THE SHOWDOWN

                                                                                          Gymnasium VS. High School

VS.

 Both learning institutes. Both preparing

students for the future. Is one better than the other? A question I prepare to detangle.

This has been a topic that I’ve wanted to write about for a while. There are so many random things that make a Gymnasium (This is the name for a high school in German,) and an American High School Different. It may not be the most interesting topic for some of you, but I want to address how the learning style and basic outlook of the two institutions differ.

**Note that these differences apply to my high school at home at the school I am going to in Germany. I cannot say that every school fits these standards.

Some Random Differences Between a Gymnasium and a High School:

·   There are 3 different levels of schooling in Germany after grade school or “Grundschule.” It is determined what school you will go to sometime in the 4^th grade. Gymnasium is the highest form of schooling.

· A Gymnasium has grades 5^th-12^th and sometimes a 13^th grade as well. This is the last year my school will have a graduating 13^th class because they have chosen to eliminate it.

·     In Germany, everyone writes with these ink fountain pens.  They make everything look really fancy. When the ink runs out you replace it and buy more.  They hardly ever use pencils, and when they do it is usually to graph things in math. In America we use mechanical pencils nearly 100% of the time and nothing else.

·    Germans take really neat notes. They always use a ruler or a triangular shaped device called a “Geodreieck” to have straight lines.

·    Grades in German tend to be lower than in America. The grading scale is from 1-6, 1 being amazing and 6 being unsatisfactory. Unlike the elite students in America who get straight A’s, it would be nearly impossible, and so to say legendary for a student in Germany to get all 1’s. I’ve seen really intelligent students be happy with a 3 on a test they were nervous about.

·    You also need to make an effort all around to get good grades. I was really surprised when I got graded harshly in gym, a class that I always took for a bit of a joke in America. Well, I still kind of take it for a joke here. It just shows now…

·    Half your grade is based on the exams you take, and the other half is mainly based on how much you speak in class. They assign a lot of homework, but technically you don’t have to do it. You can either present your homework in class or hand it in to the teacher for them to look it over. You never get a “0” for not handing it in.

·     The exams are a lot different. They are scheduled ahead of time, and last 1-4 hours.  There is no such thing as multiple choice. They happen less often than American tests, and cover more material.

·   In Germany every room has a chalkboard. You write with old classic chalk and clean the board with a sponge. A small percentage of the rooms have smart boards as well.

·   There is absolutely no school spirit in Germany. School is simply a place where you go to learn.

·    If you have to ride a bus to school, you ride the public transportation bus. There is no such thing as a German school bus.

·      Instead of having a parking lot, the majority of kids bike to school.

·     There is not an organized school day. There are 12 periods from 8:00a.m. To 6:00 p.m. and you will often have free periods throughout the day. Most school days a student will have class from 8:00 to 1:30 and sometimes afternoon classes as well, however this differs for every schedule. There is also no lunch schedule, but there is a pause between every period where you can snack.

·      In America, we seem to believe it should be a God given right to be able to go to the bathroom when you need to. It is not so in Germany. You can rarely go to the bathroom during class, and when you do you have to go to the office and go get a key to unlock the door. It’s a pain. I also thought it was funky that you have to get toilet paper from outside the stall near the sink and bring it with you.

·     There is no public Wi-Fi in the schools, nor a real library, or access to computers unless it is scheduled during a class. At my school in America you have constant access to a library and computers, as well as WiFi access from any device. We do, however, have blocks on social networking sites.

·    The relationship between students and faculty is very formal. You use the formal version of you, “Sie,” to address your teachers over the casual “du” version.

·    Class in Germany is very dense. There isn’t any time spent doing busy work and nearly no goofing around.

·    They also don’t have school dances, however they have parties at clubs that you can go to when you’re 16 or older that are thrown by several schools. They also have a thing called an “Abiball,” that happens at the end of 12^th grade.  Unlike prom, this has ballroom dancing, and often the entire family attends.

·   In America, we have SAT’s and ACT’s as our big college tests. In Germany they have something called an “Arbitur” or translated as A-Levels at the end of the 12^th grade.

·     Teachers do not care if the students smoke outside the school. I suppose they put a blind eye to it in America as well, however if the wrong teacher caught a student they would be due for some serious consequences.

·      Most students don’t have lockers, if you want one you have to pay for one.

·      If a teacher is sick or not there, you can find out on a board posted at the front of the school. This means that the class in cancelled.

·   The only “spirit days” a German student will ever have is in the 12^th grade, right before taking the Arbitur, unlike the common “Spirit weeks” American schools have around 1-2 times each year.

