Looking back on my trip to Germany
The 2022-23 school year is coming up way too soon. In fact, I was in my classroom most of the day, getting my room set up – and working up a sweat while taking down my old smartboard because the tech department isn't going to take it down until Winter Break (shhh, don't tell). It's exciting and hopeful, but also there is a sense of mourning for the amazing summer that I have had. My experience in Germany with Fulbright Teachers for Global Classroom was incredible, and though I'm excited to share what I learned with my students and colleagues and to find ways that I can apply what I've learned, I can't help but think, "I want to go back!" Can I hit rewind and do it all again? Please?
In my previous posts, I've written about how I need time to ruminate on all that I saw and did in Germany. Now that I've had a few weeks to reflect and that I'm starting to get plans in place for the new school year, my thoughts have coagulated and I've been able to narrow them down (wow – sorry about the bad mixed metaphor 🙃).
So here's what I have...
Reflections and Applications
The power of multiple paths
Our students need more options. We need to emulate aspects of the German education system so that when students graduate from our high schools, they are actually prepared for "the real world." I know that there are innovative schools across the U.S. that do just that, but we need something that's systemic with diplomas and certificates that are widely recognized and useful for employment.
I am not a fan of the fact that students in Germany are pigeon-holed when they are so young, but I also understand that the autonomy and independence that I saw in German students is a direct result of being focused at such a young age. I think that instead of recommending students for a particular track when they finish year four, I would like to see that decision being made in year eight. That would mean that we would need to transform middle schools to include more electives, project-based and place-based learning, vocational arts, and internships. We'd then be able to set up students to choose a track in high school. Of course, with 22 years of teaching middle school under my belt, I am a bit biased.
Whatever the case, I have had so many students who would have thrived in the German system.
The importance of exchange...for students and teachers
We need to make exchanges a bigger part of school for both students and teachers. When I thought of "foreign exchange" before this trip, I, like most Americans, thought of the go-to-another-country-for-a-year thing. In Germany, I learned that exchanges could be as short as two or three weeks. That's much easier to do in Europe than in the U.S., but what about going to different states, doing more in-depth virtual exchanges, or going on extended field trips? Maybe it's time to dust off my old dream of creating a school-on-wheels.
Whatever shape the exchange takes, the informal learning that goes on during exchanges is just as or even more important than the formal learning. There is so much value in being immersed in a new place and culture – in being uncomfortable and then figuring things out.
This is just as powerful a need for teachers as it is for kids. I learned things about myself that I didn't even know I needed to learn, such as greater self-confidence (thanks, in no small part, to my maps app and Google Translate). I also put myself out there in ways that I usually don't. My default mode is to do my own thing, so I challenged myself to reach out more to my fellow Fulbrighters and, essentially, be more social. In doing so I had experiences, big and small, that I otherwise would not have, and I formed stronger relationships and learned more from my colleagues than I typically would have.
More experiential learning
This goes along with the above point – experience in the form of exchanges – but also in the form of internships and community service. I may not be able to restructure my entire school district, but I could arrange a service learning project or a hands-on, project-based unit for my students. Because of the pandemic, I was unable to follow through with my Fulbright TGC Unit Plan. Now is a great time to revisit it and adapt it for this coming school year.
Kids are kids
We all know this, but it was really cool to see this first-hand in the schools I visited in. Learning about German schools remained abstract until we got to hang out with kids in German schools. It was amazing to see that any one of the German kids I met could have been placed in my school and flourished. I had several great conversations with students about all sorts of topics from Stranger Things and Lucky Charms cereal to why I wanted to be a teacher and what we think about school shootings.
Awe
There are so many amazing things to see! I want to be awed and share that sense of awe with others.
Putting myself in my students' shoes
There were many times that I was nervous and had trepidation and this reminded me of what my students often feel in new circumstances. Empathy is a good thing.
Miscellany
Events in America echo around the world. This goes for pop culture and for major events. Along with Levi's jeans, Coca-Cola, and American movie posters, there was a piece of one of the Twin Towers in the German history museum.
We need to learn from the Germans about facing the negative aspects of our history. This is exactly the opposite of what's being done in states and school districts across the U.S. We cannot move forward if we don't understand the past. Plain and simple.
All of the times when I was hot, sweaty, tired, and gross, everyone else was, too.
German students seemed much more mature and independent than American students. How can we provide more opportunities for our students to be more autonomous?
My Guiding Questions
We were asked to develop a Guiding Question to help give focus to our International Field Experience. I came up with two questions:
What student engagement strategies do German educators use in their classrooms?
How are German students assessed and evaluated?
