In Part I, I talked about the general structure of Germany's school system-- now, I'm going to focus more on everyday life in schools and how it differs from the US. Be prepared for a very rambly post!
In the US, students can choose each class in their schedule. Some students end up being in all of the same classes, but it's because they chose that level of class. When German students enter a Gymnasium, they are assigned a homeroom and take classes together all the way until 10th grade. Teachers, not students, run from room to room. Once German students get to 11th grade (now called 12th grade at My Gymnasium-- long story, it has to do with reforms), they can specialize in certain subjects, but it's still nothing like the AP, honors, regular, remedial distinction in the US. The classes are separated based on the number of hours per week that the class is conducted, not based on students' skill levels.
Compared to the US, the classroom is a more formal environment. At the beginning of every class, the teacher says, "Good morning, students," and the students are expected to respond, "Good morning, Mr./Mrs./Ms. X." (They still have not figured out my last name; there is always this awkward pause that's followed by a butchered version of my name.) One would think that the rooms would be nicely decorated because the same kids (for the most part) stay in them the whole day, but most of them are empty and plain with maybe just a few posters hanging on the wall. Students sit at short tables (long desks, short tables, whatever... flat surface, four legs) in pairs, and most rooms are either arranged in rows or a in horseshoe with a few tables in the middle. I've only seen one room where desks were arranged to form clusters.
In the US, students' classes are always in the same order. In Germany, students' schedules are different every day of the week. For example, a class might have French, biology, math, a double hour of English (2 45 minute periods with a break in the middle), chemistry, history, and physics on a given day of the week. The next day, the same class might have a double hour of chemistry, math, French, math, and physics, and leave school after the 6th period. It's confusing, and I still see my students checking their schedules between classes. This also makes substitute teaching a complete headache. There are no permanent subs in Germany. Instead, teachers at My Gymnasium check the online system to see if a class needs to be covered, and then those students will just have an additional lesson in that teacher's subject.
German teachers teach at least two subjects. Sometimes they are in the same department (e.g. modern languages); sometimes they are completely different. There are quite a few English/French teachers at My Gymnasium, but I also met a Sport/French teacher.
At a Gymnasium, German students learn at least two foreign languages. Most students begin English in 3rd grade, although a few start in 1st grade or in 5th grade, and they begin French somewhere around 5th-6th grade at My Gymnasium. I believe students at Hauptschulen and Realschulen are also required to take English until they graduate-- but don't quote me on that! I'm beginning to realize that the quality of foreign language instruction is very similar in the US and in Germany (e.g. it depends on the school, but Germans don't have any magic secrets to teaching languages); the biggest difference is that Germans start English so much earlier than Americans start a foreign language. I'd guess that the students in Leistungskurse are about at the same level as students at the 202-301 level at Miami.
Interestingly, there aren't as many discipline issues at My Gymnasium as there are at many schools in the US, including at My High School. Even the schools with the worst reputations, like the Ruetli-Schule in Neukoelln, are downright pleasant and calm compared to many inner-city schools in the US. Methods of disciplining students are much different at My Gymnasium than in the US. My Gymnasium does not assign detentions, but I can't speak for other schools. Instead, if a student turns around and talks to friends, it's acceptable to grab his or her shoulder and turn him around. In many areas in the US, this would be a great way to get fired and possibly sued. It's also normal for teachers to yell to get students' attention (one of the teachers yelled and swore at students for talking) or to assign extra homework for students who act out. The extra assignment is almost always something tedious, like copying vocabulary words or copying a page out of the book. I'm really not comfortable with manhandling students (and let's face it-- they're bigger than I am) or making them copy pages, so I've been enforcing discipline by walking around the class, consistently calling on students who are talking to their friends, and knocking on tables. I've done my share of, "LEISE, BITTE!" and "SETZ DICH, BITTE!" (that was the day a student was walking on a table), but I really prefer to have a voice at the end of the day.
As a side note, there seems to be a lot more repetitive work and worksheets in German classrooms than in the US. My students are more willing to participate when I ask them direct questions than when I give them a more open-ended prompt. I've noticed that students focus much more on being right than on exploring new ideas; even students at the Leistungskurs and Grundkurs levels constantly ask, "Is this right? Am I doing this right?"
All students in Berlin in certain grades are required to take ethics classes, and schools also offer optional religion classes. The interesting thing here is that the majority of students at My Gymnasium are Muslim, but My Gymnasium only offers classes in Protestantism and Catholicism. Berlin is a very secular city, so not many students actually attend these classes.
When students want to answer questions in class, they raise their hands. Unlike American students, German kids typically point their index finger in the air, and if they really want to answer the question, they'll snap. (Hint to German students going to the US: don't snap at American teachers!)
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Explaining Germany's School System- Part I
Some people might be wondering why I keep referring to My Gymnasium, especially since I haven't found a gymnastics club yet. Don't worry-- I'm here to help!
In Germany, the most common types of schools are Grundschulen, Hauptschulen, Realschulen, Gymnasien, and Gesamtschulen. The exact names of schools and the breakdown of grades differ across the country, so it's difficult to make generalizations about the school system. I'll focus primarily on what happens in Berlin.
From what I understand, most children in Berlin start 1st grade between the ages of 5-7 (the cut-off date is December 31st). They continue in their Grundschule until either fourth grade or sixth grade.
At this point, students are sorted into several tracks for high school. This is partially based on the students' grades and work ethic; teachers can recommend students for a certain type of school. However, in Berlin, it is possible for parents to overrule teachers and elect to send their child to a different type of school. (The process of choosing and getting admitted to a Gymnasium is confusing, so I'll just leave it at that.) In many states, there are three or four types of schools after 6th grade; however, Berlin sorts students into two kinds of schools.
