German Schools

It's hot and sunny in our neck of the woods in the NordRhein-Westfalen region. Hot as in 37C with the humidity. No AC here either. Germans not big on that kind of technology, so we're making do with fans.

I miss being at Port Elgin this year and staying at the beach house and seeing and talking to our local friends there. It was, and is my nirvana.
Hope everyone is well and is enjoying the summer. It has been a hot, dry, sunny one here in Europe and Canada.

Elowyn started school two days ago, but is yet to have a full day as the teachers let them go around 12:30pm if it's hot! I know, right!?! Unheard of in Ontario!
She brought home a bunch of papers for me to read and sign and I spent hours using google translate to try and decipher them. Well, google translate sucks at translating. Really sucks! Maybe it's the 25 letter words, or the way verbs end up at the end of the sentence; I don't know, but the translations are hilarious and don't make sense. Eventually, I get the gist of it, but it is very time consuming to say the least.

E was really nervous about school and cried and cried and of course blamed me, the mother for making her come here, having to learn and speak German, leaving her friends etc. etc. If the moon turned blue, she'd blame me for that too! She had easy homework in geography yesterday about learning the names of the 16 states and their capitals and cutting out the states, colouring and labeling them and gluing them to the big map. Didn't want to do it, so I made her do it, and helped her memorize the states creatively by saying, 'And that's Hamburg, where our container landed after crossing the ocean. And there's Bremen where our container is sitting after going through customs. Oh, and there's Bayern where you visited Jon and Luisa and climbed one of the Alpen bergs. And there's Hessen where many of your Opa's family lives. etc, etc.

I told her that Steven and I would learn with her and that seemed to placate her, so we'll be playing 'Name that state and capital' tonight!
School begins at 7:55 am. Now for our night owl, this is absolute torture to get out of bed at what she deems the ungodly hour of 6:30am! She then has to get ready, eat something, walk about 6 min along Wallstrasse which is Wall street because lo and behold there is a stretch of a castle wall in partial ruin along the way. Then she has to catch a bus that crosses to Kaiserswerth where her school is; a 20 min ride.

Her school is a religious affiliated school, (Protestant), and gets some funding from the church. As such, her Schokoticket, which is her transportation pass for the month is only €12 instead of €35 for public schools. She will be taking religion as a course at the school, but has the option of taking the Catholic stream.

Elowyn has 7 classes a day approx. that are 45min. long with a 5 min break between classes. Between period 2 and 3 and between period 4 and 5 there is a 15 min. break to eat and use the bathroom because there is no lunch break until school ends at 2:05 or 2:55pm.

Yesterday, Elowyn was amazed to see students literally wolf down a sandwich during one of the breaks. She had only finished a carrot! Then later realized there is no lunch break til the end of classes! So typically, students would then eat their lunch and then go on to participate in several dozen clubs in the school including arts or sports. This is to ensure that there are no interruptions to the academic part of the day. Even assemblies and the like are held afterwards.
Her school is a Gymnasium school or Grammar school which starts in grade 5 and goes up to grade 12 and prepares them for university. Children are streamed in grade 4 to attend either Gymnasium, Realschule, Hauptschule, or Gesamtschule school based on their academics.

Gymnasium education is required for anyone planning on tertiary education. Most academic students will go on to study at a Gymnasium between the ages of 10 and 18 (years 5 to 13). There are 32–40 hours of lessons a week and lots of homework.They will study a broad range of subjects at a high standard, including two compulsory foreign languages (often English, French, Spanish, or Latin) plus sports, music and art lessons. Students can also choose to take more advanced 'honours' courses (Leistungskurse).

Realschule is a school for intermediary students who attendbetween the ages of 10 and 15/16 for five years (grade 5 to 10). This is the most common form of secondary education, and while it is below Gymnasium education, it can still offer a high academic standard. They study a range of subjects, including a compulsory foreign language; students can opt for a second language (usually French). Studies culminate in a diploma which allows students to take training courses leading to vocational qualifications, an apprenticeship in a commercial trade or the medical profession, or further courses leading to higher education. Upon graduation, academic achievers can transfer to a Gymnasium to continue their studies if they wish to enter university.

Hauptschule is a vocational school for less academic students aged between 10 and 15 or 16. There are five compulsory years in grade (5–9) but students can choose to stay on for grade 10 if they wish. It is generally considered the least demanding of the secondary school types but is highly appropriate for those wishing to enter a trade or an apprenticeship in certain industrial sectors. Students receive a basic general education with a focus on mathematics, computer science, German and one compulsory foreign language (usually English), plus vocational skills. It essentially covers the same subjects as the other secondary schools, but at a slower pace and with some vocational orientation. At the end of grade 9 they receive a certificate or diploma. If students stay on for grade 10 they are given an extended diploma.

After graduation, students can enter an apprenticeship (Lehre) in a manual trade and continue with part-time studies at a vocational school or Berufsschule until they are 18. Academic achievers may be able to transfer to a Gymnasium if they want to obtain the necessary level required to enter university.
Vocational Schools (Berufsschule).

After the Hauptschule and Realschule, the Berufsschule combines part-time academic study with an apprenticeship. At the end of grade 9 and 10, students want to work in certain professional or vocational jobs can combine part-time education and on-the-job training for two to three years at these schools:

Berufsfachschule – full time vocational school;
Berufsaufachschule – extension vocational school;
Fachoberschule – technical school;
Berufliches Gymnasium/Fachgymnasium – vocational upper level of gymnasium;
Fachschule – advanced technical school.

Students can undertake a range of work-directed studies, such as economics and specific business studies, usually related to an apprenticeship. The successful completion of an apprenticeship program can lead to certification in a particular trade or field of work.

After full-time vocational schooling, students in years 10 to 12/13 receive the Zeugnis der Fachgebundenen Hochschulreife, which also gives them access to higher education.

Gesamtschule is open to all students. Students are streamed according to their ability within the school. At the end of grade 10 they can leave with a Hauptschulabschlus diploma and go on to take an apprenticeship (Lehre), go to a vocational school, or stay on for a further three years to take the Abitur for university entrance.

I know there is controversy in Canada about streaming kids at grade 5, but it works really well here because there isn't such a difference in learning levels in the classroom, nor the behaviour problems that go along with it. If Johnny doesn't have the discipline, maturity, or motivation to learn or study by grade 4, there are other options. The great part about this system is there is always a chance to go to university once the student has the maturity etc. It just takes longer.

Also, in grades 9-12, if you fail 2 subjects, you must take the ENTIRE year over! So, there is particular motivation for students to knuckle down and focus. Still, there is no stigma ( except you will miss your friends), to repeat a year and there are different ages in each class. On the flip side, students can go to higher levels. For example, Elowyn is not in grade 8 English, she is in grade 9 English. But if I see that it isn't challenging for her, I will request a higher grade, same thing in French.

Students start taking a third language in grade 6; usually French or Spanish. (English classes start earlier at age 8 or so). Since Elowyn was in the extended French program last year in Toronto, she is way above her peers, so I requested she be put in a higher grade. It's good because she will be exposed to more German students as opposed to the 12 students ranging from ages 13-17 in her German Language Prep class. Elowyn is the youngest and only 13 year old at the moment.
Anyway, most important thing for Elowyn this year is to learn German and become fluent. I will make sure at home that she keep up with math which is important for high school when she returns next year.

That's all in a nutshell. I'm sure she'll be home early again today as it's 34C in the afternoon, plus it's Friday and all the teachers will want to leave for the weekend. Yeah, I'll probably see her by noon!
Keep cool!