Grayson has a very good pronunciation 😍 he sounds zero like an American. The r sound is so un-American when he speaks German.

You are in Bavaria. 😂 Germany is a challenge in itself. Bavaria is exponentially more challenging. Kevin being a professor from a western country certainly helped.

I went to Realschule. At the time, the teachers would give a recommendation, but it was really up to the parents to pick the right school. My parents were quite cautious. My father was a teacher in Realschule and saw many students that had not succeeded at a Gymnasium, repeated a class, and then came to a Realschule and often really struggled to get back on track after that experience. He also had his own struggles attending a Gymnasium and I think he didn't want that for his kids. I attended Realschule till 10th grade. I had a lot of free time to teach myself coding, read, learn music, and experiment by myself. I always was a more academic minded person so that is what I used my additional free time for. Interestingly, programming wasn't even taught at school at the time. So I think I actually spent some of my time better than what I would have done at school. After 10th grade I went to an Aufbaugymnasium. That is a school that is specifically for students that want to continue after finishing Hauptschule or Realschule, so it makes it a little easier to catch up. Academically things actually became easier for me there. The material was more interesting, there was more choice what to do, and the other students also actually wanted learn making for a much better learning environment. I ended with the second best GPA in my year, went on to get a PhD in Physics and today I am a professor at a US R1 University. I am not sure if attending Gymnasium would have prepared me better. There is luckily a lot of mobility between the school tiers in Germany, so the choice of schools after grade 4 is less of a life decision then it may seem. I think it is more important to watch out that kids don't end up being continuously overwhelmed, keep failing, develop anxieties around school and exams, and start feeling that they generally can't do the things that are asked of them. That can turn them against learning and society in general.

As a teacher at a gymnasium myself I can only apologize for what happened to your family. The principal of the first gymnasium just offended you by talking only German. As a person with an academic background, he should be able to help you through this difficulty process by speaking English. At our gymnasium in northern gymnasium, we have a lot of students who starts with a big lack in German. They are coming from all over the world, they are refugees, children of expats, Germans, who grew up in a foreign country … But with a lot of effort and encourage by other students and their teachers most of them get the Abitur. So, at the end - it is not the German, but the Bavarian school system you have to deal with.

Fun fact: In Berlin and Brandenburg Grundschule is from class 1-6. You only go to Haupschule/Realschul/Gymnasium/Gesamtschule in class 7. And I think it is much better for the children to decide when they are 12y old and not already when they are 10y old.

Realschule is always a good decision when you are not sure if Gymnasium might be too hard. I sent my daughter to Realschule. She was, and still is😉, very smart. But at the age of 10 she was a bit shy and I thought attending the Gymnasium would be to much for her. And that was the best decision. She had a great time in Realschule, with good grades, but without the Stress and time to be a Kid. After her 10th grade she choose to make her Abitur. So she switched to a Gymnasium. And because she was 16 by then, she knew more what kind of Gymnasium she would like to go. She choose a school with BWL (Economics) as a major subjekt and was really happy with that. She got a really good Abitur and is now at university to study BWL. Sometimes you need to relax a little, there are so many ways to get to your goal. Sorry for my english, I find it easier to speak than to write...

In my opinion who ever lives in Germany should definitely learn German and you are doing that. It's impressive how good your German already is after being here for only a few months. Grayson even talks like a German with no accent at all. I am glad that everything finally worked out for your kids. For a lot of German kids it's also not easy to find out which school type they should chose after elementary school.

Bavaria is notorious throughout Germany for its strict (and often backwards) rules regarding selecting and schooling children at Gymnasium. Generally, other States are much more lenient in making exceptions and generally being more generous in this regard.

Früher waren die Schularten noch gleichberechtigt. Auf die Hauptschule sind die Menschen gegangen, die später eher handwerkliche Berufe erlernt haben. Auf die Realschule sind die gegangen, die zum Beispiel im Büro oder bei der Bank gearbeitet haben und auf das Gymnasium sind die gegangen, die später studieren und einen akademischen Beruf erlernen wollten. Heute ist es leider so, dass alles was unterhalb des Gymnasiums ist, oftmals als minderwertig angesehen wird.

Many German parents go through exactly the same story as you, so don't feel singled out. You are AMAZING parents engaged in your children's life and education with a lot of energy and passion. You're amazing. And what you went through is normal. It is so great that you expose your children to different cultures early on. This is what makes Europe so great, and this is what makes you so great!

The education system is nearly incomprehensible for the rest of the world, because Germany, Austria and Switzerland have a state controlled vocational education system. Historically, at the beginning of industrialization, these countries took a different decision than the rest of the world. Instead of abolishing the guilds and their training and quality control mechanisms, they transferred it into a state controlled system. In most countries in the world doing an apprenticeship does not come with any type of quality control. If you do an apprentice as a baker, you might have become a world class baker at the end or you might have bagged hamburger buns spit out by a big machine for some years. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, companies have to qualify for taking on apprentices and the apprentices work at the company as well as going to school. But the important part is: for each profession, there is a state controlled curriculum and an according exam. In most other countries the only way to get the same quality control over curriculum and exam is in the college system. After finalizing apprenticeship and some years of work practice, one can become a master or technician, which enables to run an own business and train apprentices. This system is the reason why it is not uncommon for people with "vocational" training to earn more than college graduates. Of course there is also a huge social component regarding the acceptance of these career paths. Both, but especially the latter are the main reasons why comparisons with the rest of the world don't really work. On the other hand, for Germans it seems quite absurd to study crafts like carpentry at a college. Funny side effect, the OECD frequently states that Germany has not enough college graduates, because they don't factor in the job profiles and responsibilities of people with vocational training, but only their formal qualifications. For example, nurses and midwifes training traditionally is not part of the college system, but handled by specific schools, usually attached to hospitals, but due to EU (and OECD) influence, is moving now to "universities" and bachelor degrees (of course without any change as to the scope or quality of the training or later job practice and income).

