What do you think about the Finnish education system? There's a huge focus on play in the early days...

I admire it. I've lived in Northern Europe for 2 years now and there are indeed interesting aspects like how kids don't formally start school till they are 7 and they only have to sit for 1 standardized exam when they are 16. No streaming, everyone is taught the same thing. As much as I admire it, I don't think it will fit Singapore's profile, not in the near future at least. The Finns in general have a different temperament and their laid back way of life suits their education system. Maybe many generations from now... but I don't see it happening in Singapore any time soon. Just my 2 cents :) Plus I'm a product and at the same time, a believer of Singapore's academic system. Singapore's a small gem in this big big world and for now, to stay competitive, I reckon our education system (sure it needs tweaks here and there), does the job. Some of my teacher friends in Europe admire Singapore's way of education and they find that they can learn a lot from it.

Kids in Finland don't start their formal education until they're 7 years old, many of them still illiterate. Finnish preschool children learn how to play nice together, how to be fair, how to say "I'm sorry." In both spontaneous and structured settings - think games of tag or teacher-guided activities to build teamwork - they fulfill their primary duty of being kids, moving fast and loose and making plenty of mistakes that turn into learning opportunities. And unlike Most other country system, Finland's preschool system is wholly paid for by the government, leveling the playing field for everyone. Personally I like it and I wish more countries can adopt the Finns way of education