Minnesota
OPINION EXCHANGE | Counterpoint: It's not Finland or bust: How Minnesota schools can evolve
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Minnesota should “adopt the Finnish education model,” Jon Olson wrote in his Feb. 13 commentary “10 bold initiatives for Minnesota.” Ted Kolderie quickly shot down the idea, calling it an “impossibility” (“Delving more deeply into ‘bold initiative’ No. 1,” counterpoint, Feb. 16). I heard an all-or-nothing approach in these two perspectives. However, I see a middle ground as a U.S. teacher and parent living in Finland.
The North Star State should neither import nor brush aside the high-performing Finnish model. Instead, Minnesota schools can draw inspiration from Finland while exercising caution.
In the early 2000s, the Finnish education system gained a reputation for high student achievement on a set of standardized tests called the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). However, Finland’s PISA scores have gradually declined. No one can definitively explain the country’s downward trend, but theories abound. In recent years, Finnish schools have struggled to address the low performance of immigrant students and a wide gender achievement gap.
Despite its blemishes, Finland’s efficient model still produces solid academic results. Finnish schools offer shorter school days, fewer standardized tests and less stress than I have found in U.S. districts. Elementary school students in Finland enjoy multiple recess periods per day, a balanced curriculum and very little homework. Finnish teachers, who typically hold a master’s degree in education, experience significant autonomy within a collaborative teaching environment.
Copper Island Academy, a Michigan charter school I work with, borrows best practices from Finnish education. For example, it implements hands-on programs (including studio and culinary arts), frequent outdoor breaks and teacher-powered leadership. Educators at this K-8 school also minimize homework and standardized test prep.
In 2023, Copper Island emerged as a top performer based on its high Michigan School Index score, placing it among the top 10% of the state’s public schools. Their Finnish-inspired model has quickly gained traction in their local community. The school expects enrollment to rise in the fall — from 340 to more than 400 students in just a year.
Finnish inspiration takes different forms. Sure, it can look like starting a school from scratch, but it can be much less ambitious than that. Since I wrote my book “Teach Like Finland,” U.S. educators have told me about Finnish-inspired changes they have made in their classrooms, such as giving students more responsibilities and incorporating more movement. But if I could implement just one practice in all U.S. schools, I would choose Finland’s approach to recess.
Elementary school children in Finland usually get a 15-minute break built into every hourlong lesson. Several times per day, teachers send their students to the playground for free play after 45 minutes of instruction. (Copper Island Academy sticks to a similar schedule.)
A vast body of research supports Finland’s recess strategy. Researchers, including Anthony Pellegrini, professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota, have shown that regular breaks help children to focus during the school day. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, recess is necessary “for optimizing a child’s social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development.”
A veteran educator in St. Paul told me that elementary school students in Minnesota usually receive about 15 minutes of recess per day. The state Department of Education even calls providing at least 20 minutes of daily recess to all K-5 students a best practice. The Finns I know would be shocked to hear this.
To their credit, Minnesota policymakers recently improved recess practices across the state. The “Recess for All” law went into effect this school year, prohibiting recess detention (i.e., removing or excessively delaying a child from a scheduled break for disciplinary reasons). However, the law’s title is misleading.
Like most U.S. states, Minnesota does not guarantee daily recess for elementary school children. State law only recommends it. But many states — including Rhode Island, New Jersey and Florida — have mandated daily recess over the last decade. Rather than adopting the entire Finnish model, what if the Minnesota Legislature drew inspiration from Finland and simply guaranteed daily recess to K-5 students?
Even better, Minnesota could require its elementary schools to offer multiple recess periods per school day, Finnish style. This reform is doable. Arizona already requires its public schools to provide K-5 students with two daily recess blocks. Minnesota could be next.
Timothy Walker is a U.S. educator and author living in Espoo, Finland. He began a paid partnership with Copper Island Academy in 2023.
Fires in the past burned more frequently in western Canada, but recent years have seen that trend migrate eastward, with large fires now burning in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic provinces, Prof Chasmer said, leading to more noticeable smoke in densely populated cities like Toronto and New York.
Minnesota United, the Liberia Lone Star National Football Team and SARX today announced that the international friendly against the Liberia National Team, scheduled for July 26, 2026, has been canceled.
While we were looking forward to welcoming the Liberia National Team and celebrating the strong ties between Minnesota’s Liberian community and our club, circumstances outside of our control have made it necessary to cancel the match. We appreciate the understanding of our supporters and wish the Liberia National Team all the best.
