point, one I meant to raise myself but forgot.

When I was a kid, my main interest/recreational activity was listening to music, and I usually combined this with doing my homework. In fact, it was conducive to homework, as it created a relaxed and thought-provoking environment. Anyway, apart from the TV, there wasn't really very much else to do back then.

But now, all the little buggers want to do is play shoot 'em up video games online with their buddies, or watch utter shite on Youtube. They can't do their homework at the same time, and the psychological state these activities induce is not conducive to homework, which becomes a rushed afterthought at 10.30pm when they realise they've pissed the whole evening up the wall on mind-rotting crap...

[Anjin-san]

The education mess in the U.S. is one of those problems that, like the Middle East, seems so exasperating and irretrievably broken that you end up wanting to throw your hands in the air and shout "FUCK IT! Let's nuke it and just start all over."

And EVERYBODY shares in the blame: government, the educational bureaucracy, teachers, parents, students.

I know a couple of teachers and they are good people, love their job, are hardworking and in it for the right reasons. And I hear the horror stories.

But I also know there are quite a few bad apples out there, and trying to get rid of these teachers can prove almost impossible thanks to union and tenure rules.

But to me, at least here in California, it all started to go wrong in the late-70's, when the twin events of Prop. 13 and Social-Engineering began to leave their mark on the school system.

Prop. 13 caused a reduction in local revenues, which simultaneously meant less money for schools and more money and concentrated power in Sacramento.

Then there were the social do-gooders...suddenly it wasn't enough to just teach the 3 R's(reading, 'riting, 'rithmatic). No, now little Johnny and Sally had to feel "good" about themselves. In fact, students self-esteem started to become more important than actual achievement.

2+2=5? That's okay, at least Johnny tried. World War II occurred in 1967? No problem Sally...at least she knew what side won, right? Don't know where Europe is? Who cares...they're just a bunch of America-hating commie fags anyway.

Gold stars for everyone. Your team lost at baseball? Don't cry, everybody gets a trophy. Everybody wins. Cause god forbid someone's kid feels bad about losing or getting the answer wrong.

But that wasn't enough. The baby-boomers, once they started having kids, decided they were the most special and perfect kids in the world. And why not, for the baby-boomers themselves thought they were the most special and perfect generation in the history of mankind! They had invented sex, drugs and rock n roll...and had even ended the Vietnam War and gotten rid of Tricky Dick.

No teacher was going to say a BAD word about their precious child, let alone actually have the nerve to discipline said spoiled brat. So, over time, the power balance shifted in schools, as teachers lost authority and control over the classroom, as the students could pretty much get away with anything short of murder. This coincided with the rise in litigation, so schools began to fear doing anything to upset a student, lest the parents take the school to court.

As the spoiled brats grew up to have spoiled brats of their own, it got worse and worse, until now, where you have in certain schools a complete breakdown in discipline. I go back to my old high school...it looks more like a prison than a school. Every week you read the same stories. Students raping students...teachers raping students...students raping teachers.

Then there's the periodic decrees from the Federal and local do-gooders. Every 5 years somebody claims to have the answer to our educational woes. ESL. Bi-lingual education. Phonetics. Whole reading. New math. No Child Left Behind. It's like Stalin's Soviet Republic or Mao's Red China with their 5-year plans...that always failed.

How can you hope to succeed this way? It's like a sports team that keeps changing GM's and coaches. There's no continuity...no momentum built for the future. Everybody is tugged this way and that every couple of years.

I wish I knew what the answer was...other than dumping Standardized testing and No Child Left Behind and returning to the BASICS. This whole "teaching to the test" is a scourge. Kids don't have to read entire books anymore...the teacher just gives them the parts to read that they'll be tested on. They're memorizing, not learning.

But I fear that the decay has been going on for so long...over 30 years now...and is so ingrained, that nothing short of total destruction and a brand new start will ever get us back on track.

[BIGDAN]

A good point, one I meant to raise myself but forgot.

When I was a kid, my main interest/recreational activity was listening to music, and I usually combined this with doing my homework. In fact, it was conducive to homework, as it created a relaxed and thought-provoking environment. Anyway, apart from the TV, there wasn't really very much else to do back then.

But now, all the little buggers want to do is play shoot 'em up video games online with their buddies, or watch utter shite on Youtube. They can't do their homework at the same time, and the psychological state these activities induce is not conducive to homework, which becomes a rushed afterthought at 10.30pm when they realise they've pissed the whole evening up the wall on mind-rotting crap...

