I have mentioned (often :-)) that after 4th grade, all of the kids leave the "grundschule" and are tracked into 3 other possible school programs. There are definitely pros and cons to this system, but the good thing is that even if you don't go down the University path here, you will be able to find a good job that pays the bills, provides you with ALL of your basic needs, and even gives you 4+ weeks of vacation each year to boot. When you are in 4th grade, you receive a report card that tells you which school you are eligible to go to (based on the average of your grades in Math, German, and "HSU"). The kicker though, is that you have to keep those grades up until May when you get the second report card and then register for one of the various schools. The 3 possibilities are: Gymnasium (University Bound), Real Schule (which is where you could learn a variety of jobs such as Nursing, Banking etc) or Hauptschule (which is where you would learn a trade. Depending on where you live, there are choices of specific schools within these categories for kids to choose. There are several Gymnasiums in our town and each one is known for a "specialty." You have the Language Gymnasium, the Music Gymnasium, The all girls Gymnasium, The Math and Science Gymnasium etc.. Most of the basic courses are the same, but there is an emphasis on the specialty that it offers. Right now is the time where students visit all of the schools and then decide where they want to apply (yes - a bit like University without the costs :-)). There are differences too - for ex. one school will begin Latin as the 1st language and 1 school begins with English. German kids learn up to 4 languages in school (and yes - they actually learn the language - it is quite amazing, but also quite stressful for the kids). I know a few kids who have the grades to get into the Gymnasium, but choose to go to the Real Schule instead (just because it is less stress). The thing is, they know they will receive a good job through this route too. If you do go the Real Schule route, you can always tack on a few extra years at the end and still try to go to University (it is hard, but possible). Mia has picked the school that she would like to go to and her teacher agreed that it would be a good fit for Mia. Now we just have to navigate the Application process :-). School here can come with a lot of stress, but the big plus that I find is that they do a thorough and very consistent job of teaching. The curriculum is extremely well thought out and makes perfect sense to me. The best part, is that kids have time to study because they get out much earlier than we do in our school system - it is such a difference!
*A funny side note- one of the problems that I used to have with Camden's experience in school was that he didn't receive back any feedback as to what he would get wrong on an assignment. For example, in Math, he would get a grade, but would never learn what he got wrong or why it was wrong - and then you move on to the next thing, never having mastered the first thing. It is the most simple, yet brilliant thing that they have as part of their Math Curriculum in German school.... Beside each answer blank is a number. If you add up the numbers in the answer that you got and they equal the number listed beside the answer blank, then you know you got it right. If not, then you have to rework your problem. It makes so much sense (in my opinion at least :-)!!! The kids then know that they understand the Math even before they turn it in. So simple!!!
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