Choosing Your Path
#1&DONE, Charlie's Angels, GOATS 2 CommentsWhile visiting One of German Realschule in Ludwigsburg, I was quite surprised by how much the German education system differs from the one in the US. Children in Germany essentially get assigned a certain career path, based on their scholarly inclinations. Hauptschule gets students prepared for vocational training, Realschule provides a broader general education, and Gymnasium enables students to continue their education at a German university or equivalent.
This reminded me a little of the Divergent series, where in dystopian future children were divided into the so-called factions, based on their personality traits. They had to commit to these factions for life and could never cross the boundaries to become someone else. Of course, this is an exaggeration and as adults Germans can choose to continue their education and pursue a different career path. However, it made me think about pros and cons of such a system. On one hand, this system seems to suppress the freedom of choice and, perhaps, creates a certain segregation among children. Additionally, children than come from low income families often have a predisposition to be sent to a lower-level school.
On the other hand, how many of us as children really knew what we wanted to do in life and who we wanted to become? I venture to say that not many children at the age of 10 have the slightest idea about their future career path. So it is wrong for knowledgeable and experienced education professionals to make this choice for them and guide them in the right direction? It made me think about the current state of affairs in the US. College education these days have become almost obligatory. Almost every responsible parent starts making contributions to the 529 college savings plan before their child learns how to walk and talk. However, not everyone wants to go to college and not everyone should. There are plenty of respectable trades that one can learn and be happy and successful. Employers in the US have been complaining about the shortage of skilled workers, such as electricians, carpenters, and welders. Yet we push our kids to go to college and often receive a degree that they cannot even apply to a real-life setting. My husband never went to college. He has been working as a machinist for the past 20 years and he is great at it. More importantly, he loves it! So maybe we should change our mentality and start paying attention to our kids’ talents and inclinations. This way we can gently push them in the right direction and help them them grow up loving what they do. What do you think?
Jonathan Fisher
Yulia,
Very interesting. I agree about the education system and I wonder what the economy in Germany would look like if education on the university level became available or accessible to everyone that may choose to pursue it as it is her in the U.S. I agree that it is unfortunate that in such an economy someone that has no interest in a university education and have access to it because of the family or status they are born in versus someone that might want to pursue education and potentially have no access.
Great points!
Tiffany Nieves
Yulia, you have raised some great points in your post. I loved your analogy comparing the factions to the track system. As an educator, I cannot imagine having to make this important decision for my students. Not only would this decision majorly impact the student’s future, but it would also impact their self esteem. Labels on anyone (children and adults) can have a negative impact on self worth.