I still think that the experience is different depending on wether you are an immigrant from a western country or not. For example a Turkish or an Arabic or a black person would have another experience than a Scandinavian or a white US American person. The formers are called immigrants, whereas the later are called expats! The social and academical status of the parents play a role at well. I thought therefore you would encounter less obstacles, but it seems as the rest of the comments say, Bavaria is special. Congratulations that it worked for your kids at the end. I think school system in Germany has a lot of Luft nach oben!

Germany’s school system is really tough and often unfair for immigrants, especially in Bavaria. But more than that the social status of the parents is hugely important. Coming from a western country and Kevin being a a professor was probably the only reason you even had a chance to talk to the principle. From his point of view he was already making an exception just talking to you. When it comes to gymnasiums, there is Germany and there is Bavaria. It speaks volumes that you eventually got your kids into a gymnasium, both regarding the intelligence of your sons and your fighting spirit. Well done!

I went Realschule. It was great, had the best classmates possible. Everyone was grounded and I learnt a lot of social intelligence there. After Realschule I visited the gymnasium und later did study at University. Wouldn't want it to happen differently.

I think that´s a Bavarian thing. In Baden-Württemberg You can choose the school which You want for Your children. You get a recommendation for Your child, but You don´t be forced to follow that. Also children can change in class 7 from Realschule to Gymnasium. Again after class 10 they can change.

What do you mean, in your NEXT video? Is this already over? Oh NO! Man, you just STARTED this one!

You did such a great job in being insistent. You`re kids will definitely do well with such parents.

I am shocked to hear what you have experienced ... I don't think that I have ever seen, heard about a such unsupportive principal. Particularily on the "that is no option for 'them'". I am really sorry for you experiencing this. Hope after this is now settled your kids now landed in a supportive environment that help them growing and learning :)

I remember when my son was still in Grundschule I was a Elternvertreter. During a conference for the reports for the first year of school his teacher said about a female classmate from Iraq that she will only get a recommendation for Hauptschule. I used to help her with her homework after school since her parents german language skills weren't sufficient. I noticed that she was so eager to learn wanted to understand and fit in. I just met her mother, this girl went to Gymnasium because she wanted to got so much. And guess what ? She mastered the Abitur with 1.5 !!!!!! She did everything on her own no help. Now she is going to University to study medicine !!!! The teachers in Grundschule failed her so much !!!!

As a teacher at a bavarian Gymnasium I liked hearing the perspective of the parents. I often had Gastschüler in my classes and most of them were allowed to stay at the Gymnasium!

Hearing your story here makes one aware again of what one has experienced oneself. I came to southern Bavaria in 1985 four weeks before the end of fourth grade. I didn't know a word of German and my parents had other problems than helping me in school. So I had to spend two years at different schools speciallized on German or at that time Hauptschule to catch up on my German. Every teacher said to my parents, I have to go to the Gymnasium. But in my time it meant that in 1987 I had to go through the fifth grade in the Gymnasium for the third time, because my school principal was not allowed to decide for himself yet. The story had a happy ending. I was the first from my family to study and get a doctorate, but with three years older than my co-students - the Bundeswehr also took me a year. Your story gives me hope that something has changed a bit for the better and I keep my fingers crossed for you and especially Gabriel that he will make it. All six of you stay awesome!

You two make such a great team--and your kids are so lucky to have a worldly education!!

There is so much bureaucracy and headaches that goes into moving to another country. That is awesome that you worked so much to do the best for your kids, and that things worked out

Wow your kids had a really rough start at school with being not able to attend at school, but doing homeschooling in a totally different language. Poor kids this is really hard. Especially for Greyson being in the 4th grade of elementary school, where they decide at the end to which school your kid should go in the future... :( Pretty hard

Just in general, for every german you encounter that says it has to be 100% strict to the rules and there is no exception, you just have to look a bit further because there is another german that is willing to try to help. This also often applies to state authorities.

Sadly, to this day, your socio-economic background often determines what type of school you end up in. Many studies have shown that children from low-incom families and children of immigrants are much more likely to go to Mittelschule/Hauptschule, whereas the children of academics almost exclusively go to Gymnasium. That's why I like Gesamtschule, it allows kids more flexibility, and exposes them to peers from all different backgrounds. (Another thing I really dislike about our school system is this thing called Sonderschule, a school for kids with disabilities. By taking them out of regular school, it basically means that most kids in Germany grow up with zero exposure to disabled people. A lot of activists call it Aussonderung, 'sorting out'.

Kids can transfer between schools too :) They don't have to stick in one. After Realschule (grade 10) you can also transfer to Gymnasium and in Gesamtschule you can get your Gymnasium-Abschluss as well :) it's not a strict path. I went to Gymnasium from 5-6, transferred to Realschule from 7-10 and did my Abitur in Gesamtschule from 10-13. I'm now in my Master and will end my University studies next year! All doors are open for your Kids. Good luck!

Thanks so much for this excellent video. We are planning to move to Bavaria (from Illinois) next year. We have a 7-year-old son.... I hope I can learn a lot from your upcoming videos. I am from Germany originally and hope to find a great school for him.

This school system is not that bad and unfair as it might seem. What people like to forget, this system is very permeable! Even if you start on the Hauptschule in 5th grade you can get to Realschule in 5 or 6th grade and then later on on the Gynmasium and go to the university. The real reason they don't like to put immigrated or working class kids on the Gynasium is, that you need a lot of support from home to make it on the Gynasium and finally to university, and most kids with that kind of background don't get any support from their parents. German Gynasium is also not really comparable with a puplic american highschool. The learning level is more like on private schools

Hi guys, I have had a similar experience: My dad worked for an American computer company and had an offer to work in San Jose, CA. All the family agreed and we went. I went to the senior high one year and then two years to college, getting an Associate in Arts degree. Then we had to plan our return to Germany. Before we left for the States we lived in Bavaria. The state of Bavaria would not accept the degree as an equivalent to "Abitur", the graduation from Gymnasium. The reason being that my school and college schedule didn't have any German lessons, the officials expectations being classical literature. About a year later the family moved to the state of Rheinland-Pfalz and the "Kultusministerium", the minister of culture, arts, and school, had no qualms accepting the degree as an equivalent to "Abitur". Yes, Bavaria is a bit special in those cases. In the 1970s, when I went to Gymnasium there, kids that had gone to Hauptschule or Realschule had no chance of getting into Gymnasium. Respect, you fought your way through German bureaucracy.👍👍

Every State in Germany is different. We all got other rules for schools. As far as I know, Bavaria is known to be the most strict on their school system, even so it can depend on the direct school too.

