My parents taught me, that the past is not my respomsibility. My responsibility is to do everything in my power to prevent, that something like that is ever happening in germany again.

Ich war vier Jahre in der Grundschule, anschließend kam für Alle zwei Jahre die OS (OrientierungsStufe). Danach war ich fünf Jahre in der Realschule. Eigentlich wären es nur vier Jahre gewesen, aber ich habe zwei Jahre zur Hälfte doppelt gemacht. Egal. Danach kamen 3.5 Jahre Ausbildung. Dann habe ich 2.5 Jahre als Facharbeiter gearbeitet. ABER: danach ein Jahr Fachoberschule, dann vier Jahre Studium. Jetzt bin ich Dipl. Ingenieur. Was ich sagen will.... man ist nach der Schule / Ausbildung nicht am Ende. Es kann weiter gehen ... wenn man denn will .... und lernwillig ist.

I went to school in both the US and Germany. Personally, I benefited from the German system in the way that I definitely needed an easier path after elementary school (went to elementary school in the US). It was hard for me to keep up with classmates and I got quite discouraged by the fact that all those „smart kids“ always did so much better than me. In Germany, I went to Realschule and somehow just got better and better, which I think was due to the fact that I had great and very encouraging teachers. And the fact that everyone around me learned at a similar pace. Did my Abitur afterwards and became a civil engineer. I think the fact that Germany splits students according to their academic achievements has is benefits and disadvantages. Though that very much depends on the individual child. However, I do think doing that a little bit later wouldn’t hurt. When it comes to special needs children, I absolutely agree with your mom. My cousin is autistic and most teachers didn’t know much about autism or its implications. He was sent to school together with children that had different developmental delays, physical disabilities etc. and we always had a feeling they were „discarded“ in a way. Like they were never going to achieve anything in life as a group. When they actually all needed different adjustments and could have thrived under in the right environment, even in a normal school.

As a german I love bubbly personalities (unfortunately they're kinda rare in Bavaria but more common in Baden Wurttemberg), so please never change how and who you are. We need more of that!

I understand the frustration at not understanding German when new here and all that. But I must say: I have lived in the US, the UK and Spain and I have never come across anyone in either country speaking German to make things easier for me ;) I just had to learn the language and I am pretty sure Canadians would think I'm crazy if I asked them to speak German to accommodate me. Granted, English is a global language but coming back to what your mom said about inclusion: You cannot expect everyone to speak a foreign language. Germany is trying to be more inclusive by the way (I am a teacher), the problem is we lack teachers. A lot :(

In our School system is one other option. It's called Gesamtschule. I think it's something like High School light. There young people can go to without being pressed into one system like Realschule or Gymnasium. My children went there with a given way to a middle graduation after 10th class (10 years of schooling is law here) but both went to the full 13 years with Abitur, opening their ways to University. But there is also the other way around, if a child has problems it could get out at 10 years with a Realschulabschluss.

It is not easy to find the "best" school system. But concerning flexibility the (south) German system is not so bad. For example after you have finished Realschule (mittlere Reife) you can go to a Fachoberschule and do your Abitur there. Also in the Mittelschule you can do a Realschule degree. Yes, after Grundschule there is a separation, but you always have a chance to get a higher degree afterwards.

What foreigners don't understand about the german school system: you always have the choice or the opportunity to switch from Realschule to Gymnasium or Hauptschule. And when you have finished your Realschule you always have the chance to get your Abitur.

I work at a German Gymnasium and we have a lot of students in the 11th grade who went to Realschule until the 10th grade. After each type of school, you have the option of going to the next higher type of school.

11:05 Those three lines, Gymnasium, Realschule and Hauptschule aren't fixed but you can switch between them. When I was in the Realschule we got three guys that switched from the Hauptschule into our class. I don't know exactly how that works in detail though. But you can also switch from the Realschule to the Gymnasium. If you're doing well enough you get a so called Q-Vermerk (qualification-notice) which allows you to attend 10th or 11th grade (depending on whether you do Abitur at the end of 12th grade or 13th grade) in the Gymnasium, and the Abitur is what you need to get into University. I got my Q-Vermerk at the end of Realschule (10th grade), did my Abitur (and quite well I might add) and am studying law now so I am a good example of the permeability of the system.

Pleeeeeeeease move you whole family here. We definitely need more of this kind of fun and open-minded people in Germany ❤❤❤

You never make a fool of your self. I would say you are trying and this is absolutly ok. Respect.

Thanks to your mom. That was a nice talk. It is sweet to see that she is supporting you so much.

I think the German school system is far superior to the Canadian system. Kids progress based on their aptitudes not what they may feel they should do (or the parents wishes). The fact is more Germans finish highschool and go to uni or trades school than in Canada. I do agree about the integration issue though as a mom on a special needs kid. According to my German engineer husband, there is wiggle room within the secondary classes for kids who are able to improve their grades etc.

For the school system. In most places I know you can sing your children up to a IGS or integrierte Gesamtschule. There the children are able to be in the same school at least till the 10th grade and are separated in different courses of the classes. In most IGS you can also take the 11-13th grade if you want to go to university. And even if you go the regular way of Hauptschule/Realschule/Gymnasium there is the possibility to add extra years to Haupt- and Realschule depending on the grades you get. But it also works in the opposite direction.

