Since today is a good example of one of the main differences between my school here and my school in the States, I figured today would be a good day for this post.
School in the States:
School starts at 7:20am and ends at 2:22pm. Everyone has 7 class periods a day. Many have a study hall period in which they can work on homework, read, sleep (depending on the teacher), etc. Students have the same 7 classes, in the same order, every day, for half the school year. There are 5 minutes between each period that students have to change classrooms, change books at their lockers, use the restroom, talk, etc. If you're not in the classroom by the time the bell rings, you have to go down to the office and get a tardy slip. Some teachers are nice and don't make you do this. Some. Then there is a 30-minute lunch break. There are three different time slots for lunch, but students have no choice which they get. I've forgotten exactly when each lunch period it, but it's 10-something, 11-something and 12-something.
If a teacher calls in sick, a substitute teacher (sub) is called in. Typically, such class periods are a waste of time, because said sub doesn't know the subject or the lesson plan and can't teach further. Therefore, the students receive the dreaded busy work. No one likes busy work. It's pointless and a waste of time. However, it's typically better than having to listen to the teacher drone on and on or getting real work.
If you are sick, your parent needs to call you in in the morning the day of. The next day you're in school, your parent needs to call in and send you in with a signed slip stating that you were sick (I believe a doctor's note is necessary for extended periods). Then you take this note to the attendance office. They look at it, fill out a little yellow slip, and send you on your way. You then have to show this slip to all the teachers so they can mark you as "excused absent".
If you're a junior or senior and have your driver's license, you can buy a parking permit. With that, you receive an assigned spot in the school's parking lot and get to drive yourself and as many other people as your car fits (and license allows). Otherwise, you take the big yellow bus that picks you up at your door (or prety close). The prized spots are the parallel parking slots either at the very front, very back or by the cross walk. Those are easiest to get in and out of, and there's very little traffic. Trying to get out of the parking lot after school is insane. Teen drivers have no patience. Everyone wants to be first and no one wants to wait. I was lucky last year and my locker and last class were close together. So, I was always one of the first ones out.
My school has no such thing as open campus, except on exam days. Once you're at school, you can't leave school without getting a permission slip from the attendance office (which requires a signed note from your parents). When you're returning later that day, you also need to pick up a slip that lets you back in. Most of the time, you can get that with your first slip. Otherwise, if you're not allowed to leave. If you're caught once, it's not such a big deal. More than once, and it starts to be a problem, but I don't have any experience there.
In class, students are quiet, when it comes to participating. You rarely see someone raise their hand to give their answer or volunteer to read. It's like pulling teeth. Therefore, most teachers go down the rows of students and each reads a paragraph or gives and answer. When it comes time to give presentations, typically, names are drawn from a hat or numbers, and the person chosen has to pick a day and time. People seem to tend to be fairly shy or self-conscious here.
School in Germany:
School starts at 8:00 and ends at either 13:10 or 14:20, depending on how many periods that day. I have either 6 or 7 class periods with a different schedule each day, but the same each week. Class periods are 45 minutes, but sometimes you get treated to a double-period of 90. After the second and sixth periods, there's a 25-minute break; 15 minutes after the fourth. Otherwise, you have 5 minutes between each class (I believe). There's one lunch period, but I'm not sure when it is because I don't eat lunch there. I believe it's more for the younger students who have to be there longer.
If a teacher calls in and can't come in, or doesn't show up for 15 minutes after the period begins, you can go home. Or, if you know in advanced, you don't have to show up at all, like today. I would have only had a double-period of French, but it didn't make sense to make the roughly 2 hour round trip and pay about 5 euros to get my there and back. So, I stayed home.
When you don't go to school, your parent needs to call you in. The next time you have those classes, you need to bring in your excuse-book with a written and signed excuse. You present this to the teacher so he or she can sign it and mark you excused. When you're 18, you can write these yourself.
To get to school, you can either bike (if you're close enough), drive (if you have your license), or take the bus. From one of my earlier posts, you can tell biking is a popular option. Not many people have their driver's license (let alone their own car). So, not many people drive to school. Those who do have to park in the public parking lot at the school. Taking the bus isn't too bad, when the bus isn't packed. Sometimes, the seats are taken or the only available seat is by some punk (or otherwise unfriendly-looking person), and so standing is the only option. Standing isn't horrible, unless it happens to be one of those days and the bus becomes a sardine can.
Open campus is a way of life here! Sometimes, people hop on their bikes and go to the nearby McDonald's during the longer breaks. Also, when a class is cancelled, that's the pretty typical thing to do. When I have free-time and the others have politics, I go for a walk into town. I love the feeling of just being able to go and not have people look at you funny or get in trouble for it. However, I'm still kind of getting used to the idea!
Students seem a lot more open here. Sure, they get a bit embarrassed when they make a mistake, but they don't dwell on it at all. They are much more ready to participate in class. They voluntarily give their answers, share their ideas, or read in fron of the class. Sure, there are some who are more shy, but oral notes are important here. I think they've gotten used to the idea of having to participate to get a good grade. So, it's not a big deal to them any more.
So, questions, concerns or comments? I know I didn't cover everything, but I think that's a pretty good overview (plus, I didn't want it to get too long!).
Also, this is totally unrelated, but I think I'm going to get fat when I get back to America based on the list I'm thinking up of all the foods I miss. For example: frozen custard from Robert's (double chocolate fudge, Bailey's irish cream, ultimate cookie dough, chocolate fudge oreo, mint chocolate chip...), mom's meatloaf, dad's lasanga, settler's stew from Fox and Hound, birthday cake, chocolate chip cookies (sorry Germany, but they're just not the same!), Jack's frozen pizza, Pizza Hut (again, it's just not the same) - suasage pizzas, for that matter - deep fried eggplant from Aldo's, pizza fries from Tina's, rootbeer floats, dreamsicles... Okay, I think you guys get the idea!
Bis später!