As much as I liked my school time (went to a very good catholic Gymnasium), it has to be said that the German school system is unfair to kids coming from socially/financially challenged families and/or, as mentioned, immigrant families. This is well known for decades, but no one really wants to change it.

What everyone sould keep in mind is the fact that you have ways to go to a colleges with every school in germany. I went only to a Hauptschule back in the days. Because i was lazy (Teacher from my 1st class can confirm). So i finished school with an age of 15. I started an "Ausbildung" for 3,5 years in mechanics (Industriemechaniker Maschinen und Systemtechnik). The german system for "Ausbildung" is very special. You learn the work in a company and a school (4 days in the company 1 day at school). So with 19 i finished this with good grades. So i can go to school (Fachhochschule / Fachoberschule) for 2 years to make a "Fachabitur" to study in the field of my "Ausbildung" or for 3 years to make the normal "Abitur" for college. But that´s not the only way. You can get further education (Industrie oder Handwerksmeister, Techniker). So i went to a "Techniker" school for 2 years to become a "Maschinenbau Techniker". So if i want to go to a college, i can in my field. I can not study art. But i can study engeniering. If i want to go for my Bachlor of engeniering an can shorten the semesters because i am a Maschinenbau Techniker. So i need only 3 Semester to my Bachlor degree. So in the end everybody have a way to study in Germany. For myself i be happy i had no stress in school. I had a great Childhood and i still can make what ever i want in the future.

for me the Gesamtschule is the best concept, because its basically for everyone and you can do the Abitur too, or just move to an gymnasium later.

I think I said this before on another video, Grayson has very good pronunciation. It wouldn't surprise me if he has pitch perfect or near pitch perfect hearing -- which is quite a boon when taking up music! (or in this case a new language)

Thst you cant go to Gymnasium as a migrant is new to me. We had many migrant classmates, but it is true that your teacher in Grundschule sorts out who may go to gymnasium and often their decissions are pretty biased. My friend was sent to hauptschule where she was very bored and did move up to gymnasium one year later. Her teachers reasoning was that her family had a farm and "farmers girls need to help at home and have no time to study" She graduated 2nd best in her year...

This really brings back memories, but slightly reversed. My family moved from Germany to Canada in 1952, when I was 12. My English language skill consisted of "yes", "no", "OK" and "chewing gum". We settled in a small town where there were no options regarding schools. I had been in grade 7 in Germany. A few years before we arrived, there was an incident that, I believe, had a great impact on determining my grade placement in the new school. A 10 year old boy whose family had been refugees from a Baltic country had arrived, with pretty much zero English skills. Because he couldn't participate in class, after a few days, someone had the not so bright idea to put him with the first graders. The effect was that he felt so degraded (no pun intended) that now he didn't even make any effort to participate. Luckily for him, someone saw the light, and put him back into the grade with his own age group. To make a long story short, within a very short period of time he was at the head of the class, being awarded a very much coveted "Governor General's Medal", an honour bestowed on very few students in the whole country at the end of grade 9. He went on to earn and M. Sc. and a B. Ed., and was very successful. As an aside, to this day he is still one of my closest friends. I believe that, because of the experience with my friend, when I arrived, I was put into grade 7, the grade I had been attending in Germany. We had arrived in October, but by the end of the school year, in June, I was promoted to grade 8, something not achieved by a couple of my classmates, as they still failed students in those days if it was felt that they were not ready to enter the next grade. I had been a good student in Germany, and I tried very hard to learn. In math, my favourite subject, I was ahead of the rest of the class, partly due to having spent more time in school in Germany, due the six-days-per-week , plus having shorter school vacations, system, but I owe a great deal of credit to my grade seven teacher when it comes to learning English. To this day I don't know if it was because she didn't quite know what to do with me, or if she actually felt it was a good method, but every day she would have one of my classmates take me into an unused room, and I would have to read out of "Dick and Jane" books, a series of books written for children. I had no idea what I was reading, but I learned the correct pronunciations, and when I, in time, learned the meaning of the words, I would pronounce them correctly. I think that it worked, because I worked for one employer for several years, when my boss heard me speaking German. He had no idea that I had not been born in Canada. The value of that method became apparent many years later, when my employer hired a man from Germany. I invited him and his wife to our house, and we became friends. His English was pretty good, his wife's not so much. However, she was a voracious reader, and read a lot of English books, and whenever she came across a word that she didn't know, she's look it up in the dictionary. That's good for learning the definition, but doesn't do much for teaching pronunciation. As a result, she had a good vocabulary, but her pronunciation was very poor. It was then when I realized what a great thing my teacher had done with me, and I've always regretted that I never had the opportunity to tell her. She had gotten married and moved away at the end of the school year. I agree with a number of commentators here - you're great parents!!

