Essay On German Culture

As Americans, our school systems are separated into three main categories; elementary, middle, and high school. After that, college and graduate schools are up to the attendee. As quality of the schools goes, they all teach the same material (only varying slightly from state to state) unless the student is enrolled in a private school. Also as Americans, we are quite lucky when it comes to opportunity; where German students do not have the same abilities. In the German culture, there are several different categories of schools. After kindergarten, German children attend Grundschule; their version of elementary school which goes from the 1st to 4th grade. After fourth grade, all the students are separated. Depending on their abilities, they …show more content…
If the student successfully completes an apprenticeship program, they receive certification in a particular trade or field of work. No matter what kind of school a German student attends, they must complete at least nine years. If they drop out of Gymnasium, they will be required to fulfill the rest of the nine years in either Realschule or Hauptschule. Also unlike the United States, foreign language is required for five years, usually beginning at a young age, compared to our three years in high school. Students enrolled in Gymnasium must complete five years of two different foreign languages. In American school’s, students generally have a 6-7 hour school day that starts at about seven in the morning. For German students however, schools start around the same time but end right around lunchtime. The schools don’t serve lunch so the students go home and eat with their families. Their classes are also only about 45 minutes long, compared to the very common block schedule of 1.5 hour classes in American schools. American schools and German schools have around the same amount of time for breaks, but it is spread out much differently, to where the German summer break only lasts around 6 …show more content…
Unlike the American education system, homeschooling in Germany is extremely illegal- every student is required to attend a school. Internat, or boarding schools and private schools are popular and most end with the Abitur. Special needs students in the American education system usually attend public schools; however they attend separate classes from the other students. In the German education system, special needs students go to a whole other school altogether. Depending on their needs, they either attend Sonderschule or