Is that really what everyone says? I don't know whether it's horrid or not - didn't seem too bad to me, but I went to a "good" school. So here's some facts:
Children start primary school at the age of 5, 6 or 7, depending on their degree of maturity and their birthday, basically. After four years of primary school, they are evaluated by the teachers who then decide on the further form of education. This is the bit which I personally resent - though it might make sense from a teacher's point of view. Parents don't really have a say any more (it used to be different) on the kind of secondary school their children are to attend.
There are (basically) three types of secondary school: Hauptschule, Realschule and Gymnasium. More about that on Wikipedia, from where I copied the following: "the Gymnasium includes the most gifted children and prepares students for university studies; the Realschule has a broader range of emphasis for intermediary students; the Hauptschule prepares pupils for vocational education." This is true in theory; in fact, Hauptschule is a dump for those poor kids who are (considered) too stupid to learn anything and are just shoved in there until their old enough to work or become unemployed. Hauptschule students almost exclusively come from poor or foreign (or both) families, and the schools are frequently just there to keep the kids off the streets for a few hours a day.
This is the crux of the problem with German education: It is free of charge (until recently university studies used to be free, too), but that doesn't mean that everyone's got the same chances. Kids from a lower social background almost never get the chance to get a better education - which is partly the parents' fault, but partly also the education system's fault, as it doesn't encourage these kids to pursue a Gymnasium/university career.
Gymnasium is often pretty good, and most Gymnasium students enroll at universities after finishing school. They finish school at the age of 18-20 (I was twenty), which makes them pretty old when compared with students in other countries.
The university system is currently being heavily restructured. As I said, university used to be free, but now they're starting to charge a bi-annual fee, which has pissed off a lot of students and caused mass demonstrations and protest. (The problem is that students from poorer social background have even less chances for a good education, as a proper financial-support network doesn't exist yet. It will be set up at some point, but at present it's all a bit provisory.)
Until recently, a university degree was generally acquired after five years. Today, is has been changed as the German system adapts to international standards: we have BA and MA studies now, with degrees being acquired after three and five (I think) years.
I hope that helps. As I said, I can't really judge on whether it's worse than in other countries, beause I've got no frame of reference. If you're lucky and show potential and have good grades in primary school and have supportive parents - you're in for a decent school and university career. Currently, it's all a bit of a mess, because of all the educational reforms that are going on, but this will settle down. I don't really know whether German students enjoy a good education or not. Studies have shown that they are far behind the European average. Discussions are now going on whether it makes more sense to start specialisation earlier, because this is what prepares students for the international job market.
Anyway. These are, broadly speaking, the facts. My personal impression was that the German education system is not all that bad, but, as I said, I went to a privileged school; most of the kids came from a well-off, bourgeois, educated family background, there was hardly any crime and violence in our school, we played nice and most of us went to university afterwards. We're a very respectable lot.
I don't know if that helps. If you've got any specific questions, feel free to ask and I'll try to answer them as good as I can :-)
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2007-03-30 11:49 am (UTC)Children start primary school at the age of 5, 6 or 7, depending on their degree of maturity and their birthday, basically. After four years of primary school, they are evaluated by the teachers who then decide on the further form of education. This is the bit which I personally resent - though it might make sense from a teacher's point of view. Parents don't really have a say any more (it used to be different) on the kind of secondary school their children are to attend.
There are (basically) three types of secondary school: Hauptschule, Realschule and Gymnasium. More about that on Wikipedia, from where I copied the following: "the Gymnasium includes the most gifted children and prepares students for university studies; the Realschule has a broader range of emphasis for intermediary students; the Hauptschule prepares pupils for vocational education." This is true in theory; in fact, Hauptschule is a dump for those poor kids who are (considered) too stupid to learn anything and are just shoved in there until their old enough to work or become unemployed. Hauptschule students almost exclusively come from poor or foreign (or both) families, and the schools are frequently just there to keep the kids off the streets for a few hours a day.
This is the crux of the problem with German education: It is free of charge (until recently university studies used to be free, too), but that doesn't mean that everyone's got the same chances. Kids from a lower social background almost never get the chance to get a better education - which is partly the parents' fault, but partly also the education system's fault, as it doesn't encourage these kids to pursue a Gymnasium/university career.
Gymnasium is often pretty good, and most Gymnasium students enroll at universities after finishing school. They finish school at the age of 18-20 (I was twenty), which makes them pretty old when compared with students in other countries.
The university system is currently being heavily restructured. As I said, university used to be free, but now they're starting to charge a bi-annual fee, which has pissed off a lot of students and caused mass demonstrations and protest. (The problem is that students from poorer social background have even less chances for a good education, as a proper financial-support network doesn't exist yet. It will be set up at some point, but at present it's all a bit provisory.)
Until recently, a university degree was generally acquired after five years. Today, is has been changed as the German system adapts to international standards: we have BA and MA studies now, with degrees being acquired after three and five (I think) years.
I hope that helps. As I said, I can't really judge on whether it's worse than in other countries, beause I've got no frame of reference. If you're lucky and show potential and have good grades in primary school and have supportive parents - you're in for a decent school and university career. Currently, it's all a bit of a mess, because of all the educational reforms that are going on, but this will settle down. I don't really know whether German students enjoy a good education or not. Studies have shown that they are far behind the European average. Discussions are now going on whether it makes more sense to start specialisation earlier, because this is what prepares students for the international job market.
Anyway. These are, broadly speaking, the facts. My personal impression was that the German education system is not all that bad, but, as I said, I went to a privileged school; most of the kids came from a well-off, bourgeois, educated family background, there was hardly any crime and violence in our school, we played nice and most of us went to university afterwards. We're a very respectable lot.
I don't know if that helps. If you've got any specific questions, feel free to ask and I'll try to answer them as good as I can :-)