We need a German style education system

[markdido]

Originally Posted by Tex Mex

I like the idea that the guy changing my oil at the Jiffy Lube has a degree in Mechanical Engineering and the guy that stocks the shelves at the grocery store has a degree in Marketing.

Meanwhile, the vo-tech guys are plumbers, carpenters and electricians pulling in 6 figures. Good for them!

[mtdim]

Originally Posted by hillplus

My kids went to German school for a few years when they were young. My biggest problem with the system is that the kids are separated at such a young age. Then you are either smart and go to Gymnasium or you are dumb and go to the num-num school. What about those who are late bloomers? They have already been labeled less intelligent and in this case, it often becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

That is a fantastic point. The brains of children develop so quickly that those students in elementary school who are the oldest in their class (about 8 months older than the youngest) often perform much better than the others. They get pegged as the "smart ones" and then they get into the best classes with the best teachers, which causes the gap to get even bigger.

[buflineks]

Note... if the German School Style is more preferable than anything else, then why is it that they don't have enough Higher education facilities and the majority of Germans with college degrees had to go to Austria to attain them?

[Long Island Bob]

Originally Posted by buflineks

Note... if the German School Style is more preferable than anything else, then why is it that they don't have enough Higher education facilities and the majority of Germans with college degrees had to go to Austria to attain them?

first off. I doubt the MAJORITY of Germans seeking a higher ed degree do so austria.

More to the point one of the keys to the success of the German (K-13) education system is that they deliberately limit the # of seats at each step along the way forcing students to study hard and compete (or fail.)

The classes I took in German gymnasium had 20-25 students in them. The teacher was REQUIRED by law to fail 2-3 ofthe students in every class(or face an inquest which could result in having his teaching license revoked.)

The result?
After completing written HW student studied on their own an average of 3-plus hours a night.
Their tenth graders speak english, recite poetry and do college level calculus.

Of course it comes with a price.
- They are not well-rounded enough to know the difference between Prada and Jimmy Chu.
- Half of them can't even tell the difference between Kate Hudson and Brittany Spears when shown a picture.
- Hardly any of them can wave their arms and hold out three fingers and look like a rap artist.
- Shopping malls are practically non-existent.

[buflineks]

Originally Posted by Long Island Bob

first off. I doubt the MAJORITY of Germans seeking a higher ed degree do so austria..

This is according a lecture by Martin Mull, phd, University of Gratz, Feb 2008.

[Long Island Bob]

Originally Posted by buflineks

This is according a lecture by Martin Mull, phd, University of Gratz, Feb 2008.

I am sure he misspoke.

There are nearly 2 million students studying at German colleges and universities.

I sincerely doubt there are 2,000,001 Germans studying at Austrian institutions.

In fact at ~80 million, Gemany's population is ten times larger than Austrias. It seems rather unlikely that more than half of all Germans seeking a higher education do so in Austria.

[Apatriot]

Originally Posted by buflineks

This is according a lecture by Martin Mull, phd, University of Gratz, Feb 2008.

Do you mean the University of Graz? If so, it's basically his perception that the Uni of Graz in Austria is overrun with Germans.

[VCaddy05]

Originally Posted by Long Island Bob

That's a pretty widely held belief here in the US.


As a result our schools are producing well-rounded burger flippers and insurance agents. Meanwhile we are importing doctors engineers and scientists, not to mention electronic goods and just about everything that requires technical skills to manufcture.

hey now whats wrong with insurance agents!!! lol