During the Fulbright Seminar, I attended a general ETA panel and then a separate, much smaller panel for the Diversity Program ETAs. Although I thought the DETA session was more useful and interesting, not to mention less whiny, I also felt somewhat disconnected from the others in my small group discussion.
I am one of the few Diversity ETAs who is at a Gymnasium and only at a Gymnasium. (I think 1/4 to 1/3 of the DETAs are at Gymnasien; I'd guess that about 1/2 of the ETAs in general are at Gymnasien.) The others in my group were in Grundschulen, Realschulen, or Gesamtschulen. In general, that doesn't seem like a big deal; ETAs are placed in all kinds of schools. However, I got the impression that I am one of the only DETAs who deals with diversity-related topics on a regular basis. The other DETAs said that they never (or very rarely) discussed immigration and integration issues in class, but I was on the opposite end of the spectrum: My Gymnasium made a deliberate decision to cut some units that discuss cultural and ethnic diversity because 1) the topic comes up again and again in other grades and 2) the students are sick of talking about diversity, immigration, and integration. The other DETAs in my breakout group had never discussed Sarrazin with their classes; I, on the other hand, was told to use Sarrazin and Merkel's comments as an 'ice breaker' (ha) when I met a Leistungskurs.
At the same time, we all had one thing in common: none of us were quite sure how the Diversity Program differs from the regular ETA experience. We go to classes. We help in classes. We help students prepare for the MSA. Sure, there are major demographic differences between My Gymnasium and a suburban Gymnasium, but we are not trained to address these differences. Moreover, Germany's curriculum is standardized within Bundesländer; unlike in American schools, the differences between academic standards in Gymnasien are negligible. I suspect the reason that I talk about more diversity-related issues is because it's built into the Gymnasium curriculum but is not emphasized as strongly in Realschulen, Gesamtschulen, Grundschulen, etc. (correct me if I'm wrong).
Many Germans complain that recent immigrants refuse to identify as German and stick to expatriate enclaves, but my students don't stand out as being unusually unintegrated. Many are proud of their Turkish, Afghani, Russian, Serbian, etc. ancestries and don't consider Germany to be their homeland, but most are also very forthcoming about Berlin being their home. (If you push them to go even farther in their responses, many don't consider Turkey, etc. to be their homeland, either.) Germany doesn't really have the concept of hyphenated identities that is so frequently used in the US, which complicates the identity question. Identifying as German feels like a renunciation of their heritage, and identifying as (insert ethnicity) looks like a refusal to integrate to ethnic Germans. (Let's be honest, some don't want the historical baggage that comes with identifying as German.) I think the vast majority would be more than happy to call themselves citizens of Berlin.
I've wondered if having a semi-Migrationshintergrund* myself has made the students more willing to open up to me. (Ironically, I'm more likely to identify as Korean or Korean-American when I'm in the US. I get more American when I'm abroad!)
On the other hand, it's certainly not as simple as having a somewhat shared (but not really) background. I'm far from being the only person at My Gymnasium who has productive discussions about multiculturalism, immigration, and integration with classes. Of course, I don't agree with how some go about discussing integration ("You are a German citizen! You have a German passport! That means you are German!"), but no one shies away from addressing these topics.
So why aren't other schools having serious discussions about multiculturalism and integration? Why aren't they asking students to reflect on their own experiences? I thought it was very interesting how Gymnasium students seem to spend more time on diversity-related issues than students in other schools, especially since Hauptschulen (now Gesamtschulen) are often held up as examples of how integration has failed. Is it even possible to make meaningful progress in integration without honest dialogue about how the political affects the personal? I'm also very curious about how the structure of the German language may contribute to integration difficulties. Sorry, that was a totally disorganized blob of questions...
I don't know if I've met the expectations of the Diversity Program because I don't really know what they are, but I heart My Gymnasium, and I'm so lucky to have been placed there.
