Our idiotic addiction to the military and aversion to paying taxes for everything else that makes for a good life has turned us into the poorest of rich countries.
From underfunded public schools to crumbling public infrastructure to inadequate public transportation to health care bankruptcies, the USA is an embarrassing example of “you don’t get what you don’t pay for.”
Maybe someday we’ll be able to turn the corner to sensible human priorities and the wealthiest individuals and corporations paying their fair share of taxes. In the meantime, we have Republicans.
169
America is *not* a unified society. And that's the real problem.
—
I taught school for a while, way back in the 1970's. What I found was that every boy, girl, teacher, parent, and school administrator seemed to act more or less on their own, independent of what the others were doing.
And that's not surprising, since America has always been billed, “as the land of opportunity.” Which means that every man, woman and child seemed to be doing what he or she could, in their own self interest.
—
Very few individuals can succeed this way, anywhere. And that’s a big problem for America.
—
We do do things en masse together, on some occasions, the last notable examples being WWII and "9-11". But we don't even imagine cooperating with each other [read, “*sacrificing* together”], in order to get things done in everyday life,”like they seem to do, in those other ‘socialist’ countries.”
—
But you can’t have it both ways.
—
So we pay the price, in terms of,”fewer benefits for more [and more!] individuals, right here in America, the world's leading, “developed” nation.
And that's too bad!
—
But you must admit, that we’ve dug our own individual graves, by promoting our own *individual* interests, instead of America’s best interests.
—
“…A house divided, cannot stand…”
78
While you would think that voters would elect politicians who would provide wonderful German style schools and infrastructure, the electorate instead chooses representatives who keep our suffering centa-millionaire and billionaires class from sharing the country’s tax burden, protect the “unborn”, and maintain our “freedom” to have bi-monthly massacres.
128
Just saw a Vice episode on the rise of Atomwaffen in Europe. Not sure those European model public schools are producing the world citizens you think they are.
14
Why on earth would you come back here?
59
As a teacher in Massachusetts I am continually disturbed by the lack of funding for our schools. Even more so, I am highly concerned with the lack of a large inclusive plan for education. It’s as if every year is just a long game of pushing children forward to the next grade level. There is never a true thought for the future of the child. What happens when graduation comes and there is no college in sight? Are they leaving with any skills that can translate into a career? Unless, they went to the vocational school (which is very difficult to get into now, with very high standards) they have nothing. Our attitude that every child must be college bound, needs to change-and in turn, we need to provide solid alternatives for them.
313
I have lived in Germany 3 times during my long life...now a senior citizen. My children went to German schools. I cannot stress how far Germans are ahead of us in public education! If more Americans traveled and lived in other countries (and Did NOT listen to the daily lies of Fox News) they would learn what they do NOT know--- that we are falling ever behind in public education. And now we have Betsey Devos, in charge of Education, who HATES public education. Neither she, nor her children, nor her grandchildren have ever attended public schools. I am shocked how many people supported the present Administration who's goal is to destroy public schools.
583
Dividing students based on academic achievement in the fourth grade is degrading and undemocratic. Important life lessons are lost if one is separated from other segments of society, whether they are poorer economically or intellectually. Compassion and teamwork with those who might not be as fortunate as oneself are at the top of the list. I am grateful for my public school education.
113
@Sonya yes, but the focus is of this it is that a country as wealthy as the United States forces schools to have bake sales in order to fund classrooms. Why are so many benefits of living in a democracy limited to a chosen few?
125
As an immigrant from a very rich and privileged European country that runs like a clockwork and has a health care and public school system that every American who is not a millionaire would die for I have learned one simple thing about the “entrepreneurial approach” here in the US to basically everything, and that is: you must not privatize three things: health care, schools and prisons.
635
I have friends in the Munich area, whose children were not selected for Gymnasium - the teacher alone decided who was - and whose children were in schools designed, they said, "to keep them off the streets.". The German system is very difficult for those not at the top of the tree.
231
This is similar to our experience in France. I would emphasize that there is great attention paid to the basics (math, reading, general culture) and that students must conform to the school rather than the other way round. If you don't take to the system, you can be ejected.
Once they pass their BAC exams - the laser focus of the 3-year high school curriculum - they are eligible for universities at much lower cost. European universities also expect students to have chosen their "major", which cuts a full year off (i.e. the exploratory liberal arts, which are covered in high school in Europe); students, knowing this, most often prepare for it, though some cannot. Changing tracks later on can be very difficult.
