Job shadowing in Bremen

Job shadowing in Bremen

                                       By Laura Pérez Rondán

Trabajo de difusión

Secondary schools in Germany

A brief informal introduction about the system

Germany: a true federal country own its own right

German schools as most of the countries in the north of Europe start their classes in August. They usually have only a month for summer vacations but as other countries like France, they have longer holidays during the academic year. That’s why, the 22. of August was the 1st possible day for me to start, just after they had their first arrangements and real classes start.

The German educational system is very different to the Spanish one. The 1st thing that strikes us is that they don’t learn to read, write or count till 1st year in primary school. That has two reasons, the first one based on studies that argue that many children at not still ready before in life for establishing a good basis and the profound belief that at early stages in life children need to play and not sit in chairs but sing, touch, taste and smell: use their senses for them to learn. Abstract learning will come later in life. And secondly because many parents choose to stay with their children at home and not to bring them to school till they are 6. That is compulsory education. They first day of primary school: Grundschule is a great party and celebration for families, something equivalent to the 1st communions we have here in Spain, being the most iconic item the Schultüte, some of them shown here.