Here's how Berlin high school is different than American high school and also me in Austria

I have worked at a school for about four months, which means I've learned a thing or two about the German school system (or at least the Berlin school system). Inside the classroom, it does not seem so different from what I experienced as a student. Children all around the world are the same. But as an English teaching assistant, I am observing plenty of differences from the U.S. in how the school year and day are organized.

The School Day

The school that I work at has block scheduling, meaning students have specific classes 1-3 times a week for either 1 hour and 20 minutes or 40 minutes. There is also block scheduling in the U.S., but it's not as common as in Germany. Like most high schools in the U.S., students travel around to different classrooms and different teachers. 

With block scheduling, most teachers are only teaching a few classes a day in 1-2 subjects, and many teachers even have a weekly day off. In the U.S., in my high school the vast majority of teachers, especially the language teachers taught one subject to a few grades every day. 

Lunch

I've never been to the cafeteria to buy food. I usually make my own sandwiches or go home to eat a larger meal, especially since I'm usually working just mornings or afternoons.  I don't know what I think I will encounter if enter the cafeteria. Maybe a sandwich of cucumber and mayo, which I do not want.

Also, many teachers have enough time to leave the building for lunch. I have not accompanied any of them? Am I anti-social? Or perhaps I'm just in a weird limbo of not being a student and not having keys to the teachers' lounge. 

No substitute teachers?!

At my school, I've noticed that when the teacher is sick, the teacher alerts the students and the class is immediately canceled. Then, students have a free period and don't have to show up. This has been great for me because I just work less without having to worry about keeping on schedule, but I guess it's not the most sustainable system.

When one of the teachers I'd regularly attend classes for essentially disappeared, it took four weeks before the other teachers in the department started divvying up who should lead which class. I feel like this would not happen in the U.S. because, despite substitute teacher shortages, most schools manage to send SOMEBODY to the classroom to at least watch over the students. 

Apparently, this is more of a problem in places where the teacher shortage is particularly acute rather than a general rule for all of Germany.

The Abitur

The 11th and 12th graders in my English classes are all working towards passing their "Abi."

This is the test students take in the 13th grade to get into University. It bares a closer resemblance to the "A-levels" of Great Britain rather than the ambiguous and annoying SAT and/or ACT system in the U.S.  

Parent-teacher conferences

Parent-student-teacher conferences happen once a term but during the day instead of the evening. All classes are canceled for them. Students' attendance is mandatory, and they are assigned a 15-minute appointment slot earlier in the week. Parents are strongly recommended to attend. 

I think this is more ethical than requiring teachers to be at school after hours, but also feel the U.S. does not have childcare or workplace conditions to support parents coming in the middle of the day.

Breaks/Smoke Breaks

I immediately found it delightful and unnerving to have 20 whole minutes in between classes, because I only had 6 minutes in high school. One thing I noticed during these times is the number of students (and a few teachers) who take a break outside the school gates and smoke.

Not like the U.S. does not have smokers, but I was not mentally prepared to see teenagers smoking cigarettes AT SCHOOL, because I never saw it in the U.S. (Although there were many attempts to vape in the bathroom). 

But alas, the smoking rate in Germany is about 1 in 4 people. Though the number of young people smoking was on a steady decline, the percentage nearly doubled during the pandemic to about 16% now. Big sad. There is also no D.A.R.E (Drug Abuse and Resistance Education) in this country, not that that would make a difference.

School Year Breaks

In Berlin schools, there is a week-long fall break in October, a Christmas break, a one-week-long winter break at the end of January, and a two-week-long Easter break. 

But also, the school year lasts well into June and restarts in August. However, I think short seasonal breaks are more educationally and socially beneficial than having a long summer.

Other notes and realizations

- I have not seen a school bus in Berlin. I guess the students just use regular public transit or go on foot.

- I haven't heard a teacher say "I'LL WAIT" in a disruptive classroom.

- Teachers in this country do the thing where they write out how many people got what score on the test so that all the students can know how they did relative to each other.  I have mixed feelings about this practice. 

- Grades are given on a scale of 1 to up to 15, and 1 is the highest.

- There is a chess club and I did beat one of the members' students playing chess :) Sure, she was like 14. but still. 

- Teachers here definitely still feel pressured by the demands of constant testing. 

AUSTRIA travels of Christmas break

On December 22, I arrived in Vienna and had a blast at Schlosspark Schoenbrunn. It's the site of one of Europe's oldest zoos (it small though) and a botanical garden, and also the palace where I spent 2 hours exploring. I was not allowed to take any photos inside the palace. I did for the first 45 minutes. Here is a picture of me at the top of the hill overlooking the palace and the city.

Me smiling with Maria Theresa before I learned about her expelling the Jews from Austria and Bohemia in 1744:

This city (or at least the museum gift shop) is obsessed with Empress "Sisi" of Austria and the queen of Hungary. And this chocolate-filled treat with her face on it did not taste good. Neither did the Sisi-themed warm alcoholic beverage at the Christmas market. Say no to berry liqueur.

Christmas market at Karlsplatz, named for Karls Kirche. Did you know that Karl = Charles in German? It took me a little bit too long to realize this.

I stayed with my cousin Cyndi, who is originally from Compton, California but has lived in Kapfenberg, Austria for the past 27 years.

I saw some basketball games. Here is me with my cousin a former professional basketball player in Kapfenberg.

A view of the city of Kapfenberg from the Kapfernberg castle.

Graz is a neighboring city and it is full of culture. Here I am with a statue on a main square.

I spent New Year's Day in a club in Villach, Austria listening to pop, hip-hop, techno, and saxophone.

On the way to climb a mountain, we passed by a medieval foggy town called 

Thörl

, pronounced kind of like "turtle."  It looked depressing, and it is: It gets the least amount of sunshine in the region. 

We took a 15-minute ski lift, then hiked for one hour, and ended up a mile up in the air. On the treacherous way back down, I yodeled back and forth with an unknown Austrian man. 

And those were the happenings over a month ago! In the New Year, my goal is to I  pray more, slay more. 

So long fare-wellness check

1. Sleep: Folks, I have been having insomnia. 

2. Eat: I made potato leek soup and I will continue to use leeks in potato soups.

3. Dance: I am doing it.