I started teaching a new class last night. It is a group of ladies who are very skilled in English but who want to learn business writing such that it has no mistakes in English. I know some Americans who can't get it perfect in English!! :-) I like this group. They are a fun bunch of ladies both young and a little older than my age. They come from a variety of backgrounds, some with University experience, and some without.
Going to University here is quite a process. At the end of 4th grade, you must decide (with your family's help, of course) if you want to try to go to a university. If so, you need to have good grades and take your school work seriously. Then, you can be recommended for Gymnasium (pronounced ghehm nah zee uhm). At Gymnasium, you will have many hard classes, but again, if you study hard and take your school work seriously, you can finish after the 12th grade and move on to college. If you were not accepted into Gymnasium, or you found it too hard to finish at Gymnasium, you can go to Realschule (ray ahl shoe leh). Here, you can take additional exams when you complete high school to try to get into a university, but it requires some additional steps that you did not have to do in Gymnasium. However, once you get through all of this, as a citizen of the European Union, you can go to a public university for free or nearly free!! Can you imagine if you could get into Clemson or USC and go for free once you finish high school??!! Below is a chart from the "A Star Future" website that shows the cost of college for many countries in British pounds (money in England.) It is a little surprising when you compare the US to all the other countries listed.
Country Annual Tuition
England £3,070
Australia £6,400
New Zealand £6,000
USA £2,500-25,000
Canada £4,338-7,092
South Africa £2,500
Japan £3,000-6,000
Czech Republic £2,800
Denmark £0
Finland £0
France £220
Germany £0-£720
Netherlands £1,100
Norway £70
Spain £200
Sweden £40
Ironically, I had one German friend tell me that degrees from the US are not considered all that valuable. I was surprised and asked why she though that. She said that the way it is considered here is that if you can make it to University, then it shows you are smart and a hard worker - you deserve that opportunity to go to college. But in the states, anyone can buy an education. At first, I was taken aback, but having had time to think about it, I think these days, she is right. I think in the US, college has become an extension of high school. I, and some of my colleagues at Clemson University, have noticed how the students have changed over the years as the new freshmen come each year. It used to be that the starving student was tradition. You had to do your time, starve a little, work hard and earn that degree. We have noticed in more recent times that the cars the students drive are better than most of the faculty. Getting a college degree is somewhat of an expectation rather than an honor. I know that for many of you, college seems a long way away; however, being here in this culture has helped me understand how the US is getting passed by the world, and it all comes down to education. Remember, it is important to study hard, learn as much as you can, and if you can, to go to college. But if you can go to college on scholarship from all that learning and hard work, what an honor that would be!!
The word for the day is college/university: die Universität (oo nee vehr zee teht).
The question for the day is "Does Germany have Walmart or other chain stores?"
Auf Wiedersehen,
Frau Spitzer