Our kids flourished in the system and headed to unis in the UK, where tuition is about $12.5K, or about $21K per year when expenses are added in. (This is considered very high in Europe.) My daughter went to Cambridge, which lived up to its reputation. My son is in medical school (which is undergraduate); his degree will cost about $125K. If you look at the math when compared to the US, their educations cost about 1/4 what they would have in the US.
191
How much education is necessary to work in a fast food restaurant or place boxes on shelves in retail or mount and balance tires in a repair shop?
17
@Rob Crawford: medical school is very costly in the US, if you go to a private university -- but even so -- NO it is NOT $500K -- not even at Harvard or Yale!
10
@Concerned Citizen I meant the calculation of undergrad ($230K+) + grad ($280K).
29
I agree with the laudatory tone of this article when it comes to praising the German public school system compared to the U.S. system.
However, there are also drawbacks, such as the track system in Germany, which means that your grades in 4th grade determine whether you get to go to Gymnasium and will go on to college. It's clear that underprivileged children have a higher chance of not making it into that track....And as someone who's lived in Germany, I will also say that I've been seriously underwhelmed by the general knowledge of even educated Germans, those who have attended college, about major historical events such as World War One or the politics and culture of neighboring small nations (excluding large nations like GB or France). (As an aside: Merkel may be attending today's commemoration of the end of World War One in France, but the 11th of November isn't even a national holiday in Germany like it is in most of the rest of European countries that participated in that war, whether as victims or aggressors...) Somehow certain important basic historical and political facts aren't integrated in the German school curriculum, whether in elementary or high school.
Finally, it's good to remember that 1. as Ms. Dumas points out, her school is located in an affluent German neighborhood and that 2. similar excellent public schools systems exist in other European countries. It's not just a German phenomenon.
100
And as someone who has lived overseas for 14 years, I will also say that I've been seriously underwhelmed by the general knowledge of even educated US citizens, especially those who attended elite east coast universities.
Having been educated in the Midwest, and having worked in DC over the past ten years, I naively expected my numerous Ivy League colleagues to have a general knowledge of world history and politics - and superior critical thinking skills. The majority instead had only superior self confidence. Google "Harvard grads explain seasons."
98
@Stephan
Just to clarify: When I mentioned being underwhelmed by educated Germans who know little about neighbouring European nation states or WWI, I should have specified I was holding them up against other Europeans and European school systems. Since the German educational system is the topic of Ms. Dumas' article, that seemed a pertinent point and I think it still is.
9
@WriterI’m a US citizen living in Germany part of the year. The average German citizen is better educated,travels outside the country more,and interacts with other countries way more than the average US citizen. US citizens know next to nothing about the rest of the world. Every German student has to visit Auschwitz in the 10th grade. Our cleaning lady has visited the US 3 times! The majority of Americans live in their little cacoon and know very little about the next state. Americans test poorly on geography tests. I could go on and on. The writer of the above article proves my point about Americans lack of knowledge of the world they live in. Last point,Trump could never be elected to any political office in Germany. Case closed!
77
I've lived in both Germany and California and one of the major reasons California's education system has so many problems is income inequality. In Germany, very few children go to private or religious schools. The vast majority all attend the same public schools, regardless of background.
In my city in California, only two of us out of a group of parent friends from a baby group are sending our children to our local public schools. The rest have chosen a mix of private school or public charter schools. In San Francisco, about one-third of all students go to private schools and I have read that number climbs to 75-80% among white students.
When you have extreme income inequality, as we have in California, and a fragmented educational system with public, private, charter and religious schools, it is no surprise that public schools struggle.
I would add that it is not just Californians who are contributing to this problem. Almost all of the expat families I know send their children to private schools because of the poor reputation that Californian public schools have. Many of the private schools in my area are 90% Asian and heavily focused on academics, rather than the more social-emotional curriculum that the local public schools have. This is what happens when society becomes fragmented and highly unequal - the social contract disappears.
265
The issue in San Francisco is partly a historically good, ethnically oriented parochial school system and partly a poorly run, teachers union oriented public school system. It's a nice, smallish city with education dynamics that are unlike the rest of California.
