| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
| 7:30-8:15 | Computer Sciences | Sport | Physics | Math | |
| 8:15-9:00 | Computer Sciences | Sport | Physics | Math | |
| 9:15-10:00 | History | Economics | Math | German | English |
| 10:00-10:45 | History | Economics | Math | German | English |
| 11:00-11:45 | Accounting | Economics | Biology | Accounting | German |
| 11:45-12:30 | Accounting | Economics | Biology | English | German |
| 12:45-1:30 | Religion | Economics | Politics | English | |
| 1:30-2:15 | Practice Firm | Politics | |||
| 2:30-3:15 | Practice Firm | ||||
| 3:15-4:00 | Practice Firm |
A few notes about my schedule:
- I only have computer sciences every other week, so the Mondays that I don't have it are my favorite because school starts late and is really short.
- Tuesdays are the worst because not only are they the longest but they also have FIVE times economics and then practice firm. But sport is actually fun!
- Practice firm is a class where you literally pretend to work in a made up office. I'm in the personnel department so I spend 2 1/2 hours every tuesday checking fake emails and sorting fake mail for a fake business. Today I even got to file fake taxes for our fake income. It's pretty bad.
- Wednesdays are also good days because they start late and are short. But Wednesdays are always good days.
A few notes about German School vs. American School:
- When your teacher can't make it to class, there aren't any subs so you just get to go home an hour early or have an hour of free time.
- Kids and teachers cuss fairly regularly and it isn't a big deal, whereas in America you would get detention or ISS.
- Baking a cake is a common punishment in Germany. I'm not sure it's much of a deterrent, but hey, I like cake so I'm not complaining.
- There isn't a dress code in German schools, now given it's freezing most of the year so short shorts are only worn for a few weeks, but they are allowed those few weeks nevertheless. This also means there are lots of piercings and bright hair and exposed shoulders. It's a big change considering in America I wasn't allowed to wear sweatpants or leggings.
- Kids walk to school/take the train to school at (for me) a surprisingly young age. Seeing 8 year olds getting off the train by themselves always gives me a weird feeling.
- In German schools you get a 15 minute break between every 2 class slots. This break can be spent talking with friends, smoking in the parking lot (which a surprising number of the students do), going to the little restaurant across the street for a 1 Euro pizza, or picking up a snack from the cafeteria. This is a lot of free time compared to the one 10 minute break and two 5 minute breaks (which was barely enough time to get to class) I got in my American high school.
- You also don't eat lunch in German schools. I bring along a little sandwich that I eat during one of my 15 minute breaks. And on really long days I will sometimes buy a pizza, but no matter what time I get home from school I still go and eat lunch with my host mom.
- Most of your classes are in one room. There are a few special classes (computer, biology, sport) that have to be taught in a particular room, but all of the other classes are taught in your class's classroom. It's the teachers who change rooms, not the students.
And I guess that's everything. Or at least everything I can think of at the moment.
My favorite part of the entire post was "checking fake emails and sorting fake mail for a fake business. Today I even got to file fake taxes for our fake income. It's pretty bad." hahahaha I am not sure why I find it is so funny but I do:)
ReplyDeletelove you,
Cathryn
Haha. I'm glad(: I love you too!!
DeleteYour schedule and school life have some similarities to that of an American college student. Do you enjoy the change from American high schools?
ReplyDeleteI do share your concern over young children traveling unsupervised. Perhaps it is based on perceived safety of your area. How do Germans decide when their children are mature enough to travel alone?
So, you have noticed the climatic difference in a nearly 20 degree change in latitude? How are you coping with the cold weather? Ready for the deep winter?
I do like a lot of the changes, and some of the not as much. I talked to my host parents about the kids and they said that they start kindergarten at 3 and it's not unusual for them to walk to school alone or with other kids that live near them. At 5-6 they start elementary school and by then most all of them are walking alone and if there isn't an elementary school in the village they may even ride a bus alone (but usually a bus that only goes to the school). When they start middle school (around 10) it's fine for them to walk, take the train, or ride the public bus alone.
DeleteYES! It's already getting cold here. I was not prepared for this, Haha. They were saying that it get's way below 0 here, which is something I've never experienced before. It'll be interesting!
How hard is it to not have the same schedule every day?
ReplyDeleteAt first it was pretty difficult for me to keep up with and I had no idea what classes I had when, but now that it's been a month or so I've gotten more in the swing of things. It can be pretty nice having different classes everyday because you have more time to do you homework, but then again you also have more classes to stay on top of and learn all at once.
DeleteIf you like a class can you request that class or does the school give you a schedule to follow?
ReplyDeleteWell I can only speak for my school because, like it is in America, almost every school does things a little bit differently. I personally had no say in my classes except a choice between physics or chemistry. My host mom knew a girl that was about my age and so I was just put into her class. But the way my school works is that you get to pick a track based on what kind of career you're interested in, like engineering or economics. I'm on the economics track. But once you pick a track your classes are mostly decided for you.
DeleteIt seems like Practice Firm would be a pretty boring class, but I guess it would be useful for someone who wanted to go into business. When you first arrived in Germany, how hard was it for you to communicate with people who don't speak English, especially in school?
ReplyDeleteThankfully I only have to suffer through it until Christmas break and then I don't have it anymore! For the first month or so it was really difficult for me to communicate to anyone but my host family, but it turns out that my biggest obstacle was my fear. I was so scared to talk to people and so I avoided it and stayed really quiet, but once I actually started forcing myself to talk to people I was surprised at how much I was able to communicate. Sometimes I have to be creative in order to get my point across, so there are always lots of fun hand gestures and sound effects. Once I was trying to explain to a kid in my school how I wanted to be a doctor and in order to clarify exactly what kind of doctor I wanted to be I had to use Scrubs references. It was something we were both familiar with; you just gotta find something that works. But nowadays in Germany English is actually a required class after 3rd grade, so it's pretty rare that you come across someone who can't speak any English, and when you do they're usually older. But I avoid speaking English as much as possible. I never speak it with my host family and I only speak it during English class in school.
DeleteWhat is the process to get to a German high school from an American one? Is it difficult?
ReplyDeleteWith the exchange program it certainly can be.. I know for a lot of the other kids it's incredibly stressful because they actually need to receive credits from the classes they're taking this year which means they need to get good grades, and that can be hard enough in your own language! You have to determine beforehand which credits you need and then you have to attempt to find a German equivalent that your American high school will accept and then you have to talk to your American high school and figure out what you need to score in order for them to give you credit. But I took care of the few remaining credits I needed with some online classes before I came so I'm technically done with high school, making this year sort of a gap year for me. I definitely recommend that because I don't have to spend time stressing about homework and tests. I get to slack off a little bit when it comes to school work and focus more on really learning the language and culture.
DeleteAre you serious about the baking a cake as punishment thing? Please explain!
ReplyDelete