Getting to Know German Education System and Teaching Mode 04/10/2008

During the summer vacation，I visited Fanziskaner Gymnasium located in Baden-Württemberg Germany. Through this visit，I had a brand new idea of German primary and secondary education and even German culture.

The mysterious veil of mission schools

The earliest education in Germany was created by churches. The German mission schools can be traced back to the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. At that time，many churches saw education as a tool of spreading Protestant doctrine. As a result，mission schools were established. Today, with the development of science and democracy, German mission schools have gone through great changes. Most of  the teachers are non-clerical persons. The students do not wear clerical clothes. The atmosphere is not oppressive as in the movie “Dead Poets Society”. However, walking in this school, I still sense a kind of religious spirit, or a kind of purification of men’s spirit.

The courses still contains religious contents. German constitution protects the freedom of religious beliefs, so teachers and parents treat the religious contents as a moral education to develop children’s discipline, patience and sympathy. The rate of campus violence in mission schools, is lower than that in other schools. It is said that parents choose churches as a place to build children’s characters after school even if the children are studying in ordinary schools.

An old man left a deep impression on me. Judging from his clothes，I guessed he was a clerical member-either a bishop or a priest. He was probably one of the executives and spiritual leaders. Although in his eighties，he was strong and dignified. Standing by him，it seemed you could sense a virtual glory guiding your body and soul towards a higher place.

For safty’s sake，the place we lived in was required to be locked. The old man would checked everyday. But one day，we forgot to lock the door. The old man criticised us mercilessly. We felt ashamed and regretful. But the next day when we left for another city，he offered many boiled eggs for us to eat on our way. I realized that the old man treated us not as a guest here but a son of God. If we got“lost”in some details，he had the responsibility to guide us to the“right”way. 
   
The power of the Parents’Committees

Most people in China have heard of the School Board in foreigh universities. In this organization, only those parents who are renowned and important have seats on the board. But the Parents’Committees in German primary and secondary schools are totally different. The leaders of the committee are elected through democratic election. The duties of the committee are to build a bridge between parents and the school, to participate in the school management, to supervise the courses, to protect students’legal rights and to strive for more rights for the school. They have the rights to appoint and remove the headmaster. Besides, they have to face many trivial things such as the contact between families, the arrangement of picnics and holidays, and foreign affairs, etc. For example, when teachers organise the extracurricular activity, they should first apply to the Parents’ Committees. If some teachers want to add courses, parents have the rights to refuse.

To guarantee the operation of Parents’ Committees, parents’ participation in school education is legally protected in Federal Basic Law Article 6 Term 2. According to this term, the care and upbringing of children is the natural right of parents and a duty primarily incumbent upon them. Parents can participate and interfere in school affairs through Parents’ Committees of classes, schools and states.

German teachers are under great pressure. They should respect parents’ and students’ strong democratic sense and also bear heavy teaching task. It is said every teacher including the headmaster teaches two or three courses. They have five classes every day. When there is no class, they have to prepare for the lessons, look for materials and do researches. 

It is sure that the Parents’ Committees cannot decide everything. There are also Teachers’ Committee to execute power. 
   
The posibility of “half-day freedom”

German schools practise half-day classes system. Like in Fanziskaner Gymnasium, all the students come to school at 7:30 a.m. and can finish as early as 12:30. Many Chinese parents may feel troubled with the rest time free for the children. Actually German schools have thought about the problem and children can choose to  stay in school till 4 p.m. The children usually spend one to two hours doing their homework. Besides, they take part in all kinds of activities,usually sports and arts training classes in community education association. Musical education is popular in Germany. Almost all German children play two musical instruments. This kind of association is run by society. Each student only takes part in one of the classes. Sometimes they have to pay fees.

Various extracurricular activities provide a stage for the students to exert their energy. Meanwhile, teachers see to it that everything is under control. For example, in classes, students can do their own things. Students are not allowed to smoke in school, so many students smoke outside the school area and turn back to school after smoking. This free afternoon in fact is to free the students from the pressure of time. Through the activities designed by teachers, parents and students, students fully receive aesthetic education.

The USSR educator B·A·Cyxomjnhcknn promoted children’s half-day free time. Actually in Chinese middle schools where there are too much heavy homework for the students, half-day free time should also be promoted. I know even in some keys schools in Shanghai, some teachers still treat exercises as the most important thing. It is a waste of time and also a hurt to students’ curiosity. The free afternoon in German schools provides possibilities of individual development and even the country’s future development. Albert Einstein was not so distinctive in his early age, but he played violin well and later proposed the Theory of Relativity. His experience is just a vivid example showing the infinite possibilities of the free afternoon.

    From www.eastday.com September 24 2008 10:07 written by Lu Jun