7
@MB
It is what happens when measures like Proposition 13 are passed and right-wing politics refuses to fund public education.
54
@MB It is our government demolishing the social contract. The government has us convinced that guns are more important than health and education. We spend trillions of the nation's wealth to destroy the ME and other parts of the world and what for? The funding for guns we take for granted, no questions asked while they haggle over a few $$ for food stamps and school lunches.
63
Thanks to my husband's academic career I moved around the country and overseas.After truly exceptional elementary schools in TX we moved to the UK where our kids attended state schools (not the posh private schools) Elementary schools were fine but anything above was terrible (best school in the city!). After returning to the US our kids attended excellent schools in Michigan.Yes, they routinely participated in fundraisers. I felt it taught youth about the costs of these programs and made them take activities more seriously.My friend raised her family in Munich and often described tremendous stress she and her children experienced to attain the highest 'track' in the school system. Most of it came from rigid and unpleasant teachers who knew the powers they had over little kids and their parents. My siblings are raising children in Canada and they run many of school fundraisers (nothing to do with Betsy DeVoss). On your point about independence, our local elementary schools allow neighborhood kids to walk home by themselves. This was surprising to me as it wasn't allowed in England where kids had to be picked up. Most American teenagers forgot that walking and biking is a mode of transportation, most drive when they turn 16. By the way, my Munich friend's university attending kids still live at home because of exorbitant costs of housing in the city. My kids on the other hand are almost entirely independent - perhaps thanks to the fundraising!
72
@Alex: In America, the top 25 hedge fund managers make more money than all the kindergarten teachers combined. The fundraising is not there for moral uplift. It’s there because America has decided that education is someone else’s business, but the stock market is sacred.
197
@Alex, you are right, in upper-income neighborhoods, we too have excellent public schools and daycare and early childhood development.
21
@R. Littlejohn I always lived in average income neighborhoods. The author might be moving to an upper income neighborhood in California in which case she should be fine, despite fundraisers.
8
California public schools are severely underfunded, even compared to the rest of the country. I've been teaching in the Los Angeles Unified School District since 1997, and in that time the District has had two Social Studies books for the seventh-grade. There are no up-to-date maps. Nurses serve two days a week at most schools, and librarians do the same. Social promotion is the order of the day, and then teachers are criticized because Johnny and Jane can't read.
Public education could be vastly improved in this country if the money were simply redirected, but right now public ed isn't a service, it's a political football between the traditionalists on the one hand and the corporate charter backers on the other.
Who suffers? Our students.
116
@Vesuviano
If California followed the German mode there would be fewer administrative employees, fewer special needs children and their teachers' aides disrupting classes and larger class sizes. Similar to health care costs, the problem is not that there isn't enough money floating around, it is that special interests skim off crony benefits.
Today, teachers in California are taking higher paychecks, which boosts their anticipated pensions. But the required contributions are not being made by municipalities. You might want to save some of that excess compensation, because your constitutional guarantee is going to be voted out of existence when the bubble bursts.
9
@ebmem
While the German model has many good things to recommend it, I would also note that Germany has a highly unionized and well compensated workforce in general. Germany's teachers are all union members.
As for your remark about teachers, I contribute 8% of my salary to my pension, and my school district matches that out of its budget. Typically, pension costs are always called "too expensive" and "out of control", neither of which is true.
Your remark about my "excess compensation" is your opinion, but is not grounded in reality. California's cost of living requires a salary that enables a teacher to actually live in California. California has the third-highest cost of living in the country. Tennessee, from where you are writing, has the 7th lowest.
71
If by writing "Germany's teachers are all union members" you actually mean that they are civil servants and representatives of the government who are not allowed to go on strike, then we agree.
14
Blaming Prop 13 is a popular tactic used to blame California for bad schools but does not take into account that California's tax revenues per capita are higher now than prior to the implementation of Prop 13. Whether enough is spent on schools is another question but we have the revenues to spend what we did prior to Prop 13 if we want. Also--are there any differences between Munich and California that could account for different outcomes? Has Munich experienced a huge influx of non-German speakers as Los Angeles has? Does Germany mandate mainstreaming of special needs students? Maybe the answer to these and other questions are yes but we wouldn't know it from the author. My opinion is that if California wanted the kind of schools Munich has it would take a lot more than just raising taxes and spending more money--it would take massive cultural and policy shifts that are unlikely. But who doesn't want "free" circus lessons?
