Speaking of my class trip, school, and a smooth segue, I took some
pictures of my school.
"Janusz-Korczak Gesamtschule : Ohne Kinder wäre Nacht"
(Janusz Korczak was a children's author, teacher, and ran an orphanage during WW2. "Ohne Kinder wäre Nacht" translates directly to "Without children would be night")
Instead of a big parking lot (or a not big enough parking lot, as the case was at my school in America), they have lots of bike racks. A bike is a lot more a means of transportation and a lot less a hobby here.
You may have noticed the word "Gesamtschule" at the end of the name of the school. I'll explain this, but first a step back with a more general look at the German secondary education system, or at least what I understand of it at this point. Those of you who know more than I do about this, please let me know if I'm mistaken.
In Germany, the secondary school system is stratified after kindergarten and four to six years (depending on the state) of elementary school. The students are then divided based on the recommendation of the teacher and move on to Gymnasium (8-9 years), for the strongest students who will complete the Abitur (end of high school test) and go on to study at a university, Realschule (6 years), for intermediate students, or Hauptschule (6 years), for students who will pursue vocational education.
A Gesamtschule is a combination of all three. Some students leave after the Abschluss in 10th grade, which is the end of mandatory education. They then pursue vocational training, internships, or work. Other students continue and work towards their Abitur and continue their studies at a university.
It's hard to describe in text and it still looks convulted in a picture. What do you think? Is it better to have specific schools to prepare students for specific paths? Or is it unfair to judge a student after elementary school? Which system do you think serves the students better?
3 comments:
Wow, you have just made me understand the german school system (more) than I have learned in school!!!
hi,
this is audrey, from CBYX. i've been reading people's blogs from the program and yours is especially interesting.
i myself have sort of struggled with the idea of which is better, our system or theirs. i think on one hand, the American system is somewhat blind, in that it doesnt recognize and honestly, candidly deal with kids who don't have the intellectual capacity to go to college, and instead of realistically thinking about their future, we ask them to press on in academia, when i think that time could be better spent in job preparation, you know? but at the same time, no, i don't think it's fair to asses a child on thier academic or intellectual capacity, and i think that students should have less constraint on their educational possbilities. so i guess i'm sort of on the fence about that, i see both good and bad but i am sort of favoring the american system, but probably because i'm more used to it.
what i want to know is what you think about the university system? i think the abitur is a little bit overwhelming and unnecessary, but that the same time it not only produces more intelligent people, but in my experience much more dedicated students....
To the first post: looking at the diagram from across the room you can tell how complicated the system is. I'm not sure if I've got the whole vocabulary down...
To Audrey: I definitely know what you mean. I think some kids just need job experience as soon as possible, not to stay in a school that bores them to death or is far too difficult for them until the age of 18.
Why isn't it fair to assess a child? I definitely don't think it's fair to assess a child as early as the German system generally does, but at about 16, I do think that kids can be better served by taking different paths. To send them on different paths, you need to assess them.
The Abitur defintitely is a thorough measure of a student's ability in school, and only hardworking students will do well, I think. The question is, does it produce intelligent students or just measure them? Do students really need to jump through all of the hoops they do?
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