An introduction to the German education system & an excursion to Drachenfels
Our second day in Bonn combined some classroom learning with a field trip. It was a warm -- okay, very hot -- day in Germany, but we didn't let that hold us back!
After an amazing breakfast at our hotel (the best hotel breakfast I've ever had, by the way), the whole Fulbright group followed our guide, Nic, onto our first ride on German public transit. Fun fact: you are required to pay for access to all trains and buses, but you are on the honor system. No one regularly checks passes (or in our case, the QR codes on our apps), but if you are checked and have not paid, you'll be issued a huge fine. Public transit is extremely popular in Germany and, despite crowds and the heat, very easy to use.
Our destination was the headquarters of DAAD, Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, known in English as the German Academic Exchange Service. I have a lot to learn about the German language, but so far I know that many of their words have a ton of letters!
DAAD is the local partner of Fulbright and IREX (which runs the Fulbright programs for the U.S. State Department) and they helped arrange all of the school visits for us this week. The folks at DAAD introduced the work that they do and provided guest speakers to help us better understand the German education system. First, we heard from a former teacher and current instructor at the University of Cologne's Center for Teacher Education. Then, we had a choice of attending two of three workshops, one about STEM education, another about the UNESCO Associated Schools Network, and the last one about vocational schools from the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB).
Some of my key takeaways from the morning:
Primary schools are typically grades 1-4 and primary teachers usually stay with their students for all four years
At the end of year 4, the teacher recommends which secondary track would be best for each student
Secondary schools are grades 5-13 and there are four tracks that students follow
Attend school to grade 10, then graduate at age 16 and move into the workforce
Attend a vocational school that prepares you to work in a certain field; you will both attend school and have an internship and when you graduate you will have a diploma that fully certifies you to be employed in your field
Attend a school that specifically prepares you to attend university
Attend a comprehensive school that combines the three tracks
Students attend a secondary school that meets their needs and may have to commute long distances
There are very few private schools and homeschooling is not permitted
Students begin learning English in year 1
Religious instruction is included (though I later learned that students can opt-out and take "philosophy" classes instead)
Schools are focused on academics; there are few, if any, extracurricular activities at school
Vocational training is hugely important; the mindset is that it is not a job, but a profession
Teachers are required to have a BA, MA, a year of practical training, and must pass certification exams; secondary teachers must teach two subjects
Major issues across Germany: inclusive education and educating refugees (especially after the influx of Syrian refugees in 2015 and the current wave of Ukrainian refugees)
With my head full of comparisons between the German system and what we have in the U.S., we headed back to our hotel for a quick change before meeting our bus to our afternoon destination, Drachenfels -- Dragon Rock.
Scenes from Drachenfels: looking southward down the Rhine, the tower up close, the ruins of an archway, and the forest along the trail down the mountain.
Perched atop a small mountain that overlooks the Rhine River Valley is Burg Drachenfels, a castle that was originally built in the 1100s but destroyed in the 1600s during the Thirty Years' War. It was a pretty toasty afternoon, so most of us took the train to the base of the ruins, then walked the short trail to explore. Once we reached the tower, we had amazing views of the river and the valley below.
There are many legends about Drachenfels, but the most well-known is that, according to the epic poem the Nibelungenlied, it is where the warrior Siegfried killed the dragon Fafnir. He then bathed in the dragon's blood, which made him invulnerable. Unfortunately, a leaf fell on his back so the blood was not able to cover him completely. Years later, he was betrayed and literally stabbed in the back.
I joined a small group that decided to walk all the way down the mountain. About halfway down we stopped at Schloss Drachenburg, a palace that was built in the late 1800s. Schloss Drachenburg is open for tours, but we were short on time and decided we'd rather head down and find a cold beverage 🥵.
A short drive back north brought us to dinner at a restaurant on the Rhine. I ordered my first schnitzel -- yum! -- and had a fun time sharing stories with my colleagues. Dinners tend to run long here in Germany, but some of us were reinvigorated once we returned to the hotel, and decided to do some more exploring of Bonn.
A late evening walking around the Marktplatz and Münsterplatz.
It was a full day!
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