I am one of the few Diversity ETAs who is at a Gymnasium and only at a Gymnasium. (I think 1/4 to 1/3 of the DETAs are at Gymnasien; I'd guess that about 1/2 of the ETAs in general are at Gymnasien.) The others in my group were in Grundschulen, Realschulen, or Gesamtschulen. In general, that doesn't seem like a big deal; ETAs are placed in all kinds of schools. However, I got the impression that I am one of the only DETAs who deals with diversity-related topics on a regular basis. The other DETAs said that they never (or very rarely) discussed immigration and integration issues in class, but I was on the opposite end of the spectrum: My Gymnasium made a deliberate decision to cut some units that discuss cultural and ethnic diversity because 1) the topic comes up again and again in other grades and 2) the students are sick of talking about diversity, immigration, and integration. The other DETAs in my breakout group had never discussed Sarrazin with their classes; I, on the other hand, was told to use Sarrazin and Merkel's comments as an 'ice breaker' (ha) when I met a Leistungskurs.
At the same time, we all had one thing in common: none of us were quite sure how the Diversity Program differs from the regular ETA experience. We go to classes. We help in classes. We help students prepare for the MSA. Sure, there are major demographic differences between My Gymnasium and a suburban Gymnasium, but we are not trained to address these differences. Moreover, Germany's curriculum is standardized within Bundesländer; unlike in American schools, the differences between academic standards in Gymnasien are negligible. I suspect the reason that I talk about more diversity-related issues is because it's built into the Gymnasium curriculum but is not emphasized as strongly in Realschulen, Gesamtschulen, Grundschulen, etc. (correct me if I'm wrong).
Many Germans complain that recent immigrants refuse to identify as German and stick to expatriate enclaves, but my students don't stand out as being unusually unintegrated. Many are proud of their Turkish, Afghani, Russian, Serbian, etc. ancestries and don't consider Germany to be their homeland, but most are also very forthcoming about Berlin being their home. (If you push them to go even farther in their responses, many don't consider Turkey, etc. to be their homeland, either.) Germany doesn't really have the concept of hyphenated identities that is so frequently used in the US, which complicates the identity question. Identifying as German feels like a renunciation of their heritage, and identifying as (insert ethnicity) looks like a refusal to integrate to ethnic Germans. (Let's be honest, some don't want the historical baggage that comes with identifying as German.) I think the vast majority would be more than happy to call themselves citizens of Berlin.
I've wondered if having a semi-Migrationshintergrund* myself has made the students more willing to open up to me. (Ironically, I'm more likely to identify as Korean or Korean-American when I'm in the US. I get more American when I'm abroad!)
*I'm a naturalized citizen.
**There are very few ETAs with a Migrationshintergrund.
***There is one other non-white (also Asian) American ETA in Berlin. At the beginning of the year, we went to a meet-and-greet at a 2nd year's apartment. The 2nd year asked, "Wow, your year is a lot more diverse than last year. Did they send all of the diverse people to Berlin this year?" Eek! on more than one level.On the other hand, it's certainly not as simple as having a somewhat shared (but not really) background. I'm far from being the only person at My Gymnasium who has productive discussions about multiculturalism, immigration, and integration with classes. Of course, I don't agree with how some go about discussing integration ("You are a German citizen! You have a German passport! That means you are German!"), but no one shies away from addressing these topics.
So why aren't other schools having serious discussions about multiculturalism and integration? Why aren't they asking students to reflect on their own experiences? I thought it was very interesting how Gymnasium students seem to spend more time on diversity-related issues than students in other schools, especially since Hauptschulen (now Gesamtschulen) are often held up as examples of how integration has failed. Is it even possible to make meaningful progress in integration without honest dialogue about how the political affects the personal? I'm also very curious about how the structure of the German language may contribute to integration difficulties. Sorry, that was a totally disorganized blob of questions...
I don't know if I've met the expectations of the Diversity Program because I don't really know what they are, but I heart My Gymnasium, and I'm so lucky to have been placed there.
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