16
We live in a 'good' school district in a deep blue state. To be in the 'good' schools means higher property tax. My property taxes this year are $30k (26k after tax).
We have good health care. My health care plan costs between my employer and me $23k (I pay $900 a month pretax-for now) every year.
I want my kids to be able to go to college. If the average annual cost of college education in the United States is $34,740 this year (after tax, no rent no food) and my three children (age 6, 9, 11) go on to college, not factoring inflation or tuition increases, I will need to save (after tax) $25,305 each year for the next 16 years ($416,880.-).
So my back of the envelope calculation means I need to earn $55k (after tax) every year for health care, education, and higher education. In the 40% tax bracket (including state and city taxes) I need to earn $92k every year for the next 16 years (till the youngest graduates) or $1,479,000 in total. Heaven only know what college tuition, health care, and property taxes will be in 16 years.
The cost of quality education and health care in this country is out of reach for many. The cost of living in a 'good' school district, saving for college, and having health care is like a tax. It seems that I could move to Munich and save a bundle. Prost!
31
I went to U.S. public schools mostly in the 1950's. Very disappointing how our public schools have changed over that time span. They used to be more like those in Germany, except for the tracking beginning in 4th grade.
11
I worked for a German company and lived in Germany in the 80's. I made similar observations about domestic spending and priorities to those of Ms. Dumas. However, we do need to consider that the United States spends far more on defense than Germany. They pay more in taxes, spend far less on defense, so they have pothole free roads, 200MPH trains, and excellent free education through college. Mr. Trump tends to be despised on these pages, but he is right to insist that Germany (and other European countries) pay their fair share when it comes to defense spending.
8
I have spend all of my professional career here in Germany (since 2005) and no my oldest son is very close to entering the German school system. I agree 100% with all of the points that are mentioned about the positives vs the US system and I also find the "sorting" in 4th grade too early.
The article unfortunately left out one of the larger negatives in the day to day life of a german family. Having full day school is a recent concept; at least in "The West." We are lucky enough to have had a new full day elementary school built to replace the older one on our street. Ours will have some kind of child care till 5 pm. It is quite difficult for a dual income, full time working family to navigate school year without a nanny, au pair or grandma to help out every single day.
10
Reading these many thoughtful and concerned responses, I admit that as soon as I see the word "socialist" in a response, I immediately skip to the next, usually more intelligent, one.
'
The pejorative use of the word "socialist" (and all it seems to imply to the writer) instantly confirms for me the very poor education of the writer, thus proving the very point of the article.
26
Our American society does not value the individual only individualism, welcome back to the US, you’re on your own.
27
"I don’t know if we can replicate this independence in America, not just because of the lack of transit in most places but also because of the anxiety intertwined with the idea of a child going anywhere alone."
You think those are the primary reasons a system as well thought out as Germany's isn't in place in America? Really!
You do realize you're about to enroll your children in Possible Mass Murder 101, right? I can't imagine what black hole you've fallen into to voluntarily enroll your children in this educational dystopia. Hope they're safe.
13
The US spends 20% more than Germany per pupil for elementary to high school pupil. (~$12k vs ~ $10k) Given that states control education, Ms Dumas should be saying, “holy Jerry Brown” not Betsy DeVos.
11
Great article - we need to learn from the German system and special ways. Please see my experience with a German grammar school my son attended in Munich: http://www.librarymedia.net/an-elementary-school-experience-in-munich
9
As half of a family of two full time public school music teachers who combined work a total of four jobs (with a total of 53 years of experience between us), articles such as this and many of the subsequent comments, are utterly demoralizing. Neither destroying unions OR dumping more money into education will solve the issue at its core—we have fundamental disconnect in our values system both at school and at home. When I am asked by a younger employee at a local hair salon how to compute a 20% tip for her associate, or that many of my 5th graders do not understand how to read an analog clock, therein shows, in part, how we are failing.
15
Same with universal healthcare. It would raise our taxes, but save us money. AND it would change our society. Imagine doctors only having to be doctors.
The Republican vision would have everybody be business men. No union. Your're a self-employed sub-contractor. Now go find some health insurance.
Govt will take away your guns!!!!! The liberals are coming !!!!
