This blog post is part of my UNC School of Education assignment while learning and exploring here in Germany.
Describe your transition from North Carolina to Germany.
As I was reading the prompt for this week’s blog assignment I began to laugh out loud after reading the first sentence. “Describe your transition from Germany to North Carolina.” Transitioning from Germany to North Carolina was like closing my eyes and jumping into an ice cold pool. You know it is going to be a little bit crazy, but you just do it anyway. The transition has been what I would call a constant learning experience. My host family and placement teachers have been nothing but kind and welcoming and are always willing to answer any questions I have. And let me tell you, I have a lot of them. Because I have such wonderful support systems here, the transition has not been as difficult as I thought it would be.
What cultural differences did you experience or observe?
1) My family does not have a dryer to dry their clothes. They air-dry everything.
2) The German flag is nowhere to be seen here, where as in America: it is EVERYWHERE. Flying outside of schools, on bandanas, and on all different types of clothing items as well.
3) The teachers and students have much more physical contact throughout the day. Teachers and students hug often and it is not uncommon to see children sitting on an instructor’s lap or holding their hand. It is more of a motherly (or fatherly), nurturing relationship.
4) Yes, many people here speak English. But everyone speaks German all the time. I have heard very little English spoken, unless I am talking with someone and they know that I speak English, not German.
5) My family drives the car once a week maybe. They rely much more on public transportation and bicycles.
6) The classrooms here place so much less emphasis on technology. Many teachers have a SMARTBoard, but they do not use it. The students do not use computers or iPads throughout the day either, as was very common in my US placement.
7) My host family is very efficient. They do not like to waste anything, including food, energy, or fuel. The German culture in general seems a lot less wasteful.
8) Dual Training System: Not every student is encouraged to go to university. Some students will instead do an apprenticeship track, where they will be trained in a specific field.
9) It is all about soccer. Not basketball. Not baseball. Not “football”, but futbol!
10) Yes we have graffiti in NC, but there is graffiti EVERYWHERE here (See picture above!).
What things are the same?
1) Kids are kids no matter where you go. They love to play, be loud, have fun, and begin to defy authority to assert their independence as they develop their character!
2) Education is valued. Parents want the best opportunities for their children.
3) Hollister, Abercrombie, and Converses are very popular brands in Germany, just like in America.
4) Each federal state in Germany has their own school system, just like each state in the US.
*To be honest, I am really struggling to pinpoint similarities between Germany and America. I do not know if it is because I am still in “culture shock” and everything just seems different. My inability to come up with a substantial list of similarities, must signal how different these countries are. Before I arrived, I figured Germany and the USA would be very similar because they are both well-known, developed countries, but this preconception was vastly incorrect.
What barriers to success do you anticipate? How do you plan to overcome these barriers?
The main barrier I am anticipating is the language barrier. My first grade students are basically English as a Second Language students. English is definitely not spoken as frequently as I thought it would be in this English Immersion classroom. Many of them can listen and understand English when it is spoken slowly, but do not have a vast enough vocabulary to respond back in English. I will attempt to overcome this barrier by consciously speaking slowly and simply when working with students. I want to use the vocabulary that they have, in hopes that this will make them feel more comfortable while working with me. Also, I hope to work in close collaboration with my placement teachers, in case I need support in understanding what a student is saying in German.
How is Germany’s past impacting contemporary Germany?
After talking with my host parents and students who attend the University of Hamburg, it is amazing to see how much Germany’s past impacts contemporary Germany. Germany’s involvement in WWII and the Holocaust is something that still lives on here. Citizens of Germany often do feel some sort of responsibility. It is not that they think they are directly responsible for what happened because they were not even alive when these events happened. However, many of them feel such a close connection to the terrible things that happened. This is due to the fact that maybe their mother or father or their grandparents were a part of that culture that perpetuated the extreme horror that haunts this country.
As I said earlier, the German flag is nowhere to be seen. This is due to Germany’s past. They feel that it was/is not appropriate to flagrantly show pride in their country because Germany was connected to so much negativity, destruction, and death. When Germany hosted the FIFA World Cup in 2006, this was the first time in decades the German flag was flown and many people felt so uncomfortable seeing it. My host mother told me that growing up as a child she remembers drawing the German flag in a picture and her parents reproving her and explaining that she should not draw it. This sliver of shame that has been instilled in so many people, is hard to shake off.
It is hard for me to understand why Germans feel so much connection to the Holocaust. America has been a part of some atrocious events in history such as slavery and segregation. I feel no responsibility or connection to these events because I was not alive and therefore, could have done nothing to prevent these events from happening or helped those who were suffering.
Germany’s past has also caused educators to teach children to have minds of their own and be independent problem solvers and thinkers. Along with this type of teaching, students are not sheltered from the horrifying past of Germany, but instead are fully educated about it so that such a horrific occurrence will never happen in Germany again.