Hi you both, a lot of things were said already in youre interesting video and in the comments. But regarding the school system I´m missing the fact that we have also "den zweiten Bildungsweg" as a second or even a third chance. I went that path. I had only "Hauptschulabschluss" (Basic school) at the age of 15, which is a very basic degree. After that I made an apprenticeship as an Industrial Mechanic. Later after serving in the Army, I started at 23 to make Realschule and Fachoberschule. Thereafter I went to College and University. Now I´m retired. I made my career as a Lawyer. I was ready with my studies at the age of 33 - and free of debth! As you can see, there is always a possibility to go on and find your way. - even as a late bloomer like me. Have a lovely week and go on vlogging! Dettmar

This is actually really funny because my mom also was the one who encouraged me to move to Germany 🤣🤣 she is the one who found the au pair advertisement and encouraged me to apply when I was 19! I’m 32 now and I’ve been gone ever since 🥲

The school Thing your mother mentioned, i have to say: YES! Thank you for saying this. Our schoolsystem honestly sucks.

I love your content! 😊

12:12 not sure if one system is better or worse, just want to mention that the German system may want to separate different levels at class 4, but that is not a decision for the whole school life and one's career. There is a certain what is described in German as "permeability" (Durchlässigkeit) of the educational system and I have used it, ended up with A'Levels despite remaining at 4th grade at the school and did not change to secondary school (Gymnasium) straight away. It works the other way around as well.

You can switch back, e.g. from the Realschule back to the Gymnasium, if you want to (as I did back then) or even if your performance is good or becomes better and better with the years. Everyone gets a chance here, but it is up to you, not up to others (i.e. teachers, systems). You have to learn and study and then you'll get automatically your chances. This dragging along of lower achievers, in my opinion, lowers the level for everyone eventually, because teachers have to do individualized instruction for each one. That can't work with class sizes of around 30 students. In addition, I think that too much freedom can also lead to the fact that you no longer know what you want. The path of clarity is then missing. Limitlessness can also have an inhibiting effect for some people. I always felt that it was a positive thing to be in a class with strong performance levels instead of being held back by those who were unwilling to perform or those with weaker performance. The Realschule also has its advantages in that it teaches more practical things that lead to a good practical career as a craftsman or skilled worker. So I don't think our school system is somehow regressive in time. After all, we are the 4th largest economy and the engineering center of the world. Maybe we are a little more traditional. After all, traditions result from centuries of experience, not from short-lived experiments by self-proclaimed pedagogues. By the way, we also have Waldorf schools or Montessori schools and others. So if you are looking for something alternative, you will also find it here.

German school system ("we don´t like to disappoint people, but like positive surprises..."): Age 10: "You don´t seem to be the type to study at an university, so it might be a good idea to prepare you for some real job - and if you get better over time, you might still be able to go to university, if you really want to." (kid gets sent to the Hauptschule or Realschule) Age 16: "Looks like you have a lot more in you than everybody thought, we´ll put you in a Gymnasium to see if you can keep that momentum going." (teenager gets sent to the Gymnasium) or "Good thing you didn´t get high hopes for university, you would have gone under there in no time, get a nice job in the trades (mostly Hauptschule) or office (mostly Realschule) instead (and if you are good enough in your job, you can STILL study later on)!" (teenager gets sent to a trade school to learn a trade or office job) Age 18 (or 19, once G9 is back in everywhere): "Yep, you were able to keep it up, have fun going to university!" (adult goes to university to study) or "It was a good try, but it doesn´t look like university is the right thing for you - how about getting a nice business office job instead?" (adult has good chances to get a job with professional training in an office, because they finished the Gymnasium, not only the Realschule or Hauptschule) Canadian/US school system ("we give you high hopes, just to completely and utterly destroy them later on!"): Age 10: "Of course you can go to an university later on, no problem!" Age 18: "LOL, you really thought you were good enough to go to university with those grades? Really? Try getting a job at [insert multi-billion fast food franchise] instead." PS: the time in between "try to keep up with the others, will you?" *SCNR*

You mom is very sweet, I loved her so much from the first word she said and first smile she gave.. Please give her hugs and kisses from a stranger here 😁 but I really loved her ❤️

my sister went to Gymnasium but then realized she couldn't make it, so she switched to Mittelschule and made a 10th grade degree. Then she made an apprenticeship at a bank, and when she had a job at a bank decided that she'd like to go for higher education. so she went to evening school to finish highschool degree and then studied theology. now she is vice ceo of a christian retreat center.