·  There is virtually no such thing as a snow day, it just does not snow enough.

(We usually expect around 2-5 a year in Colorado, and throw a major fit if we don’t get them. They’re just the best days ever.)
-In Germany, you select two "Leistungskursen" which you have for more time during the week and are more advanced. In America, you can choose to have as many AP or honors classes as you want that are for the same time periods as other classes but tend to be a higher level or learning with a higher work load.
-German schools also take several class trips with their students. For example, in the 9th grade they go skiing for a week and in the 12th they go to another country for a week. (Spain, England, Rome, etc.) In the 10th grade they also do a "Praktikum" or internship for two weeks.
-It is normal when a student is having a hard time in school to repeat a grade. I see this only very rarely in America
-In Germany a student is allowed to have their "Handy" a.k.a. cell phone out. At my school, although some teachers don't care, many will take them away and your parents have to pick them up later. It's super annoying and somewhat unnecessary, and I find that it's not really a problem to have them allowed in Germany.

These are some of the few basic differences… however the list can go on and on.

Now the question I prepare to confront it, is one of the institutes better than the other? The two schools both accommodate to two very different cultures, however I believe that if we combined the positive qualities of both schools and got rid of what isn’t working, we could have an extremely well tuned learning system.

            I appreciate the learning structure in Germany. I think that you have to pay a lot more attention in class and participate more when your grade is on the line. As much as I love multiple choice, you are also forced to learn a lot more with out it. I wish we had a language program more similar to Germany’s in the U.S. I realize English is so to say an “international language,” however I think it would be in our best interest to start teaching a second language at a very young age, whether it be Spanish, French, Mandarin, or whatever else. We also need to focus more on conversation and speaking than grammar and busy work during our foreign language classes. The knowledge of a second language and the skills it takes to learn are lifetime lessons. The organization of German schooling is also well done in my opinion. Germans don’t have to waste class time with substitute teachers. In reality, we don’t really do that much in America when the teacher is not there. I also really appreciate the testing schedules. The last week of school before vacation in America is always really stressful with finals, especially on days where you somehow end up having a test every period. I believe scheduling the testing ahead of time is a really good decision for both the teachers and the students.

            America has its positive qualities as well. In America, a school is a key part of the community. With pep-rallies, sports, organized clubs and more opportunities, school is a much happier place to be and the student body is a closer group. I thought I would appreciate the lack of school sports, however in reality I really miss it. School just isn’t as much fun. Americans have a lot of pride for their schools, where as in Germany it is, like I said before, just a place you go to in order to learn. We also have more electives and clubs available. In Germany students have the option between art, music, and theatre, and are required to take gym. We have so much more variety in America. For example, if you want to take art, you can choose to specifically take a course in painting, drawing, pottery, photography, etc. This allows one to focus more on one topic and really be able to get something out of the class. We also have home economics, student government, engineering classes, mechanic classes, and so many others available. If there is a course you want to take but your school doesn’t offer it, you can also take it at a local college or online. It is also more important to be well rounded in America. We put a very large emphasis on volunteering, participating in clubs and sports, and what you do with your life outside of the classroom. Both grades and outside activities contribute to college selection. In Germany college selection is based mainly off grades, at least from my knowledge. In my opinion it is more important to be a well-rounded person than to only have good grades. Grades play a large role in a student’s life, however they are obviously not everything. I also believe that technology and creativity are pushed more in American schools, something that is extremely important in our modern day society. If we hand in a paper in America, it would be unacceptable if it were not typed. Every classroom has a smart board and a white board. The Internet and website resources play a very large role in education. We also are required to take computer classes up till the 9^th grade, where we learn how to properly use computer programs and how to type. I believe that the lack of modern technology is one of the biggest downfalls of German schools. We also do a lot more projects and presentations in America, allowing us to show our creative side a bit. I always learn a lot more from projects and prefer them to constantly rigidly organized class periods.

            All in all, both schooling systems have positive and negative aspects. I don't want it to be perceived that German schools are really strict and American schools are a party, because it is absolutely not that way. School is school, and not the most favorite place to be for teenagers no matter what, and kids will be kids and find ways to work around rules. I believe that if we somehow combined the organization of German schooling with the community and technologically advanced atmosphere of an American high school, we could have an extremely fine-tuned learning institution. I am so happy to have this opportunity to be here and compare the two different life styles of Americans and Germans, and I hope that I will be able to bring something back to my country with the knowledge I’ve gained as well as share what I know with the culture I am now a guest to.