When I tell those who have not yet had time to learn the language that the library in Germany is already waiting for them and will be very useful, they usually answer me with round eyes: “I can not find things in the supermarkt, but you are talking about the library.” However, later, when 5-6 years pass, the reaction after the first visit is usually different: “Why didn’t we go earlier?”
German secondary school
Rheinland Pfalz education system
Rheinland Pfalz education system are well represented on the local educational website, which can be said not for all federal states. The types of schools are very structured, and it is clear who goes where with what certificate.
Education system in Baden-Württemberg
Now there are many options for accessing higher education, and it’s good to know about them in advance, especially when you have to choose a school after primary school. Let’s see education system in Baden-Württemberg.
In Germany, each federal state itself determines how its children should study. At first I wanted to make a general overview, but it very quickly turned into a huge lump with sticking out legs of numerous features of this or that land, in which one could get lost already in the first two paragraphs. So let’s go by each federal state separately.
Gymnasium in Germany. First year
Of course, a covid year can hardly be called normal learning, so it is rather difficult to objectively assess grade 5 in the Gymnasium in Germany.
My comments concern a boy with normal grades (official tested as above average). That is, we project onto weaker children for the worse. By the end of the post, you will understand why most children need a private tutor.
So far, the diagnosis is as follows:
Deeply outdated education from 19th. century, with a mass of unnecessary information, based on the message “learn by heart” rather than “think”, which they are afraid to reform like a sacred cow, for some reason assuming that the gymnasium gives a good education, and if they touch it, then everything will fall apart.
Secondary school in Berlin – Brandenburg
What secondary school is it better to choose in Berlin-Brandenburg? In this post about education system in Berlin and Brandenburg federal states
The rules are different in these federal states, but since a significant number of the Brandenburg population is concentrated around Berlin, we will consider them together. Attending a school in another federal state is possible subject to availability (the rules are hier).
For more transparency the states have different color. The brighter the color, the higher the education
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.
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.
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.
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.