Hi Bouillon,

Good point also, but lets not forget that the "VERMIN" (JOKE RIGHT?) in working class areas KNOW their are no jobs to go to after their school life has ender, they arent stupid anymore, they KNOW that they are not wanted so why EXCEL in anything? but give them an exam on Computer Gaming, Street Dancing, Street Music, RAPPING, anything that interests them and they would get A+ Grades, i tell ya.

Kind Regards, Danny

PS, Its the Class System that held me back, but i achieved so much after leaving school, i could have been an Historian with my knowledge of History and Warfare but i tended to use fists instead of intelligence when i met a snotty nosed toff, its the Class System i tell ya, and it always will be.

Edited June 18, 2011 by BIGDAN

[Fool In The Rain 60]

As parents we also need to take a lot of responsibility, we are the ones that buy the Electronic Gadgets.

What has happened to good old fashion board games? they are helpful to teach our little darlings numbers, colours and to be patient.

IMO children spend far to much time Isolated playing hand held gadgets and only really interacting online with other gamers.

Yes in this day and age there is a need for a computer as they are used everywhere, but to rely on them to correct spelling mistakes is making a Dictionary redundant, and children unable to spell, I personally never use a spell checker, always a Dictionary as I like to know the meaning of words, there is just something about holding a book in your hand and absorbing the Information, rather than Typing a few words reading a snippet and then form an opinion is just wrong.

They never seem to practise handwriting, then when it comes time to sit their exams they run the risk of having their work marked down for ineligable handwriting.

My son had a similar problem at School he had finished all the work way ahead of the rest of his class, their answer to this problem was to move him up a year, luckily for him he had a good teacher who set him and a few others harder work other wise he would have spent the last year doing nothing.

All we can hope is that the Education system in GB gets sorted out soon before it hits rock bottom, lets face it they cannot make the Exams much easier or can they...

[Silver Rider]

Take at look at who's at the top. Finland??? I mean, no disrespect, but what's so special about Finland? How is it that they appear to be doing things so much better than us?

In regard to Finland, it has cooler weather, which means that people sometimes stay indoors and read more often. And according to wiki...

The Finnish education system is an egalitarian Nordic system, with no tuition fees and with free meals served to full-time students. The present Finnish education system consists of well-funded and carefully thought out daycare programs (for babies and toddlers) and a one-year "pre-school" (or kindergarten for six-year olds); a nine-year compulsory basic comprehensive school (starting at age seven and ending at the age of sixteen); post-compulsory secondary general academic and vocational education; higher education (University and Polytechnical); and adult (life-long, continuing) education. The Nordic strategy for achieving equality and excellence in education has been based on constructing a publicly funded comprehensive school system without selecting, tracking, or streaming students during their common basic education. Part of the strategy has been to spread the school network so that pupils have a school near their homes whenever possible or, if this is not feasible, e.g. in rural areas, to provide free transportation to more widely dispersed schools. Inclusive special education within the classroom and instructional efforts to minimize low achievement are also typical of Nordic educational systems.

Edited June 19, 2011 by Silver Rider

[BIGDAN]

In regard to Finland, it has cooler weather, which means that people sometimes stay indoors and read more often. And according to wiki...

Hi Ho Silver Rider, Tonto here Kimosabi,

From my experiance with Finnish people i would say they spend more time outdoors than the average English Couch Potatoe, maybe due to more Sun in the North or the fact that they spend a lot of time clearing snow so they can get their Volvos out of the drive.

I would live there in an instant if i could take my entitlement to free health care with me, truly great people and prolific drinkers of the amber nectar.

Regards, Danny

[dazedcat]

The worst thing that can happen to any education system are the REVOLTING cases of paedophilia OFETN covered by up the Church!!!

Good grief, what the hell has that got to do with anything regarding this subject? Start a thread on the evils of the Catholic Church if you want to.

Strider's post can easily fit in the PC thread by the way. I agree with all of what was said.

Edited June 19, 2011 by dazedcat

[Silver Rider]

Hi Ho Silver Rider, Tonto here Kimosabi,

From my experiance with Finnish people i would say they spend more time outdoors than the average English Couch Potatoe, maybe due to more Sun in the North or the fact that they spend a lot of time clearing snow so they can get their Volvos out of the drive.

I would live there in an instant if i could take my entitlement to free health care with me, truly great people and prolific drinkers of the amber nectar.

