I learned so much both by comparing German and American educational systems but also through lots of self-reflection on modern teaching practices. Below, I have summarized the most substantial takeaways I will carry with me forever as an educator and mother. Not to be corny, but it truly was a life changing experience:
1. We have watered down American education so greatly. Germans (and Europeans for that matter) expect such higher/deeper/more real levels of performance from their students of all ages. They are shocked to learn that we give multiple-choice tests at all, let alone frequently. Their assignments are almost always open-ended writing prompts, discussion between peers or teachers, creative expression, and public speaking opportunities. Students are learning to express their knowledge in such real world contexts while simultaneously expressing their own original thoughts within that learning compared to our heavily worksheet-based, rote memorization system in the U.S. 2. Sex education starts in primary school, and they have little to no issue with teen pregnancy. Between the ages of 7-11, German students learn the basic concepts of the human anatomy, how puberty happens, and the process of creating a fetus. This curriculum develops even more fully once they reach middle school and high school ages. In addition, abortion is legal in Germany and birth control is free for all individuals in their universal health care system until the age of 18. Women in Germany feel very well educated and empowered to start families when they feel it is best. They do not tend to raise children in poverty or single-parent homes nearly as frequently as US mothers because they do not see nearly the rate of young pregnancy that we do. What a novel thought -- education and resources stop pregnancy better than any government mandate! Who would have guessed . . . 3. There is NOT a true separation of church and state in Germany, which surprised me deeply. I assumed most first world countries separated the two. Instead, when students are entering primary school, parents have the choice between a public school that is Catholic, Protestant, or not religious. So while the parents can still separate church and state, everyone's tax dollars still go toward a system that is 2/3rds religious. My main takeaway here is different than what I have just explained, though. What is more refreshing to learn is that their weekly religion courses are not focused on the rote memorization of Catholic or Protestant ideology or rituals. Instead, they learn about being good, kind humans, about the tenants of different religions, and about character development. 4. Art is comprehensively everywhere throughout the primary buildings, and it is so inviting to see. Windows, hallways, counter tops, walls. It is joyful and bright. The kids are working with their hands daily. 5. The technology is very much lacking throughout German education. While there are some elements that appear nicer without the technological distractions, overall, the students and educators there feel this is a major issue in which they need to catch up with the world to continue learning modern skills. I think there is a balance somewhere in the middle of Germans low tech use and our high dependence on it. 6. Germans schools do not have all their resources on site, and that is fine. Instead, they utilize community resources far more. For example, the day I went to PE (Sports) class with some third graders, we walked three city blocks to the nearby city gymnasium. The Sports teacher told me that she even takes her fourth graders on a 20-minute bus ride to the local indoor pool for swimming lessons during school hours. They utilize the churches near their buildings for services as well. At the high school levels, they send students off half of the week to real-life internships on the job. These systemic internships were probably the most impressive element I witnessed in the German educational setting. Every career employs paid interns during their teenage years -- secretaries, farmers, hair dressers, waiters, etc. -- you name it, they train in it. It puts a deeper respect on every profession because patrons know each individual is highly trained and skilled at their job. It also leads to higher job retention because young adults know what they are getting into and whether they really like the job they are applying for in the long run.
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"It was the best of times; it was the worst of times." I started this journey to Germany terribly in the first few hours. I experienced the most turbulent flight of my life while flying from Kansas City to Chicago on June 15th. Even with nausea medicine, I still stepped off the plane feeling quite queasy. While many people would find this crazy, I actually had airport sushi (lol) to calm my stomach. There is something about the simplicity of sushi with fresh and simple ingredients that really makes me feel better. (That theme of fresh and real food will come back around this entire trip, so stay tuned for that.) The meal really did help, and then I was elated to find 2/3rds of my travel group -- 20 teachers from all across the US. The excitement and hopefulness of this group definitely helped revive my travel spirits as well. Then, by pure luck (really, no upgrade involved on my part) I landed in Premium seating for our 7-hour flight to Frankfurt. It wasn't even first class, but man, was it so much more luxurious than Economy. So much leg/arm/hip room, better meals, more storage cubbies, no middle seat, etc. The travel gods were paying me back for the terrible flight a few hours earlier. I actually slept a solid four hours on my "overnight" trip, which was critical in my jet lag fight the next day, considering I lost 7 hours in time zone shifts during the flight. I also must admit here that I really had not paid enough attention in geography class because I was surprised to realize, while watching the in-flight map, that Germany is actually the same latitude as the middle of Canada. I had not realized before that moment how much farther north we were traveling.