I am sorry about your discouraging experiences with German schools. Unfortunately, they aren’t untypical of the school system in all of Germany. As a teen I went to a Gymnasium but my grades weren’t good in all subjects and I had to switch to a Realschule. It was easier there and I had a good time. After graduation I went back to a gymnasium to get the degree to apply at a university. I have never been better at school than that time. One of the reasons was that back then in NRW you could drop maths and choose most of your other subjects yourself. Maybe I was also more ambitious by then. Later I got to know four more schools as a teacher: a Hauptschule, two Realschules and a Gesamtschule, at which I am still teaching. It is true that Gymnasiums are unlikely to take physical or emotional handicapped children or those with a migration background. They usually only take the “advanced” children” and those should be good at school from the very beginning. That’s just the approach of a school system that divides students between their learning skills. But even if you start out on a Hauptschule or a Realschule you can switch to a Gymnasium after year 6 and 10 and probably even in between if your grades are very good and the teachers see that you are unchallenged. In NRW the system is rather flexible. Of course, Gymnasium is the most popular type of school as it is seen as a sign of high prestige when your kids are able to learn easily and belong to the half of the population that can attend a Gymnasium. Which leads to the problem that here in NRW many Gesamtschules are not so popular with the parents whose kids are advanced. Geamtschules welcome kids of all abilities just like an American high school, but since many people don’t want their kids to mix with lower advanced children, foreigners and behavioral challenging children they prefer not to send their children there. It’s not that I can’t understand that thought myself, I am a mother too, but it’s still a pity that schools for “everybody” don’t get “all” students. It’s also true that teaching “everybody” in one class is a challenge and that smarter kids might gain more on a Gymnasium in regards to academics since the students are more interested in different topics and learning as a whole, and thus often behave better. At least the problems of friends that teach at a Gymnasium seem to be ridiculous compared to the problems we have at some Gesamtschules.

Its always astonishing how fast kids adopt a new language! Your son has a nearly no accent when he says the different school types! Great!

Thank you. Love your videos. Helpful

Wow, Grayson sounds like a German already.

Graysons pronunciation is perfect. Honestly, my English teacher was from Minnesota and her German was great. Well, she had been living here for more than a decade, married a German... but... your sons' pronunciation is much better than hers. Initially I thought that is one of your kids' classmates helping out but... yeah... Grayson sounds like a born and raised German boy. That is really impressive ( what a sweet nice boy btw :) it is so obvious that your kids are raised with much love!)

Dear Sarah and Kevin, I am so sorry that you had this bad experience in the german school, but this is common among more traditional Gymnasien. As a child of immigrants, I want to share my experience with you. My average grades were enough to go to the Gymnasium, but my elementary teachers didn't want me to go, because of my foreign family background. You need the "Lehrempfehlung" back then. They said the same things that it would be too difficult for me to understand everything, although I spoke perfect german at that time. And just because of my very persistent, very Russian parents I got into the best school in our area. Now as an adult speaking 5 languages and with a master degree in science, I am very happy and thankful that my parents didn't give up and got through the struggle of putting me in a Gymnasium. Don't let the teacher hold your kids back! All the best from Saxony, Olga

Nice Video! :)

I really like your editing. The little clips you add while we can still listen to you talking are fun.

Vielen Dank Ihr zauberhaften, liebevollen Ausländer-Eltern! Das habt Ihr alles wieder wunderbar spannend vorgetragen und gut erklärt, so daß man richtig mit Euch mitfiebert und sehr gespannt ist, wie es weiter gehen wird! Ihr könnte dem ersten Gymnasium und seinem strengen Direktor wirklich dankbar sein, daß er Euch verschreckt und abgewiesen hat, weil Ihr dadurch auf ein sehr viel besseres Gymnasium gekommen seid. Das passende deutsche Sprichwort dazu sagt: "Man kann aus jeder der Not eine Tugend machen und aus dem Nachteil auch immer einen Vorteil ziehen!"

You guys are wonderful parents. I think it doesn't really matter what school your kids go to, they will find their way and thrive. Gabriel is gonna be some kind of academic for sure, and Grayson will be successfull as well. And the others too. They gonna make it because they have wonderful, daring parents who give them space to develop and opportunity.

Grayson's German pronunciation is literally perfect. XD About refugee children.. we're talking mostly from Syria or Iraq etc, I imagine, these days. Many of them had not had the opportunity to go to school for some time, at least not regularly. So for them, it would be indeed hard to get into Gymnasium at once, the director was kinda right. Many of them have even a different script (Arabic) so they have to learn a whole new one, not just the language. However - many former Refugee children do go to Gymnasium, at least in Austria. but it's definitely easier when you're younger or when they knew English at least, as some do a little. But like, it is a general rule - you need a certain average to get into Gymnasium, that's how it is. We all went through that stress.

Thank you so much for these school series! My kids are still very small, so I know nothing and really appreciate all the info ❤️

Your son's pronounciation is perfect!

Thank You for Your great videos! I came across Your channel by chance a few weeks ago and it is always nice for me to be able to witness Your experiences and impressions. Incidentally, I don't live that far from You - 24 km away from my birth place Prien am Chiemsee. I attended the Ludwig-Thoma-Gymnasium there in Prien. However, that was about forty years ago :-) So I cannot judge how the individual schools are today, because a lot has changed since then. But I think that You will find the right schools for Your children, becuase You have such an impressively positive outlook on life that I am sure that You will also be able to overcome future difficulties! Good luck and many more wonderful experiences in Bavaria! (and as few repulsive experiences as possible, such as the encounter with the rejecting school principal :-) ) PS: To my shame I have to admit that I did not write this comment in English myself, but used Google Translate. But no matter: The main thing is that the message comes across.

That seems to me to be more of a Bavarian phenomenon. Bavaria radically separates the three school careers, also locally. Here in Hesse, comprehensive schools (Gesamtschulen) are the norm. All school careers and thus the supporting infrastructure are represented in one place. In Hesse you would put an English-speaking, newly immigrated child in Gymnasium classes. Because you can be sure that this is where integration works best. There are children who speak English at a higher level, and some of the children have bilingual lessons anyway, so that the German children benefit from having a native English speaker in the class. The reaction of the Bavarian school management is pedagogically nonsense. By the way, in 2015 refugees from Syria etc. were also put in the high school classes at my school. Those from academic parents, because they get support from their parents to learn quickly, and also those who first had to be literate. Because there was great willingness among the high school students to support the other children. It worked. One of the illiterate childs passed the 5th best Mittlere Reife examination this year and is now attending high school. I'm sure she will go to University.

