RE: Fuck this stupid fucking country
August 10, 2018 at 9:51 am
(This post was last modified: August 10, 2018 at 10:12 am by I_am_not_mafia.)
Are there other schools you can look at? What do they say at toytowngermany.com? One of the most infuriating things about living in Germany is how obstinate they can be about enforcing the system.
I remember going from a school I was happy at, to another school where I got immediately bullied. To make matters worse, they started the year at the beginning of a book that we had just finished the year before at the previous school. I went from being top of the class to bottom. I didn't see the point of it all. To be honest in hindsight, I still don't see the point of anything I was taught at that school.
If she stays challenged eventually the hard work will pay off, especially when all her peers are struggling to learn her native language or to learn about things that she already knows about.
I think that it's probably more important to show her that somehow her hard work has eventually paid off, even if it's not quite in the way that she expected or even if she can't yet see how it will.
No way would I hold back any child of mine, especially not paying an extortionate amount to do so. It's always seemed to me that teachers have a different set of priorities. They have to deal with classes of children. They don't really care so much about what's best for the individual, especially in a country like Germany with more rigid systems in place.
The way you describe her as being emotionally immature actually describes what I was like as a child (although I didn't have any friends). I think people vastly underrate play. The whole point of it is to expand the mind and to try out new possibilities rather than get stuck in a rut.
From what you say, it sounds like she was excited about this new school so she could be taught in her own language. But if her German language skills were better then this wouldn't be a problem. Easier said than done I know. Learning a second language is extremely time consuming and tiring, especially when you have to do it and your poor language skills become an obstacle rather than something that you can improve to achieve a sense of reward. My husband and I were happy to temporarily move back to Scotland so we could have a break from struggling to get by with a second language.
By the way, just to add, one thing I learnt about living in Germany is that you have to sometimes be prepared to fight your corner. Coming from a culture where you can expect customer service, probably more so in the US, it can be infuriating coming across the attitude where people just want to do their job with the minimum of hassle. And they get away with it if you struggle with the language and are less confident in using it.
But having German relatives, I've often seen them resort to ranting when need be. Do not be afraid to be forceful in this regard. Tell the English speaking school that you are not prepared to have your child hang back a year. People just want an easy work life. They may object but tell them in no uncertain terms of what you want. Be prepared to walk away.
I remember going from a school I was happy at, to another school where I got immediately bullied. To make matters worse, they started the year at the beginning of a book that we had just finished the year before at the previous school. I went from being top of the class to bottom. I didn't see the point of it all. To be honest in hindsight, I still don't see the point of anything I was taught at that school.
If she stays challenged eventually the hard work will pay off, especially when all her peers are struggling to learn her native language or to learn about things that she already knows about.
I think that it's probably more important to show her that somehow her hard work has eventually paid off, even if it's not quite in the way that she expected or even if she can't yet see how it will.
No way would I hold back any child of mine, especially not paying an extortionate amount to do so. It's always seemed to me that teachers have a different set of priorities. They have to deal with classes of children. They don't really care so much about what's best for the individual, especially in a country like Germany with more rigid systems in place.
The way you describe her as being emotionally immature actually describes what I was like as a child (although I didn't have any friends). I think people vastly underrate play. The whole point of it is to expand the mind and to try out new possibilities rather than get stuck in a rut.
From what you say, it sounds like she was excited about this new school so she could be taught in her own language. But if her German language skills were better then this wouldn't be a problem. Easier said than done I know. Learning a second language is extremely time consuming and tiring, especially when you have to do it and your poor language skills become an obstacle rather than something that you can improve to achieve a sense of reward. My husband and I were happy to temporarily move back to Scotland so we could have a break from struggling to get by with a second language.
By the way, just to add, one thing I learnt about living in Germany is that you have to sometimes be prepared to fight your corner. Coming from a culture where you can expect customer service, probably more so in the US, it can be infuriating coming across the attitude where people just want to do their job with the minimum of hassle. And they get away with it if you struggle with the language and are less confident in using it.
But having German relatives, I've often seen them resort to ranting when need be. Do not be afraid to be forceful in this regard. Tell the English speaking school that you are not prepared to have your child hang back a year. People just want an easy work life. They may object but tell them in no uncertain terms of what you want. Be prepared to walk away.