22
If she dreads public school, she could start own charter school or home school own kid(s). Nothing is stopping her.
Perhaps teachers similar to Sister Mary Stigmata - a.k.a. the Penguin might be best. You can Google her name for video.
2
That misses the point completely.
She likes the fact that in Munich less of her time was required.
You're advocating that she spend even more of her time.
13
The Germans do a good job of figuring it out as does much of Europe that is "socialized". In the US, the mantra is lower taxes. We need to spend more time connecting the dots when deciding which system gives a better quality of life. In America with our "lower" taxes we still pay enormous amounts for healthcare and education out of pocket. If one factors that back into their taxes, we are paying much more in "taxes" than we think we are.
Try taking public transportation in Europe or drive on their roads. That is another area where you can realize the differences between their system and ours.
19
While we rightfully bemoan the lack of finances for our public school system , we fail to see the much larger ( and perhaps more ominous ) reality: our public schools are not intended to succeed. There is no full throated commitment on the part of either the federal or local government to produce a population of competitively trained , well rounded citizens to become active participants in the civilization of their future. What exists is the pressure of one political party to end public education as we know it, bust the unions that have made the American middle class and produce a generation of ill informed , poorly prepared individuals who will then vote against their own best interests. Unless we start to inform ourselves as to the realities of our educational system today we will continue to elect those who do not care that the strength of a nation rests on its children. It is time to respect and support educators, recognize the pockets of educational excellence that exist throughout our country, stop demonizing unions so that politicians can use them as targets and excuses for poor performing schools when the real reasons lie elsewhere.
21
I was spoiled. A Navy brat, my parents paid for me to attend parochial schools for grades 1-6 and 9, and my public intermediate and high schools were superb, equal or superior to most private schools then, lamentably shadows of their former selves today. The culprit: intentional evisceration of public education by the likes of DeVos and her fellow plutocrats, who want a servile, unquestioning underclass, and who recognize that knowledge is power. It will take a major change in state houses and Washington to begin the work of reversing the damage, if that is even possible.
We are surely missing the boat on vocational education. My public high school had superb academics, but also offered excellent vocational courses in wood shop, metal shop, auto repair and others. Today that would probably have to include courses focused on computers, health care, maybe electricity and plumbing. If only we had the will.
An ironic footnote. Had I been tested in the fourth grade, I’d have been in the bottom tier. My grades were awful and I was a discipline problem. Because my parents didn’t realize I had terrible eyesight, until some friends told them to have my eyes checked because of my constant headaches. I got glasses, went from C’s and D’s to straight A’s, and never looked back. In the German system, I think I would have been re-tracked. Here, I just stayed in honors classes into university.
And my daughters never saw a public school until they all matriculated at Berkeley or UCLA.
11
There are too many variables that affect education and comparing education in one German city to the entirety of public school education in the U.S. is misleading. In the U.S. we have a general high school program which is way too inclusive. The thinking is that everyone will become a scholar in every subject and everyone will then proceed to college. People get more worked up about sports and school dances and parents and students at the middle high and high school level complain when students are given homework that takes a few hours. Tracking would make our students who really want to become scholars way more prepared for college. Colleges take huge amounts of $$ from woefully unprepared students and then watch as they fail out. Vocational and technical schools should come back for half the students for whom traditional scholarship is a waste of time. There’s so much more. If you compare Munich’s student population with a US public school from a wealthy suburb or town you would probably find lots of similarities and no bake sales too, but academic achievement is always going to be higher as Germany tracks students from grade 4!
8
I attended public schools in CA prior to the Prop 13 era. I received an excellent education. I imagine that Prop 13 was supported by older voters who didn't have children in school or were already wealthy. I am sure that Prop 13 did not contain language discussing the fact that schools would be gutted. Personally, while I am far from wealthy, I would favor higher taxes to give schools what they need for a better outcome for students.
All schools should be like the one described by Ms. Dumas. In the so-called richest country on earth it could be done.
8
One of the criticisms of the American public school system is that there has been an explosion in the number of administrators, thus less money for teachers and education. I wonder what is the ratio of American to German school administrators?