Deine Mama ist so sympathisch und natürlich 😊😀

I can only speak about our school, but we made some very negative experiencies with the German elementary school. My daughter, who is a model student, has no problems with the school, because she perfectly fits in with the system. My son, who has legasthenie and ADD, always forgetts some pens, writing down what the homework is, reads slower and so on, did not fit in: his teacher was making a big problem out of it instead of searching for solutions. She also did not belive in things like Legasthenie. This year he started Realschule and that changed everything. Mainly because there are more children like him now and also the school (maybe because of that) has simple solutions for this kind of problems : for example, he got a box at the school with a second set of books, also the teacher put a box with pens on the table for kids who forgott something: problem solved. The kids get a printed weakly plan with all of the homework for the weak, and the parents a copy of it in an app. The homeworks are mostly in working books instead of giving 1000 of different loose copies, that a kid could lose easily (and if there are some sheets, parents also get a copy in the app). There is an afternoon legasthenie class. And he got a "Nachteilsausgleich" (disadvantage commpensation) that actually make sens: spelling does not count, only knowlege (every school can decide on the kind of "Nachteilsausgleich" on her own, in the elementary school he just got few minutes more time , but the spelling counted all the same, result: he could learn for hours, still got a bad note because of the spelling that he can not realy lern and felt more and more alienated because kids were making fun of the bad note: "you didn't lern again"). Because of the simple solutions now he is a model student and his confidence and motivation rised a lot. I understand what you mean with the inclusion, but inclusion only make sense if you have tools, methods, prepared teachers (and in more complicated cases - additional teachers). If you just put kids in the standard system, who don't fit with the standard system and expect them to perform the same: that can be very hard and discouraging for the child. Acctually inclusion in the school is now obligatory per law, just does not work well, because in many cases it just mean the kid is in the standard class, but still is excluded or stigmatised because of it different performance.

I am hard of hearing. I did go to a regular elementary school. At 5th grade I did switch to a school for the hearing impaired. That school, for me, was way better. Instead of 30 students, it was now just 8. The classroom was smaller and it was easier to understand all the sutdents and the teacher. We did sit in a semi circle instead of row after row, so that we could look at each others faces. While I agree, that integration is important, I think the students benefit from schools that can attend to the students special needs. In my opinion, the students should be free to choose if they want to go to a regular school or a school for special needs. I am just hard of hearing and can speek and hear just finde in most situations. But I believe, it would be even harder for a deaf person to attend a regular school. Even with a sign language interpreter it would be pretty hard. Here in germany they start to integrate more and more students, but you have to ask yourself if they do it for integrations sake or to save money. In most cases, its the latter reason and that is not a good thing. I don't know, how integration works in canada. But here it means, that these kids spent most time in the ruglar class and have a special needs teacher there only every other day. Some of the special needs teachers have to visit a different school each day of the week. And that is definitely not a good thing.

The german schoolsystem actually gives lots of chances. You can always switch schools if you didn't pick the right one in 5. th grade or if you develop differently than expected. And with good grades everybody can switch to Gymnasium after 10 th. grade and there are also lots of other schools you can attend after 10 grade to get Abitur or Fachabitur. It's not that bad, really ;).

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I think you're mother is absolutely right about our school system. Actually the topic of schools for children with special needs in Germany was a topic in the satire show "Die Anstalt" (ZDF) a few weeks ago. Maybe you want to check it out and translate to her, how bad it *really* is.

"Germans like Canadians" absolutely true :D Many people probably mourn if some1 says "im from america" (since we think of the us) but those people probably get a smile when it gets specified to canada instead of the US :DDD And youre getting good at those cliffhangers :D "I dont like the school system", my funny as was like "well, in general its pretty high standard and free, what could she possibly say?!" but yeah, what your mum said there is actually quite nice :D i mean, its gettin better slowly but ofcourse not everywhere the same and all of that^^ tho I wouldnt rly put my name under the "...in the US probably too.." sentence xD The other thing tho (talking about the Hauptschule/Gymnasium/Gesamtschule etc thingy) It is bad and good at the same time.. the bad thing is: it is much harder for people that were put into the Hauptschule (I actually went to one because I was stupid and just wanted to follow a friend of mine) and get a good paid job-training later without "wasting" more years to educate further.. I did that and it took me an additional ~4-5 years to do that.. but its okay :D on the other hand you have those people that have a higher strive to achieve something or maybe even just smarter.. they go to the "Gymnasium" where they can learn at a faster pace, different/more complicated stuff et cetera.. when you'd put someone from a Hauptschule (if he aint just lazy) into that gymnasium.. he/she would prolly just repeat classes over and over again.. which aint the optimum too... Sooo.. I'm not really sure about whether to change it and to what to change.. Im also not rly convinced by the american system to be fair. Guess everything got its ups and downs good video as always, have a good one! :3

Love your videos! Congratulations on your new baby!🌺❤ I was born and educated in Germany but moved to the States as a young mom. I also lived in Toronto for one year (LOVED it!!) I worked in the school system in Florida for 24 years and I think that the most important issue in Germany, as well as in the States, is that teachers don't get enough support. Also, I feel that many don't have any idea about child development which is so important in understanding how to approach different problems that arise. What I most dislike here is that the "smart" kids are ALWAYS the ones who get rewarded. It's always the same kids that get to have lunch with the principal as a reward for being on the Principal's Honor Roll. The inclusion of special needs children brings a whole lot of problems, mostly for the teachers. They never get enough support for those children. Special needs teachers are frequently used for other duties and the teachers are often left without any help. This might be better in other states but in Florida we never have enough help! People in the school system are completely overworked and underpaid! Enjoy having your mom to help you! This is such a wonderful time to share!🍁🍂🙋‍♀

Just found your channel and wanted to say hello! Another Canadian living in Deutschland since 2016.