The Gymnasium is the most highly regarded type of school in Germany, and it covers 5th grade to 12/13th grade (beginning this year- 12th grade, formerly- 13th grade). I don't have exact numbers, but we were told at orientation that about 50% of the students in Berlin will attend a Gymnasium (the percentage is lower in other states). It is roughly equivalent to taking AP, Honors, and the most motivated "regular" students from an American high school. Hochbegabte (highly gifted) children and/or (depending on the school) children who want to take an additional foreign language have the opportunity to move to a Gymnasium as 5th graders; other students move to Gymnasien in 7th grade. Gymnasien are essentially college-prep schools that usually end with students taking the Abitur exams. Colloquially, the "Abi" refers specifically to the written and oral tests, which are much more demanding than the SAT/ACT.
The other 50% of Berlin students attend a Sekundarschule, which is also referred to as a Gesamtschule in other German states. The Sekundarschule and Gesamtschule combine two other types of schools: the Hauptschule (the lowest performing 30% of students; the American equivalent would be remedial/special education programs) and the Realschule (approximately 20% of students). The Sekundarschule ends at 10th grade. In other states, the Hauptschule ends at 9th grade, and the Realschule ends at 10th grade.
After graduating from a Sekundarschule, students have the opportunity to attend another school for additional training, and some pursue the Abitur. It is possible for students to move between schools, although it's more common for students from a Gymnasium to move to a Sekundarschule (after failing out of a Gymnasium) than vice versa.
The main criticisms of the German school system are that it's inherently classist and elitist, and that it tracks children at a very young age. (Some states sort all children in 4th grade. Berlin waits to sort most children until 6th grade.) I read an article that stated that children from higher income families are 4.5 times more likely to attend a Gymnasium than children from lower income families, even if they tested the same on IQ tests. (Berlin, by the way, has the lowest social gap out of all of the German states.) There is no German as Foreign Language support at the Gymnasium level, nor do German students have IEPs or other accomodations if they have learning disabilities. What does this mean? If little Hazan moves to Germany in 4th or 5th grade and doesn't speak German, she has virtually no chance of succeeding at a Gymnasium. If she happens to make it into a Gymnasium through the lottery system**, she will struggle immensely because there is no support for immigrants who are learning German.
(** Beginning in 2011-2012, Berlin Gymnasien will be required to take something like 20-30% of students from a lottery. In theory, this is meant to give students from lower income or immigrant families a chance to attend a Gymnasium. In reality, it will probably set up 20% of the Gymnasien students for failure because of the general lack of academic support at Gymnasien.)
Here's the thing: is Germany's system really all that different from what we do in the US? Several other Fulbrighters have mentioned in conversation that they hate how classist and discriminatory the German school system is; they think the US has a fairer system. I'm extremely uncomfortable with a lot of things in the German school system, but let's not pretend that the US's educational system isn't also deeply flawed and unjust. My district tracks students into gifted classes in 1st grade. Despite the fact that my district is quite ethnically and socioeconomically diverse (my high school is less than 50% white, and about 40% of the students come from low income families), the gifted classes were about 95% white and close to 100%-- if not 100%-- came from middle- to upper-middle-class families. It's really easy to see how German schools track students-- they're physically sent to different schools-- and point fingers at the dominant privilege embedded in this system. But we do it, too. The racism and classism in the US educational system is just more subtle.
I'm not sure where to put this, but this might be an important thing to know for my next post: another difference between the US and Germany is that students in the US can be in different levels in different subjects. (Sorry, I'm too tired to make this sentence less repetitive.) In Germany, a student at a Realschule wouldn't be able to take, say, math at a Gymnasium. In the US, students might be in honors English but regular math. American students of different ability levels attend the same public schools, but they take different classes.
Of course, I've left out quite a bit of information and made my share of generalizations about the German and US school systems, but I hope this is a decent enough overview. :)
In Germany, the most common types of schools are Grundschulen, Hauptschulen, Realschulen, Gymnasien, and Gesamtschulen. The exact names of schools and the breakdown of grades differ across the country, so it's difficult to make generalizations about the school system. I'll focus primarily on what happens in Berlin.
From what I understand, most children in Berlin start 1st grade between the ages of 5-7 (the cut-off date is December 31st). They continue in their Grundschule until either fourth grade or sixth grade.
At this point, students are sorted into several tracks for high school. This is partially based on the students' grades and work ethic; teachers can recommend students for a certain type of school. However, in Berlin, it is possible for parents to overrule teachers and elect to send their child to a different type of school. (The process of choosing and getting admitted to a Gymnasium is confusing, so I'll just leave it at that.) In many states, there are three or four types of schools after 6th grade; however, Berlin sorts students into two kinds of schools.
The Gymnasium is the most highly regarded type of school in Germany, and it covers 5th grade to 12/13th grade (beginning this year- 12th grade, formerly- 13th grade). I don't have exact numbers, but we were told at orientation that about 50% of the students in Berlin will attend a Gymnasium (the percentage is lower in other states). It is roughly equivalent to taking AP, Honors, and the most motivated "regular" students from an American high school. Hochbegabte (highly gifted) children and/or (depending on the school) children who want to take an additional foreign language have the opportunity to move to a Gymnasium as 5th graders; other students move to Gymnasien in 7th grade. Gymnasien are essentially college-prep schools that usually end with students taking the Abitur exams. Colloquially, the "Abi" refers specifically to the written and oral tests, which are much more demanding than the SAT/ACT.
The other 50% of Berlin students attend a Sekundarschule, which is also referred to as a Gesamtschule in other German states. The Sekundarschule and Gesamtschule combine two other types of schools: the Hauptschule (the lowest performing 30% of students; the American equivalent would be remedial/special education programs) and the Realschule (approximately 20% of students). The Sekundarschule ends at 10th grade. In other states, the Hauptschule ends at 9th grade, and the Realschule ends at 10th grade.
