Finland figured out the secrets to designing perfect schools — and the US can never replicate them

Kastelli school Finland's repeated success in national education rankings means there are at least a few lessons the US can learn.

But one that it can't replicate — due to old-school mindsets about what education is supposed to look like — is how Finland designs its schools.

Finnish schools are increasingly adopting the mindset that flexible, open learning spaces are better than walled-off classrooms, and that mixing students of different ages is better than drawing bright lines between grades.

Here's what it's all about.

Kastelli school and community center, located in Oulu, Finland, was built in 2014 to serve 1,500 children. It's one of more than 100 schools built in the last few years to incorporate the open plan model.

As a joint school and community center, Kastelli also caters to adults looking to stay fit and healthy. But the building's primary purpose is to educate both kids and teenagers.

Architect firm Lahdelma & Mahlamäki designed the walkways and courtyards to fit the kids who would be using them most — smaller, kid-friendly areas for young children and wider blacktops for older ones.

Inside, however, such divisions collapse. The interior of the school is composed of long, sprawling hallways that keep students mingling with one another.

Reino Tapaninen, chief architect at Finland’s Department of Education, recently told CityLab that a clever design prevents the space from becoming excessively noisy.

"There are a lot of soft chairs, big cushions, rocking chairs, sofas, as well as moveable walls and partitions behind which you can hide yourself for private discussions," he said.

This is a challenge for US schools, because it means giving teachers the freedom to teach how they want — not going by a set curriculum.

US schools also treat teaching differently as a career choice. In Finland, teachers are viewed as white-collar workers on par with doctors or lawyers. The majority of them hold advanced degrees, and they're highly paid.

In the US, teaching is closer to trade work. Teachers don't make much, yet principals, parents, and students put enormous pressure on them to perform.

The kind of freedom Finnish teachers enjoy comes from the underlying faith the culture puts in them from the start, and it's the exact kind of faith American teachers lack.

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