PA School Librarian in Germany: Realschule

"Hello, USA!" a student enthusiastically greets me as I entered a local realschule plus here in Mainz. This school is comprised of two buildings: one for grads 5-6 and another for grades 7-10. Much like the grundschule we visited the day before, this middle-level school is comprised of a large immigrant population. The school houses 850 students, many from Turkey and Africa, along with 80-90 teachers. For all students at this level, learning English is compulsory. This particular school has been bestowed the honor of being considered a Europaschule, which translates to "European School." According to Wikipedia (I know it is a librarian sin to use Wikipedia, but it had the best translation!), a Europaschule must follow several criteria: "1. Integration of European issues, 2. Language Learning, 3. Project-oriented school partnerships and internships, 4. Personnel training and development, 5. European School in the Region, 6. Quality Assurance" ("Transnational Criteria"). As part of these criteria, students have an option to receive a three-week work experience in England. 

At this school, a head teacher or principal along with his deputy gave us an understanding of how their school works, but also how secondary education in general is run in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. In Germany as a whole, the head of the school (what we would call a principal), must also teach classes - minimum four per week. Teachers and students must attend school for 192 days a year, and teachers receive six days of leave for self-chosen, compulsory trainings. Periodically, principals may need to ask teachers to complete paperwork over student breaks, but teachers are guaranteed at least 30 days of leave time.

Included in the school's mission statement are three basic rules: punctuality, respect, and order. I observed these rules in the English classroom I had the pleasure of observing. The deputy principal invited half of our American group into his classroom, while the other half observed another English class. The teacher very kindly incorporated us into his lesson. We each introduced ourselves, along with our state of origin, and the students answered some questions in English about America. Then, we were asked to wander around the classroom and help students to complete a summary of a Mark Twain story they read for class. We were thankful to have the opportunity to work with students, and we were also grateful for the lovely lunch the school provided for us!

"Transnational Criteria." Bundez-Netzwerk Europaschule. 2015. Web. 2 July 2015. <http://translate.google.de/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europaschule&prev=search>.