The country of Germany lies at the central part of Europe, since then its boast off with a sizeable different landscape. It has a humid and mild climate and its rural areas composed of abundant woods. German folks concerned more in education, which makes the place known for its being strict with regards to motivating students about their studies. And because of that, Germans used to have known from all over the world grasping always an award when it comes to Education Contests participating with the different countries, German doesn’t have a chance to fall down because of the updated education they have been feed with their students.

Education in Germany is responsible with the states, while the federal government only has minor roles. With the age of three to six years old optional kindergarten is provided while starting from the age of ten to thirteen, children with this age is oblige to attend classes. We can determine that when it comes to education, Germany is quite strict since they would not allow students to have one on one or home education unless they have physical disabilities. Their attendance is a must; therefore they should cooperate with what their school’s roles. If cases like foreigners who come along Germany with children with them, they are exempted to have a home education and teaching them in their own dialect. German primary education last for four years, while secondary education is composed of four types of education based on the capability of the children, usually the teachers are the ones responsible in appointing students who are capable with these four types of studies. Students belonged to the “gymnasium” education are those gifted and well prepared to college universities. The “realchule” is good for those intermediary students; the “hauptschule” lead the students to have a vocational education while the “gesamtschule” is the mixture of the three advances.

The country of Germany also offer Forderschulen education; were students belonged here are not allowed to merge or being merge with other students since students from Forderschulen is special due to its learning disability. However, high school fresh graduates who wanted to continue their college education must take the Abitur examination; and for those students with only have a vocational diploma may also have the chance to enroll themselves to college. In additional to that, the “Duale Ausbildong” apprenticeship allow the students to apply a vocational training learning in companies as well as in schools run by the state. Life in Germany education has also similarities with some other typical universities, but there are also some roles which are not. German schools don’t have securities like the other institutions from all over the world. Older students are responsible are responsible in guiding the younger students specially in crossing the roads. Most of the students here have an individual function in whatever significant events, such for example they have “Sanitatsdients” or medical services; where most students do the first aid. Students in Germany don’t sit in a desk but in a table, there are usually two pairs in one table. During examinations, tables in Germany’s classroom are arranged into columns with one student per table, depending on the size of the classroom. Despite its being strict, Germany’s Education is worth it.

BECAUSE Europe is a relatively small continent of contiguous countries with peculiarly varying languages (which actually comes from only one ancient mother tongue, Roman), the European Union has made it a mandate that all high school students across Europe study another European language apart from their vernacular. No wonder there often exists student exchange programs among countries where students or a certain group of students from Country A stay and study for one whole academic year in Country B and vice versa. Of course, they will certainly not abandon their original medium of instruction but then again, they will definitely learn the language of their host country as the distinctive culture therein.

It will surely be a memorable experience for the high school kids to have embarked on a cross-country tour in a Babel-like environment. They may be literally lost in translation for a while but with caring teachers, they will surely be amazed with what their host country can offer. And so, excursions to the various tourist spots are provided by the host country school. Of course, these students are also motivated to teach their native tongue to the students of their host country. Germany is not an exception in this scheme.

And so, it’s no wonder that a group of grammar school students from Oxford have embarked on a trip to Germany just recently. These students are retracing the steps what their grandfathers had done in 1963 – the pioneering batch of English students on a student exchange program to Germany. Although the medium of instruction is still English, the curriculum to be followed must be on what majority of German public school systems follow. Needless to say, the German education system is decentralized so each state in the federation has a hand to its own education system. But then again, as in many countries elsewhere, there are always commonalities because the Germans speak one language and they belong to the same nation. Thus, all German high school students do not wear uniforms.

This is also applicable to the exchange student groups. Public schools are free but the group of foreign students will have the option to choose if they want to be embedded in the private or public schools. Of course, the private schools come with tuition and their curricula are specialized. Thus, we hear of Catholic sectarian schools like the Jesuits, the Waldorf and the Montessori. There are also a number of Protestant, Jewish and Islamic madrasah schools splashed across the nation. These schools have the right not to accommodate students which do not belong to their faith. But public schools in Germany are also excellent so foreign exchange students can also have the time of their life there. A typical school day starts at 8:00 a.m. and ends at 2:00 p.m. just like almost everywhere else in the world. Usually from 2:00 p.m., students are given the free hand to choose a number of extra-curricular activities such as ballet recitals, basketball varsity and a few violin tutorials.

IF you want to study the German language as well as its culture in Germany, then there are two possibilities – either you’re a European where you can easily land in Germany without the hassles of being interrogated at border crossings or you’re a non-European and you must present a visa. Germany is a member of the European Union and the European Union mandates that citizens of all member countries do not need visas to get across another European country. Germany is also a signatory of the Schengen agreement which mandates that all Europeans don’t necessarily undergo checks at border crossings.

This is especially noticeable when one hitches a train ride or even drives his own car into the nation from Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. But many persons who go to Germany are actually Europeans because there is another European Union law that makes acquiring a second language in the continent a must. This is because Europe is a continent peculiarly composed of nations having their own languages. Note that France, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, Spain, Portugal, England and Ireland have a different language each. But not all visitors who are enticed to learn German come from Europe. There are some Japanese, Americans, Canadians, Saudi Arabians and Israelis who are here as employees of think tank organizations.

They are mandated to study German culture in preparation of future postings here in a year or so. Most of these people actually come here in Germany via the international airports here located in Frankfurt, Munich, Dusseldorf, Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg. There are everyday flights coming in from across the Atlantic.

In a German language school, students are usually billeted to a German family. The German family then patiently teaches the student on how to optimize his acquisition of the second language. He or she is exposed to crowded areas and told to attempt eavesdropping German conversations. The student then attempts to transcribe these conversations. In return, the student must also share a few notions about his native tongue to the German family. All expenses he incurred, including eating of authentic German families with his host family, are charged against the tuition.

Or if what you want is really a four-academic year program leading to a bachelor’s degree, then there are over 300 universities splashed across Germany and they accept foreign students too. Of course, most of these universities have their online counterparts and online schools are as credible as those offered in a campus setting. More so, tuition in these online schools is characteristically less because they do not charge laboratory fees. And then there are other advantages as well. One, you can just log in to your student account, read the daily lessons and take the daily quizzes at your own time provided you log in every day and read the lessons because these are bases for your attendance. The online school has a virtual system that tracks the students who have not logged in and read their messages.