we have a saying that you can always be able to ma contact "with a muzzle and a paw" (very loose translation). It's a little connection to animals, but the main thing is that even if you don't know the language but you're open and good with mimics and hand gestures - you will always be able to make contact : ) Recently my non-french speaking mom was talking with a french gal in the elevator while in Spain : > and they were able to understand mostly what they wanted to communicate : D

your mom is real unique, I do love her much. I would love to know about her, what she is doing, what she likes or not, don´t be afraid about me, 72 year old bavarian here. 😇🙏🙋‍♂

hi, thanx for the video. your mom is very sympathic and cute.❤

About the school system, I lived in Brandenburg and we were in primary school up to 6th grade and then got to choose between Gymnasium and Realschule but the thing is where I lived when you were wheelchair-bound or had any sort of walking disability you couldn't attend the Gymnasium because it is Denkmalgeschützt so that means that they weren't able to build an elevator, not even on the outside so you had to go to a Realschule. Or or go way out of your way to go to another Gymnasium, like driving 30 minutes up to an hour only to attend a Gymnasium so that means you either couldn't get the education that you wanted or you had to do a Fach-Abi after Realschule and somewhere that was wheelchair friendly. I mean when one of my classmates broke his foot our whole class had to move to one of the schools outside buildings for all classes (we had dedicated classrooms for every subject) that had had a wheelchair ramp just so he could attend class.

I am an elementary school teacher here in Germany and I think we became much more inclusive in resent years (varying from state to state), but not inclusive enough. I have three special needs children in my class (22 children in total), but basically without any support, because we lack special needs teachers everywhere. The teacher shortages are hard, but the lack of special needs teachers or support staff in the special needs area is even harder. I don't like seperating children at the age of 10 either, but this system won't change anytime soon. The funny thing is, most teachers dislike this system, but most parents, or rather the german society, prefer(s) this system. They dislike "Gesamtschulen", they have a very bad reputation. Gesamtschulen are a type of school, where everybody stays and learns together until 10th grade. Then you may continue to 13th grade and get your "Abitur" if you so desire and go on to university.

Your moms is SO RIGHT when it comes to the almost non existant integration in our schools here. I wish we'd take more notes from other countries that do a much better job. But with all the teacher shortages getting worse and worse I feel like all that's happening anymore is trying to keep it running somehow! Urgh. (My daughter just started 1st grade, so I'm a bit anxious about the comming years!)

I totally agree with your opinion about the school system. I'm Italian and I've lived in Germany and the US. In Italy we have something somewhat in between, we choose our type of highschool after middle school at 12-13yo, so a bit later. But most of all no matter what you choose, if you complete all 5 years you can go to university. Also, Italy doesn't segregate special need kids, they go to normal schools and they usually have a special ed teacher assigned to them

Germany is mostly driven by performance and that starts in school. Kids learn differently and have different capability to learn certain things. So it makes sense that kids with about the same skills seperate from others so they can use their potential. And it is not static, kids who catched up can still go higher, kids who were rated higher and fall off can go lower. It keeps the classes more even and e.g. a kid that will 99% become a worker wont have to compete with those who will go to university. So the worker kid can still be the best in class and for the worse ones, there is not an unclimbable mountain to just keep in pace. (Or do you have all the same pace for all kids? Isnt it holding back the smart kids?) I dont see it as a downside or as 10 years behind.

I love hearing that your mom works with special needs students! One thing regarding education in Germany that I’m struggling to find more info about is how the system works for kids with Autism. Our teen is determined to go to university in Germany (5 years of learning german) and we just learned she has autism. She loves Germany! She loves that the environment is generally more quiet then the US, people are clear and direct and there are clear rules. But how does having autism work at university level we wonder? This will be a learning experience!

XD das das Schulsystem bescheiden ist im vergleich zu anderen Ländern ist so ziemlich jedem klar der in dem System war oder Kinder hat und sieht wie das Deutsche Schulsystem absolut Fertig macht. Ich hatte persönlich gerne ein Schulsystem das änlich ist wie das was man in Schweden oder Estland hat. Dann wäre schon sehr viel gewonnen :D

I am not talking about inclusion of handicapped kids - but actually I like the separation of the kids after the elementary school. There is just so much difference in the capability of the kids - sometimes because of their faster or slower development, sometimes because of their intellectual capabilities, their learning behaviour or yes, because of their upbringing. It does not help the more motivated, faster or more capable kid when the speed in class is too slow for it - and it does not help (and for sure not motivate the less capable kid) when it always hangs behind. Let the ones learn their 3 languages and higher math - whereas you let the others learn the basics slower but better. There should be more teachers and more paedagogic persons that take care of the needs of the kids in the elementary school and take care to smooth the difficulties especially of that that are disadvantaged by coming from underpriviledged backgrounds - but the separation for me is something favorable. My oldest brother went to Hauptschule, my one year older to Realschule and I went to Gymnasium - and it was fine like this as my brothers did not develop as fast as I did - at the end all of us made an Abitur. We all learned a trade and all did that best of class. The only difference probably is that I learned more languages.

I gotta say, fair assessment of the German school system. One thing of note is that change is happening piecemeal, though. We got a somewhat better system with teh Gesamtschule. It's still segregated in regards to education towards university vs. education towards vocational training, but things are moving. With the integration of SN kids as well. Some schools are already doing a fairly good job with that. As someone who has a teen in the system and is out of school for almost 30 years, I can say that things have gotten much better, even though I curse a lot whenever stuff isn't as it should be. Or at least could imaginably be ...

