After school yesterday we headed to downtown Hamburg for a tour and lecture at Universität Hamburg. This was my first time riding public transportation by myself, and all went well! I got on the S21 train where I was met by some other students in our program. After getting off the train, Gabrielle and I decided to split a "pain au chocolat" or chocolate chip croissant. Yum! All the pastries and sweets here are so delicious and fresh.
We met up with the other UNC students for a tour around the university, which was very interesting and historical. Sidenote: A university is sometimes referred to as "uni" in Germany. The tour started with the university "norms:" a cafe, academic buildings, the library, and a lecture hall. We also saw the university's cafeteria. Intertwined with these university norms, however, was rich history.
While the university is relatively young, it is full of history of protests, politics, and Holocaust remembrance. The amount of history on this campus was amazing to me. Right next to the university is a small Jewish community that was destroyed in World War II. However, it was reclaimed after the war, and a school now exists where the synagogue was burned. A fence wraps around the Jewish school for protection, which according to the group leader can be a cause of controversy, because most other schools do not have fences. Around the city we also saw memorials of Jewish people who died in the Holocaust. I found the gold stones that are inserted in the sidewalk to be one of the most interesting parts of this tour. These stones are placed outside of the homes where Jewish people lived during the Holocaust and are raised so that you must notice them while walking.
While the university is relatively young, it is full of history of protests, politics, and Holocaust remembrance. The amount of history on this campus was amazing to me. Right next to the university is a small Jewish community that was destroyed in World War II. However, it was reclaimed after the war, and a school now exists where the synagogue was burned. A fence wraps around the Jewish school for protection, which according to the group leader can be a cause of controversy, because most other schools do not have fences. Around the city we also saw memorials of Jewish people who died in the Holocaust. I found the gold stones that are inserted in the sidewalk to be one of the most interesting parts of this tour. These stones are placed outside of the homes where Jewish people lived during the Holocaust and are raised so that you must notice them while walking.
After the tour we attended a lecture focused on the German school system by Dr. Andreas Bonnet. This lecture turned out to be extremely interesting and engaging and sparked a lot of discussion between us. Dr. Bonnet did a really good job of asking us to compare aspects of the school system with our experiences in America and even asked our opinions on the best way to implement certain changes, such as inclusion in classrooms.
Some general thoughts on the lecture:
1. School Focus & Student Accountability
It seems that both the American and German school system place a high emphasis on inquiry-based learning, backwards planning, problem-solving, and student accountability. I have seen these aspects in both classrooms, as well. However, it seems to me that Americans and Germans have different perspectives on the meanings of these "buzzwords." For example, in America student accountability often involves structured student-centered learning, such as giving students a "Literacy Contract" with components to complete during the week or students doing their own research in Social Studies. If students do not grasp the concepts, unfortunately, teachers are still often held accountable. In Germany there is a little less structure, and students manage their "Weekly Workload," including whether they even choose to participate in doing work during this time. If they do not choose to participate (and from my experiences so far, some do not), then so be it. If students do not learn the concepts, though, students truly are held accountable for this. Consequently, teachers do not seem nearly as stressed out here. During breaks teachers sit down and talk rather than rushing to the copier, as I know I usually spent my breaks over the last 10 weeks! Interestingly enough, though, even when students may seem to be off task or unfocused during class time, they still always seem to understand what they are doing when they are working independently.
Continuing with this idea, there is not quite as much supervision here. Students know where they are supposed to be. When they were constantly being pulled out of the classroom on Tuesday for music lessons, they were held accountable for figuring out where to go afterwards, whether that was Sports, break, etc. During the two breaks, some teachers supervise, but most teachers are in the teacher's lounge. Students are allowed to climb a rock wall or swing around, all things that make me a little nervous, due to the liability I know I would have if something went wrong at a school in NC!
2. Inclusion
Children with special needs in Germany go to a completely different school. This isolation is a hot topic for the German school system right now. Because there are no inclusions in the classroom, there is very little differentiation in the classroom. I have not seen any ability-based grouping or guided reading or math groups. However, differentiation does take place when students choose their own activities, which happens in Sports, Weekly Workload time, break, etc. At this time students are choosing their focus based on their own interests, strengths, and needs, which is differentiation within itself.
3. Social Skills
There is a big emphasis on learning social skills in the German school system. This includes not only learning to interact with other people, but also to learn skills necessary to survive in life, like writing a check, filling out forms, and making a resume! I personally really like this emphasis and believe it is very practical and beneficial to students! Students spend a lot of their time at school, so we should teach them not only content needed to learn, but also content needed to live. Better yet, we could do it at the same time. Addition and subtraction with check-writing practice sounds fun to me!
Some general thoughts on the lecture:
1. School Focus & Student Accountability
It seems that both the American and German school system place a high emphasis on inquiry-based learning, backwards planning, problem-solving, and student accountability. I have seen these aspects in both classrooms, as well. However, it seems to me that Americans and Germans have different perspectives on the meanings of these "buzzwords." For example, in America student accountability often involves structured student-centered learning, such as giving students a "Literacy Contract" with components to complete during the week or students doing their own research in Social Studies. If students do not grasp the concepts, unfortunately, teachers are still often held accountable. In Germany there is a little less structure, and students manage their "Weekly Workload," including whether they even choose to participate in doing work during this time. If they do not choose to participate (and from my experiences so far, some do not), then so be it. If students do not learn the concepts, though, students truly are held accountable for this. Consequently, teachers do not seem nearly as stressed out here. During breaks teachers sit down and talk rather than rushing to the copier, as I know I usually spent my breaks over the last 10 weeks! Interestingly enough, though, even when students may seem to be off task or unfocused during class time, they still always seem to understand what they are doing when they are working independently.
Continuing with this idea, there is not quite as much supervision here. Students know where they are supposed to be. When they were constantly being pulled out of the classroom on Tuesday for music lessons, they were held accountable for figuring out where to go afterwards, whether that was Sports, break, etc. During the two breaks, some teachers supervise, but most teachers are in the teacher's lounge. Students are allowed to climb a rock wall or swing around, all things that make me a little nervous, due to the liability I know I would have if something went wrong at a school in NC!
2. Inclusion
Children with special needs in Germany go to a completely different school. This isolation is a hot topic for the German school system right now. Because there are no inclusions in the classroom, there is very little differentiation in the classroom. I have not seen any ability-based grouping or guided reading or math groups. However, differentiation does take place when students choose their own activities, which happens in Sports, Weekly Workload time, break, etc. At this time students are choosing their focus based on their own interests, strengths, and needs, which is differentiation within itself.
3. Social Skills
There is a big emphasis on learning social skills in the German school system. This includes not only learning to interact with other people, but also to learn skills necessary to survive in life, like writing a check, filling out forms, and making a resume! I personally really like this emphasis and believe it is very practical and beneficial to students! Students spend a lot of their time at school, so we should teach them not only content needed to learn, but also content needed to live. Better yet, we could do it at the same time. Addition and subtraction with check-writing practice sounds fun to me!
All of us UNC students, along with our trip leader, wrapped up the evening by going to dinner at Aradasch, a Turkish restaurant, and to watch the last half of a soccer (futbol) game! It was a wonderful end to the night.