Kindergarten is not compulsory in Germany, and children of ages 3 to 6 can attend it. Depending on the school, whether it is private or not, the fees range from 100 to 700 Euros per month. Other than that, school fees for later studies and textbooks are all paid for. Exercise books, files and other stationeries are the only expenses that parents have to worry about.
The main reason why Germans are all so educated is because money is no longer sacrificing the people’s educational level. In Asian countries, the poor get poorer, and the rich get richer. This is usually due to the high school fees that the poor cannot afford. With the free educational system, everyone has a fair chance to study, and put a stop to the poverty cycle.
In a German’s lifetime, it is a low that one has to study at least 9 years of school.
Elementary School - Grundschule (Grades 1 to 4)
This is where children of ages starting at 6 attends grade 1. This is similar to Singapore’s primary school system.
When they reach grade 4, there is a streaming program that will separate students according to their academic ability. There are a total of 3 different schools – Gymnasium, Realschule and Hauptschule.
Those with the highest academic abilities will attend school Gymnasium, from grades 5 – 13. After which, they are certified with a cert that is equivalent to the standards of Advanced level in Singapore’s context. Thereafter students will study subjects that are of diploma level which will prepare them for universities.
Realschule similar to gymnasium, but students attend school from grades 5 – 10. For students who perform well in Realschule can switch to a Gymnasium upon graduation. In Realschule, students experience part-time vocational school that is somewhat like a polytechnic style in Singapore.
Hauptschule is the general school for slower paced students, where subjects taught are the same, but involves more vocational studies. Students also have a chance to experience apprenticeship training till the age of 18, which takes one year more than other schools.
University-level schools
There are three different types, classical University, Technical University (Technische Hochschulen) and University for those pursuing in arts and music.
Classical University offers education that lasts for 6 and a half years, that provides education that is not specialized in any area.
Technische Hochschulen offers education that is more specialized in certain industries and courses lasts for 4 and a half years.
Extra curriculum activities
There are very few extra curriculum activities in the German schools. This is because they feel that students should go home for lunch. However, they emphasize on physical education.
Physical Education
Different sports and games are taught in different sessions. Students are also briefed about the rules, and different strategies in wining. This is unlike Singapore’s system, where teachers in secondary school stress so much on training students to pass the NAPFA (National Physical Fitness Award) test. This makes physical education in secondary schools meaningless and boring as students never get to learn new skills.
Additionally, the students get to play different kinds of sports in different seasons. With more variety of sports they are exposed to, the more skills they enquire. These sports skills are proven to shape one’s personality into a more responsibility a better team player.
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| Girl in mud pants |
The weather is not an excuse to skip sports lessons. Waterproof and insulated mud pants are worn on rainy days, sledge and skiing equipments are brought to school on days where the floor is covered with snow. Sometimes, ice-skating sessions can be done as well.
Overall, I think that education has allowed students to know more about their own culture, and also know more about other people’s culture. With this knowledge, they either would grow to like their own culture more, or prefer the popular culture. An educated person would usually be extremely against their culture, or extremely towards it.
Bibliography:
Brand, G. (2010). German School System. Retrieved 8 December, 2010, from How To Germany: http://www.howtogermany.com/pages/germanschools.html
Euromonitor International. (2010). Western Europe - World ranking: Adult literacy (%). Retrieved 7 December, 2010, from Passport GMID: http://ezproxy.tp.edu.sg:2077/Portal/Magazines/GeographiesRegion.aspx
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