Regards, Danny

In summer the days are very long, but in winter they are very short.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7SpjXQ1G8M

[cryingbluerain]

It’s time to end the Department of Education. We pour billions of dollars into that cluster f$&k every year and in return, society gets a bunch of kids who can’t read or write. Also, we need to end the teachers unions and fire a lot of really bad teachers.

[Silver Rider]

It's time to end the Department of Education. We pour billions of dollars into that cluster f{:content:}amp;k every year and in return, society gets a bunch of kids who can't read or write. Also, we need to end the teachers unions and fire a lot of really bad teachers.

Do you suppose that's how Finland made it to the top scores?

Edited June 19, 2011 by Silver Rider

[bouillon]

It's time to end the Department of Education. We pour billions of dollars into that cluster f{:content:}amp;k every year and in return, society gets a bunch of kids who can't read or write. Also, we need to end the teachers unions and fire a lot of really bad teachers.

Indeed. How these clowns can piss and moan about their pay when they get aound 13 weeks of annual holiday is beyond me.

Generally, the public sector unions over here are setting themselves up for a fall later this year, when they've threatened the biggest strike since 1926. Over what? The protection of their exorbitant, copper-bottomed pensions, and the totally outrageous idea that they should have to wait to retire at the same age as the rest of the population.

Let's hope that Cameron can finish the excellent work started by Thatcher in the 80s.

Edited June 19, 2011 by bouillon

[spidersandsnakes]

Good grief, what the hell has that got to do with anything regarding this subject? Start a thread on the evils of the Catholic Church if you want to.

Strider's post can easily fit in the PC thread by the way. I agree with all of what was said.

Simple. A lot of unsuspectable teachers are paedophiles and some teachers are priests. Don't you follow the news???!:). So how can an education system be called an education system when the paedophile phenomenon affects the school and the students???!

[ninelives]

Can't speak for everywhere in th US but here in California I blame teachers unions and the politicians who are owned by the teachers unions. Throwing more money at education has not made it better. Also "English as a second language" aka: ESOL is another joke. Continuing to gear education for the lowest common denominator is going in the wrong direction.

I don't know about the West Coast but on the East Coast, there have been and continue to be major funding cutbacks to education.

[spidersandsnakes]

Can't speak for everywhere in th US but here in California I blame teachers unions and the politicians who are owned by the teachers unions. Throwing more money at education has not made it better. Also "English as a second language" aka: ESOL is another joke. Continuing to gear education for the lowest common denominator is going in the wrong direction.

Surely in Cali ESOL is like that....but not in European Latin-based countries where English is still considered as a second rated subject :)

[Walter]

I don't know about the West Coast but on the East Coast, there have been and continue to be major funding cutbacks to education.

The funding cutbacks go back to the 80's when Regan started cutting federal funding under the guise of states rights. They are so much deeper now, plus many state governments are trying to push for voucher systems to help with sending more money and children to private or religious schools. What they do in Norway is so polar opposite to what direction the U. S. Educational system is going, the answer might already be there. It really is a societal issue than just one facet or group, at least over here it is - IMO.

[spidersandsnakes]

Too many paedophile priest teachers in religious schools to be a safe thing :)

[ninelives]

The funding cutbacks go back to the 80's when Regan started cutting federal funding under the guise of states rights. They are so much deeper now, plus many state governments are trying to push for voucher systems to help with sending more money and children to private or religious schools. What they do in Norway is so polar opposite to what direction the U. S. Educational system is going, the answer might already be there. It really is a societal issue than just one facet or group, at least over here it is - IMO.

I agree - I'm just more aware of what's happening on the east coast than west, which is why I said what I did.

[cryingbluerain]

Do you suppose that's how Finland made it to the top scores?

What makes you think that what works in Finland will work here? Finland is a vast, homogenous, single-language middle class country. America is a vast, super heterogenous, multi-language society with huge wealth and class differences.

[Silver Rider]

What makes you think that what works in Finland will work here? Finland is a vast, homogenous, single-language middle class country. America is a vast, super heterogenous, multi-language society with huge wealth and class differences.

Perhaps the concept that people should be treated as equals could work here. America once had a strong middle class. We're not that different. Taking a brief glance at those who were here before us, it seems Finland provided at least some previous foundation here.

The Finns in America

Taru Spiegel,

Reference Librarian

This presentation provides information about immigration from Finland to the United States, and about the activities of Finnish-American immigrants in the United States from the 17^th to the 20^th centuries. Information is contained in a chronology and selected bibliography.

