What is PISA shock and why is it the norm and not the exception

For a long time, Germany drove its education model of the Weimar Republic, like an excellent Benz car. And in 2001, it suddenly turned out that the car was slightly outdated. The surprise was called a PISA shock. Then the educational machine was given a kick, without changing anything in the construction. The kick didn’t have an effect long.

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Books for 3-4 grade (in German library)

What to take your child to the library (in German in our case) is a hot topic for parents. It is good if the child reads actively, but if you have a boy or, as in my case, a boy, a boy and one more boy, then the task of not only teaching reading, but getting reading has a new level.

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4th grade. Gymnasium or Realschule?

What secondary school to choose – Gymnasium or Realschule? High school choice is not as obvious now as it used to be. Secondary education in Germany has changed significantly over the past 15 years.

I have so far examined the structure of education in half of the federal states (see the topics “Schools after the Grundschule”) and will continue to do so.

The main conclusion: the idea “if you want to go to a university, you need to fight to get into a gymnasium” in most Bundeslands no longer works. The strictest vertical is preserved in Bavaria and Saxony.

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School supplies in Germany. Notebooks, folders, art lessons

In the first part about school supplies in Germany there were satchels, pencil cases and how to deal with theft, in the second there were pencils, rulers, erasers, sharpeners and pens. Now let’s move on to notebooks, numerous types of folders, materials for art and some furniture.

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School supplies in Germany. 2. Pencils, pens (Füller) and others

The first part is about satchel, pencil cases, sports bags and theft of the school supplies. Let’s go further down the list – to pencils and pens as school supplies.

Important: pencils, pens, sharpeners, erasers, and rulers should be purchased also for “home-use”. That means you schould buy all things in double amount. If your child takes a pencil case out of his satchel to do his homework, then he is on the right way to forget everything at home one beautiful day.

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Primary school. School supplies in Germany

Over the five years of purchasing school lists I gathered some tips for school supplies in Germany.

General warning: teachers do not always know well what they want and how much their wishes are reflected on store shelves. Therefore, do not panic, be creative with the lists and do not be afraid to send your child to school with materials that do not quite match. The first class has everything stricter than others, but you have the opportunity to clarify at the first meeting, which takes place before the beginning of the year or immediately after the beginning of the year. The rest have at least a week to clarify, and even more.

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German school cone (Schultüte). How to make

Schultüte selbst basteln / How to make german school cone

In my opinion, self-made German school cone look better than purchased ones. But still, you need to spend reasonable time and reasonable money on creating a cone. Otherwise, just buy and not rack your brains. In the last week before the Einschulung, ready-made Schultüte are very inexpensive.

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