From Kindergarten to Hauptschule, Realschule or Gymnasium: Which Middle School Would You Have Wanted to Attend?”
9:00 a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008
Webster Hall Auditorium
Admission: free

Public education in Germany is significantly different from that of the United States. This presentation will discuss the early education system in Germany and the variety of options students have. Technically, German children are guaranteed a free education from kindergarten through their university studies. However, children in Germany (and their parents) must decide by the fourth grade if the children are bound for the vocational or university track. Essentially, by the age of nine, a child’s choice will be made for them by their parents and teachers as to their future. For some, this raises important questions regarding the German education system. The early grades and the three different middle schools after fourth grade will be explained in greater detail in this presentation. The advantages and disadvantages of this system will be explored.

Ann Stamp Miller received her Ph.D. in European history from the University of Hawaii. She has lived and studied abroad in Germany and Austria. She was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to teach in Germany in 2005-2006 and is the author of the book The Cultural Politics of the German Democratic Republic: The Voices of Wolf Biermann, Christa Wolf, and Heiner Mueller. Dr. Miller is an associate professor of European history at Simpson University in California, where she teaches Historiography, Nazi Germany, Modern Europe, and Cold War Politics and History.