German school is harder:
I expected this one. I'm sure the language barrier makes a huge difference (I really don't understand anything in German class), but we do a lot of stuff that would be difficult in English too. In my first Social Studies class, we got an assignment that was worth 1/3 of our grade, and our current topic in math (derivatives) was never even taught at my school in America. Participation in class also counts toward your final grade.
Schedules vary every day:
In America, we have the same classes at the same time, Monday through Friday. Here your schedule changes every day, and just because you have English at 10 on Tuesday doesn't mean you'll have it at 10 on Friday. If your first class isn't till later in the day, you simply don't have to come till then. Classes here are often two periods long, with a five minute break in between. At my school, we have a ten minute break after the second period, a twenty minute one after the fourth, and ten minutes after the ninth.
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| My schedule |
Hours per week vs. credits:
Most schools in the USA require you to have a certain number of credits to graduate, e.g., four credits of English, three of math, etc. It doesn't really matter what order you take the classes in, as long as you complete everything you need. Here in Germany, students are required to have a certain number of hours of class per week. At my school it's 32 (I actually only have 28), and you can have up to 36. You have German, English, and math for four hours per week, and then pick two more for four hours per week. Students usually take these subjects for their Abitur (graduation exam). Then you pick the rest of your classes for two hours per week.
Nobody cares if you leave during the day:
If you don't have class or it's the lunch break, you can literally just leave. There's no papers to sign, you don't have to tell anyone where you're going - nobody cares as long as you're back for class. If you have enough time, you can even go home for a while! People often leave and go to the bakery in town for lunch, because apparently the school food sucks.
No teacher = no class:
Germany just doesn't do substitutes. If the teacher isn't there for some reason, you don't have class. You can really do whatever you want in the time till your next class.
Clubs are during the school day:
School clubs here are called AGs, and I have no idea what that stands for. They always meet during the school day, which means if you want to be in a certain club, you can't join if it meets when you have class. Most meet during lunch though, when nobody has class, but that might also be your only time to eat.
School is longer:
My school starts at 7:30 am, meaning class actually starts then, so you need to be there earlier. Each period is 45 minutes long, and there are 11 periods, including the lunch break. That means school ends at 5:15pm. That's almost 11 hours of school!! My host sister has class from first period till the last period on Thursdays, which means she has to leave at 7am and doesn't get home till almost 5:45.
No lockers:
That's kind of a lie. Lockers do exist at school, but they're very small and you have to pay for them. Most people just carry all their stuff for to each class.
Basic classes are with the same people, in the same room:
At my school here we all have a "Tutor". It doesn't mean someone who helps you with your homework; I guess they'd be the equivalent of a homeroom teacher back in the States, but there's no homeroom here. There's 22 other people who have the same Tutor as me, and I have English, German, and math with those students. Those classes are also in the same classroom, which brings me to my next point:
Teachers and students change rooms:
In the USA, teachers have their own classroom and the students move around throughout the day. Here, a classroom is just a room, and the teachers move during the day too. For me, math, English, and German are in room 259, history and politics are in room 293, and social studies and ethics are in room 234. Of course, classes like physics, chemistry, and music have special rooms. Sometimes a note will be posted saying class is in a different room that day, for no apparent reason.
People knock on the desk instead of clapping:
In my second week of school a girl gave a presentation in Social Studies, and when she was finished everybody started knocking on the desk while I started clapping. Why do they do this??? Apparently nobody knows. It's just a German thing, I guess.
There's definitely more I could talk about, but I don't want to write a novel. Everything has been going great, and I think I even have some friends now! The teachers at school are hard to understand, but hopefully that will change as my German improves.
Bis später!