14
As someone who spent the first twenty years of her life in America, the second twenty in Germany, I feel I have gotten the best of both worlds. My elementary and secondary education was marked by the freedom to explore my own interests and to make close personal relationships with students of all levels that lasted in some cases to this day. While I did occasionally have to sell wrapping paper or cake or, my favorite, squares on a field for a "cow-flop lottery," my public K-12 school was the center of a warm, fun, familial community that supported music, sports, theatre, prom, a year-book club, art classes, the annual pops concert and Christmas sing-a-long--all taught and coached by fabulous teachers who knew me and my family personally. We students were not pushed quickly through a system based on achievement alone. And I was never afraid of my teachers or my grades and their consequences, as my German husband often was. Nor was I ever called "our heathen child" in front of all my peers by the teacher, as he was: Church was separated from school, which it is clearly not here in Bavaria.
In Germany, however, I was able to earn graduate diplomas in Music Performance, German, and English, and did not have to pay ANY tuition for them, though often I noticed the quality of teaching at the university I attended was not as high as at the universities I had previously attended in the US. Many pros and cons on both sides...
10
Dear Readers, the issue here is not our failing school system, which of course, is failing, but rather, budgets! Ms. Dumas states that for a ‘little’ extra in taxes, she gets a ‘lot’ in services. Can you say ‘Defense Budget’?? Only America pays for, and protects, the world! And I might add, uselessly. For the money we WASTE in defense spending, we could be channeling these funds to schools so that we DON’T have to fund a defense budget. Instead, we chaff at the notion of higher taxes, all the while, our kids are dodging AR15 bullets.
16
@PC
Protecting the world? My impression is that waging wars and supporting countries like Saudi Arabia is creating more problems than it solves.
20
Don't go back. I'm from California but live in Europe and would never, ever consider returning to the U.S. while my children are in school. Never.
18
Ms. Dumas may have to send her daughter to a private school in the US that is run by seriously minded educators and not by lesftist radical educasters. Very few schools in Western Europe and US offer martial arts as part of the regular curriculum, a field that develops coordination of the intellect and muscular activity.
2
The Germans will have no problem eating our lunch, as will every other country that recognizes the importance and value of a good, safe, stimulating public education.
12
When Americans stop thinking that paying taxes is the eighth deadly sin perhaps we can enjoy the same standard of living that the average European has.
27
As the Paul Weller song goes: "And they say there's no provisions / Just not enough to go 'round / But when it comes to a gun / There's a bullet for everyone...."
12
This piece doesn't even touch on safety in schools, far safer in Germany? How likely is it for a grade schooler to get shot to death in school in Germany with government sanction of assault rifles? Compared to U.S.?
9
@kay o.
There were shootings in schools in Germany in 2002, 2003, 2003, and 2009, but not in later years.
2
@kay o.
Not only assault rifles are illegal in Germany, but any kind of guns, and even the use of pepper spray is illegal, except to fend off animals. No shooting in schools in Germany since 2009.
4
We can do that here in America too, all you have to do is stop voting Republican.
21
Today in Germany children (first graders and kindergarden) were parading through the streets, carrying lanterns and singing Martin songs, then Martin’s pretzels are given out. This happening after dawn, in the early evening hours, right now, attracting hundreds of children and their parents. No security concerns. Probably unthinkable in the US, even St. Patrick's day parading had been cancelled because of security last time I had been in Boston.
9
There is a tendency to lump the entire country into one box when it comes to education in the US. The variations from state to state are fairly extensive. In general, states that provide more support for education perform better. Well funded schools around the country actually perform fine. Achievement correlates with wealth in school districts. The article linked below shows how certain states stack up fairly well in the world if they were considered separately.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesmarshallcrotty/2014/09/29/if-massachusetts-were-a-country-its-students-would-rank-9th-in-the-world/#6d29448149bd
Of course, more could be done…the education system tends to be too focused on academic education with more of it geared toward English and social studies rather than math and science. In addition, vocational education has really taken a back seat when it should be considered a primary goal for many students.
This includes the need for flexibility on teacher’s unions with respect to policing poor teachers. (however, that is a problem across all professional organizations…Doctors protect doctors, police protect police, political parties protect political parties, lawyers really protect lawyers…etc. Teachers are not really worse.)
Until school becomes a major focus for the country as a whole--very unlikely, any change is all moot.
11
@Glennmr
These statements typify a popular viewpoint, but they defy reality. Massive spending has failed to budge low achievement - e.g. Kansas City, and wealthy districts correlate with achievement - not because of better education - but because of higher IQ.