After graduating from a Sekundarschule, students have the opportunity to attend another school for additional training, and some pursue the Abitur. It is possible for students to move between schools, although it's more common for students from a Gymnasium to move to a Sekundarschule (after failing out of a Gymnasium) than vice versa.
The main criticisms of the German school system are that it's inherently classist and elitist, and that it tracks children at a very young age. (Some states sort all children in 4th grade. Berlin waits to sort most children until 6th grade.) I read an article that stated that children from higher income families are 4.5 times more likely to attend a Gymnasium than children from lower income families, even if they tested the same on IQ tests. (Berlin, by the way, has the lowest social gap out of all of the German states.) There is no German as Foreign Language support at the Gymnasium level, nor do German students have IEPs or other accomodations if they have learning disabilities. What does this mean? If little Hazan moves to Germany in 4th or 5th grade and doesn't speak German, she has virtually no chance of succeeding at a Gymnasium. If she happens to make it into a Gymnasium through the lottery system**, she will struggle immensely because there is no support for immigrants who are learning German.
(** Beginning in 2011-2012, Berlin Gymnasien will be required to take something like 20-30% of students from a lottery. In theory, this is meant to give students from lower income or immigrant families a chance to attend a Gymnasium. In reality, it will probably set up 20% of the Gymnasien students for failure because of the general lack of academic support at Gymnasien.)
Here's the thing: is Germany's system really all that different from what we do in the US? Several other Fulbrighters have mentioned in conversation that they hate how classist and discriminatory the German school system is; they think the US has a fairer system. I'm extremely uncomfortable with a lot of things in the German school system, but let's not pretend that the US's educational system isn't also deeply flawed and unjust. My district tracks students into gifted classes in 1st grade. Despite the fact that my district is quite ethnically and socioeconomically diverse (my high school is less than 50% white, and about 40% of the students come from low income families), the gifted classes were about 95% white and close to 100%-- if not 100%-- came from middle- to upper-middle-class families. It's really easy to see how German schools track students-- they're physically sent to different schools-- and point fingers at the dominant privilege embedded in this system. But we do it, too. The racism and classism in the US educational system is just more subtle.
I'm not sure where to put this, but this might be an important thing to know for my next post: another difference between the US and Germany is that students in the US can be in different levels in different subjects. (Sorry, I'm too tired to make this sentence less repetitive.) In Germany, a student at a Realschule wouldn't be able to take, say, math at a Gymnasium. In the US, students might be in honors English but regular math. American students of different ability levels attend the same public schools, but they take different classes.
Of course, I've left out quite a bit of information and made my share of generalizations about the German and US school systems, but I hope this is a decent enough overview. :)
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Registered!
Just a quick catch-up post to cover the past week:
- I registered at the Bezirksamt near my apartment. It took about an hour, but I now have a little piece of paper to prove that I have an address in Berlin!
- I opened a bank account just down the street from my apartment. Yay for being located in an awesome neighborhood! Double yay at the prospect of getting paid in the next few weeks!
- Instead of going to school on Thursday, the teachers had a Studientag. All of the classes were cancelled, and we carpooled to Gransee, which is a Dorf (village) about an hour north of Berlin. We walked around, sat through three short organ concerts at three churches, ate lunch (and ice cream!), and had a nice, relaxing time. And then I totally fell asleep on the way back to Berlin. I mean, I am slightly narcoleptic in moving vehicles... :)
- Apartment is all right. As I said, it's not an ideal situation, but I love the location, the neighborhood, and The Price is Right! I may have to babysit once/week, but I have a great deal on rent. Negatives: Dumpling (the 6-year-old) jumps on my bed; I'm sleeping on a mattress on the floor, and it's not very comfy; and the puppy chews and pees on things. As a result, Puppy is banned from entering my room; I pick her up and deposit her outside my door if she sneaks in.
- As an aside, I can dog-talk quite fluently in German. I've also won over Puppy's affection: I hate the fact that she jumps onto my mattress whenever possible, but I'm also happy that she only goes there to flop on her back. Yes, that's right-- I'm one of your bosses! Now get off my bed!
- The weather has been beautiful, so I've been wandering around my neighborhood when I have a little extra time. It's seriously a great area-- it's in an area of the city that is becoming gentrified-- and it has everything: affordable markets, small cafes, good restaurants, and a ton of funky little shops. I could live here for more than 10 months, I think!
- I met up with another JYMer and wandered around downtown Berlin for a few hours. Yay for former Munich people in Berlin!
- A bunch of us went to a Mexican restaurant (it was actually good!) to celebrate another Fulbright's birthday. It was fun-- spoke almost entirely in English, compared schools and schedules, and got to see people my own age!
- My schedule at My Gymnasium is being revised. I'm dropping the 5b class for at least the first semester (I'm sad about that; they're great kids!), and my after school class for conversation/writing practice was cancelled because the school just got a grant for MSA and TELC classes. Basically, another native speaker who is actually certified as a teacher will come in once or twice a week to teach after school classes to 10th grade students and up... exactly the population I was targeting. I'm going to revise the class and market it at 6th grade to 9th grade, but then it'll only be one hour. I think that means I can pick up an 11th class at the school. (If I have any input, it'll be 10b.)
- I registered at the Bezirksamt near my apartment. It took about an hour, but I now have a little piece of paper to prove that I have an address in Berlin!
- I opened a bank account just down the street from my apartment. Yay for being located in an awesome neighborhood! Double yay at the prospect of getting paid in the next few weeks!