Student engagement
Improving student engagement has been a huge issue at my school and schools across the U.S. The pandemic threw us all for a major loop, but even before that, "engagement strategies" were at the forefront of many teachers' minds. I wondered how German educators were addressing the issue of student engagement and if maybe I could learn some new strategies to take back home with me.
We were visiting schools during their last week of the school year, so I wasn't able to see any "real" lessons. I can't speak to pedagogical practices, but from what I could tell, student engagement doesn't seem to be an important focus in German secondary schools. Why? The system. Students are on different tracks based on their future goals. If you are preparing to attend university, like many of the year 11 students I hung out with at Bonns Fünfte, you are deeply invested in your learning; you want to get the highest marks possible so that you can qualify for the degree program that you want. If you are on a vocational track, like the students in the landscaping program at Berufskolleg Bonn-Duisdorf, you are engaged because you are learning specific skills that you will need when you are working at your paid internship and that will help you become a certified landscaper. The kids are engaged because they are working towards their own specific goals, not just trying to graduate. German kids who want to just graduate can do that after year 10.
Among other things, improving student engagement motivates me to learn and try new things in my classroom. One downside to the German system is that there are little to no incentives for teachers to develop their skills. The principal we spoke to on our last day in Berlin talked a little bit about how hard it is to motivate teachers and how little power he has to make demands of his teachers. So, oddly, the same system that produces autonomous students who graduate with marketable skills produces teachers who typically aren't motivated to improve their craft.
Another observation many of my colleagues and I had was the lack of technology in most German schools. I saw smartboards in most of the classrooms, but only one of the schools had a 1-to-1 device program. All of the others had computer labs or computers in certain rooms, but not all of the tech tools that we use. Technology plays a much bigger role in American schools, in large part to personalize learning and improve student engagement. Germany is old school.
All-in-all, from what I observed, the answer to my question boils down to student engagement is not a big concern because it's baked into the multi-track system.
Assessment and evaluation
Grading policies are often contentious, and at my school, our new principal is instituting a new policy this coming school year. Learning about how students are graded in Germany will give me a new perspective and maybe some ideas about how to improve our school's policy.
There might be some variations, but from what I learned, German students are graded on a scale of 1-6, with 1 being the highest mark and 6 being the lowest. The university-track students were adamant that anything below a 3 was very bad.
Grade point averages are used to determine eligibility for university degree programs. For example, if you wanted to be a doctor, you'd need, say, an average of 1.3 to be admitted into a university medical program. Then, if you met that requirement, you'd apply to go to a university that has the particular medical field you'd like to pursue. In the U.S., most college admissions seems like a confusing mashup of luck and hocus pocus that is fueled by prestige and limited by financial aid packages. College tuition in Germany is free, by the way.
The students I spoke to said that for most of their classes, half of their grades came from classwork and homework and the other half from tests. The tests that are given in German schools are much more rigorous that tests in American schools. From what I could tell, many Germans are fascinated by the idea of multiple-choice tests – in three different places I heard comments about them – because, in Germany, tests are made up of short and/or long written responses, similar to what many Americans see in college. At Bonns Fünfte, the students had to choose four of their subjects (what they call "lessons") to take exams in. These subjects have to relate to what you wish to study in college. For example, if you want to pursue that medical degree, you might sit for exams in German (the equivalent to English or ELA classes in the U.S.), Math, Chemistry, and Biology. You are allowed the option of one of those exams being an oral exam. These exams are extremely important to the students who take them because they will have a big impact on what they are able to study at university. The kids I spoke to were excited about their upcoming holiday, but nervous about how hard year 12 would be.
Students in Germany are expected to earn their marks. In the U.S., it seems like teachers are expected to do everything they can to help kids – or sometimes force them, kicking and screaming – to get better grades. Then when that doesn't work, we change the whole grading system to try to make it even easier to get better grades. An A at one school in the U.S. could mean something very different than an A at another.
In order to better answer this question, I would have liked to be able to talk to more teachers or see grading policies in writing. Also, being able to observe classes during a typical week would have given me a much better idea of how students are assessed. From I what I was able to learn, students are expected to demonstrate their understanding on a deeper level than what we typically see in American schools, and, similar to the engagement question, students are expected to be in charge of their learning.
Final Musings
I know that as this next school year gets in full swing, I'll have more thoughts about my experience and find different ways to apply what I learned. I might even flip-flop and change my mind once I'm back in my own "real world." Whatever the case may be, I am dedicating myself to using what I learned in Germany – whether it be something big or small, formal or informal – to become a better teacher.
And now I'm off to cover up all of the holes left by my old smartboard! 😉
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