The school system is not only different in every state but also every school has different subjects and specifies on different topics (music, science,...). Also, in Berlin and Brandenburg the Grundschule is from grade 1-6 and they start to go to Gymnasium, Gesamtschule, etc. in grade 7 which is different in the rest of Germany🙂

... and a majestic, gorgeous lookin' cat! 😉 Noice, the pronunciation of your son is already on point. (all of them doin a great job; Respect!)

In my bavarian Gymnasium it was never a problem to apply. As long as the grades were ok, everyone was allowed. I had several foreign students in my class.

As others said only in Bavaria the pressure in elementary school is that high. In the northern area it is also just a recommendation based on the pupils performance. This said I had two girls in my forth year elementary class who immigrated here from Russia. They had no prior knowledge of German. One came a bit earlier here than the other and managed to get the recommendation. The other only had very basic knowledge of the language by the time the teachers had to give the recommendation. She was very intelligent but because of her grades she "only" got the recommendation for Gesamtschule. We had a great class teacher and he went home to visit the parents to persuade them to let their daughter attend Gymnasium still. They were very reluctant at first but then decided to follow his advice. She actually was best in class of our year at the Abitur and the parents were so greatful to the teacher that they went to visit him these 9 years later to thank him. The other girl had a good 2er Abitur as well.

I am so happy for you that everything worked out. I heard that it's not so easy to get into Gymnasium in Germany. I am from Austria and in some Gymnasiums the bar for entrance is even higher, like 1,2 Notendurchschnitt when you come from Grundschule. Your kids are doing so well and you can be really proud of your/their integration skills.

Oh God what a struggle! And this principal was not really helpful at all. I'm sorry for that. I'm glad it all worked out nonetheless :) Good luck to you all

You are such a lovely family and I am just amazed how well your son Grayson pronounced 'Grundschule' and all the other ...Schule too! Even though there are these different types of schools to choose from, depending on a child's interests and ability to learn, some children just need more time to 'bloom with academics'. I often found that the early 'separation' switching to a different school at a certain age put a lot of pressure on families and was not always fair and in a child's best interest. But luckily today, there is always the possibility to make up for it later, so they can still continue with higher education or university, if then they still choose to do so.

I have seen your channel today for the first time.I haven t looked for one and it was only luck that it was shown by youtube..I am 42 with 2 kids ,a 10y boy and a 9y old girl with my wife.You are very symphatic and in the next days mabe i have time to look some more videos from you. mfg Tobias from Germany

Back in my day (Boy do I sound old) we did not have any grades in the "Grundschule", we were just assessed by the teachers towards the following schools and I did not get a recommendation towards "Gymnasium" so my parents put me into the "Gesamtschule" which also provided the option to graduate with an "Abitur" (at that point only Gesamtschule and Gymnasium offered the Abitur, which was needed to attenc college/university). There you could finish either with a "Hauptschulabschluss" after year 9, "Realschulabschluss" after year 10 or "Abitur" after year 13. The last year (due to an asbestos crisis most classes had to go to other schools to join their programs, with me and others going to "Gymanasiums" for that time, including the last 3 years, and we were on par with their level of education, sometimes even above). Changing schools after a year was also not that uncommon, so if I had gone to a "Realschule", after being among the top of my class for one or two years they also could recomment a transfer to a "Gymnasium" because there was a lot of evaluation for cases like that. Btw, I would never yawn at any of your videos, unlike with others I am not even able to just listen to it without watching since you have a lot of beautiful footage in your videos.

My goodness, what a journey after such a short time in a foreign country and in the middle of a pandemic ! I admire how well you have dived into the complicated German school system. Now you better don't move anywhere outside of Bavaria because the insane fact is that every state has it's own school system and many are not compatible ( which sucks!). Yes, Bavaria is known for having very strict schools and if in addition to that a principle has the Bavarian ultra conservative mind set to keep his school 'the old way' you hardly have a chance to get in there - I guess your kids might consider themselves lucky not to be connected with that particular school. Kevin, my heart flew in your direction when I heard you say how much it upset you that immigrant kids don't get a chance to even try at some Gymnasien. As if immigrant children couldn't be as intelligent as German children ! Have I mentioned that you are an AMAZING family ? No? Well, you definitely are. I love how you want your kids to be intellectually supported as well as possible and at the same time discover and experience their own possibilities and curiosity and just LIFE. Thank you for sharing your journey with us in such a beautiful way .

your situation and dealing with problems are very interesting. Fair play to you for learning German and trying to integrate. I hope people in Anglophile countries realise and have some time and respect for others moving into the USA, UK etc who have to learn English and adapt to a new situation. Tschuess!

Your hair looks fantastic, Sarah!

For people from other countries wondering: the three schools after elementary school (Hauptschule, Realschule, Gymnasium) are open to one another, meaning you can build up from one to another: after Hauptschule (9years) a year longer in Realschule (10 years), after Realschule two years in Gymnasium (12 years). You could of course go to Gymnasium right away all 12 years, but the system is build this way for two reasons basically: 1. For the kids to learn in an environment that fits their needs and ability and 2. For societal needs (with Hauptschule you get workers basically, with Realschule office jobs or assistant jobs, with Realschule you can go to college afterwards). But more and more this system is changed to full Gesamtschule, basically all three schools in one, what you would call highschool.

I went to Realschule, had a great and enjoyable time and moved to Gymnasium after 10th grade. It was a hard time there (having the "Leistungskurse" math, physics and geography) but it worked somehow. After that I went to a more practical college, a University of Applied Sciences (called Fachhochschule) and have done my masters degree in engeneering. Now I am working in a IT department of an archaeological reseaech institute as Research Software Engineer ans Research Associate. To sum it up: there are a lot of ways in Germany to get there where you want, in my case doing computer science.