- Instead of going to school on Thursday, the teachers had a Studientag. All of the classes were cancelled, and we carpooled to Gransee, which is a Dorf (village) about an hour north of Berlin. We walked around, sat through three short organ concerts at three churches, ate lunch (and ice cream!), and had a nice, relaxing time. And then I totally fell asleep on the way back to Berlin. I mean, I am slightly narcoleptic in moving vehicles... :)
- Apartment is all right. As I said, it's not an ideal situation, but I love the location, the neighborhood, and The Price is Right! I may have to babysit once/week, but I have a great deal on rent. Negatives: Dumpling (the 6-year-old) jumps on my bed; I'm sleeping on a mattress on the floor, and it's not very comfy; and the puppy chews and pees on things. As a result, Puppy is banned from entering my room; I pick her up and deposit her outside my door if she sneaks in.
- As an aside, I can dog-talk quite fluently in German. I've also won over Puppy's affection: I hate the fact that she jumps onto my mattress whenever possible, but I'm also happy that she only goes there to flop on her back. Yes, that's right-- I'm one of your bosses! Now get off my bed!
- The weather has been beautiful, so I've been wandering around my neighborhood when I have a little extra time. It's seriously a great area-- it's in an area of the city that is becoming gentrified-- and it has everything: affordable markets, small cafes, good restaurants, and a ton of funky little shops. I could live here for more than 10 months, I think!
- I met up with another JYMer and wandered around downtown Berlin for a few hours. Yay for former Munich people in Berlin!
- A bunch of us went to a Mexican restaurant (it was actually good!) to celebrate another Fulbright's birthday. It was fun-- spoke almost entirely in English, compared schools and schedules, and got to see people my own age!
- My schedule at My Gymnasium is being revised. I'm dropping the 5b class for at least the first semester (I'm sad about that; they're great kids!), and my after school class for conversation/writing practice was cancelled because the school just got a grant for MSA and TELC classes. Basically, another native speaker who is actually certified as a teacher will come in once or twice a week to teach after school classes to 10th grade students and up... exactly the population I was targeting. I'm going to revise the class and market it at 6th grade to 9th grade, but then it'll only be one hour. I think that means I can pick up an 11th class at the school. (If I have any input, it'll be 10b.)
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Je parle l'anglais, l'allemand, et... le français?
I've reached a pivotal moment in my German language acquisition: I'm at the point where both my German and English are getting worse. Since this has always preceded a sudden, significant jump in my speaking ability, I'd like to say that I'm excited about this-- but I'm mostly just annoyed that I'm babbling nonsense in two languages. I am, however, extremely excited about one recent development: after years of German, a semester in Munich, and even being made fun of in a German class at Miami (by a professor, nonetheless), I can roll my Rs on occasion. YES!
When I introduce myself to new classes-- and I met three more classes this week (one of which I'm assigned to; two of which I visited to say hello)-- I give the standard, "My name is Ms. A. I'm the English foreign language assistant at My Gymnasium for this school year. I'm from the United States, and I live about four hours south of Big City" spiel and then ask if they have any questions. In 9 of the 11 classes that I visited, the questions were pretty basic-- how old am I; am I still in school; what do I want to do when I grow up? But those 10th graders... they are inquisitive!
A few questions that they asked:
- What sports do you do? ("I do gymnastics, and I also figure skate a little." A girl in the front said, "I KNEW IT" auf Deutsch after the figure skating part, which is... odd... considering that I've only been skating for about a year and a half.)
- What's your favorite fast food? ("I don't eat any meat, so I don't really eat fast food. Does Subway count? And does falafel count?" The falafel comment led to a kind of fascinating tangent about 'American' and 'German' food. I forget how I got to this comment, but I definitely remember saying, "You know what Germany doesn't have? Good Mexican food. No offense, but your Mexican food is awful. But the US doesn't have Turkish food-- no doeners! We should trade-- we'll teach you how to make salsa if you give us some falafel stands." I also remember the students agreeing that 'German' food is always represented by Bayerisch specialities and that German-ness is often falsely represented by cultural aesthetics from the south. They're so smart!) Oh, and I did find a good Mexican restaurant in Berlin.
- What do you think of Obama? ("I definitely prefer Obama to Bush and McCain <*smile*>, but I don't agree with everything that he has done. Or what he hasn't done.")
- What do you think of the death penalty? (I explained that I was morally opposed to the death penalty and that even from an economic standpoint, life in prison without parole is the better option.)
- What do South Koreans think of North Koreans? ("Well, I haven't lived in South Korea since I was a baby, so I'm not sure I can really answer this question. I think I would say that South Koreans don't have anything against the North Korean people, but they disagree with the North Korean government." This kid also got a glare from the teacher for that question.)
- Are black people discriminated against in the US? What about Asian people? (So, so, so hard to answer this question succinctly in simple sentences. I settled for something like, "Discrimination still exists in the United States. The US was still segregated about forty years ago, so it has improved a lot... but there are still problems." I also mentioned 'driving while black' and discrimination in hiring. As for the "Asian people" question, I said that the stereotype of Asians is that they're hardworking and smart, so Asians tend to face less overt discrimination in hiring practices and criminalization.)
and, of course, an insensitive question that everyone wonders:
- Where are you really from? ("I'm from the United States.") No, where are you actually from? (I was quite surprised at the other students' reactions; I had been asked that question in almost every class, and the 10b was the first to smack down the question asker. You can't ask that! That's rude! She said she was American!
I really did have a wonderful conversation with the 10bs-- they asked questions for the full 45 minutes, with the teacher's approval ("I want to ask Ms. A some questions, too!"). After responding to the "Where are you really from" question, I diverted the conversation by pointing to my experience as a German as Foreign Language learner and asked how many of them learned German as a foreign language. I also asked if any of them were like me-- identifying as German but born in another country. As a complete nerd, I thought the answers were fascinating: 2 students are native speakers of Russian (one born in Russia; one in Kyrgyzstan), 1 is a native speaker of Mandarin, 1 of Cantonese, 1 of Vietnamese (born in Vietnam), 1 of Polish, and only 1 of Turkish. Hmm, I'm forgetting one or two languages. Anyway, there are only 18 students in that class-- the diversity at My Gymnasium is really remarkable!