Fans who purchased tickets to the match will be refunded within approximately 3-10 business days.
Heavy smoke from several large wildfires blazing in Canada and Minnesota is expected to engulf large swaths of the Midwest and Northeast U.S. this week, exposing millions of people to dangerous air pollution.
Over 100 wildfires currently are burning in Canada and winds are carrying the smoke southeast. Warnings about dangerous, unhealthy air extended Wednesday from Minnesota through Toronto and into New York. Unusually hot summer temperatures were expected too.
The best advice is to stay indoors to avoid both the smoke and the extreme heat, said Tyler Hasenstein, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Chanhassen, Minnesota.
“Those two things coinciding with each other is not good from a health perspective,” he said.
Rangers try to get thousands of campers out of remote Minnesota wilderness
In far northeastern Minnesota, rangers were trying to warn people that the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness was closed Tuesday because about 17 fires caused by lightning more than a week ago were spreading through the vast wilderness accessible primarily by canoe.
Rangers estimated anywhere from 6,000 to 10,000 people were inside the 1.1-million-acre wilderness, which is almost the size of Delaware, Superior National Forest spokesperson Joy VanDrie said.
“It’s an arduous job,” VanDrie said of rangers and campers having to canoe for hours or even carry their boats over land to evacuate.
No injuries or deaths have been reported. Rangers were going through every lake and waterway and officials estimated they had about 90% of the people out Wednesday.
Campers rescued this week said skies quickly darkened from smoke and they could feel the heat as they paddled or were taken by boat to safety.
Jan Bailey was camping with her husband, daughter, son-in-law, two grandchildren and three dogs when they noticed wispy smoke on the horizon. Two hours later, they could see a raging firestorm. A paddleboarder with a satellite phone fled to their campsite and they called forestry rangers who sent a boat to rescue them and others.
“We had fire on both sides of us at that time,” Bailey told Minnesota Public Radio. “So we’re just weaving between the lakes. It’s a little smoky. Campsites are going up.”
Even the Canadian Air Force pitched in. They rescued two groups of youth campers Wednesday who had crossed the border. One group was stuck on an isolated sandbar, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said.
VanDrie didn’t know when the area might reopen. Minnesota officials said some fires in the Boundary Waters will be allowed to burn indefinitely but will be monitored to ensure they don’t threaten people or property.
Severe drought and heat have led to a busy wildfire season
Dan Westervelt, associate professor at Columbia University’s Climate School, said severe drought conditions combined with heat in Canada and the U.S. have created “a perfect storm for really dry conditions to provide a lot of fuel for these wildfires to burn.” Research shows warming temperatures from burning coal, oil and gas are making fires more frequent and intense.
High levels of fine particulate matter in the air from wildfire smoke may be unhealthy for sensitive groups, such as children and people with heart or lung conditions. The particulates can cause shortness of breath, coughing, dizziness or fatigue and aggravate heart and lung diseases and other chronic health issues.
Experts suggest wearing a N95 mask if you have to be outside and keeping your indoor air cleaner by closing windows and running an air purifier or air conditioner.
It’s been a particularly busy and deadly fire season in the U.S. About four dozen large fires are currently burning across 15 states, from Minnesota and North Carolina to Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Oregon and California, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Prolonged drought and record-low snowpack levels combined to make conditions ripe for rapid fire growth. More than 16,800 people are assigned to fighting blazes across the county. The fires have burned over 5,678 square miles (9,138 square kilometers) — more than the size of Yellowstone and Grand Canyon national parks combined, the agency said.
Comparison view of clear vs. smoky conditions in Larsen, Wisconsin:
Smoke spreads as officials warn wildfires could burn for months
In Minnesota, officials warned large fires could burn for months. In Minneapolis, the high Wednesday was expected to be 96 degrees F and temperatures above 90 F were expected the rest of the week.
“It could well be we’re having significant fires throughout the summer until we have snow. Snow would be a good thing,” said Patty Thielen, director of the state Department of Natural Resources.
Officials in Michigan and Wisconsin warned residents about air quality issues that could last for days and the problems extended even to Maine, where residents were reporting a yellowish and brownish color in the sky.
The most intense smoke could spread as far south as Washington, D.C., by midday Thursday.
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Associated Press writers Susan Montoya Bryan and Jeffrey Collins contributed to this report.
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