I feel for you. Went through something similar in Austria. I even had to take a test to get into elementary school (Grundschule)

I can totally relate to your story! When I was looking for a Gymnasium for my eldest son, it was a nightmare! He is very intelligent and there are.not many schools which focus on talent promotion. Getting in there is extremely difficult and people often go so far as to change their residence registration (pretend to live somewhere else) just to have better chances to get into a particular school. Some private schools have waiting lists of several years! I am happy for you that everything worked out in the end. But as some other posters already pointed out: Good education hugely depends on the parent‘s efforts and unfortunately it‘s not a level playing field for every child! Austria where I live and Germany are very alike in that matter.

Kids that went to. Hauptschule or Realschüler can still work their way up to the Abitur and go study at university. So, even if a normal gymnasium doesn't work for the kid, there are options to still go to uni. But it takes a bit longer.

Chapeau! It's not easy getting your kids into the right school as a German, let alone as foreigners. The first principal you talked to, must have been really old school and not very flexible, a real stickler with questionable opinions about immigrants not being able to go to a Gymnasium. Count your blessings, that you couldn't get your boys into that school. I can imagine, how stressful this was for you guys. Also, from what I hear, Bavaria's Abiturpruefungen are supposed to be the hardest in all of Germany. Your kids will be well educated and once they get their Abi, it is actually equivalent of 2 years in college here. I find that school work in Germany is tougher, than in the States. I gauge this from my own experience going to school in Germany, and my daughter going to school in the States. Your kids will be multi-lingual and so well informed and well rounded. Ps. I had the closed caption on during your video, and it was quite amusing to read.

Love hearing the boy talk German 😍 would love to hear them talking more

Ugh this brought up so many memories. We came to Germany when I was attending 6th grade as well, also hardly speaking any German. As I was attending a Gymnasium in an other country before, but I also only got in "auf Probe" for a year before they decided whether I could keep attending. I remember the first time sitting in the principals office and him asking me all these questions to evaluate my German .. after being here for 2 weeks.. and I just started crying because I couldn't understand most of what he was asking. It all worked out eventually as kids really do learn languages super fast when speaking with their peers - so fingers crossed for you and your kids, I hope they can all attend the schools that are a good fit for them and where they can thrive :)

It is really difficult for migrant children to transfer to the Gymnasium in some federal states. The often poor results of the PISA study made the thought grow in the minds of some politicians that it would give much better results in the PISA study if these children were simply counted out of the results. So if these children were simply denied access to Realschulen and Gymnasien, there would be better results in the next PISA study. Among the federal states, Bavaria is...I call it very carefully...different from the rest in many respects. And that is really not meant in a positive way.In Bavaria they say "Mia san mia" and it really just means we are we. But often people think that with this "mia san mia" nobody can do anything to us or nobody can impress us or we don't let ourselves be influenced. Personally, I am really sorry that you had such experiences at this grammar school. It is now 2021 and third-generation migrant children are often still denied access to secondary schools or grammar schools. In my eyes, this is also a form of racism.

I lived in Germany for about eight years, and during my time there I got to know many Germans with and without higher education. One characteristic that I noticed as an American was how rank-conscious some German people are. You might consider introducing yourself as Doktor McFall in any situation where you are likely to be dealing with any level of a government bureaucracy. I know that in America we more or less go about our lives with some level of modesty about our accomplishments, but in German society, titles matter. Being a Univesity Professor in Germany carries a lot of cachet. Particularly with hocknasig (snooty) officious types like that Gymnasium Director you encountered. I mean it could really level up the playing field for you in certain situations.

OMG, what a ride. I don't think I ever appreciated how much trouble it is to get kids into the school that is suited for them, and to do so in a specific city, within the local school system available to you, and with those inflexible individuals that happen to be gatekeepers along the way. I arrived in Germany as a child (from Namibia), and was placed into 6th grade at our local school in Mainz, which was a Gesamtschule, because the Gymnasium that my parents wanted to send me to, was unwilling to accept me into 6th grade. I did end up starting there in 7th grade a year later. That one year of Gesamtschule was all I ever needed, to know that Gesamtschule was in theory wonderful, because we are all so equal, and every kid can get opportunities, and so forth,...and then there was the reality of Gesamtschule. I was glad to close the door to that school experience after that one year. Worst year of my life, but then again, 6th grade often is. But I still think that Gesamtschule does not work as well in reality, as it is acclaimed to do by those that want to see it brought everywhere. Anyhow, my parents had to go through a lot to get us into our respective places, but as a child I never saw that side of it, your story was eye-opening in that regard. Kevin's German sounds great, nice job there with the Germany pronunciation, really good. And Grayson totally sounds like a German kid anyways in those few words. Amazing. And you can also see how comfortable it has become for him to say these words. I am sure he vocabulary is still quite a mountain to climb, but it will get easier for the kids with every month that they get to be there. I never want this series to end, it is so interesting what you are sharing, but if ever you reach that point where you are well settled, the kids are all integrated, and even you, Sarah, can finally get back to doing something for yourself, and should you choose to practice your German more intensely again, maybe there is a logopedic teacher online (there are multiple), who would also like to do a shared KZfaq series with you on how to manage these pesky German short and long vowel sounds and how to practice all that. I think that might be interesting to lots of your viewers. I was surprised, that you were saying the ü so nicely, but had trouble with the 'u' in Grundschule. Most Americans struggle with the 'ü', but are able to say the 'u', as that sound does exist in English (fool, mood, etc), albeit not with the same consonant clusters, which obviously matters. Speech therapists know how sometimes just a small adjustment, like chin forward a bit, can make a huge difference in making a whole group of sounds accessible, that previously seemed out of reach. Not sure, whether you would be willing to do something like that, but I would think that people would be interested to hear about such a journey. Looking forward to next part, after this surprising cliff-hanger. I was not ready for the end of the video today. That half hour went by very fast. Speaks to your great video skills. Take care.

