Essay contest about Germany

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I have an idea about a way to subtly support German homeschoolers. The German Information Center USA (http://www.germany.info/relaunch/info/missions/gic.html)(which is run by the German Embassy in Washington DC) is holding its annual essay contest (http://www.germany.info/relaunch/info/publications/Germany-in-Class/2008/080114/head1.html).

My idea is for lots of American homeschoolers to submit essays to this contest. My hope is that every mail day would bring in several entries of well written essays from children schooled at home. The essays would be on the topics from the contest. This isn't just a way of sending veiled letters protesting the treatment of homeschoolers in Germany. It is a way of countering the idea that homeschoolers can't have good educational results or are existing in a parallel society.


It isn't an impassioned protest letter or an online petition. As someone pointed out on the old boards, the German authorities are concerned about a lot more than just education quality from homeschoolers. But they are also still somewhat concerned with public opinion. I am hoping that this might be a reminder that American homeschoolers are watching. Maybe a reminder that lots of them are watching.

Sebastian

I have a lot more info on the contest here (http://blakeney-academy.blogspot.com/2008/01/essay-contests.html)

[Liz CA]

Who will read these essays?

[Mary in NJ]

My husband is an American military member, so under NATO, we are allowed to homeschool our children while serving in Germany. We lived in a regular German neighborhood. We told our German neighbors that we homeschooled, that it was legal for us to homeschool (I quoted a few of the regulations, etc.). I just wanted them to know, so that they didn't think I was doing something secret and they would have to cover for me.

Anyway, for what it is worth, I had more people in our little village come over asking about how I taught my children. They do not feel that the government is doing an adequate job. Parents do want to make decisions regarding their child's education.

For anyone writing an essay, you need to know that parents are very unhappy with the German schools. They want options, and they were relieved to learn that HSLDA is actively working to help them legally homeschool.

FYI - German school test scores are below Russia's. My husband hired a universisty student pianist for the chapel services. This student was from a very poor Russian village. He received an outstanding education;they still have a classical format for their education. He was well educated and was attending a local German University. He told us about the differences between the two country's education systems. Very interesting.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

The contest winners will be chosen by judges from the German Embassy and the German Information Center USA (which operates under the German Embassy).
And the essays do not need to mention homeschooling directly at all. The contest has a couple essay topics, one related to immigration and another related to innovation. I would suggest staying within these topics.
My hope is that the Center will receive lots of credible entries from homeschooled students. That will underscore that 1) homeschooling can be effective, 2) there are a lot of American homeschoolers - who can be counted on to pay attention to what happens to German homeschoolers, and 3) that we don't exist in a parallel society - in fact we are right here in your society so deal with it.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

We were stationed in Berlin for three years. This coincided with our first three years of official homeschooling. I spent the first six months being a little evasive but then started to be much more forward in how I answered questions like, "Where do your kids go to school."

Like Mary in NJ, I had a great reception from many people. There is a lot of uncertainty about how it could possibly work. Remember that Germany has little market for home education materials so even some of the old standards of American homeschooling (like Calvert or Alpha Omega) just aren't available. And schools are gatekeepers to most professions, either through university qualification (after passing the Abitur exam) or through vocational accredidation that is run through public schools.

There is a lot of discontent toward German schools, for various reasons. A bestselling book as we left Germany was "The Teacher Hate Book" which actually stated in the first chapter that she wished she could just teach her kids at home, but that wasn't an option. But while many families are intrigued by the idea of homeschooling, they aren't going to risk jail. It is very much like the US was 20+ years ago when parents were told if they took their kids out of school they would be truant and the parents would be arrested. (I heard Zan Tyler talk last year on this experience and it was a really good reminder of the way things used to be.)