They say the Swiss school is much better according to the quality of education than any Finnish one that is famous for its educational standards. In our Popsop research you’ll find out whether it is true and what Swiss educational standards are really surprising.

1. It is usual to run in Swiss schools

And this isn’t about running in PE lessons. This is about how pupils and teachers (!) go out and play football, basketball, ping-pong and dodgeball when the weather is fine. They have plenty of time for this because school lessons are held in parcels of an hour and a half with a brake of 20 minutes between them, during the brake children are always outside.

And by the way, it doesn’t depend on the weather. When it is rainy they also go out of the school but they are protected against the rain by a terrace with a shed which exists in every classroom. The irony of it is that only the children who do NOT run and play the buffoon are led to a doctor and called out to the director.

2. Pupils rest a lot

Every day there is a meal period from 11:30 a.m. till 1:30 p.m. in the school, and it can be spent at children’s pleasure. They say the children don’t get tired from studying at all. An academic day lasts from 8:15 a.m. till 4:00 p.m., but on Wednesday it is short – till 11:30 a.m. which also gives an additional leisure time.

3. A feedback

Swiss schools have an inner mail “teacher-student”. Every child has a letter box where they put a letter with a problem of any kind. Then teachers take out the mail and answer each letter individually. This procedure is extremely popular. Every new day begins when the children run to collect their answered letters.

4. Graphical dictations instead of word ones

The dictations here are not connected with the word “dictate”. The children write all words under the picture. This means that you see the picture depicting any word, and your task is to write it correctly. By so doing, the eidetic memory is being developed; — a child remembers the spelling of the word visually matching it with the picture.

5. Report as a performance with music

When children are tasked to make a report the music is always turned on. It’s hard to say how it works, but there are always big queues to make a report, because the children choose themselves favourite music in the playlist. By the way, it is always a plus when the performance presentation is costumed and even with stage props in the form of mini-performance.

6. No any Power Point presentations

It is considered that the pupil of a primary school can’t independently make a presentation and manage with such complicated tasks like making of screens.

7. Students should do sums themselves

Nobody explains how to do sums in Math. It is thought that there is no single correct solution, and everybody does in own fashion. Every student should find the own method of solution by trial and error. What is most important is that the student’s answer tallies the right answer. It is not forbidden to share the method with others. But teachers have no relevance to this, all round.

8. Everything is being cognized by hands

It is necessary for the Swiss to study the outside world by the method of touching and tasting. The students degust wheat of which the small loafs are made in their canteen. Geographic al features are cognized demonstrably, something like “Here we have such-and-such river, let us go and have a look. Look at that, here the soil is such-and-such, but here it is such-and-such”. By the way, attivita creativa is included into two leadership subjects which occupy the most of the time.

9. Mistakes are a path to success

Swiss students are often told about science examples when a mistake led to a discovery. Students of primary schools even have a doll “Fairy of mistakes” which explains students that it is all right to make mistakes by means of the teacher’s voice. And it is not worth the trouble to worry because you think creatively and are not afraid to try.

10. The school is absolutely free

There are no any collecting of money for a security, exercise books, after-school hours and other nonsense. The studying is on the municipal basis, and all necessary expenses are cleared by the State budget.