My favorite question: "Do you speak French?" One of the other students looked at the question asker and said something like, "Why would you ask that? Of course she doesn't!" I smiled, always glad to disprove stereotypes of Americans, and said that I took French for a semester in college and would like to sit in on some French classes at My Gymnasium. I'm still kicking myself for not responding, "J'ai étudié le français pendant quatre mois, mais je ne parle pas très bien français." I think that would have given me some serious street cred. :)
But that's okay-- I had built up my German street cred already by drawing a super simplified comparison of the major American and German political parties. Their eyes actually widened when I started plotting the CDU and SPD on the graph, and they were shocked when I added Die Linke, Die Grünen, and the NPD.
No, actually, I lied; there was a better question: "Well, I'm not sure how to put this, but you look very slim, but in the US, when you go to restaurants, you get so much more food, and everything in stores is bigger... so how are you so slim?" (HAHAHA!)
When I introduce myself to new classes-- and I met three more classes this week (one of which I'm assigned to; two of which I visited to say hello)-- I give the standard, "My name is Ms. A. I'm the English foreign language assistant at My Gymnasium for this school year. I'm from the United States, and I live about four hours south of Big City" spiel and then ask if they have any questions. In 9 of the 11 classes that I visited, the questions were pretty basic-- how old am I; am I still in school; what do I want to do when I grow up? But those 10th graders... they are inquisitive!
A few questions that they asked:
- What sports do you do? ("I do gymnastics, and I also figure skate a little." A girl in the front said, "I KNEW IT" auf Deutsch after the figure skating part, which is... odd... considering that I've only been skating for about a year and a half.)
- What's your favorite fast food? ("I don't eat any meat, so I don't really eat fast food. Does Subway count? And does falafel count?" The falafel comment led to a kind of fascinating tangent about 'American' and 'German' food. I forget how I got to this comment, but I definitely remember saying, "You know what Germany doesn't have? Good Mexican food. No offense, but your Mexican food is awful. But the US doesn't have Turkish food-- no doeners! We should trade-- we'll teach you how to make salsa if you give us some falafel stands." I also remember the students agreeing that 'German' food is always represented by Bayerisch specialities and that German-ness is often falsely represented by cultural aesthetics from the south. They're so smart!) Oh, and I did find a good Mexican restaurant in Berlin.
- What do you think of Obama? ("I definitely prefer Obama to Bush and McCain <*smile*>, but I don't agree with everything that he has done. Or what he hasn't done.")
- What do you think of the death penalty? (I explained that I was morally opposed to the death penalty and that even from an economic standpoint, life in prison without parole is the better option.)
- What do South Koreans think of North Koreans? ("Well, I haven't lived in South Korea since I was a baby, so I'm not sure I can really answer this question. I think I would say that South Koreans don't have anything against the North Korean people, but they disagree with the North Korean government." This kid also got a glare from the teacher for that question.)
- Are black people discriminated against in the US? What about Asian people? (So, so, so hard to answer this question succinctly in simple sentences. I settled for something like, "Discrimination still exists in the United States. The US was still segregated about forty years ago, so it has improved a lot... but there are still problems." I also mentioned 'driving while black' and discrimination in hiring. As for the "Asian people" question, I said that the stereotype of Asians is that they're hardworking and smart, so Asians tend to face less overt discrimination in hiring practices and criminalization.)
and, of course, an insensitive question that everyone wonders:
- Where are you really from? ("I'm from the United States.") No, where are you actually from? (I was quite surprised at the other students' reactions; I had been asked that question in almost every class, and the 10b was the first to smack down the question asker. You can't ask that! That's rude! She said she was American!
I really did have a wonderful conversation with the 10bs-- they asked questions for the full 45 minutes, with the teacher's approval ("I want to ask Ms. A some questions, too!"). After responding to the "Where are you really from" question, I diverted the conversation by pointing to my experience as a German as Foreign Language learner and asked how many of them learned German as a foreign language. I also asked if any of them were like me-- identifying as German but born in another country. As a complete nerd, I thought the answers were fascinating: 2 students are native speakers of Russian (one born in Russia; one in Kyrgyzstan), 1 is a native speaker of Mandarin, 1 of Cantonese, 1 of Vietnamese (born in Vietnam), 1 of Polish, and only 1 of Turkish. Hmm, I'm forgetting one or two languages. Anyway, there are only 18 students in that class-- the diversity at My Gymnasium is really remarkable!
My favorite question: "Do you speak French?" One of the other students looked at the question asker and said something like, "Why would you ask that? Of course she doesn't!" I smiled, always glad to disprove stereotypes of Americans, and said that I took French for a semester in college and would like to sit in on some French classes at My Gymnasium. I'm still kicking myself for not responding, "J'ai étudié le français pendant quatre mois, mais je ne parle pas très bien français." I think that would have given me some serious street cred. :)
But that's okay-- I had built up my German street cred already by drawing a super simplified comparison of the major American and German political parties. Their eyes actually widened when I started plotting the CDU and SPD on the graph, and they were shocked when I added Die Linke, Die Grünen, and the NPD.
No, actually, I lied; there was a better question: "Well, I'm not sure how to put this, but you look very slim, but in the US, when you go to restaurants, you get so much more food, and everything in stores is bigger... so how are you so slim?" (HAHAHA!)
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Ich habe Angst vorm... Singen?
