While “Tiger Mom” touched off a huge wave of debate around the world, the opposite method from Finland's education system is also drawing widespread attention. This kind of educational mode is called “Sheep Mom”.
“虎妈”热潮席卷全球，在全世界引发热烈讨论。与此同时与“虎妈”采取截然相反方法的芬兰教育系统也引起了关注。与“虎妈”对应，这种教育方法被称为“羊妈”。
“Sheep Mom” refers to an extensive way of education that sets only basic objectives but no core syllabus. Teachers can feel free to use any teaching method as long as most children can reach the goals. Finland firmly believes that education is a “service” and children are “customers”. Since the education mode in Finland basically amounts to “sheep-herding”, it is also called “Sheep Mom”.
羊妈，是种粗放式的教育方式，对一定年龄的孩子设有核心教学大纲，只提出基本教育目标，老师只要能让多数孩子达到目标，具体采用什么方式教学完全自便。在芬兰坚信教育是个“服务”过程，孩子们就是“顾客”，芬兰的教育方式基本上等于“放羊”，所以又称这种教育方式为“羊妈”。
The result of “sheep-herding” cannot be underestimated. In the last four international Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests, students from Finland all ranked in the top three in math, reading and science. This report not only surprised the world but also shocked people in Finland. In other words, Finland’s education system, which least encourages competition, cultivates the most competitive children.
放羊的结果却不可小觑。至今芬兰学生参加了4次国际性的PISA测评，每次在数学、阅读和科学方面都入围三甲。这个成绩单不仅令世界出乎意料，连芬兰人都感到意外。也就是说最不鼓励竞争的芬兰教育体系，却培养出了最具有竞争力的孩子。