4
@Charlierf
My viewpoint about teachers unions and vocational education are not popular at all with many people. Vocational education is dying in the US and teacher's unions don't want to change their status quo on salaries and protecting teachers. I disagree to an extent with those policies.
Based on your statement, the people in the Northeast states have higher IQs than the people in areas where educational performance is not as good. Sorry, I don't buy it. Wealthy communities will have higher IQs overall, but that does not mean the education levels of other communities cannot be enhanced.
First IQ is fluid to a fair extent--and not only thing that matters for education. If the education environment is enhanced from an early age, IQs increase along with it to a fair extent.
5
@Glennmr
“If the education environment is enhanced from an early age, IQs increase along with it to a fair extent.”
Early education has become something of a mania - a proposed cure-all - to people like our Mayor. But Finnish children start school at seven years old and score number one in Europe.
4
Here in Texas one school district, the Allen ISD, spent over $70 million on a new football stadium and other districts are on course to do the same. The high school football coaches are often the highest paid employees in our school districts. Now, I like football as much as the next guy, but this absurd and should come to an end, by legislation if necessary (and I am a very conservative guy). Let’s but our resources into quality teachers.
20
If we add up all of the high healthcare premiums, co-pays, deductibles, federal/state/local/school/property taxes, fees and other costs we endure to have a halfway decent existence in the United States, we would discover that we are paying as much or more than citizens of other advanced nations and getting far less.
It’s ironic that Americans think they are the best deal makers in the world when it comes to securing a bargain, but they so readily overpay for our relatively meager social services.
33
@LIChef A very apt analysis. When the cost of Medicare for all is described as $32 trillion over ten years is this in addition to all the cost our citizens are incurring or is that the total cost all in? I suspect it is the latter.
3
The difference does not stop at grade school. University is free, public sports clubs cost an almost symbolic fee, healthcare is paid as a percentage of income (with the same service to all ), science is not a political topic but a rational one (be it evolution or climate). Seniors receive (tight!) pensions - no reliance on the stock market.
17
Once again, Germany can afford to put more money into its welfare state because the US taxpayer is paying for the defense of Europe.
But the other issue is that teacher salaries in California (average $78,711) are much higher than in Germany. I couldn't find average teacher salaries in Germany, but the pay scale tops out at $72,000. So the average teacher in California makes more money than the most experienced teacher in Germany.
9
But since the German teacher doesn’t have high healthcare or education costs it probably evens out. It would be more worthwhile to look at overall living standards rather than income.
13
@J. Waddell
Please find teacher salaries at the OECD website. Germany is listed as 70.693 USD and 81.260 USD (Primary and Secondary, 15 y experience). This compares to 61.028 and 63.006 USD in the US, again according to OECD data. Therefore teachers are better of in Germany.
14
But the living wage is lower in Germany. In other words, it is cheaper to live in Germany so people can live with less.
6
The Republican plutocracy endowed with unlimited funds to create propaganda outlets like Fox have managed to convince a whole generation that all taxes and by extension government are a bad thing. The writer of this piece demonstrates that a reasonably unified country such as Germany can use taxes as a way to raise all boats and provide excellent infrastructure. In the United States where the entire system is both regressive and resented, we have pockets of great wealth and comfort surrounded by much despond. Anti-taxers would benefit by visiting countries like India with its completely inefficient revenue raising systems. I have taken five long backpacking trips in India and love many things about it, but the country sans any real government funding is a mess. Civilization without taxes cannot exist.
28
The blame for today's low information voters and the rise of Trumpism can be laid at many feet, but no more so that those of the US public school system, which at least a generation ago abandoned civics and instilling critical thinking. Reaganism begat Trumpism.
22
American kids could never be allowed to wonder around neighborhoods independently or walk on their own to school – they are our precious special children! What's that? You want us to provide good public education so that our kids can compete in a competitive global economy and vote intelligently to maintain our democracy? Do you have any idea how much that might cost? They're on their own!
14
@Boltarus
Bravo!!
But in the States, there s a societal myth that "If you get a Un9vers9ty Degree" you make much more money, and the For Profit" universities exploit this myth, assisted by the irresponsible government: a good explanation for probably 80 % of the student loan crisis.
