I taught in Finland, and now teach in the United States in Alaska. The differences in each job and expectations are incredible. Many of the comments by folks are correct. Apples vs oranges- you just can't compare a diverse society and one with one main culture and even one main religion. Another difference is that children with disabilities are educated- but in seperate settings. All students are either college prep/ or trades and they are on that track so you don't have the students who are taking algebra when they are better suited for basic math.
Finnish schools provide real food meals to students- breakfast and lunch. YUMMY!!! Finnish schools value "recess" and play time, and lots and lots of physical activity. This is a huge difference with American schools. (It is a no brainer that when kids are physically active there are less behavior issues in a classroom).
Another point is that Finnish children all start school early- my kindergarden class had students from 3- 5.
Finally for me the biggest difference in the 2 systems was that both children and their TEACHERS were "esteemed". I don't know how else to describe it. Valued? Held in high regard? Children were expected to be children and not little adults- and teachers were quite respected...

Government education in the USA deserves the criticism Clark gives it.
Why the knee jerk reactions calling him a "basher?"
There are some good public schools and some good public school teachers in the USA, but the systems across most if not all of the 50 states need dramatic improvement. My wife is from Europe and I work for an European company. I have been exposed to enough to know that basic education is better in most other developed countries than in the USA. Our children go to private schools, and we cut some expenses and forego others to make that possible. Private schools are not out of the question for middle class households. Look around - they aren't just for the "rich" and many are more affordable that is widely believed. I can and will give up expensive cars, vacations, and meals in restaurants to provide my children with a quality education. If you settle for mediocre public schools and complain about it, then you need to re-examine you priorities in life.

Remember that Finland is pretty much a homogeneous population........much easier to educate in this situation. The children we are trying to educate come from an incredibly diverse population! I do agree with the fact that when teachers have freedom to TEACH the outcome is much better. I speak from twelve years of experience!

Why does Clark Howard feel the need to bash public education? Not everyone can afford nor wants to send their children to private schools. Also, just because your child goes to a private school doesn't mean that he/she is getting a better education. There are good teachers and bad teachers just as there are good an bad in every aspect of our society. Being a public school teacher in Georgia for 20 years, I have taught many students. I so agree with the comment below that we, in the United States, don't necessarily value education nor have the societal attitude towards education as some countries do. Most teachers do everything they can to make sure that they are providing quality instruction every day of the school year. But it is also up to the students and the parents to want to be engaged in the instruction. Unfortunately, there are students who don't and many times they have parents who just make excuses for their child's behaivor/attitude/nonparticipation. When Clark starts bashing public education, he is also bashing public school teachers. Why not try to be part of the solution and encourage parents to support their children's schools and teachers? Encourage parents to make sure that their child is not being a problem at school and hindering their teacher from providing quality instruction instead of adding fuel to the negative fire concerning public education? As far as what Clark stated about students in Finland studying algebra, geometry and statistics, if he would take a look at the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS)that all public schools in Ga follow, he would see that in kindergarten students in Georgia schools study numbers and operations; measurement;geometry;data analysis and probability; and processing skills.

In 1987, I participated in an exchange program where I hosted a Japanese teacher for 3 weeks in my home and my school, and then I went to his home and school in Japan. The class sizes in the Japanese high school I visited were huge, but you could hear a pin drop during the classtime. I asked a Japanese teacher how they handled discipline problems during classtime, and he said they don't have any. I asked, "Suppose there were to be a problem, how is that handled?". He said the other students in the class would take care of the problem, because the students don't want anything interfering with their ability to learn as much as possible during class. I can't imagine the luxury of being able to teach my subject without having to constantly deal with disclipline problems. There is a societal attitude toward education in Japan that just doesn't exist in a lot of quarters in the United States.

I see nothing wrong with free Health Care. Several groups already get it for free.

Illegal aliens can go into an emergency rooms and not be asked any ?s and leave for free. If an American goes it, he or she is grilled over insurance, etc. and if you have a home, they will take it to cover the bill.

Education should always be free up to 4 yrs of college.

I don't see a large group of people packing the bags wanting to move to Finland. Wonder how they embrace new arrivals?

Finland is one of the greatest countries on earth. It doesn't surprise me that their educations system is superior.