School system: The German school system has become a lot more open. In most Bundesländer, the parents choose a child's school. And after finishing Realschule, it is very common to attend a Gymnasium for 3 years and get your Abitur. The daughter of friends of ours goes to a Realschule, and the director explained early on that 90 percent of his pupils change to a Gymnasium.

Regarding education, since I saw it the first time 20 years ago, I want that system for my country. Its the best currently out there and I will never understand why we dont do it. Every metric is better with the Nordic School System. ALAS!

Ah well, the discussion about our school system seems to be a never ending story. I remember it to be a hot topic when I went to school - and that was 50 (in words: fifty) yiears ago. Yes, our system isn't and hasn't been perfect. But what system really is? I agree with your mom though that inclusion should be promoted more in our schools👍💛. It certainly isn't a solution for all kids with special needs but, in my mind, for the majority it is. When they grow up to be adults and be a part of our society they should get the opportunity from a childs age on! With proper support and guidance there will be no problems. But most important I think are the teachers - regardless of the system itself. If you're lucky, you'll have engaging and enthusiastic teachers who are able to support a childs natural curiosity of wanting to know everything. Then those kids will be able to thrive. But from personal experience I can tell that most of the teachers I came into contact with never had or had lost that spark. E.g. my relationship with history was totally destroyed by a teacher who was fixated on exact dates. If you failed to know them you were in trouble - no matter if you could pinpoint the ongoings of the rest of the era in question correcty or not. It took many years and a lot of watching documentaries on TV to get me interestetd in history once again. Oh, and this time I agree on the comments about the background music. Not in general, but the parts in which your mom did "the Shakespearean aside" she was hardly understandable. Maybe tone it down in such parts in editing?👍🖖

Your mom needs a youtube channel. I'd watch every video 😀

What a cute Mom :-)

Your mom can also say "yes please" in a Friendly way with a smile. And not in a rude way she thinks germans do 😉

Schönes Video! :)

Beeing a nice Oma is absolutly good. I like your mom because she is thinking about your kid. And as I heard she is a teacher she knows what she is talking about. I have to admit that the german system is to regulated. The kid have to have a certain matureness to get to the next stage. And this is not correct, because kids need time to get mature. Some are pretty fast and good some need a little time. I think your mom is right. Our system is to regulated. No matter, I like you guys and I hope the everything will turn out good for you. All the best from me.

Hallo, ich sehe und höre deinen Channel sehr gern. Aber für mich ist es (als Deutscher) sehr schwer euch bei Hintergrundmusik zu verstehen. Weiter so, aber bitte ohne Begleitmusik! Danke Uwe

Canadian here living in Switzerland for 30 years Totally disagree with the young school opinion I do miss that in Canada you can meet random people and just start up a conversation Here it just doesn't happen

Aww I love your mama Jenna! This was my favourite video of yours, I didn't want it to end. Absolutely agree with her views on the German school system. I love raising my kids in Germany for so many reasons but I find certain aspects of the school system very discriminatory and I think it's time for some big changes to be made.

Hey your Mom is sooooo cute😉🌻

The german school system 🤔 I've been through it as well as my sisters and children... you can almost always change between the different school types if you realize that its not the right one for you... BUT I do not think that any child benefits from being in a class with children that do much better or can't follow along... its no good for either one, I think. You meet in the afternoon anyway in sportsclubs or on the playground or whereever...

The Autobahn will no longer be a unlimited speed road network, so forget about driving at 220-250Mph you will get caught or am I wrong.

first of all: i Love the personality of your mom. To go out and just talk with the people is the right way. I think we got many english speaking people in Germany, so there is always someone arround who can help you. And for the schoolsystem in Germany, we also got the IGS ( Integrierte Gesamtschule ) an Universalschool if you want. You can make you Hauptschulabschluss up to Abitur in one school. i wish your mom a really good time in Germany and all the best with the birth of your child.

So if she talked about so much with other teachers i wounder a bit, because it looks she did not understand the system at all. You can change from every schollsystem to the other. from Hauptschule to Realschule or Gymnasium and you also have the vocational training system and Hochschule or Fachhochschule. There are no hard barriers except your skills.

While I agree that the german school system should be more inclusive and is in need of some reformation. It is also the sole reason of germanys wealth and standing in the world.

In 1978 the SPD politician Jürgen Girgensohn wanted to introduce Gesamt Schule in NRW. So Hauptschulen, Realschulen and Gymnasium in one school. Not only was the FDP against Gymnasium not to be preferred. The oppositional CDU started a referendum with the Catholic Church that prevented the reform of the school. Only a few Gesamtschule were founded. Today, the Hauptschule is abolished and the students are sent to the Realschule instead. This is then called Sekundar Schule. Sekundar Schule is a Gesamt Schule without Gymnasium. The Gymnasium is successfully defended by the FDP. The FDP often successfully defends the interests of the company owners against the workers. So the children of working-class families have a hard time climbing up the ladder. That's called freedom.

Thank you for pointing out the flaws of the school system! I feel totally the same and things should change!

on the other hand - i m german - i have done Hauptschule, but have and can go than to Handelsschule (its special form of Realschule) - and than to Wirtschaftsgymnasium - and i remember (i m old) to the "collegues" of Hauptschule, they dont like school, they want to go their, what do you think is gone on with the other ....... the same is in american system - if a schoolkid not want, what is going on with the other .... and by the way after if done my Berufsausbildung and time in the army for a long time im studying theatcher for economique schools at university.