So. Busy. I put in about 18 hours of time at the Gymnasium this week (don't worry-- it was my choice!), found and moved into a WG, and I'm exhausted.
My Mentor decided to change my schedule because she thought the 9ds would get more out of my presence than the 5bs. She's probably right, but I love the little 5bs, and I finally figured out most of their names! :) Instead of working with the 5b during the first hour on Friday, I'm going to help the 9ds with pronunciation and conversational skills during their double hour. I think I'm doing a similar thing with the 7c and the 8ds-- I'm taking half of the class for conversation and then switching during the second half of the class (only a single hour for these classes, though).
On Friday, I assisted in three classes and actually got to stand up and teach a little for the first time in the 5b class. I also talked a little in a Leistungskurs, where they watched an episode of Desperate Housewives as an introduction to white flight and the suburbs (yeah, I know-- *cringe*). I went with a Leistungskurs to the Berlin Literaturfestival, where we attended a reading by Priya Basil, an author from the UK. I'd love to get my hands on a copy of The Obscure Logic of the Heart. Despite the fact that the questions were quite, um, blöd, her answers were fascinating.
When that was over, I went back to My Mentor's house, attempted to walk the dog (more accurately, I dragged Maya about 10 meters and then gave up), and then headed back to Lessing for the Herbstfest.
At orientation, we went around in a circle and told others our name, what school we attended, if we had spoken to our host school, and our biggest fear about this year. One of my friends said that she was afraid of dancing because she's at a ballet/acrobatic school. Well, I think I should have said: “Ich habe Angst vorm Singen.”
Yes, my fellow English teachers talked me into singing karaoke at the Herbstfest (“Another Brick in the Wall” and “Money Money Money”). Why did I go along with it? I may be a bad singer, but at least I have a great command of English. :) We'll see if it turns up on Youtube; there were a bunch of students who were taking videos on their phones...
After that-- yep, I ran around the whole day!-- I went to a friend's apartment for a house warming party. I couldn't stay for very long because my U-Bahn ticket expired at midnight, but it was very nice to gossip and chat in English and to meet some Danish and German students.
Once I got back to My Mentor's house, I tiptoed around and got ready for bed on the couch downstairs. I fell asleep almost immediately and was in the middle of a dream when Maya decided to sniff my face and lick me on the nose. Thanks a lot, Maya. I always like waking up to doggy breath and a wet nose.
And now, here I am, in my new room!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
I (Almost) Have an Address!
The past few days have been pretty uneventful, mostly WG searching and observing classes at school. The good news is that I finally found a WG, even though it wasn't exactly my top choice. (I'm sharing an apartment with three women-- non-students, I think-- and a boy who looks like he's about 7.)
Classes have been pretty... well, nonexistent. I usually have Monday off, but I went to school to talk to some teachers and to observe a class or two. Afterwards, I went WG searching and visited two places that seemed relatively decent.
On Tuesday, I was supposed to observe in two classes, but one was canceled due to electing their version of student government. I ended up in the 7c (it might have been 7d), where I gave a make-up quiz to a few students and then observed the rest of the lesson. Then I went WG searching again. The first one was sketchy and kind of gross (plus, I'd be living with a 60-year-old man-- sorry, no thanks), but I was offered the room at the second WG on the spot. (I think it's because I played with the dog-- she said that she found me ganz sympathisch, or very likeable.) Even though it wasn't my top choice, I said yes on the spot-- the rent is perfect, the location is decent (a little far from the school, but the area is awesome), and people seemed nice. Too bad I'm allergic to dogs.
Classes were also canceled today due to the Sportfest, which is about what it sounds like in English (field day). My Mentor had to meet the 5b class at 7:45 to walk them to the stadium in the park, so I decided to go with her to learn names. (When your school assigns you to 10 different classes with 9 different teachers, you really can't pass up opportunities to get a little one-on-one time with kids. We were under strict orders to learn students' names as quickly as possible, but I think most Fulbrighters only work with 3-5 classes.)
Field day wasn't nearly as fun as it could have been. The kids only had three events-- throwing a ball, a 50m sprint (which replaced long jump at the last minute due to the weather), and a relay race (in which only 12 students per class could participate)-- and it lasted four hours in Berlin's wet and cold-for-September weather. I told some of the other teachers about events that my elementary school had at field day-- like racing across a field with an egg in a spoon or doing a water balloon toss. The general consensus among the teachers: total waste of time.
Some of the girls chatted with me on the way back to school. I think they started English in 3rd grade; there's no way that this is their first year of English. Like earlier, we communicated in a mixture of English and German-- not Denglish, but alternating between sentences in both languages. For example, I asked one of them why her hands were bright orange, and she told me (in English) that it was henna and explained (in German) that it's a Muslim tradition to henna your hands (is henna a verb?) at weddings. All of them agreed that I really need to visit Turkey at some point-- they visit family there every summer.
Even though the Sportfest wasted an entire school day, I really did like spending a little time with the 5b-- they are cute. (Also a little wild.) I'm pretty sure that I have all of the girls' names down, and I've learned about half of the boys' names (there are 9 girls in the class and about 16 boys). Of course, I'm not convinced that I'm pronouncing some of them correctly; in fact, one girl ran to My Mentor and told her that I couldn't say her name. So, to all of the Gülçins and Müjdats (not their real names) in my classes, I apologize in advance for butchering your names. :)
Sunday, September 12, 2010
9/10- Wilkommen in Berlin
My mentor teacher and host for the first week met me at the Hauptbahnhof on Thursday night (9/9), and we only walked past each other a few times. (Keep in mind that I was still pulling my luggage!) We managed to get a suitcase and my backpack into the apartment, which is on the equivalent of the 5th floor (4th floor in Germany)—her boyfriend brought up my other suitcase after dinner. I also discovered that I really like her dog, Maya.
