Gymnasium (Germany) - Culture of Teaching and Testing

Culture of Teaching and Testing

German gymnasien follow different pedagogical philosophies and teaching methods may vary. In the most traditional schools, students rise when the teacher enters the classroom. The teacher says "Good morning, class" and the class answers "Good morning, Mr./Ms. ...". The teacher then asks them to sit down. Ex cathedra teaching is the norm in German gymnasien. The teacher stands in front of the class and talks about a subject. The students write down what he says. Students are not to talk during that time, except when called on to answer a question. Students are not allowed to shout out the answers, but must raise their hands and wait until called upon. In the most traditional Gymnasia, students are supposed to rise and stand beside their chairs to answer. Senior students are sometimes allowed to hold debates. This manner of teaching is used in both German lessons and foreign language lessons.

Students are supposed to call their teachers by the appropriate title, followed by the last name, such as "Mr..." or "Dr...". Until 1970, students called their teachers "Professor" ("Klassprofessor"). Teachers might call their young students by their first name or their last name and appropriate title "Mr./Ms. ...". Teachers are sometimes required to call their older students by the last name and appropriate title. A German court ordered that older students atteding a gymnasium may not be called by their first name unless they give permission. A student called by his first name without permission may sue his teacher.

Corporal punishment was banned in 1973. Teachers who want to punish students put them in detention or assign them boring tasks. Some have them write essays like "Why a student should not interrupt his teachers". Students who behave especially badly may be expelled from school and have to go to another school. Should the same happen again, the pupil may be required to attend a private school and the family to bear the costs. This is very rare though.

While this sounds like discipline is strict in German Gymnasia, in many cases, the official rules are watered down and ignored, except when school officials are watching. For example, while teachers and upper-class students are not allowed to call one another by their first names, in many cases they do. Relationships can be very informal and notoriously some teachers have even become drunk with their students after school. A 'Klassenabend' or 'Kurstreffen' are features of German schools, whereby teachers meet their form in the evening for a social occasion.

There are written, as well as oral, exams. Written exams are essay-based and called Klausur and typically take one and a half hours. Many German students never take a multiple choice test.