On the outskirts of Helsinki, the Ronnies are getting ready for school. Buluhmas and Tina have four children. Three of this hungry bunch are all educated at the local state school. For the girls, it's a short walkway. Torpparinmaki Comprehensive is a secondary and primary school rolled into one. The first lesson about schooling in Finland is relax. Take your shoes off when you arrive. And when you get into the classroom, call your teachers by their first name.
在赫爾辛基的郊區，Ronnies家的孩子們正在準備上學。Buluhmas和Tina育有四個孩子。這群小餓鬼中的三個都在當地的公立學校就讀。對女孩們來說，是一小段走路的距離。Torpparinmaki綜合學校是所中學和小學合而為一的學校。在芬蘭上學的第一堂課是放輕鬆。抵達時脫下你的鞋子。而當你進入教室，直呼老師的名字。
This is Marijaana, and because her pupils stayed at the same school for so many years, she's been their teacher for most of their school life.
這位是Marijaana，而因為她的學生這麼多年來留在同一所學校的緣故，她在他們的大半學校生涯中一直是導師。
I'm like growing up with my children...my students, and I see the problems what they probably have when they are small, when they come to school. And now, after five years, I still know, and I still see what has happened in their youth, what is the best thing, what they can do. I tell them that I'm their school mother.
我就像是和我的孩子們...我的學生們一起長大一樣，而且我能夠看到他們在小時候剛來到學校時可能有的問題。而現在，五年之後，我仍然知道，也仍然看見他們的年幼時期發生了什麼事、什麼是最棒的事情、什麼是他們能夠做的。我告訴他們，我是他們在學校的母親。
Learning foreign languages here is seen as key. For these eleven-year-olds, French is not their second, but their third language, and when they are thirteen, some will speak a fourth. But in Finland, success is not measured by winners and losers. Learning is more like a team game. The best thing was pupils in any subjects are taught together, controversial maybe, but something they say works.
在這學習外語被視為關鍵。對這些十一歲的孩子們來說，法語並非他們的第二種，而是第三種語言，而當他們十三歲時，有一些人將會說第四種語言。但在芬蘭，成功不是由贏家和輸家來評斷。學習更像是個團隊遊戲。最棒的事情是任何科目的學生一起受教，或許會有爭論，但這是某種他們說有效的東西。
It's very important to have uh...everyone in the same class, but of course that creates the problem every now and then, because that...there are some that are really really fluent in English. They are fluent in English; they're very good, and then there are some that need...need special attention, but of course we try to give that to them.
讓所有人在同一間教室上課是啊...非常重要的，但當然那有時候也會產生問題，因為...有些學生的英文非常非常流利。他們的英文很流利，他們非常棒，然後有些學生需要...需要特別的照顧，但當然我們試著給他們照顧。
Giving pupils extra help is a standard practice. In this class, there are three teachers. Anna Ancinny teaches a double lesson. Mavy just works with those who struggle. And it's the teachers here that would make any education secretary go green with envy. They are the key ingredients why in a subject like science the Fin scores so high. Teachers all have to complete a master's degree.
給予學生額外輔導是個標準做法。在這個班級裡面，有三個老師。Anna Ancinny 教一堂兩節課的課程。Mavy只教導那些有困難的學生。而正是這裡的老師們會讓任何教育部長都羨慕不已。他們是為何芬蘭在像是科學的一個科目上得到如此高分的關鍵因素。老師通通都必須完成碩士學位。
Trust is important here. In PE the kids head off, unaccompanied, for a long cross-country ski. And that effortless ease in achieving quality education is shown off by one statistic. Children here do the least number of class hours per week in the developed world and get the best results.
在這裡信任很重要。體育課中，孩子們無人陪伴的出發前往一次越野滑雪。一項統計數據顯示出在達成高品質教育方面，那不費吹灰之力的輕鬆。在已開發國家中，這裡的孩子們花最少的每週上課時數，並得到最好的成效。
What is the secret of Finland's education success?
芬蘭教育成功的祕訣是什麼?
The head teacher gives his teachers much of the credits, but another reason is the T word again: trust, this time, in him.
校長將很多的功勞歸因於他的老師們，但另一個原因又是那個T開頭的字：信任，這次，是對他的信任。
Nobody outside is saying that you have to do like this or like that. And the feeling is that they...trust us. This is my school, it's not...the...politician school.
