As a Finn (born and raised) I can attest to the great school system I was educated in.
School begins at 7 (first grade) and there isn't a push for early reading. "My baby can read" would not make much money there:) There are neighborhood schools that most kids can walk to, but you are free to enroll in any school and take public transportation there. I went to a private school early on and instruction was in German and then transitioned to a nearby school. A person's zip code does not determine the quality of their education. I have a younger brother who spent all of 10 weeks in 1st grade and was skipped on to 2nd. While there are no official gifted programs, there is great flexibility in curriculum.
As far as "sisu", we are proud of our independence as a nation and as individuals. I took public transportation to school and to my hobbies early on. We spent most of our summers going swimming without adults as it is quite safe to do so. Sisu is also about overcoming obstacles and not giving up when anything is difficult.
Overall the quality of education is high, as Finns place great emphasis on the quality, not quantity of education. After high school, I came to United States and found college here extremely easy for the first 4 years. But I found the projects time consuming and sometimes too much considering the class I was taking. Maybe that's the difference.
Jen
P.S. I hope no one takes my post as bashing US. It is only intended to highlight my experiences and I am quite happy here:)