Your mama is cute and very sympathetic.

A video about the canadian school system would be very appreciated, especially about the inclusion of children with disabilities like deafness, blindness, and other kind of impairments.

Great video Jenna! Find your mom super. Many have already commented on it: Second education and many roads lead to Rome. I think the pressure on our children to have to study is now too great! You can also make a career in a factory or earn good money as a craftsman! Skilled worker shortage here meanwhile. I think our dual education system is very good. BMW introduced it in their US plants because they couldn't find qualified people and the quality suffered.

Oooooje! She hates us! 😭😭 😉🙂 No. I like your video it was interesting and entertaining. School system: yes you're right, we need some reforms. And the fact that your mom broke her own heart just so you can spread your wings and find happiness and love at the other side of the world only shows how much she loves you. Think there is room for one, two,...more videos to come.🙂 If there's enough time.👶 Cause family time is more important than we are. Ciao

I do not agree with your Mom's view on the German school system at all. Yes, some schools are not yet inclusive but they are working on it. The only bad thing is that we don't have enough teachers although they are getting paid pretty good and have 13 weeks paid vacation in a year at least that's the way it used to be. Every kid who is good in school can promote to a higher rated school when they want to. I have not lived in Canada but in the US and the quality and level of what you learn is so much higher in Germany than overthere. Every time German pupils go to the US on an exchange programme if it's in high school or college or University they are taught stuff in school what they have learned in Germany years before. Besides that every pupil can make an additional apprenticeship or go to a special business school after Realschule if they decide not to go to the Gymnasium and can still go to college afterwards. And all public colleges and universities are almost free. As I said I don't know how it is in Canada but it is way better than in the US.

Do you speak French as well?

y'all look like characters straight outta Disney movie

I know that german is a more difficult language than english, but be confident, your german is quite better, than the level of some immigrants living here for over 30 years. 😀 (@mom)

great mom

From what I was able to gather throughout my life so far is that education about WW2 outside of Germany doesn't appear to teach much about how and why fascism happens, but rather to just reinforce the respective people's delusions of nationalistic superiority (and nationalism in general). Á la "WE were the good guys, THEY were the bad guys, something like this could never happen here, oh never mind those mass graves over there😏", blissfully unaware whenever they're sliding towards fascism themselves. And I don't even have to point at obvious examples like the US to illustrate what I mean, this happens everywhere.

@ Life in Germany: Integrating special needs students: We do not claim that our system is perfect. Politicians kind of tried to solve that for cheap money. If they go to normal schools (Granted they can; many of the buidings are not barrier free.), teachers there are not qualified for students with special needs, there are usually no assistents to help such kids and the classes are to big to really pay special attention to them. It just does not work that way. And honestly while being integrated is certainly good for those who can reach the goals of the respective school type, that is probably not the case for those kids who are impaired in a way that they cannot. Time cannot be turned back, eventually it might be quite hard on them if they cannot keep up with the other kids. Is it such a bad idea to keep some special needs schools to help them develope their potential in their speed with more attention than they get at normal schools and teach them to do every day things so at least some manage to lead their own lifes as normal adults later? "Segregating" children at young age: I probably could write a lot here about my own experience with that (I liked it from the academic point of view, because I found learning in primary school to be quite slow and got bored of that, but it also cost me a friend who gave up on me as soon as it became clear that we would continue with different school types.), but is your mom even aware that this is not the end of the story? Does she know that there are school types to change those tracks? The choice at age 9/ 10 is not for the rest of your life. Btw. as she mentioned her being quite related to the topic professionally, it might be interesting to hear more about the education system in CA. We are quite aware of how the school system in the US works, thanks to a ton of youtubers and documentaries, but not to the differences the Canadian system might have to the US one. If you pick up the topic please include also the financial side of things (You cannot imagine how shocked I was when I first learned that US schools are typically funded by real estate taxes.)

I'm Low-German and I lived in Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Germany and now I live in Canada for 20 years I had to learn a new language every few years, but I took me about a year to learn a new language. now I can switch between 4 different languages and that "almost" without an accent or grammar mistakes. when I came to Canada from Germany I just knew Yes and NO. and when I look at the education system in Canada it's just useless and embarrassing. Actually a lot of Germans who have moved to Canada (and that's a couple of thousand in my city alone) took there kids out of public school's. and put them in private schools run by Germans because public school's are so bad. also no woke nonsense in our schools. I mean That's such a nonsense with the inclusivity. some people are just better/smarter then others. Btw. has nothing to do with race!!! I see the same at work, I work in a Company with over 1000 people and of those are ~40% young people 18-26 year old and in Comparison to the Germans the Canadians a lot dumber. no critical thinking, no problem solving skills. many cannot even read their own language. the town I live in, today the majority of Companies are run by Germans. and our SEO held a meeting with the employees and said they want more German emigrants because they can't find good educated workers in Canada. and also One of the reasons why Germany is so rich is there education system. and that's a fact!

