In modern society, school is a place that directly affects the growth of teenagers. This phenomenon sounds common, but Germany has its own special historical reasons. German schools have always been places where social classes are divided and combined, and in extreme cases, they are also places where classes struggle.
Until 19 18, the German middle class was still sending their children to private primary schools, and then entered the gymnasium, and their future career orientation was academic professionals. Other children from the civilian class go to Volksschule in order to find a more practical job in the future. It was not until Weimar Republic that the government merged these two types of schools, but the change was not complete. In the unified primary education system, middle-class children and civilian children receive the same four-year primary education together, and then return to the old road of separation. The former enters a 9-year liberal arts high school, while ordinary children are divided into Realschule and Volksschuloberstufe. These latter two types of schools are regarded as "inferior" among social Democrats, industrialists and progressive teachers.
From this point of view, the so-called Weimar educational knowledge did not fundamentally solve the ideological conflict. Although the middle class at that time had promised to accept the four-year study system, they still submitted a one-time claim from professors, experts or doctors to the authorities because their children wanted to share a desk with the children of those stupid, rude and infectious rights holders.
Compared with the Gesamtschule system established by Americans after 1945 with reference to the high school model, it has given up some old teaching traditions, but it has extensive promotion value. At the same time, the former East Germany also implemented such a teaching system, although it was labeled as capitalism and terrorism by the conservative western elite.
In the history of Germany, well-educated citizens should have the typical German-style citizenship characteristics of a certain social class. For them, education not only means imparting knowledge and cultivating good behavior, but also is regarded as a kind of private wealth, which can only be enjoyed in liberal arts high schools. Its standard is not only the ideal teaching norm of the humanities, but also directly reflected in the specific education qualification certificate-Abitur. With this graduation exam, students from liberal arts middle schools can apply for any university they want to enter, thus laying a good foundation for future respectable careers such as civil servants, teachers or lawyers. In other countries in the world, the college entrance examination is the most important stepping stone to go to college, and the results of middle school graduation or the school that graduated only play a very limited role.
Similarly, the teaching reform in Germany in the 1970s was unsuccessful. At that time, radical leftist reformers not only wanted to cancel liberal arts high schools, but also planned to throw a set of teaching norms for the whole middle class into the pile of old papers. Their slogan is "cartoon statt Goethe", and history class is excluded from the list of professional courses.
Although this revolutionary reform thought did not win, the conservative camp began to fall into disintegration. At present, the proportion of students in liberal arts middle schools accounts for 30% to 40%, and many big cities exceed 50%. Graduation exam results are no longer a privilege, which means that the traditional basic machine for social class differentiation through schools is still running, but its influence is getting weaker and weaker. Today, we have to stay ahead in other ways, such as sending our children to study abroad, or entering private schools to let students learn piano, or joining high-threshold hockey clubs.
On the other hand, the comprehensive school system, which was put forward and partially implemented in the 1970s, also has its problems. Such schools have not fulfilled their promises in actual operation, and have made no achievements in equal opportunities and academic performance, and are even inferior to some liberal arts high schools in terms of students' social integration. Another important reason is the continuous improvement of the level of liberal arts high schools, especially the students in the third year of high school. There, students from different backgrounds have made encouraging achievements in the interaction between society and learning.
Refer to international experience again. In fact, no country completely ignores students' background and academic achievements, but gathers them to study together. Although many countries have a unified teaching system, they still have selective learning methods. For example, in France, it is a Catholic school, while in Britain, it is an aristocratic private middle school for the children of nobles and political and economic elites. In the United States, there are both expensive private schools and public schools located in rich areas. Even the former East Germany is not a model, where only 14% students can enter excellent high schools, and the admission conditions of these schools are extremely exclusive.
Scandinavia has another approach. Students there enroll students not only according to their place of residence, but also according to their spiritual temperament. People pay special attention to protecting their free nature and social cognition. In Sweden, people often talk about "Volksheim", while in Denmark, there is the concept of "Denmark for all". There is a close relationship between schools and communities, and teachers are highly respected professions. These are different from German liberal arts middle schools. After all, the academic system of liberal arts middle schools is deeply rooted in the consciousness of social class differentiation, and people can't ignore the combination of education and social environment that grew up in such a cultural background.
Although the teaching system is inextricably linked with its tradition, it is still possible to carry out reform, but it takes time. At the same time, we should be cautious in the reform. First of all, ask yourself what the goal is and whether the price is worth it. Structural reform will inevitably bring great impetus and instability of the teaching system. In addition, how to ensure better teaching effect, achieve more equality and less educational failure, and maintain a good traditional teaching environment requires reformers to think twice before acting.