Tasse und Untertasse

In English, ‘Cup and Under cup’ or ‘Cup and Saucer’. This is some of my favorite German words, very logical..at times.

I have heard on many occasions in NZ Individuals stat that NZ ‘does not really have a culture. This often comes from untraveled and or uneducated people. Not saying that in a derogatory context what so ever, I was one of these people once and have no doubt said comments along those lines. That said the deprivations, jet lag, cultural linguistic barriers and cost are often greater than many individuals desire to travel. And why not? What’s wrong with not travelling? Nothing really, do what you want.

                One thing that happens to me in a foreign land is the inescapable continuous comparisons that one makes with the social structure of foreign land ‘A’ to homeland ‘B’. These are normal observations and one is required to make these decisions, survive and maximise the experiences of their travels. Often, well as least personally the process goes initially goes something like: surprise, comment, critique, imitation and then unconscious adoption. This occurs even when there are values or rankings of which I was strongly opposed, or the culture in which I was raised did and as a result I did too.

                The first example of this process that I noticed was attitudes to gender equality and reverences of authority and senior positions in South Korea. S Korea is a man’s world.  Married men outrank married women. Unmarried men outrank unmarried women. Old married men are the boss.  The language school where I was contracted western women were paid less than western men of equal experience.  It is accepted almost without criticism by S Koreans. This is radically different from the socialist utopia at the edge of The Empire NZ, where ‘Jack was as good as his boss and Jill gets a vote too’.

                NZ has often be compared to a ‘classless’ society. Clearly is not and is increasing less so principally illustrated in the increasing gap in income between the rich and poor a recipe for social disaster not confined to NZ. Perhaps it was less so once apon a time, but for this child of the 80s I can find little evidence of it being one now. Irrespective of our continuous failings in this are, one thing NZ does not have is an education system that has such obvious tiers such as that of the unique German state education system.

After the foundation of the German Empire in 1871, a Prussian based education system was introduced and a variant of it became the national standard. This was based on multiple tiers of secondary schooling in accordance with academic performance while the child was approaching what ins now intermediate school age.

What that all means now is that at the ripe old age of ten is determining what type of high school that you will attend based on your previous academic performance.( As follows shamelessly lifted from Wikipedipa, go free information society go)

The Gymnasium is designed to prepare pupils for university education and finishes with the final examination Abitur, after grade 12 or 13. The Realschule has a broader range of emphasis for intermediate pupils and finishes with the final examination Mittlere Reife, after grade 10; the Hauptschule prepares pupils for vocational education and finishes with the final examination Hauptschulabschluss, after grade 9 or 10 and the Realschulabschluss after grade 10.

            So once branded with your childhood class of destined education off you go into the machine. It is possible, although difficult to move upward from a lower school to another, but I am lead to believe this is difficult. So what? Why not? Western societies only need so many politicians and academics and many more burger flippers and dig holes in the side of the road. At least one knows there place in life, now roll over and get on with it. Why not have it working? But it is not.

             In a recent international comparison, German students were on average failing increasing behind the peers in other western societies. Part of this is the continuous failure of the large and rapidly increasing German Turkish community to integrate into to, and speak, German. But if you find German hard, well I know what rank of school you will end up in, and if German education system puts you and all your young peers in that bucket, then why bother trying to integrate. But that story is for another day.

In 2009 Berlin had a state lottery for 30% of the placement in Gynamisum schools. Every child was eligible to enter irrespective of their primary school performance. Go Berlin you should be in Switzerland you are also another place of win, I love you.

Oh well, every cup needs a saucer to hold it up, catch the spilled goodness, and serve that which gives it purpose. Sucks to be a dumb ten year old in Germany.