I'm so happy that your mom can spend such a nice time in Germany, she's really great and it's very interesting to hear her opinion, she has a completely different perspective on things and I think it's good and important her honest views to experience, especially in an area in which she works herself. I can't get used to the German school system either, far too complicated, far too elitist and focused on the Abitur, everyone in this country should only be academics and in the important industries then lack the workers and specialists, many students who would like to become teachers are at some point frustrated because of the bad training, the pedagogical part is neglected. The school system in the former GDR was significantly better, also for young women who wanted to take technical and scientific courses. After reunification, everything from the former GDR was bad, that was changed without thinking and without regard to losses. In Finland, for example, a country that can show much more success with its school system, some of the teaching is based on the system from the former GDR. At that time, the Finns had obtained information and suggestions for improving their system from the GDR. Unfortunately, this somewhat natural arrogance and ignorance towards other things has cost us a lot of reputation, well-trained specialists from Southern and Eastern Europe, as well as from Asia and Africa are finding it so difficult to find work in Germany, even though we are in medicine, in the Nursing and care as well as the schools lack a lot of staff. In GDR times there were great people at the Charité, from all over the world, after reunification the studies were not recognized or other flimsy justifications were sought to get rid of the people and now there is a lack of staff everywhere.

if you want to have a really real idea of how bad is the educational system here, come to do some observations in Kitas and in primary schools in Berlin. I came thinking that it was more advanced than in Latin American, which is my background, and the truth was shocking and really disappointing. Being a teacher in Germany, specially in Berlin, is one of the hardest things I had to face as a profesional in education, and it is not due to the normal hard work of an educator at all, that is part of our profession. I am happy as your mother was able to observe this bitter reality.

i can't really speak to the school system in germany today, i moved to the US over 20 years ago, and i can say i am NOT impressed with the american school system. academically the german school system (Gymnasium) was years ahead of the american students. math physics chemistry languages we were light years ahead. probably still are today. What i personally did NOT like about the german system was that it was not very easy to move up if you found that hauptschule and a trade was not your future. You missed so much and lost years to make up the language and science requirements for Gymnasium to prepare you for university. It is possible but painful. i myself had no earthly idea what i wanted to do for the next 50 years or so when i was 11...... maybe the schools could go to say 8th grade and then split up when you are 14 or so. Still early but maybe you have at least an idea of academia is for you. special needs is another topic. i have always found special needs people very well integrated in germany, with jobs, and participating in daily life. Not so much here in the US i feel. Allowing special needs children to be served in the regular school system sounds desirable, it was not a thing when i went to school in the 60s, 70s. 80s. Summary: 11 is to early, and do not throw out the academic rigor when you reform the school system. Germany needs engineers, and america is not producing enough engineers. plain and simple.

Omg that feeling of stupidity! I recently went to Germany and had to get a very specific medicine for my child. There was not a single word of English on anything it seemed! Thankfully I did find someone who knew some English and tried to help. But of course what they referred me to was not exactly what I was looking for as it was more holistic style. Thankfully I ended up finding it near what they had referred (only bc one of the words happened to be the same spelling as one of the ingredients in English lol). Oh btw this was all at 7:15pm on a Saturday 🤣

There is no Tim Horny here 🤣

Love your channel, but couldn't disagree more with you lovely mother about the school systems. While I agree that many special needs children should be integrated, separating the schools between those who are college bound and those who need to be trained in an industrial art or "blue collar" work is in my opinion why when kids graduate in Germany, they are job ready. It used to be that way in America. My dad for example was employable day 1 after high school graduation in a skilled trade. Today we have this notion that everyone should go to college, and that has been demonstrably proven false over the past 30 years. Graduates of HS today in America are either college bound, or left to work on the margins. In Germany there is no shame in being a blue collar worker, and those people should be ready day 1 after graduation to enter the workforce. Love your channel and your mom!!!!! Keep up the great work.

You are absolutely right about the German school system. it's totally outdated. It hasn't change in 50 years, since I went to school in many ways: integration of immigrants or disabled children and also in equipment and logistic of the schools, especial the digitalisation is 10 years behind witch is terrible for the children because the live know nat in the past and they have to learn the way how to use computers for work and social life as well. also the use of computer and media for learning stuff. like history or science - there are great dokumentions to watch and learn in TV and internet better than most teachers can provide and witch the students can learn from just by watching these and than discussing these topics later withe the teachers. much better than just learning facts und numbers!

You think our school system is behind Canada's. Nobel Prizes: Germany 107 Canada 23 😉

