While I have already touched on many differences in the German and US classroom and school day, I think it would be beneficial to back up and start from the basics: the organization of the German school system.
Students start their education in primary school, which consists of Grades 1 to 4. The teacher that starts with the class in Grade 1 will loop up with the class all four years. Then, after the completion of Grade 4, each student will follow one of two tracks for secondary school: a gymnasium or a stadttielschule. Although students’ teachers make recommendations, parents have the ultimate choice of whether a child will attend a gymnasium or a stadttielschule. Gymnasiums include Grades 5-12 while stadttielschules (which translates to “district school”) include Grades 5-13. Although gymnasiums are typically believed to be more academically rigorous, students at both schools can take the Abitur, a comprehensive exit exam and general qualification for university entrance, upon completion.
This school system in Germany is very new and was reformed in 2010. Before this reform, students followed a track that pre-determined their career. Schools were either meant to prepare students for higher academia or prepare students for the work force. While the new system is meant to give students more equal opportunity, the gymnasium is still thought to be better preparation to follow a college track, and a stadttielschule is considered to be more vocational-based.
While this division seems to be a extreme difference from the US, I am not so sure it is. How many of you took Honors and AP classes in high school and were with the same 30 students all day long even though your grade had 500 students? Something to think about.
- School Day- Most German schools still follow a half-day school day, which lasts from 8AM-1PM. Some gymnasiums offer afternoon lessons, and primary schools are starting to offer a “full day,” but often times this is more similar to after school care than an extended school day.
- Lunch- Many schools do not serve lunch, as traditionally German families serve their big meal of the day (“hot meal”) at lunch. Students come home from school right before lunch, and many parents take a break from work to come home for lunch as well. My host family ate lunch at 1:30PM every day.
- Classroom Organization- Students sit in groups. This is not a huge difference, as many American students (at least in primary school) sit in pods of desks as well.
- Breaks- There are two 20-minute breaks during the day. These breaks take place at the exact same time every day. During the breaks most teachers gather in the teacher’s lounge for coffee, tea, and cake!
- Class Schedule- Each lesson (German, Sports, mathematics, art, religion, etc.) is exactly 45 minutes. Teachers rarely run over this time period. German and math were taught for at least one period every day, and other subjects are usually taught 2-3 times each week.
I do not think I can say that one way is better than the other. Don’t get me wrong - I loved using technology to enrich my lessons in America. I prefer to teach using technology. Technology can be used to improve higher-order thinking, but it is not always used in this way. In Dr. Anderson’s words: using technology for the sake of technology is not always helpful. In general I think American teachers are much better trained in using instructional technology in the classroom, and thus, technology is used in a beneficial way in these classrooms. Some teachers prefer to teach in other ways though, and in my opinion, this is okay too. My cooperating teacher in Germany is taking her class on a trip to Sylt, in which students will apply the knowledge they have acquired to keep a writing journal, conduct science experiments, and learn about the ocean. Next week students will have a reading slumber party at the school and make breakfast together the next morning. Can a teacher just decide to do these kinds of things in the US? Probably not. Does it enrich student thinking? Absolutely.
- Foreign Language- Students are required to use English in conversation in primary school. Students start learning a second, and sometimes even a third, foreign language in secondary schools.
- Sports- Few schools have sports teams. Many students asked me if American high schools really have football teams and cheerleaders! :)
- Gap Years- It is common for students to take a gap year between secondary school and attending a university in order to gain practical experience in the field that they wish to enter. Update: According to my cooperating teacher, the gap year is much more common in certain regions of Germany than others! It is very common in Hamburg.
- Student Freedom- Students have SO MUCH SAY in their education here. They are very respected, and authority really listens to what they want, rather than telling them what to do. Students want an extra day of spirit week? Okay! Seniors want to break the orchestra and choir dress code to wear their spirit week hippie clothes? Cool, no problem! Yay senior pride!
- A similarity? Student spirit week! My host sister Jose is pictured above on the first day of senior spirit week, in which students dressed up like their very first day of primary school. They even received a bouquet of candies that they decorated on their first day of school in Grade 1. Too cute!