沒有外人在說你得像這樣做或像那樣做。而這感覺是他們...相信我們。這是我的學校，這不是...那...政客的學校。
In countries like the UK and the US, education is built around the idea of competition. Some schools will succeed, and some won't. Incredibly though, the results of this school in Helsinki are actually the same as any other school in Finland. And that means there's no such thing as a failing Finnish school.
在像是英美的國家中，教育被建立在競爭的觀念之上。有些學校會成功，而有些不會。然而令人驚訝的是，這間位於赫爾辛基的學校的結果實際上和其他在芬蘭的任何學校一模一樣。而那意味著並沒有像是一間失敗的芬蘭學校這樣的事情。
Finland's success has kick-started a kind of education tourism, more than one hundred foreign delegations visited last year. But the woman in charge admits there's still room for improvements.
芬蘭的成功已經發起了一種教育觀光業，去年超過一百名外國教育代表參訪。但掌管大權的女士承認仍有進步的空間。
The Finnish system, it supports very much of those pupils who have uh...learning difficulties, but we have to pay more attention also for those pupils are...who are very talented. And now we have started a pilot project about it also. That's how to support those pupils who are very gifted in somewhere else.
芬蘭的教育體系，它非常支持那些有啊...學習困難的學生們，但我們必須也花更多心思在那些學生...非常優秀的學生身上。關於這個現在我們也開始了一項試驗性的計畫。那是如何幫助在某些其他領域非常有才華的學生們的方式。
We call them one of the country's biggest success stories. What do Finnish businesses want for the future? For the Finnish mobile phone giant, it's about maintaining high standards in the cool subjects and consistency across the workforce.
我們稱他們為國家最成功的故事之一。芬蘭企業對未來有何期盼？對芬蘭的手機巨擘來說，它是和在很酷的主題上保持高水準以及全面勞動力的一致性有關。
What we want that the education system in Finland to continue doing is to keep a very good level in mathematics, science and technology related subjects. Being in the classroom with less uh...talented people, it makes you, as a talented pupil, able to teach the other ones, to work in a group with different kind of people, and to accept, ugh...diversity.
我們要芬蘭教育體系繼續做的事情是在數學、科學和科技相關科目上維持非常好的水準。在教室裡和比較不啊...聰穎的人在一起，讓你，身為一個聰穎的學生，能夠去教導其他人，與不同類型的人團隊合作，並接受，啊...多樣性。
So back to the Ronnies and the youngest in their family, although is six, and like all children in Finland, he won't start at proper school until he's seven. The thinking: that by then he'll be itching to start classes, but in the meantime, it's lessons with mom at home.
所以回到Ronnies家，而家中最年幼的成員，雖然已經六歲，而就像在芬蘭的所有孩子們，直到他七歲才開始正規教育。這構想是：到時候他就會渴望開始上課，但就在此刻，是在家向媽媽學習的時間。
How was your day at school today?
你今天在學校過得如何?
I really like them.
非常喜歡學校。
Like Tina's spaghetti bolognese, Finland's success is part homemade.
就像Tina的義大利肉醬麵，芬蘭的成功有部分家庭是家庭造成的。
It's very interesting to hear what they've done.
聽他們說說做了些什麼事是非常有趣的。
They have a culture here of valuing education, and parents know they have a key role to play too.
他們有個非常重視教育的文化，而家長們也知道他們有個重要的角色要扮演。
They're sort of ugh...trying out. If you can say, there are parents, and then there are the kids, and then there is this school and the teachers, and then to have an active dialogue. The Finnish system are...I think it's trying to encourage students. I think ugh...at least in our school.
他們有點像是啊...在嘗試。如果你說，有怎樣的父母，然後就會有怎樣的孩子，然後...那麼，有這樣的學校和老師，然後就會有這樣活潑的對話。芬蘭教育體系是...我認為它試著要鼓勵學生。我認為嗯...至少在我們學校是如此。
Explaining why the Fin score high isn't easy. Unlike other European countries, Finland has very little immigration. So when pupils start learning, language isn't a problem. But that system's success is built upon the idea of less can be more, when you have relaxed schools, free from politicians, when nobody gets left behind.
要解釋為何芬蘭得到高分並不容易。不像其他歐洲國家，芬蘭有非常少的移民。所以當學生開始學習，語言並不會成為問題。但那體系的成功是建構在一個少即是多的觀念上，那時你有輕鬆的學校、不受政客打擾，那時沒有人會落後。
Tom Burridge, BBC news, in Helsinki.
BBC新聞,Tom Burridge在赫爾辛基報導。