Upon arriving in Germany, the travel gods smiled on us once again as we had a very easy jaunt through customs and every single person in our group received all their checked luggage! It was then that we met our two-week German tour guide Nic. Little did we know in that moment that he would become the most loved person on our trip. As we spent the next 15 hours trying to stay awake to adjust to German time, here were my initial impressions of Bonn, Germany, which would serve as our home for 10 days: -- Because Germany is the size of many of our states, there aren't really many small towns. Germans consider Bonn, with a population of 300,000, to be a small town. When I told people I was from a town of 10,000, they all seemed shocked and told me I actually lived in a village. When I then explained we are the largest town in a one-hour radius and everyone comes to our town for more options, Germans did not know what to think. -- Bonn is filled with more cyclists than any other town I have ever experienced. This was such a prevalent part of their culture that I will dedicate an entire upcoming post to German bicycle life and how much I grew to love it! -- We were spoiled with a fantastic hotel overlooking the historic Rhine River, which anchored our travels for the first 10 days. (catch a glimpse of it in my lunch picture on the patio above) -- I tried my very first wiener schnitzel and Radler beer the first night at a German bier haus. The meal was fantastic, but the the beer was mediocre. More to come on all the food in a later post. I did learn how to order a proper Radler moving forward at least. -- Germany doesn't really do ice cubes or air conditioning! This will become a very important point in the coming days of my trip. This might not be the most insightful or exciting post of my trip, but let it serve simply as the introduction to my deeply inspiring trip. I hope you will join me for future posts that really contain so much more substance! My district went back to school with in-person students (mostly) four days ago. It's pretty surreal. After staying home with little outside contact for five months, I wasn't sure things could ever go back to pre-Covid. Life isn't completely normal, of course, but it was a huge step this week. I feel like my district is taking the necessary precautions to protect staff and students as well. Being from a very rural area, our Covid+ numbers are tiny. We've only had 72 cases as a county the whole year, and we only have 8 current cases. I understand completely why urban areas should not be back in person, yet, but we live in a remote enough place to try returning to school with proper protections.
Covid protections have been very politicized in my county, so I was shocked this week to see every student following the school mask mandate without complaint. (Our city does not have a mandate, just an encouragement.) Kids are just so happy to be back in a socialized world. Their mental health really did need it. Our middle school lunch shifts are spread apart, but it was still the happiest I've seen any of our kids! They were literally beaming. Not all kids are back, yet, though. Families were given the option to distance learn. 10 percent of our families chose that option. It's been a whirlwind the past two weeks trying to prep what distance learning looks like. Our district had to focus on our levy vote failing throughout June and July, so distance learning plans started later than they should have. I found out just a week before school started that I have 11 distance learning gifted students in addition to my in-person students AND I found out I am now the middle school distance learning Electives facilitator . . . for ALL elective courses. It really is the best solution for our electives. I just wish I'd had a few more weeks of prep time. But if this is how I can carry some of the 2020 burden for my team, I'm happy to do so. In my next update, I hope to share with you all how distance learning is going both in gifted classes and electives. Stay tuned! I never thought I'd be teaching elementary and middle school students 100% online within my career. But here we are. As you can tell by the date, we are officially in the beginning stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in America. Two days ago, my district abruptly announced that students and teachers would leave at 3:00 and not be allowed back in the buildings for at least three weeks. We are trying to help flatten the exponential growth curve of viral spread, but no one knows how long this could really last. In fact, just yesterday, the Kansas governor announced the closure of all K-12 schools for the remainder of the school year! Teachers across the country are beginning to grieve in a very real way.
My heart breaks for those Kansas teachers because I can't imagine leaving my students in March with no indication they would never be my students again. The farewells are important in education. Real familial relationships were built over the past seven months between those classmates and teachers, and they never got to really say goodbye. For our ever-growing population of kids who already struggle with abandonment issues from their biological parents, we teachers consciously work hard near the end of the school year to let those children know they are loved. We make sure the last day of school isn't "goodbye" but "see ya later." Teachers tirelessly work to make sure our children (because each student becomes one of our children for life) have a stable summer environment and guaranteed food through June, July, and August. Those chances have been stripped away for many teachers (and probably more of us to come). We give meaningful end-of-year gifts to send students off into the world, so they know how valuable they are. I myself wrote a full-page personalized letter to each of my fourth graders telling them all of the strengths I saw within them and how much I believed they could overcome any situation life had thrown their way. I have hand-painted rocks with student names and positive personality traits for each of my eighth graders. I send them off to high school reminding them to glance at that rock on their shelf every once in awhile to remind themselves it's a Wishing Stone: my wish for them to stay grounded, to use their giftedness for good, and to develop their talents; and that I will always be a steady, firm adult in their lives if ever needed. I truly appreciate the public support I see pouring in for teachers across the social media world. However, most posts I've seen focus on our joint effort to keep education happening from afar, and people's admiration for a job well-done. It's so nice to hear those words in a profession that is so often undervalued. However, the stress of successful virtual learning is not what most of us are trying to cope with. It is the deep, honest way we miss our kids, especially with no definite reunification in sight. You give us your own children every day, and they become an extension of us. We are a family, and right now, we just really miss our family. So please, if you are connected with your child's teacher on any platform, don't just turn in online assignments. Send in video responses, so we can see our kiddos safe and well. Send a picture of something your child is enjoying during time at home that has nothing to do with school. Those are the reassurances teachers need to see right now. |
AuthorSophie -- a teacher, mother, wife, traveler, reader, camper, and Mizzou Tiger Archives
July 2022
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