American High School vs German Gymnasium

I’ve been off my blogging game recently, mostly because I have been going to school. I definitely prefer gymnasium over online lessons, but it has definitely taken over my time. I also feel that I have become a lot more grounded in my daily life here in Deutschland, and I generally less time on my phone/computer now that I go to gymnasium. Now that my excuses are out of the way, we can get started.

I thought that gymnasium would be drastically different, and on my first day, I was a little disappointed at how similar it was to American high school. But now after having gone to school for two weeks, I can say it actually is very different. The most jarring difference is definitely the teachers.

Firstly, teachers don’t have a dress code. On my first day of school, my ethics teacher wore an oversized Nike sweatshirt and khaki shorts. According to my host sister, it is normal for her male teachers to wear Hawaiian shirts and flip-flops before the summer holidays. Also, teachers don’t have their own classrooms. Until 10th grade, the class has a room, and the teachers come to the students. This means that it is totally normal for teachers to be late to class. My German teacher showed up 15-minutes late to a 45-minute class last week.

Being in one classroom also means that you are with the same students. In Germany, the class moves as a whole, so you are with the same 25 kids all year long. Whereas in the US, everyone has different schedules. Being in the same class makes it difficult to make friends, but the class is really tight-knit, which I admire.

At my high school in the US, you can’t get away with jeans ripped above the knee. But here in Deutschland, there is no dress code for students. I personally love this, and the students respect it. They don’t wear outrageously inappropriate things because they aren’t trying to challenge the school.

One of the biggest differences from American schools is the schedule in Germany. In Germany, your “student plan” is all over the place. We have classes at different times every day and most of them are only 2 or 3 times a week. It can be super confusing. Also, we only go to school from 8 AM to 1 PM, a good 2 hours shorter than my school in the US. Although, German students definitely make up for that time in homework.

Lastly, because school gets out at 1 PM, students eat lunch at home. Rather than having a 30-minute lunch in the middle of the day, students have two 15-minute breaks. Most students bring snacks for the break, and the school has a small cafe where students can buy baked goods and drinks.

I could go on and on about all the small differences between American high school and German gymnasium, but at the end of the day, they are just totally different systems. I don’t think I can quite say which is better, but I can say they both have benefits.

Until next time,

Bookish Babble