On Friday (9/10), I visited the Gymnasium for the first time, and I attended eight classes: 6 Leistungskurse, the 10c, and the 5b. (Don’t worry, I will explain the school system and the class numbering system a little later. All you need to know right now is that a Leistungskurs covers something like 11th, 12th, and 13th grades—it’s confusing for even the regular teachers because Berlin is in the middle of some school reforms.)
A few impressions:
- I want a 5th grader. I’m really not the maternal, hugging, flowers and rainbows and teddy bears and unicorns type—but these kids are adorable, smart, and excited to be in a school with the big kids.
- The 5th grade boys are not nearly as ‘tough’ and ‘macho’ as their American counterparts—and I love it. One kid started crying in front of the class because he got in trouble for talking, and it wasn’t entirely his fault. Instead of laughing, the other kids looked genuinely concerned. When he got back to his seat, the boy next to him even put his arm around his shoulder. It was sweet. :)
- Every student in the Leistungskurse thought that I was an exchange student from China.
- The school is in a fairly low-income area, and about 2/3 of the students have an “immigrant background.” (I think the working definition is first/second generation German citizen or recent immigrant.) However, the social problems that I noticed had nothing to do with ethnicity or religion; they were related to social class. That being said, I am at a Gymnasium, and I expect that things might be different at a Hauptschule or Realschule. (Again, explanation of schools to come.)
- A student asked me if I was couch surfing this year. I laughed and said no, and I explained that I was staying with My Mentor until I found a permanent place. “So you are couch surfing!” Ha. Okay, she won.
- Apparently, the 5th graders shoot baskets with their garbage. A girl in the front row chucked a wrapper at the garbage can out of habit. Unfortunately, she didn’t even come close to the garbage, because I was standing directly in front of her. Poor kid—she was so embarrassed!
- In the UK, "erasers" are called “rubbers." The 5th graders were reading a dialogue about buying school supplies, and I was trying not to giggle as they said, "I want a green rubber. Ugh! No, I don't want a green rubber. I want a yellow rubber."
This is going to be a great year… once I stop couch surfing.
9/6-9/9-- Orientation at Haus Altenberg
I made it through orientation, which was a little overwhelming. There were about 180 other teaching assistants (140 Fulbright ETAs, 20 “diversity” Fulbright ETAs, and ETAs from the UK, Australia, and New Zealand), and we were surrounded by people from about 8 AM to 8 PM. I roomed with two British students, but we segregated ourselves by country pretty quickly—that was kind of disappointing. Fortunately, the getting-to-know-you part was easy and painless, and it was also easier because they split us by Bundesland (German states). The irony is that only a few of my friends from orientation are also in Berlin, but I think that was due to eating meals with the same people for three days (see last paragraph).
I really enjoyed meeting (most of) the other ETAs. For the most part, the other ETAs were nice and friendly, with just the right amount of nerdiness mixed with just the right amount of coolness. And it’s always exciting (and humbling) to be around 160 equally motivated and talented (often more talented!) people. It’s doubly exciting when almost all of them were German majors or minors. :) Some of us kind of bonded over the fact that we had so many different second majors or minors, and we decided that we have an official answer to: “What can you do with a German major?” Our answer? “Whatever the fuck we want!” (Sorry @ Mom, Fulbright, and the US Dept. of State. It loses its effect without swearing. Really. Try it. Then try it again in a gangsta voice.)
The “learn to teach” part of the course was pretty minimal, and it was designed for students who had never taught before. I UAed for four classes in college, so it wasn’t especially enlightening—but it made me feel better once I realized that we were all making the same mistakes. We prepared a lesson for a certain age group for about two hours and then presented it the following day (my group had 7th-8th grade, and our lesson was about activities that you can do on vacations). Although some of the presentations got a little long (to put it nicely), they were mostly helpful—but I would have liked to have spent a little more time on registering in cities, opening bank accounts, and figuring out the health insurance, and maybe a little less time hearing about what amazing plans the Fulbright Alumni Association has planned.
Unfortunately, despite 60 years of US occupation, Germans have never quite figured out Americans’ culinary differences. They actually had a separate area for vegetarians and vegans, which I thought was ironic because the country is currently in an uproar about integrating immigrants and minorities. When Fulbright asked us for our dietary restrictions, I laughed—I knew Germans’ heads would explode if I gave them the full list. I stuck with the important ones: being a veggiesaurus and being allergic to nuts. Despite that, they tried to serve us fish one day. Na ja. (Oh well.)
And… off to Berlin I went.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Hello from Köln!
Getting to Germany was an adventure—it started thundering and pouring just before my flight was supposed to board. They couldn’t load the luggage or meals because the weather was so bad, so that was an additional delay. (Keep in mind that the flight was supposed to leave at 10:20 PM—I was worried that it would be delayed until the following morning!) Fortunately, we were able to leave around 12:15 AM, but it was a pretty bouncy ride due to the weather. I arrived in Frankfurt, got my luggage, bought a discount train card and a train ticket to Köln… and the train to Köln got delayed.
Dragging my bags onto and off the train was another challenge, especially when I got to Köln and couldn’t find an elevator or escalator. I figured out a way to carry one suitcase (47 pounds) and my backpack (23 pounds) while thumping the other suitcase (44 pounds) down the stairs behind me, but a very nice Kölner guy picked up the other side of the thumping suitcase because I was making so much noise. (Danke.)
The hostel is just around the corner from the train station, and it’s pretty nice, especially compared to the sketchy ones I’ve been to in New York and Prague. I’m rooming with another Fulbrighter whom I met online, and we’re on the fourth floor (third floor in Germany). There’s no elevator. Yeah, that was fun. She took one suitcase while I dragged the other one, but I’m not looking forward to lugging it back down the stairs. We asked to use the freight elevator, but the lobby management didn’t seem to like that plan. (It was worth a try, right?)