Congrats! 🎉

The school System is working. I went with Realschule to (gymnasium + a profession ) next then went into university and now I‘m self employed. And for me I would not change that because I needed more time to unterstand learning in my childhood. I had a lot of friends where the parents pushed them into gymnasium but they didn’t perform there and so they dropped to Realschule and most of them later also did go to university. So don’t stress you kids and listen to the teachers they are doing this for years 😊

One of the reasons why it is complicated might be that you are in the countryside. Cityschools are much more diverse, a lot more children come from immigrant families. And sometimes you just have to be persistent and insist that they give the child a chance. The Schulleiter who told you that immigrants can not go to gymnasium is in my opionion a racist. You should complain about him at the Kultusministerium. He abused his power and gave you wrong informations.

Well i started with the Gymnasium after Grundschule and then switched to Realschule after the 6th grade. Well i have some slight physical handicaps (i can't write as fast as non handicapped children which made it hard for me to finish my tests in the given timeframe) so that school was not your normal Realschule. It was a special school for physically disabled children (many but not all in wheelchairs) but the special thing about it was that it was in partnered up with a Realschule for 'normal' children and they had a shared 'Sekundarstufe II' which is the name for the 3 extra years from 11th to 13th grade where the kids from the normal Realschule and the handicapped kids would be learning together. So in the end i got my Abitur in that school by doing these 3 years extra after finishing Realschule. They gave us extra time for our tests and exams there according to the grade of our handicaps.

In my city all foreigners that had to learn German first before joining regular class were all put in one class for a year. Students for the regular classes joined them for classes to help on a volunteer basis. You could sign up and then get out of your class maybe once a week to join and help the new kids so that they get peers to help along with the teacher. Also make friends outside of that all foreigner class. They normally joined a normal class after a year at their age group. I went to a gymnasium in a city and we had (mostly refugee) foreign kids spread out on all schools. Always thought that was quite nice. Since you can end gymnasium after grade 10 too if you want it works fine when kids don’t want to make Abitur, but they have the possibility to!

You are doing so great. I wish you all the best of luck for the future. What I don't understand: Why couldn't this principal of the first school speak to you in English? Why did he let you negotiate such an important matter in your not yet so good German? He himself should have a first-class education and, at least in his position, one can expect that he speaks fluent English, which all children in Germany learn from the 5th grade.

Servus by the way comes from the Latin servus which means slave or server. So saying servus was at the beginning a greeting to signal I am ready to serve you and in Bavaria it evolved to the normal way to say informally hello. 😄 the more formal one is still “Grüß Gott”.

When I got my Abitur in the early 2000s up in Lower Saxony, I went to one of the 'better' Gymnasiums in the city. I managed to scrape by. My brother on the other hand who started at Realschule got his grades high enough in the last year there to move on to Gymnasuim after and graduated from the same school with a better grade! In many cases it is possible to move from one level of school to the next higher (or lower), so even if your boys would not have started in Gymnasium, I'm sure there'd have been a chance to move ther after a year. Many things have changed in these ~20 years and rules do differ in between the Bundesländer. Having friends with children of the age of yours will help, as they'll be able to explain better what is going on, than many of us where the variables are not the same (different Bundesland; children of another age; different school system etc).

The "Übertritt" meaning which secondary school they go to after Grundschule varies in its rules greatly in between memberstates. Bavaria as stated mostly goes by the academic grades, leading to intense pressure on forth-graders. In other states parents alone decide. Some states have the schools do give out binding recomendations, some just guidance. And some make a complete row of "Einstufungstests" (meaning level assessment) mandatory. Berlin and surrounding Brandenburg are the only holdouts who sepperate just after 6. grade. Which I think is way better, as at age 10 seems way to early to settle on a definitive answer about a childs mental capabilities. But yeah, Mittelschule/Hauptschule is meant for people who have a strong preference of "doing over thinking". Might be somewhat less so in rural Bavaria, but anywhere else this is usually the place where challenged kids wind up. Be it them being rather slow, their parents unsupportive/unconcerned or just helpless, broken homes ect. Engaged parents tend to endeavour anything to keep their kids from ending up there.

Some immigrants start in Mittelschule and switch to realschule as soon as their german gets better. And then they switch again to gymnasium. when i went to school, yearly, some students would leave our gymnasium and others would join our class. it's not always easy to make the switch, but it is common. - the first principal seems very narrow-minded...

Kevin nailed it at the beginning, yours sounded more like Grünschule. Getting into Gymnasium especially in Bavaria is hard and it should be, my professors in university always complained that the students knew less nowadays than before. Also Realschule doesn't give you a path directly to university.

Dear McFalls, I love your videos, I started watching the then current ones a couple month ago and I am currently watching your older videos. Even though this is not an issue for you right now, I just also wanted to point out that there is a big difference between Germany and America in terms of what it means to go to study, meaning that you kids could get a great job, also with a good income, without having to study. So just to let you know, not only are there various different ways to change in between school, but you also don't need to be stressed out if your kids don't go to the Gymnasium. The back forest family (a channel I also enjoy watching), has just brought out a very informative video on vocational training in Germany and how this differs from the US. Being a German, I think this is an in-depth analysis of how vocational training works. Going to university is not set out for everybody - and not intended here in Germany for everybody. Personally I have completed my university studies, but really often it has been very hard and often enough I wished that I had taken a different path - I made it but there are great variety of jobs out there that don't require a university degree. So just to give you another perspective on the subject of your kids' educational options and your personal stress level when it comes to it. Also, Bavaria has the highest requirements when it comes to academics in Germany, the Abitur there is much more difficult to obtain than in some other German states.

I was in Realschule from 5th to 10th grade and went up to Gymnasium afterwards. 😉 Kevin's German still has some Swedish melody. That's sweet.

