Our students have analyzed their own school life and asked parents and grandparents about their school experience in the past. The students` teams then compared present and past. All results are published in the team blogs, you find the links here to the right.
General facts:
After 4 years of primary school, students go to secondary school. This is either a Mittelschule (6 years) or - for clever students - a Gymnasium (8 years) like ours. After 12 school years our students leave school with the Abitur (A-level) certificate and can go to university.
Their parents went to one school from class 1 to 10, primary and secondary school were in the same house. Clever students then went on to college (2 years) and did their A-level exams there.
When the grandparents were young, one teacher was teaching different age groups in one big class. Compulsory schooling was only 8 years and you could go to college after. Teachers were not always qualified because it was just after the war and there was a lack of teachers.
Holiday times are nearly the same in past and present. But schools are closed during the holidays now. In the past, they offered activities, holiday camps and journeys for those kids whose parents had to work. All this was free.
Parents were more involved in school in the past. Teachers knew the families better, they even visited each family at home to see how the students live and if there are problems. Teachers are not allowed to do this now. School was more individual in the past.
School day:
Our students normally have 6 or 7 lessons of 45 minutes, from 7:30 till 13:55. In the afternoon they can go to clubs or do sports in school. Parents and grandparents had the same school times but 4 lessons on Saturdays. There were many clubs and sports teams in school too.
Subjects:
Science subjects, German and history are the same in past and present. Different is that the parents and grandparents had to learn Russian as their first foreign language. English or French were only for very good students. Latin or Spanish was not taught at school then. But the parents and grandparents had to do a subject "citizenship", it was pure ideology. There were more practical subjects then and older students had one day per week in workshops for auto mechanics, welding etc. And every student - boys too - had to learn needlework (sewing, knitting...).
Marks:
Our best mark is 1, the worst is 6. Our parents and grandparents had marks from 1 to 5.
School building and equipment:
Schools were much smaller in the past and there were many schools in one town. Every little village had their own school. Now our school has about 600 students and there are only 2 secondary schools in Zwoenitz. Most villages don`t have a school anymore, the students go to school by bus. In the past they walked.
School meals:
Warm lunch is offered in our school canteen for 2.30 Euros per meal. But it is not cooked fresh in school, it is delivered from a big kitchen. You can also buy fast food in a kiosk.
School canteens only existed from the 1950s on, but every school cooked their own fresh meals then and food was very cheap, only 55 cents per meal (subsidized by the state). Parents and grandparents got free milk at school every day.Conclusion:
Most students like school better now than at their parents` or grandparents` time because
- now you learn more in shorter time
- technical equipment is much better - the internet offers great options
- there is a better choice of many languages now
- teachers are not as strict now and beating students is forbidden
- students would hate to go to school on Saturdays;-)
- school was more individual
- teachers and families worked together, parents were more interested in school
- there was more support for weak students
- there were free holiday activities
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