Describe your transition from North Carolina to Germany.
As I was reading the prompt for this week’s blog assignment I began to laugh out loud after reading the first sentence. “Describe your transition from Germany to North Carolina.” Transitioning from Germany to North Carolina was like closing my eyes and jumping into an ice cold pool. You know it is going to be a little bit crazy, but you just do it anyway. The transition has been what I would call a constant learning experience. My host family and placement teachers have been nothing but kind and welcoming and are always willing to answer any questions I have. And let me tell you, I have a lot of them. Because I have such wonderful support systems here, the transition has not been as difficult as I thought it would be.
What cultural differences did you experience or observe?
1) My family does not have a dryer to dry their clothes. They air-dry everything.
2) The German flag is nowhere to be seen here, where as in America: it is EVERYWHERE. Flying outside of schools, on bandanas, and on all different types of clothing items as well.
3) The teachers and students have much more physical contact throughout the day. Teachers and students hug often and it is not uncommon to see children sitting on an instructor’s lap or holding their hand. It is more of a motherly (or fatherly), nurturing relationship.
4) Yes, many people here speak English. But everyone speaks German all the time. I have heard very little English spoken, unless I am talking with someone and they know that I speak English, not German.
5) My family drives the car once a week maybe. They rely much more on public transportation and bicycles.
6) The classrooms here place so much less emphasis on technology. Many teachers have a SMARTBoard, but they do not use it. The students do not use computers or iPads throughout the day either, as was very common in my US placement.
7) My host family is very efficient. They do not like to waste anything, including food, energy, or fuel. The German culture in general seems a lot less wasteful.
8) Dual Training System: Not every student is encouraged to go to university. Some students will instead do an apprenticeship track, where they will be trained in a specific field.
9) It is all about soccer. Not basketball. Not baseball. Not “football”, but futbol!
10) Yes we have graffiti in NC, but there is graffiti EVERYWHERE here (See picture above!).
What things are the same?
1) Kids are kids no matter where you go. They love to play, be loud, have fun, and begin to defy authority to assert their independence as they develop their character!
2) Education is valued. Parents want the best opportunities for their children.
3) Hollister, Abercrombie, and Converses are very popular brands in Germany, just like in America.
4) Each federal state in Germany has their own school system, just like each state in the US.
*To be honest, I am really struggling to pinpoint similarities between Germany and America. I do not know if it is because I am still in “culture shock” and everything just seems different. My inability to come up with a substantial list of similarities, must signal how different these countries are. Before I arrived, I figured Germany and the USA would be very similar because they are both well-known, developed countries, but this preconception was vastly incorrect.
What barriers to success do you anticipate? How do you plan to overcome these barriers?
The main barrier I am anticipating is the language barrier. My first grade students are basically English as a Second Language students. English is definitely not spoken as frequently as I thought it would be in this English Immersion classroom. Many of them can listen and understand English when it is spoken slowly, but do not have a vast enough vocabulary to respond back in English. I will attempt to overcome this barrier by consciously speaking slowly and simply when working with students. I want to use the vocabulary that they have, in hopes that this will make them feel more comfortable while working with me. Also, I hope to work in close collaboration with my placement teachers, in case I need support in understanding what a student is saying in German.
How is Germany’s past impacting contemporary Germany?
After talking with my host parents and students who attend the University of Hamburg, it is amazing to see how much Germany’s past impacts contemporary Germany. Germany’s involvement in WWII and the Holocaust is something that still lives on here. Citizens of Germany often do feel some sort of responsibility. It is not that they think they are directly responsible for what happened because they were not even alive when these events happened. However, many of them feel such a close connection to the terrible things that happened. This is due to the fact that maybe their mother or father or their grandparents were a part of that culture that perpetuated the extreme horror that haunts this country.
As I said earlier, the German flag is nowhere to be seen. This is due to Germany’s past. They feel that it was/is not appropriate to flagrantly show pride in their country because Germany was connected to so much negativity, destruction, and death. When Germany hosted the FIFA World Cup in 2006, this was the first time in decades the German flag was flown and many people felt so uncomfortable seeing it. My host mother told me that growing up as a child she remembers drawing the German flag in a picture and her parents reproving her and explaining that she should not draw it. This sliver of shame that has been instilled in so many people, is hard to shake off.
It is hard for me to understand why Germans feel so much connection to the Holocaust. America has been a part of some atrocious events in history such as slavery and segregation. I feel no responsibility or connection to these events because I was not alive and therefore, could have done nothing to prevent these events from happening or helped those who were suffering.
Germany’s past has also caused educators to teach children to have minds of their own and be independent problem solvers and thinkers. Along with this type of teaching, students are not sheltered from the horrifying past of Germany, but instead are fully educated about it so that such a horrific occurrence will never happen in Germany again.