Teacher Education
In general, to obtain a teaching degree for Gymnasia, prospective teachers have to study at least two subjects which are part of the curriculum of the gymnasien. Some decide to study three subjects or more. In addition, the university programmes for teachers always include lectures on educational sciences and didactics. After nine semesters (4,5 years) or more, students have to pass the Erstes Staatsexamen (first state examination), roughly equivalent to a Master's degree, and which marks the end of their academic training. However, having passed this test does not qualify someone at once to become a gymnasium teacher. This test is followed by the Referendariat (internship), which normally lasts two years. During this time, the student teacher gains practical teaching experience under the supervision of experienced colleagues. This phase is completed by a second state examination, which assesses the trainees' practical teaching ability. Those having successfully completed both the first and second state examinations may then apply for employment at a gymnasium.
However, the systems of teacher education differ among the Bundesländer, include exceptions and are not seldom modified. One trend is the abolishment of the first state examination in favour of Master of Education programmes. The second state examination is not affected by this development.
Read more about this topic: Gymnasium (Germany)
Famous quotes containing the words teacher and/or education:
“The teacher must derive not only the capacity, but the desire, to observe natural phenomena. In our system, she must become a passive, much more than an active, influence, and her passivity shall be composed of anxious scientific curiosity and of absolute respect for the phenomenon which she wishes to observe. The teacher must understand and feel her position of observer: the activity must lie in the phenomenon.”
—Maria Montessori (1870–1952)
“The experience of the race shows that we get our most important education not through books but through our work. We are developed by our daily task, or else demoralized by it, as by nothing else.”
—Anna Garlin Spencer (1851–1931)