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:
“Have you never heard of German Becoming, of German Wandering, of the endless migratings of the German soul? Even foreigners know our word ‘Wanderlust.’ If you like, the German is the eternal student, the eternal searcher, among the peoples of the earth.”
—Thomas Mann (1875–1955)
“All experience teaches that, whenever there is a great national establishment, employing large numbers of officials, the public must be reconciled to support many incompetent men; for such is the favoritism and nepotism always prevailing in the purlieus of these establishments, that some incompetent persons are always admitted, to the exclusion of many of the worthy.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“We honor founders of these starving cities,
Whose honor is the image of our sorrow.”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)
“The distractions, the exhaustions, the savage noises, the demands of town life, are, for me, mortal enemies to thought, to sleep, and to study; its extremes of squalor and of splendor do not stimulate, but sadden me; certain phases of its society I profoundly value, but would sacrifice them to the heaven of country quiet, if I had to choose between.”
—Elizabeth Stuart Phelps (1844–1911)