1637-1664 Finns, as subjects of the Swedish Crown, were included in Sweden's seventeenth century effort to gain a New World foothold in the Delaware Valley. It is estimated that about half of the approximately one thousand colonists in "New Sweden" were either Finns who had first settled in Värmland, Sweden, or who came directly from Finland. The colonizing effort was initiated by the Dutch-Swedish New Sweden Company, and led by the German-born Peter Minuit. The Company Board included a Finnish admiral, Klaus Fleming.

Two ships, Kalmar Nyckel and Fågel Grip, set sail for the New World in 1637. They arrived in 1638, and the colonists purchased land from the native Americans to build Fort Christina, named after the Swedish queen. In 1655 Dutch colonists took over the small settlement. The year 1664 saw both the arrival of a final contingent of 140 Finns, and the change of ownership of the area from the Dutch to the English. The memory of the early Finnish settlement lived on in place names near the Delaware River such as Finland (Marcus Hook), Nya Vasa, Nya Korsholm, Tornea, Lapland, Finns Point and Mullica. Several authors have suggested that the log cabin was a Finnish contribution to the New World, and that John Morton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence was a descendant of the Värmland Finnish Marttinen/Mårtenson family.

``````````````````````````````

1794-1867

Possibly the first Finn to have reached Alaska was a carpenter, Aleksanteri Kuparinen, who accompanied a group of Russian Orthodox monks locating on Kodiak Island in 1794.

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1830s-1850s

Immigration from Finland to the United States started as a trickle consisting mainly of sailors who saw the opportunity to settle down. Documents show that sailors William Lundell and Carl Sjödahl left their respective ships to farm in the United States, Lundell in Massachusetts, and Sjödahl in Alabama where the latter achieved remarkable prosperity under his new name, Charles Linn.

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1860s-1870s

In the 1870s, poor farming conditions contributed to substantial emigration from Western Finland, notably from Tornio River Valley, Kalajoki, and the areas around Kokkola, Vaasa and Kristiina. In the south, Turku was a gateway to North America. Newspaper accounts of the United States as the land of freedom, democracy, and equality further generated interest in emigration. During the 1860s and 70s Finnish settlers were found in Cokato, New York Mills, and Duluth, Minnesota, the latter subsequently known as the "Helsinki of America." Michigan mining communities included Calumet, Hancock, Marquette, Ishpeming, Negaunee and Ironwood. Farming communities were found in Nisula, Kyrö, Watton-Covington and Kaleva. Between 1870 and 1920, approximately 340,000 Finns immigrated to the United States.

Transmitting the Finnish cultural heritage to the next generation was considered a high priority among Finnish-Americans. The first Finnish-American newspaper, Amerikan Suomalainen Lehti (America's Finnish Newspaper) was published by Antti Muikku in Hancock, Michigan, 1876, the first of several hundred Finnish-American papers. Amerikan Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura (The American Finnish Literature Society) was founded in Calumet, Michigan 1878, initially to publish instructional material for children, as well as religious literature. In general, Finnish immigrants were distinguished by their high literacy rate.

1880s-1890s