Sadly in many states in Germany you can send your kid to gymnasium even if your elementary school advises for another school. I say sadly cause I knew kids whose parents that sent them and then they struggled a lot and had to transfer after a year or two. I’m a big believer that you should send your school to what’s best for them. If they need some more time, send them to Realschule or Mittelschule and they’ll have a much better time. If they are bored easily by classes and do well, send them to gymnasium. Either way they can transfer in between but I have seen kids be disappointed and lose faith in their skills just cause they were sent to gymnasium. While I’ve seen plenty that switched from Realschule to gymnasium after 10th grade and get a good Abitur nevertheless.

Bavaria (and Saxony) has the best educational system in Germany in terms of the performances of the pupils. And that is why they probably also have the strictest rules there. In Northern Germany and traditional Social Democratic Bundesländer schools shall be easier and the switching between the different types of schools should be easier, too. But the results in comparing tests there are worse than particularly in Bavaria. Perhaps that's the main reason they wanted to avoid to send your kids to a Gymnasium. :(

I'm so sorry for that experience in that first Gymnasium. Certainly those rules regarding grades you need to enter Gymnasium don't apply in many other states. In NRW everyone can go to Gymnasium, the grades doesn't matter. I'm happy it worked out well for you :))

As a German and teacher for German language I have to say that Graysons pronounciation is just so so fabulous!!! =) His r, double tt and t at the end sounds are so perfect and really un-American! :D

Really insightful reflections of your experiences, I’m sure that this will be really helpful to other parents in a similar situation. I was really shocked to hear that principal 3 talked to principal 1 about his discussion with you. That seems really unprofessional and quite possibly a violation of the confidentiality of the personal information that you exchanged with Nr. 1. Considering that you live in rural southern Bavaria, it sounds like principal 1 was simply prejudiced against foreigners, and it sounds very much like principal 3 was more interested in maintaining a united front with his colleague than forming his own opinion (I suspect that both principals are male). I applaud your patience and ability to keep a positive outlook; I would be getting a bit hot under the collar. Your pronunciation of Grundschule improved during the course of the video. 😉👍🏼 Your mispronounced attempts sounded like you were adding an umlaut, making it sound like grün as in the color green. The “green school.” 🤣

the german educational system makes it really hard for kids from families who haven't gone to a Gymnasium/to University to do that. I'd prefer a system with only Gesamtschulen were all the kids are together and can then decide if they want to do the Realschulabschluss or Abitur. I think it would also be better because right now Gymnasium/Abitur really depends on your social/economical status and in my opinion that's not fair. Every kid in this country should start school under the same conditions and with the same possibilities.

I got a recommendation for Hauptschule and my aunt talked my parents to sent me to Realschule, so my paretns talked my headteacher into letting me in. There I learnt much about responsiblity, punctoality and self organasation. Also in the last two I had my head teacher in social studies and I think he was now pleased with me being there. Afterwards I also went to a Gymnasium. But what I really hold these schools in high regards for was their honesty and openess. If there was a thrashhold, where you could switch school gears, they told us and not only our parents and also what was requiered to make the change to go to the moe academic school. Also if a student had trouble they said: listen you can go to the less academic one for two years and then come back. Further at the Gymnasium the teachers directly pulled the plug for any snarky remarks after we got there. They told their established students straight, which topics we might be better at and that the former Realschüler would make most likely (and it was true) the solid middle field of the year. When I was in my last year one student switched after tenth grade Hauptschule directly into the last three years of Gymnasium, but that is very rare.

Just listening and realized that I needed some Americans to get an explanation what a Mittelschule is 😁thanks a lot

Thanks again for sharing your experiences and your unique perspective on my beloved home country. I have to say I was more than irritated by the title of your video. And to hear that you heard that from the principal of a German Gymnasium just plain angers me. As a civil servant he has taken an oath on our Grundgesetz. And that states unmistakably in Art.3.3: (3) Niemand darf wegen seines Geschlechtes, seiner Abstammung, seiner Rasse, seiner Sprache, seiner Heimat und Herkunft, seines Glaubens, seiner religiösen oder politischen Anschauungen benachteiligt oder bevorzugt werden. Niemand darf wegen seiner Behinderung benachteiligt werden. (en: No person shall be favoured or disfavoured because of sex, parentage, race, language, homeland and origin, faith or religious or political opinions. No person shall be disfavoured because of disability.) How any public servant in their right mind can say that immigrant children can not be accepted at the Gymnasium is just beyond me. This Principal is walking on very thin ice here or rather if he really said it like that to me it looks like he is in clear breach of his obligations. Anyway I am glad to hear that You found another and much better place for your 'Buben'. Apart from that I might add that in Germany the education and school system is soley legislated by the Bundesländer. And given that 'In Bayern gehen die Uhren anders' it is obvious that you have it a bit harder there than in other parts of Germany. I went to Gymnasium in the seventies in Hessen and a great number of my schoolmates came from the neighboring municipality in Bavaria. These kids (or their parents) were smart enough to choose a school outside their state because already then the rules were much more strict and rigid there. It seems like not much has changed since then. I live in Niedersachen now and here the parents are free to decide which secondary school their children will be attending.

They don’t say it but they mean brown immigrants… #subtleracism

We moved to the USA for three years with our two sons. Which was a great experience by the way! I talked to the principal beforehand. He told me there is no way your boys can come back to the Gymnasium after going to an American school. I was speechless about his rudeness and arrogance. Very angry I called the school authorities and they told me that it wouldn’t be a problem. After three years abroad the kids would be handled like someone coming new into Germany. They both made their Abitur! Seems to me some principals handle their schools like it’s their own little kingdom with their set of laws and not in the idea of giving every child the chance to learn!!! Our younger son actually had some problems with the german language when we came back. He was in an American school 5th to 7th grade. When we came back he started to write everything in lower cases and to separate words that were written together in German. The teacher told us that he seemed to translate everything in english in his head, form the answer and translate back to german. That I didn’t expect. It took a while for him to settle in again language wise.

I would watch a video even 1 hour long 😄✌️