The German National Honor Society or Delta Phi Alpha (German: Deutsche Ehrenverbindung), seeks to recognize excellence in the study of German and to provide an incentive for higher scholarship. The Society aims to promote the study of the German language, literature and civilization and endeavors to emphasize those aspects of German life and culture which are of universal value and which contribute to man's eternal search for peace and truth.
The high school level is American Association of Teachers of German's (AATG) honor society for outstanding students of the German language, Delta Epsilon Phi. It was founded in Coral Gables, Florida, USA, in 1968, functioning as a branch of the AATG.
For induction, a student must have completed at least five semesters of German classes, with a 3.6 GPA on a 4.0 scale, calculated on a cumulative basis for all semesters. The student must also have at least a 3.0 GPA in their other classes, although this prerequisite varies by school.
Famous quotes containing the words german, national, honor and/or society:
“The German mind, may it live! Almost invisible as a mind, it finally manifests itself assertively as a conviction.”
—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)
“Our national experience in Americanizing millions of Europeans whose chief wish was to become Americans has been a heady wine which has made us believe, as perhaps no nation before us has ever believed, that, given the slimmest chance, all peoples will pattern themselves upon our model.”
—Ruth Benedict (1887–1948)
“In schools all over the world, little boys learn that their country is the greatest in the world, and the highest honor that could befall them would be to defend it heroically someday. The fact that empathy has traditionally been conditioned out of boys facilitates their obedience to leaders who order them to kill strangers.”
—Myriam Miedzian, U.S. author. Boys Will Be Boys, ch. 3 (1991)
“They are, as it were, train-bearers in the pageant of life, and hold a glass up to humanity, frailer than itself. We see ourselves at second-hand in them: they show us all that we are, all that we wish to be, and all that we dread to be.... What brings the resemblance nearer is, that, as they imitate us, we, in our turn, imitate them.... There is no class of society whom so many persons regard with affection as actors.”
—William Hazlitt (1778–1830)