Explaining My Gymnasium-- Part III

My Gymnasium is located in a neighborhood where the unemployment rate is particularly high. A high percentage of families in this area are first- or second-generation immigrants to Germany, and the kids still consider themselves 100% Turkish, or 100% Palestinian, or 100% Lebanese, etc., even though most were born in Germany and have a German passport. Approximately 2/3 (probably more) of my students are not "ethnic Germans," and I'd estimate that somewhere between 60-70% are Muslims. About 1/4-1/3 of the female students wear headscarves; no one at the school wears a burqa. I've surveyed two classes, and I've learned that my students are from: Turkey, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Palestine (yes, I know that Palestine currently isn't recognized as a state in Germany or in the US), Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Chechnya (this student was very clear that s/he is from Chechnya, not Russia!), Poland, Vietnam, China, Bangladesh, Tunisia, Bosnia... and I'm sure I'm forgetting some. It is an incredibly diverse school.

I also want to emphasize that I have experienced ZERO issues from my students about being an American or not being Muslim. Muslims =/ terrorists. Got that? Even the students from Iraq and Palestine, who might have legitimate reasons for resenting my presence, said they were excited about having a real American teacher.

My students are awesome. (Except when they are walking on tables-- then, not so awesome.)

Classes in the Gymnasium are big-- I was told that the average is 32 students. I *think* this is typical for German Gymnasien in general, but the problems might be exacerbated in My Gymnasium due to the limited number of rooms and teachers.

My Gymnasium labels classes by numbers (reflecting the grade) and letters (reflecting the strength of the class). For example, 10a and 10b are "hochbegabte" (highly gifted) classes, and the students are supposed to be stronger academically than the students in 10c, who are supposed to be stronger than students in 10d. The A and B classes skip 8th grade together, so I think they're roughly equivalent to AP/IB students in the US. I haven't noticed a significant difference between the As and Bs, and the Cs and Ds, but there is definitely a difference between A/B and C/D. I'm not sure what the students think of having letters, but it's probably similar to US schools with AP, honors, regular distinctions.

Notice that A/B classes skip *8th* grade. I can't speak for all American school districts, but mine had us skip grades as early as possible. In Grundschulen, classes have a combination of hochbegabte kids, 'regular' kids, and kids with special needs; gifted kids aren't moved to different classes until 5th grade at the earliest. Many US schools actually track the 'gifted' kids into "hochbegabte" classes earlier than German schools!