Anyway, Köln is a nice, walkable city. We walked to the top of the Kölner Dom (533 steps, not including the steps in the observation area), wandered around the Altstadt, and visited the chocolate museum. It wasn’t quite as cool as the Zotter factory that we toured in JYM (no hot chocolate!), but if you ever end up in Köln, it’s worth visiting. After that, I went back to the hostel and took a nap, and then M and I looked for an affordable Chinese restaurant, failed miserably, and ended up eating Turkish food again. Mmmm, falafel.
By the way, did I mention that I appear to be allergic to my watch, which I’ve and worn for almost four years? Don’t laugh. I itch.
Plans for tomorrow: art museum?
Thursday, September 2, 2010
So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen
Finally finished packing, just in time.
Now that I'm a little less sleep deprived, I can do a "real" post for today. The past few days have been whirlwinds of goodbyes at Miami, at the gym, and at home. I drove to Oxford a few days ago to hang out with some of my friends (only a few of whom could make it-- but it was great seeing everyone who was there) and ask for letters of recommendation from a few English professors (thank you for everything). Tuesday was my last day at the gym (D/S-- you're amazing, dedicated role models), which was all right-- it's kind of weird not having any plans to do gymnastics. I also set up Skype on my mom's computer, but she still has to figure out how to use her webcam and microphone-- it's a one-way conversation for now!
I also heard from a teacher at the school, and she said that I might be working with all grade levels... so that could be interesting! I only brought DVDs and House on Mango Street, so I'm not sure what the 5th graders will use. Excitement level is rising very quickly. :)
Off to O'Hare! The travel plan for the next few days:
- Chicago (depart at 10:50 PM) to Frankfurt
- train from Frankfurt to Cologne
- stay in Cologne for two and a half days before orientation-- I'm rooming with another Fulbrighter at a hostel
- orientation in Altenberg for four days
- train from Cologne to Berlin (arriving around 6 PM)
Now that I'm a little less sleep deprived, I can do a "real" post for today. The past few days have been whirlwinds of goodbyes at Miami, at the gym, and at home. I drove to Oxford a few days ago to hang out with some of my friends (only a few of whom could make it-- but it was great seeing everyone who was there) and ask for letters of recommendation from a few English professors (thank you for everything). Tuesday was my last day at the gym (D/S-- you're amazing, dedicated role models), which was all right-- it's kind of weird not having any plans to do gymnastics. I also set up Skype on my mom's computer, but she still has to figure out how to use her webcam and microphone-- it's a one-way conversation for now!
I also heard from a teacher at the school, and she said that I might be working with all grade levels... so that could be interesting! I only brought DVDs and House on Mango Street, so I'm not sure what the 5th graders will use. Excitement level is rising very quickly. :)
Off to O'Hare! The travel plan for the next few days:
- Chicago (depart at 10:50 PM) to Frankfurt
- train from Frankfurt to Cologne
- stay in Cologne for two and a half days before orientation-- I'm rooming with another Fulbrighter at a hostel
- orientation in Altenberg for four days
- train from Cologne to Berlin (arriving around 6 PM)
"I won't miss the alpaca!"
I think this will be my last post from the US-- my dad and I are driving up to Chicago today so I can fly out of O'Hare (oh, the slightly inconvenient things we'll do to avoid paying fees!). I doubt I'll have consistent internet access for the next week, so I guess the next blog will come directly from Berlin.
To be honest, I'm not sure what I'm thinking right now. Obviously, I know that I'm supposed to be excited. Here's the problem: I have no idea what I'll be doing when I get to Berlin. I don't know what grades I'm assisting with, so I can't really bring written material without weighing down my luggage unnecessarily. It's a little hard for me to be excited when all I know is that I will be living somewhere in Berlin. Maybe. If I can find housing. And were we supposed to prepare something to teach at orientation? It was all very unclear; I got the impression that they were giving us potential topics when we got there. I guess this is why my dominant feeling at the moment is somewhere between freaking out, confusion, and just being really sleepy.
That being said, I *am* excited about the idea of starting a film club. Watching Mean Girls for a class? Yes, please. Also, no, I am not showing Jesus Camp, like four of you suggested (all independently of each other, I might add. That is probably why we're friends!). I know, I wanted to, too...
Sorry, I'm beginning to realize that I'm not very coherent at 3 AM. I didn't start packing until about 10 PM last night, much to my parents' annoyance, so I'm finally to a stage where I don't feel guilty about sleeping. :)
The title, by the way, comes from my mom, who will miss everything about me but my hair.
To be honest, I'm not sure what I'm thinking right now. Obviously, I know that I'm supposed to be excited. Here's the problem: I have no idea what I'll be doing when I get to Berlin. I don't know what grades I'm assisting with, so I can't really bring written material without weighing down my luggage unnecessarily. It's a little hard for me to be excited when all I know is that I will be living somewhere in Berlin. Maybe. If I can find housing. And were we supposed to prepare something to teach at orientation? It was all very unclear; I got the impression that they were giving us potential topics when we got there. I guess this is why my dominant feeling at the moment is somewhere between freaking out, confusion, and just being really sleepy.
That being said, I *am* excited about the idea of starting a film club. Watching Mean Girls for a class? Yes, please. Also, no, I am not showing Jesus Camp, like four of you suggested (all independently of each other, I might add. That is probably why we're friends!). I know, I wanted to, too...
Sorry, I'm beginning to realize that I'm not very coherent at 3 AM. I didn't start packing until about 10 PM last night, much to my parents' annoyance, so I'm finally to a stage where I don't feel guilty about sleeping. :)
The title, by the way, comes from my mom, who will miss everything about me but my hair.
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