Willkommen in Deutschland

Über Karneval besuchten uns im Rahmen des Erasmus-Programms Lehrkräfte aus Schweden.
Aus dem kurzen Interview entwickelte sich eine lebhafte Diskussion über Noten, Karneval und das Schulsystem.

Das Interview folgt aus Gründen der Sprachbarriere auf Englisch.

> What is your role at your school, and what subjects do you teach?

Rula: I teach math and art in year 6.


Elefteria: I teach year 6 too. I teach math, biology, physics, and chemistry.


Frank: I teach social science (GL) and German. I’m from Münster :)


Maud: I teach English and Swedish. We are all part of Team 6.

> What did you expect when you came to Germany?

Frank: I moved to Sweden 18 years ago, so I expected things to be the same as back then. I can see positive changes: all the teachers use first names with each other, and they seem to put much more effort into teaching than 18 years ago.

Maud : I didn’t expect the food to be this good! The Westphalian cuisine is pretty nice. But I expected the streets to be cleaner – there’s a lot of litter, even in nature. And the trains! They’re always late, which was a big surprise for us. We thought Germans were always on time.

Rula: One thing we expected to be the same but isn’t: in Sweden, the school provides kids with pencils and supplies – here it’s different. Also, you can make so many decisions here, and the students are so involved. That was a surprise.

> What do you think of the Germans?

Maud: They are super friendly! They do a lot of small talk!

> Can you take something home for your everyday school life?

Frank: A lot! We’d love to do more in general, but it’s a lot of work and you need to motivate the other teachers. We have many ideas, but it’s hard. The teachers here work so much for their students!

Maud: I love the learning journals (Logbücher)! Also, we need to rethink that in Sweden everything is digital. Handwriting is getting really bad!

Elefteria: I like that you do everything at school. It’s a long day, but after that, you’re done.

Maud: I love the school dog! But your lessons are really long, right?

Frank: Yes, but it might feel shorter because students can work at their own speed.

Maud: Also, it feels shorter because you can have a little chat with your friends from time to time.

> Student: Actually, we’re not really supposed to do that. My grade isn’t perfect either because of that. But the teachers make sure it’s not too loud. Hahaha.

>How do you think the education system should change in Sweden?

> Maud: One thing that affects us is that parents have too much power in schools. The system is already changing — it’s becoming clearer what we’re supposed to teach. One current reform is the grading system. When students get an F (6), they feel unworthy, and that’s really bad. We need to work on that.

> Rula: A big problem is that some schools tell students and parents, “At the school you’re at now you get a C, but if you come to us, you’ll get a B.” That’s really bad, but it’s being changed. > Maud: The grading system is really messed up. On the other hand, one thing that should change in Germany is that the school type is decided at such a young age! But let’s move on…

> What is one moment that was important for you as a teacher?

> Frank: For me, it’s when I get direct feedback from children or parents – when they tell you how much a child has developed because of you. Not just grades, but also their character.

> Maud: The mother of a student I taught many years ago sent me an email. She asked, “Can you please record a greeting? You taught her when she was 12, and now she has become a teacher.” I recorded that for her.


> When I was training to be a teacher, kids in the back of the class were talking. The mentor teacher told me afterward: “Now the kids think it’s okay to talk in your class.” I learned to be stricter from that.

> Student: Awww, sweet!

> Now we have some ‘this or that’ questions for you.

> Coffee or tea?


> All: Coffee!

> IKEA or ABBA?
>

All: ABBA > Midsummer or Christmas?


> All: 50/50

> Blackboard or projector?


> All: Projector

> Is there something you want to ask us or talk about?

> Maud: You told us something earlier about projects related to climate change – could you tell us more?

> Student: We had a second-hand shop that we’re reopening right now. We talk about climate change and how to get more people to buy second-hand clothes from our shop, with a student team running it.


> Another project we did was about sorting trash properly. It sounds simple, but it was a big project — we talked about it in classes. Climate change is definitely something schools need to address more. That’s just my opinion, but we could really do more. Do you have any ideas on how to combine school and climate action?

> Frank: One thing we did was a small project on climate change, kind behavior, and mental health. It ran for four weeks, and the theme changed each week.

> Maud: I talked about environmental change, for example your climate footprint and littering. We went out and picked up trash. We also cleaned the school!

> Frank: We also talked about being kind to one another.

> Rula: Do you notice students struggling with their mental health?

> Friederike: I think it’s a real problem. Teachers try to connect mental health and school. If they notice students are struggling, they talk to them and their parents to find a solution. We also have social workers who can help — but we need to make more use of them. It’s a problem we have in Germany—

> Frank: —and in Europe—

> Friederike: People are scared about the future, so we’re seeing more mental health problems.

> Maud: In Sweden we have a pretty big problem with students being disrespectful. So when we came here—

> Friederike: Do you mean it’s better or worse here? Hahaha.

> Frank: We didn’t notice that at all!

> Maud: Impressive, haha. But the system of Schulbegleiter — Student: Miss Ehling told me you don’t have that in Sweden — really helps students who have behavioral problems.

> Over the course of the one-hour interview, we covered a wide variety of topics, which we’ve listed above. We are truly grateful for all the input we received — thank you for the interview! > We talked about climate change and schools.
> We talked about the student council.
> We discussed the school system.
> We talked about the concept of Lernzeiten.
> We talked about the grading system.
> We talked about mental health. >

Bild von https://pixabay.com/de/photos/schweden-flagge-schwedische-flagge-916799/