Back to School, German style

First day of school

School started back on Monday here in Baden-Wuerttemburg. I, however, won't be teaching for a while. My first two weeks I'll be "hospitieren", or observing classes. This first week I have been going around to all the upper level English courses to introduce myself and offer conversation groups. These groups have really been a hit, so far I have about 150 interested students and still three more classes to visit. Next week I'll be sitting in with the students, and see what a typical day is for them. Monday I'll be with 6th graders from 7:40a.m. until 4:25p.m. I'm sure that will be quite an experience, especially since they can't speak a whole lot of English at that level. My days won't typically be that long, but I'm sure I will have a lot of sympathy for the students after this experience, since they will always have a long Monday.


Something that has been quite amazing to me is how well my colleagues deal with distraction, or maybe how lax they are concerning discipline. The majority of the classes I've sat in on seem to chatter while the teacher is talking. In some classes the teacher doesn't seem to mind until it gets so loud, he/she can't hear him/herself speak. Only then will the teacher attempt to get the students' attention. For me, I didn't really have a problem with students talking while I was presenting, I think they were generally quite happy to hear what I had to say. There was, however, one exception. I honestly didn't know how to react and got slightly flustered when students started to talk in one class. I assumed that staring straight at them would cause them to cease their disruption, but they simply stared back and continued to talk. I then explained, "In the United States, students don't talk while the teacher is talking." But even as the words came out of my mouth, I wondered if that was only something I grew up with, or if it really was a general understanding. Still, it worked to get them to shut up...at least for a few seconds.


In the end, I know I have to suck it up, and follow the lead of my German counterparts. After all, the Fulbright Scholarship is all about cultural exchange, so who am I to impose American standards on German classrooms? I simply must learn to tune out. You would think I had plenty of practice as a teenager... just ask my mom :).