Post by Kris on Jan 26, 2009 8:43:36 GMT -6
Well that question came just up in an PM...so I answered, but realized at the same time that a lot of you may want to know as well....if not...shooh...go away... actually it all ended in an explanation about the german school system...
I'm not sure what you mean with grad school: But I know that the school system in Germany is rather different from the US...so I will try to explain that (brace yourself):
When we are six years old we start with the first grade (kindergarden is not binding) for four years we are on Grundschule (that would be your primary school)...then you get arecommendation to which higher school you should go
(that's today, when I was 10, I had to go to an Orientierungstufe ("orientation school") for two years and you got that recommendation after that..it was actually terrible there because you had to work really hard and had a lot of test, especially when you want to go to the highest school...I actually started crying when I finally had my recommendation with 12 years, that's when my mother realized what a stress I had the last two years)
there are three different levels of higher school Hauptschule, Realschule and Gymnasium. It's not possible to translate it, cause in your system all students good or bad go to Junior High and then to Highschool together..here they don't...
Hauptschule is the lowest level. Nowadays you can't do anything with a degree from those schools, maybe if you lucky you find an apprenticeship training position, but you need really luck. Today you have the 5th til 9th grade here (if they are good they can do another year at the Realschule and get a better degree) The kids are 14 or 15 when they finished school, all those who don't get an apprenticeship training position, need to go to an trainingschool, cause we have a 10 year school attendace in Germany.
Realschule is the middle level, here you also have english as a foreign language, and if you ain't bad you can get easily an apprenticeship training position after school, e.g. at a bank or so. Today you have the 5th till 10th grade at those schools, when you have grade point average of 2.0 (that would be B in your system), you can try to go to the Gymnasium or get an apprenticeship training position, cause with those notes it will be easy.
Gymnasium is the highest level. Besides english, you also have french, latin or old greek, or spanish and all the other subjects are teached at a higher level...only when you went to this school, you have the possibility to study at an University!! Today you have the 5th till the 12th grade at the Gymnasium (I went there from 7th grade till 13th grade, but they changed the system one year after I graduated)
In you last two years you have to choose two subjects that are your main course. That's also the first time we have no longer a class teacher or a class (in all those other years, we were together with the same 25 students in every subject and just had the different teachers coming to our classroom...well, except sports, music, arts and science classes)...those main course you have daily for about 3 hours, they also count the most for your degree (in my case it was German and History), then you have to choose one subject in which you'll have an only written test in your exam (only when you are really bad, you also do it oral)...for me it was math (three days per week for 1.5 hours) and you have to choose one subject you do only an oral test for exam...for me it was english (also about three days a week for 1.5 hours).
But that doesn't mean you don't have all the other subjects as well. For example you are not allowed to drop German, Math, Sports from your schedul, you also have to do one foreign language, art or music or theater, biology or chemistry or physics, you have to two semesters politics and history and religion (doesn't matter with one)...and all the grades you get in the last two years written and oral...count for your degree...and the end we have 8 weeks break/free time to prepare for our exam and those writen and oral test count double for your degree...
With this exam you go to the university and start studying there (when you are lucky enough to be taken and can pay the fees!)...I started studying law...and at the end I'm a so called fully qualified lawyer...I can be an attorney, a prosecutor, a judge or work for a company...we don't have to decide during our studies, like you have to do in the US...which means more work for us, better job perspective after university...after 4 semesters (2year) we have to do a test to show that we have the basic knowledge that you need for the higher course of the upcoming years...then again you have to choose a course you want to do on a higher level, while you have all the other course going on as well. (for me it's criminal law!) They did that a couple years ago to give the university a bit of the responsibility as well, cause we are doing a state exam at the end...only three course of studies do that in Germany...teachers, doctors and lawyers....so now the state test as 70% and the university 30%....normally you do the 30% before the 70% because it's easier and not so many tests...I already half of the 30%...it's a six week written homework about 20 pages in one of your high level courses and an oral defence (they call it like that!) infront of the chair of your prof and the other students of the course...I got out there with a so called Prädikat (the translation says only grade, but that'S not correct..it means that you have done it better than the average and only with this Prädikat you have the chance to become a jugde, cause state only wants the best people in this position)...now I'm preparing myself for the second part of this 30%...it's an five hour written test...in my high level course and then a couple month later (Grrr!!) an oral test...and then I have the 70% test in fall, about 12 written test five hours and 6 oral test...then I have to wait for more than SIX month for my results, cause the state is rather slow with the corrections...and when I have those results, I can do my legal clerkship for two years...I have to work 6 month at court, six month at the prosecution center, 6 month for a lawyer and six month I can choose freely where to work...THEN I do my second state exam...again 12 written tests and 6 oral exams...again..waiting half a year for the results...and then I CAN WORK!!