Ok I know there will be a few paragraphs but I just want to add some things too. So first off when you say special needs, I’m thinking mentally and physically impaired children. Those have been separated for a long time but there is change, my school already had “Inklusion” and an “Inklusionskonzept” thus special needs children in regular classes. There still is work to do, for sure. Generally I’m not gonna disagree that there is work to do on the school system but what you say is not entirely what I’ve known. So first off, if you don’t want to do math and science or some other higher education or the kid is more on the creative, hands on type, then that’s exactly what the system is aiming at. If you want to do a craft, you don’t need to do higher math, science and all that. That’s why you’re not going to Gymnasium in that case. It just wouldn’t help much and make more problems than it solves (and I would argue you won’t need to know how a galvanic cell works to succeed in life if a craft is your path haha). So if your kid is the creative type, they do less years in school and with a different focus so that after that they can do an apprenticeship. That’s the regular Realschule path. Now you might argue that your kid could want to study a creative career in university. In that case they would need a “Hochschulzulassung”, thus 12/13 years in a Gymnasium. And to that I wanna say this: 1) creative studies basically never have an NC or are at the Abitur passing grade and in any case 2) anyone can do a “Fachabitur” which is your ticket to university in a specialized field that you can do after Realschule (or when leaving after 10th grade in Gymnasium, that’s interchangeable and in my school a few did this). 3) In 4th grade the parents (in the vast majority of places, probably some Bavarian village has its special rule) have a say in the decision and could say “I want my kid in Gymnasium, give them the “ticket” for it”. On top of that - at least here in NRW, school is state legislature and therefore different in each Bundesland -, for years there has been change to switch from Realschulen to “Gesamtschulen” which is both Gymnasium and Realschule in one, if your kid is good enough for Gymnasium it will go until grade 13th, if the grades aren’t good enough 10th grade is your end station. So generally I want to say, disabilities are being incorporated more, the entire school system is becoming a lot more fluid, and I would lay my hand in the fire that once your kid gets to 4th grade, the system will have undergone quite some change. Basically, I don’t think you have to worry, your child will be able to take the career path they want and are capable of (ofc NC in universities make the barrier of entry for desirable majors pretty high but I would also argue here that in most cases you need that dedication and tendency to learning in order to succeed in these studies like law, medicine, psychology.) Lovely vid tho, very interesting view. If I see these videos from Americans I expect an overall positive image but Canada is a different story, you already have many good policies in place there like universal health care and all that thus less of a difference on that front, so it’s nice that “even” you like it here. If I were to immigrate to anywhere it would probably be Canada!

Hello Jenna, well if your mother is in Germany now, then it will be soon. I can understand your mother and you also if you miss each other just because you are so far away from each other. Why don't you bring your mother over to Germany, I think she would like life here just as much. Your mother is no longer alone, and you would have a little support. Since your husband is away all day, you would have a conversation.

Personally, I think the segregation is ok, as the system is passable in the other direction, too. Moreover, we in Germany seem to have a whole different approach towards professional education than people in North America seem to have. I do beleive the concept of segregation can, if well performed, lead to a more individual support of every kids talents and skills. However, I doubt that we are still performing well on this task, when you see that in general, the funding for Hauptschule was cut the most.

Canadian answer to "would you like to learn more German" ... as a German we would have just said "I am good ... a little bit here and there is enough for me."

Haha the school system in Germany is very different from state to state, but it's pretty dated across the board ^^ I mean in Bavaria we have a school system that's demanding and not inclusive In Berlin there is a really bad floor effect in the A-Levels, their A-Levels are so easy they're hardly even comparable with the south of Germany.. and there's been a lot of money on hold for digitalisation of schools, which just can't be accessed because it involves just a ton of bureaucracy. I could go on about it, but I'm not even very qualified 😂😂 Edit: ~15:15 Wait - what? 10 years? That's nothing! That means we're golden! I'd have said we're 40 years behind in some instances. Edit 2: Später Peter! // Later 'gator!

The background music is pretty annoying, sorry to say that.

Ja das kann ich bestätigen. Wenn ich jemanden von Kanada, USA, Australien, China, Japan oder Südkorea treffe, freue ich mich auch sehr weil diese Leute sehr weit weg leben und uns nicht sofort Vorverurteilen wegen unserer Geschichte, unserer Eigenheiten usw. Einfach weniger Stereotypen. Bei einem Franzosen zb. muss man gar nicht freundich sein, der hat uns sowieso vorher schon gefressen. 🙄

You criticism on the school system is right on spot! But we complained about it for 40+ years now... So much inertia...

The dicision at an age of 10 or 11 is not final. If you are good at school, you can change to a schoolform that is regarded to be superior. If you are not good enough, you might change to an inferior school system (look comment of Marni S.) and return later, if you developed well meanwhile. I made my high school diploma long time ago. The schoolmate that made the best diploma in my class was a girl that I knew from Grundschule (elementary school). I changed to highschool, (Gymnasium) she to Realschule. When she finished Realschule, she changed to high school and did very well. What is way better in German school system, is the fact, that you or your parents don't have to pay for school itself, only for school records. How can poor parents in Canada or USA afford a good school for their children without debts?

That's brilliant: you come to Germany and throw your Canadian approach (normative) on our systems. I has worked well for ages before you came and will so for ages after. Like you have everything right in Canada? Really?

9:39 No no no no no. Special needs children have the choice now whether to enroll in "normal" public schools or "special" special needs schools, although I am not entirely sure whether that's only possible for the physically impaired pupils but I think it applies to all special needs children...

Dunno bout Canada, but KZfaq is full of clips which show that American kids almost learn nothing at school anymore, if they don't belong to the upper 0,5%, that find later entry to Harward, MIT and alike. Otherwise are those US - Can people that strand in Germany in the majority very capable people. The tenor is over all, that pupils in Germany have a much broader common knolledge than normal kids in America. Is that so? Too bad your mom is back home I assume.

The school system of Germany seems to want to pigeon hole kids into their little boxes by the age of 10. When I was 10 I didn't know I could get a job I would like. Under this system, I would have dropped out of school altogether.

Pretty sad that you are 8 years in germany now and still say you dont can speak german properly. I know people who did it in 2 years and were even "forced" to leave their country. Its really emebrassing, that someone who immigrates to germany out of free will can't speak the language fluent after such an amount of time.

Germans view, Canadians are the better North Americans! 😉