``````````````

Emphasis on Finnish culture and literacy remained strong. It is estimated that of the Finnish immigrants arriving between 1899 and 1910, 98 percent were able to read, compared to the average immigrant literacy rate of 76 percent.

````````````

The division between those Finnish-Americans with a more conservative, religious orientation, and those with a more leftist and labor focus began in the 1890s. Church life contrasted with labor activities which centered around the various local meeting places, the "halls." The first and perhaps most noted of these was Brooklyn's Imatra Hall which catered to the inhabitants of Brooklyn's "Finntown." The history of the Finnish-American Workers' College illustrates the range of immigrant loyalties. This institution, which was particularly active prior to World War I, began as a seminary, but became progressively more labor-oriented before closing in 1941.

The Finnish National Brotherhood, the Knights of Kaleva, was founded in 1898 to further Finnish culture in the United States.

1900s

Finns were identified for the first time in the 1900 U.S. census, which counted about 63,000 persons born in Finland. Of these, about 56,000 lived in Michigan, Minnesota, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and California. Almost a third of the total, approximately 19,000, lived in Michigan. Inspired by the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, Kaleva was founded in southern Michigan in the early 1900s and attracted hundreds of Finnish-American residents.

1910s

This decade saw the founding of the Finnish cooperative colony, Redwood Valley, California (1912-1932), and the flowering of the Finnish cooperatives, particularly general stores in the Midwest.

1920s

The 1920 Census again showed that Michigan and Minnesota were home to largest numbers of Finnish-Americans, with about 34 percent of the total United States population born in Finland evenly divided between each state. Elsewhere, Finnish-American settlements could be found in Oulu, Wisconsin; Frederick (Savo), South Dakota; Waukegan and De Kalb, Illinois; and Ashtabula (Iloinen) Harbor and Cleveland, Ohio. On the East Coast, Massachusetts quarries provided employment, as did the industry and other businesses of Boston. New York City was home to Finnish-Americans, particularly Brooklyn's 10,000-strong "Finntown." By this time thousands of Finns also had settled in California, Washington and Oregon. A distinct correlation could be found between the areas of emigration in Finland and of immigration in the United States, as people from certain Finnish localities preferred to settle in particular areas of the United States.

The Order of Runeberg was founded in 1920 by Swedish-speaking Finnish-Americans of whom about 70,000 were estimated to have arrived in the United States between 1880-1940. Johan Ludvig Runeberg was a well known Swedish-speaking Finnish poet who, among other things, wrote the lyrics to the Finnish national anthem.

The first Finnish-American Congressman, Oscar J. Larson, an attorney from Minnesota elected as a Republican, served in the Sixty-seventh and Sixty-eighth Congresses 1921-1925. The year 1921 also saw the founding of a second Finnish-American cooperative community in McKinnon, Georgia (1921-1966).

The last large wave of Finns immigrating to the U.S. came in 1923, numbering about 12,000.

1930s to 1940s

Finnish-Americans provided aid as well as a number of volunteers to Finland during the Winter War and World War II. The Finnish Relief Fund established to provide civilian aid was headed by former President Herbert Hoover.

The architects, father and son, Eliel and Eero Saarinen became particularly well known in the United States during these decades. Eliel Saarinen was the first director of the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Eero Saarinen's most notable contribution is the design for the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, or "Gateway Arch to the West," in St. Louis, Missouri.

1950s to 1980s

St. Urho's Day, a Finnish-American celebration, began in Minnesota in the 1950s. This tongue-in-cheek event reflects the Finnish-American acculturation process with a nod to St. Patrick's Day. St. Urho's Day is celebrated March 16, and is now recognized as a Finnish-American event throughout the United States. Minnesotans Richard L. Mattson and Sulo Havumaki are credited for initiating this celebration in 1956. The colors worn on St. Urho's Day, royal purple and nile green, are in memory of the fictitious occasion on which St. Urho ("St. Brave") supposedly chased away the grasshoppers threatening Finland's grape harvest.

Lantana, Lake Worth and New Port Richey, Florida acquired popularity as areas for Finnish settlement.

FinnFest USA, Inc. has been arranging annual FinnFests since 1983 to highlight Finnish-American culture and heritage. FinnFest '88 at the University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware had as its theme "350 years of Finns in the United States" to observe the 350th anniversary of the arrival of Finnish settlers to the site of present day Wilmington.

To observe the 350th anniversary of the Finnish settlement in Delaware, a Joint Resolution of the 99th Congress, May 22, 1986 and a Presidential Proclamation on September 17, 1987 designated 1988 as the "National Year of Friendship with Finland."

1990 to Present

The groundbreaking for Salolampi Finnish Language Village was held in 1990. This center for language learning is currently owned by Concordia College.

The 1992 Library of Congress Exhibition, Bearers of the Word: Finnish Immigrant Literature in America 1876-1992, highlighted the continuation of the Finnish literary tradition in the U.S.

Finnish American Societies with chapters in various localities include the Finnish-American Historical Society, International Order of Runeberg, Finnish American Heritage Society, and Finlandia Foundation which thrived for many years under the patronage of Dr. Vaino Hoover (Huovinen).

Finnish-Americans count in their number the actresses Christine Lahti and Jessica Lange, producer Renny Harlin, authors Jean Auel, Anselm Hollo, Stephen Kuusisto and Tiina Nunnally, who is also known for her fine translations.

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Charles Wuorinen is a Pulitzer Prize winning composer. Paul Kangas is best known from Nightly Business Report on TV. Last but not least, Finnish names are often seen in the National Hockey League.

loc.gov/rr/european/FinnsAmer/finchro

Edited June 19, 2011 by Silver Rider