Only wiht the second exam you are allowed to work as a judge!! So, I need it, cause I would really love to work as a judge or prosecutor.
Questions? ;D
I'm not sure what you mean with grad school: But I know that the school system in Germany is rather different from the US...so I will try to explain that (brace yourself):
When we are six years old we start with the first grade (kindergarden is not binding) for four years we are on Grundschule (that would be your primary school)...then you get arecommendation to which higher school you should go
(that's today, when I was 10, I had to go to an Orientierungstufe ("orientation school") for two years and you got that recommendation after that..it was actually terrible there because you had to work really hard and had a lot of test, especially when you want to go to the highest school...I actually started crying when I finally had my recommendation with 12 years, that's when my mother realized what a stress I had the last two years)
there are three different levels of higher school Hauptschule, Realschule and Gymnasium. It's not possible to translate it, cause in your system all students good or bad go to Junior High and then to Highschool together..here they don't...
Hauptschule is the lowest level. Nowadays you can't do anything with a degree from those schools, maybe if you lucky you find an apprenticeship training position, but you need really luck. Today you have the 5th til 9th grade here (if they are good they can do another year at the Realschule and get a better degree) The kids are 14 or 15 when they finished school, all those who don't get an apprenticeship training position, need to go to an trainingschool, cause we have a 10 year school attendace in Germany.
Realschule is the middle level, here you also have english as a foreign language, and if you ain't bad you can get easily an apprenticeship training position after school, e.g. at a bank or so. Today you have the 5th till 10th grade at those schools, when you have grade point average of 2.0 (that would be B in your system), you can try to go to the Gymnasium or get an apprenticeship training position, cause with those notes it will be easy.
Gymnasium is the highest level. Besides english, you also have french, latin or old greek, or spanish and all the other subjects are teached at a higher level...only when you went to this school, you have the possibility to study at an University!! Today you have the 5th till the 12th grade at the Gymnasium (I went there from 7th grade till 13th grade, but they changed the system one year after I graduated)
In you last two years you have to choose two subjects that are your main course. That's also the first time we have no longer a class teacher or a class (in all those other years, we were together with the same 25 students in every subject and just had the different teachers coming to our classroom...well, except sports, music, arts and science classes)...those main course you have daily for about 3 hours, they also count the most for your degree (in my case it was German and History), then you have to choose one subject in which you'll have an only written test in your exam (only when you are really bad, you also do it oral)...for me it was math (three days per week for 1.5 hours) and you have to choose one subject you do only an oral test for exam...for me it was english (also about three days a week for 1.5 hours).
But that doesn't mean you don't have all the other subjects as well. For example you are not allowed to drop German, Math, Sports from your schedul, you also have to do one foreign language, art or music or theater, biology or chemistry or physics, you have to two semesters politics and history and religion (doesn't matter with one)...and all the grades you get in the last two years written and oral...count for your degree...and the end we have 8 weeks break/free time to prepare for our exam and those writen and oral test count double for your degree...
With this exam you go to the university and start studying there (when you are lucky enough to be taken and can pay the fees!)...I started studying law...and at the end I'm a so called fully qualified lawyer...I can be an attorney, a prosecutor, a judge or work for a company...we don't have to decide during our studies, like you have to do in the US...which means more work for us, better job perspective after university...after 4 semesters (2year) we have to do a test to show that we have the basic knowledge that you need for the higher course of the upcoming years...then again you have to choose a course you want to do on a higher level, while you have all the other course going on as well. (for me it's criminal law!) They did that a couple years ago to give the university a bit of the responsibility as well, cause we are doing a state exam at the end...only three course of studies do that in Germany...teachers, doctors and lawyers....so now the state test as 70% and the university 30%....normally you do the 30% before the 70% because it's easier and not so many tests...I already half of the 30%...it's a six week written homework about 20 pages in one of your high level courses and an oral defence (they call it like that!) infront of the chair of your prof and the other students of the course...I got out there with a so called Prädikat (the translation says only grade, but that'S not correct..it means that you have done it better than the average and only with this Prädikat you have the chance to become a jugde, cause state only wants the best people in this position)...now I'm preparing myself for the second part of this 30%...it's an five hour written test...in my high level course and then a couple month later (Grrr!!) an oral test...and then I have the 70% test in fall, about 12 written test five hours and 6 oral test...then I have to wait for more than SIX month for my results, cause the state is rather slow with the corrections...and when I have those results, I can do my legal clerkship for two years...I have to work 6 month at court, six month at the prosecution center, 6 month for a lawyer and six month I can choose freely where to work...THEN I do my second state exam...again 12 written tests and 6 oral exams...again..waiting half a year for the results...and then I CAN WORK!!
Only wiht the second exam you are allowed to work as a judge!! So, I need it, cause I would really love to work as a judge or prosecutor.
Questions? ;D
