Hello, and welcome back to my blog!
This is the first blog post I write here on German ground, and as it is now already the end of September, I can only begin with an apology for my not so very frequent activity here so far. Though, it has its reason, and that is a change of plans regarding my updates on social media during the year. I think that, from now on, what I'll do is that I will try to post somewhat of a "monthly summary" at the end of each month, or a post where I dive deeper into a specific topic, like school, food, culture clashes etc. and then keep all the regular updates of what I am up to during the weeks to my Instagram page.
So, let's kick this new concept off with a post dedicated to the topic of "School in Germany" and what it is like being a German High School student. There is a lot that can be written about this, especially if I would try to explain the whole school system's arrangement from kindergarten to the "Abitur" examination 13 years later. However, for now, I figured that I would just focus on the experiences of my own first month here and share some of the observations that I have made! Though, please observe that some of these differences might very well be specific to Nordrhein-Westfalen, where I live, or even to the school I attend, and not necessarily be something that applies for all of Germany :)
1. One year group instead of many classes: I would say that this was the first thing to strike me as a difference between attending Swedish and German High School and so far, also what has been the hardest to adapt to. When you reach the 11th class and enter the "Oberstufe" (year 11-13) which it is called here, the arrangement of mentor classes that you have all your lessons with disappears. Instead, you are a part of a year group in which 2-3 classes of each subject is offered simultaneously and then the students, depending on their subject choices (in which you have much more freedom here than in Sweden), are divided between these different lectures. For example, I attend English 1, Biology 3, Philosophy 2 etc. but the only difference the course number makes is in what room with which students and which teacher you have that specific lesson, for the material that is being covered and the home works given is more or less exactly the same.
This system is really something new to me and I won't lie and say that I have always found it that easy. The biggest challenge, in my opinion, is that it made it tougher to find your first friends in school, especially as an exchange student that doesn't know the language very well and don't know anybody from before. In a class of 30 students, it feels like the very first friend groups might be formed more easily than in a whole year group of 80 students. Now in the beginning, it happens that I sometimes get the feeling of just floating around between anyone and everyone, depending on how the schedule of the day looks like. However, I am quite sure that this is only an initial phase that I am just not used to and that it will soon be just like normal with many great friends in school. With that being said, though, I have already found friends that are super friendly and that I spend much time with both inside and outside of school. The only problem is then during the breaks when we have been in different classes and I can't find them again with all the other students on to go around me...😅 But hey, I am sure that it will all work out in just some time, and the positive side of this year group system is that you now, already from the start, get to be acquainted with so many more people than you would have been if you only met the same 30 students every day!
2. Technology: It is far from all classrooms that are equipped with a modern projector, and assets like a Smart Board is nothing that we have. Instead, most rooms have these cool devices which, by the help of light and a mirror, reflect an image up on the wall. If there is a projector in the room, it is connected to the room's stationary computer that the teacher has a special login to. This means that no teacher has a laptop to bring to class, but instead work with pen and paper, just as we don't have Witheboards but instead use a blackboard and crayons.
Also, there is no online system to report yourself as ill or to see which teachers that are absent for the day. This means that you can very well travel 1.5 hours to school in the morning only to read on the daily report in the entrance hall, that all but your last classes are cancelled and that you now have 5 hours free until your next lesson start (this happened to me the first day...) This then also results in somewhat of a procedure when you have been homesick and need to get your written excuse signed, first from the teacher responsible for your year group, and then from every subject teacher. If your year group teacher is away, or you can't find him in the school, the subject teachers can't sign and yeah... It wasn't all that easy when I had to do it on my own for the first time, but it was an experience to learn from :)
3. Schedule: In Sweden, the duration of both lessons and breaks often vary from day to day throughout the week, but here it is different. Every day is structured in the same way, with periods of 45 minutes each and a 20-minute break after every other period (plus an additional 65 minutes break at lunch). It does vary how many periods you have each day, so you do not always end at the same time every day. Many lessons are double periods, (2 x 45 = 90 minutes) but when they are not, this system creates a bit of a hurry between the lessons, as the second class begins when the first one ends... Also at the end of every period and break, there will ring a bell that can be heard all over the school to help you keep track of time.
4. Lockers: It might be a small difference, but nevertheless, something my back is yet to fully approve of. Here, we have no lockers in school like in Sweden, where every student receives a locker at the start of the year for free. Instead, we carry all our books with us between the different lessons of the day. Technically, there are some smaller lockers here and there in the corridors that you can pay to use during the year, but I would say that seems quite uncommon to do, at least among the older students.
5. Teachers: German students are expected to be very polite towards the teachers and always call them by their surname and address them with the polite form of "Sie". It is also common to have the same teacher in more than one subject as I have in Philosophy and History for example. Thankfully, I find him a really good teacher, so I have nothing to complain about when it comes to that :)
6. Food: Far from all schools here offer lunch catering, and if they do, eating the school food in the dining hall is something that you seem to stop doing (if you ever started) when you reach the Oberstufe. Instead, it is more common to bring a packed "brunch" to school (often consisting of bread in various forms) that you eat a little bit of here and there during the different breaks, and then have your main, cooked meal of the day at home in the evening. As our school have a grocery store just around the corners, many students also run there in between lessons to by snacks and candy to keep them going.
7. Taking lesson notes: I have always taken all my lecture notes with a pencil and in Sweden, it is not approved of to write exams with a pen. However, here, it is completely the other way around. Exams must be written in specific exam booklets with a pen, and lesson notes (also always taken by pen) are kept in specific maps bought by the students, which sometimes must be in a particular colour if that is what the teacher wishes for. This was really something new to me, but my dread of taking notes with a pen was cured when my host family introduced me to this little tool called "Korrekturroller" which is used by the German student like Swedes use an eraser. It simply draws a white line over your error with the pen, on which you then can correct your mistake and continue writing. Quite cool if you ask me.
8. Differences between the states: Every state in Germany seems to have their own curriculum that their students follow, and therefore also produce their own subject textbooks to fit their specific education plan. On all my school books, for example, it says nice and clear that it is meant for the 11th class in Nordrhein-Westfalen, and if I were to compare them to the books of a student in the south, I believe that there would be at least some significant differences in how the courses are designed.
9. Physical Education Facilities: So far, I am really impressed by what I have seen, for every school that I have visited, have had amazing facilities for sport. All might not modern, but even the smallest school as an outdoor arena, and that is nothing that I am used to, going to school in Stockholm. I find this super cool as it provides possibilities for much more activities in the P.E lessons.
Lastly, speaking of outdoor activity, I must just mention a little but much appreciated difference in the outline of Swedish and German physical education... In Germany, there seems to be no such thing as a planned "outdoor period" of P.E which I, so far, have had in all my schools at home. Here, if it is raining, you go inside and if it is sunny, you can go outside again. This mentality appeals to me much more than the way we have always had to do it at home, that P.E lessons are held outdoors until the end of October, no matter what the weather conditions may look like. I can just say that it is a change that I definitely approve of and I wish to show my gratitude to the German P.E association for coming up with this brilliant idea! Thank you! 😂
However, I think that for this time, that is all and I'm sorry if it became a slightly longer post than first intended, but I just have so much that I want to share with you! I hope that this idea of one monthly, a little bit more detailed, post is something that you will enjoy, and if you have suggestions on any topics that you would like to hear more about, please just leave a comment and let me know! :)
Until next time, all the best and be awesome!
Speak soon,
Louise