Those "For Profit" thieves, like the truculent "Trump University" are designed to exploit the unfortunate that want to improve their lot in life, and produce tremendous damage in the lives of those people, unable to get loans to buy a house because the student loans eat a good part of their credit qualification, or worse, if they are behind in their payments.
15
'higher education is free' but is a good university education offered to all students or just those in the upper tier?
Also, it is time to end the talking point that the US doesn't spend enough on education. We spend more than Germany does per pupil. Clearly there is a deeper issue with our educational approach than money.
10
The US spends way more per capita on health care than any of the countries that provide universal coverage, as well. If America would start by admitting it doesn’t have all the answers, and then studying the countries that have figured out what seems to work best, it could have the best of everything. But this requires fact-based study, and legislators that truly want the best for ALL their citizens. Would you want Trump, or Beto, for instance, deciding the quality and availability of your health care??
11
Germany offers excellent vocational schools and training for those not in the top tier. They have very low unemployment. Yes the issue is more than just money.
10
@jeffk We have a government without a social conscience. Social stands for evil socialism. We are better than that, we can't have that.
1
Wow, Germany sounds pretty cool! I bet there is a long waiting list of Americans that want to emigrate there.
11
@James
Americans are simply to stupid to know any better.
The main difference between us and socialist-type countries like Germany and the Scandinavian nations is that there's less "dog-eat-dog" mentality there. This writer doesn't like that kids are grouped academically, but I actually do like that. Here, every kid is a genius and has to get a college education or they're a loser. That mentality puts us at each other's throats and the next thing you know people are suing universities for not letting them in.
In places like Germany, a kid can make a decent living without shelling out big bucks for a useless college education because they have labor guilds and coops that negotiate decent living wages for every worker. Here, you get saddled with student loans and end up working for minimum wage while you pay off your debt. Ridiculous system.
Trust me, Americans would be moving to countries like Germany in droves if they had any sense at all. But, sadly, they don't.
13
@CF
I agree with your thesis. New Jersey provides community college education at taxpayers' expense. If the student can go to higher education, their credit hours are fully credited. Otherwise, they go to a technical or vocational tract. Ergo, no resources are wasted. Similar to multi tract systems in Europe specifically Germany.
3
Just a small point- many US school districts have stopped doing the fundraisers and merely ask once a year for a donation to the district foundation.
4
@Alyce. Too bad it necessary, but a far more rational solution as many fund raising activities actually net little to the schools themselves.
3
Not in my district... just had a school music boosters meeting at my house on Wednesday.
2
Interesting that the outhor observes that independent children routinely using good public transportation “requires a social contract: A certain number of people have to participate in order to achieve success”, yet is entirely oblivious of the fact that the participation a social contract requires to support the entire system, including schools, health care, infrastructure, etc. is not merely a user threshold, but rather, cannot readily be realized in a system in which half the population does not participate by paying any taxes toward those benefits. The people who are baking cupcakes, calling friends to sponsor walk-a-thons, and going door to door with their kids selling wrapping paper are overwhelmingly the people already paying, not just for their own kids’ schools, but also for the schools of millions of other kids whose parents contribute little or nothing to the funding, and who do not bake cupcakes.The resentment the author expresses at having to bake cupcakes to make up for what the government doesn’t provide is misdirected.
The author was able get more for her taxes in Germany—Holy Betsy DeVos—not simply because German taxpayers pay “a few percentage points more”, but because the rate of actual tax participation is so much higher.
6
@JJ
The reason why "the rate of actual tax participation is so much higher" in Europe is that people are paid enough to be taxed.
Decades of bipartisan neoliberalism have decimated the working and middle classes, who have not had a raise since the 1970s.
8
@Derek Flint
A large percentage of non tax paying Americans do not bring enough to the marketplace, such as an ethos that includes a work ethic that at minimum includes reliably showing up when you’re supposed to, as well as behaviors and habits and attitudes, etc. that are SOP for successful employment.
3
@JJ Taxes are more progressive in social democracies, property taxes on homes are very low, a fraction of what Americans pay. Our taxes are regressive even more so after the Trump tax cuts. Property taxes to finance public education is really a most idiotic system and antisocial. We lack a social safety net, unemployment compensation does not even cover the mortgage and does not put food on the table, it does not prevent families from sinking into poverty and it takes a long time to recover.
6
According to the National Center for Education Statistics (https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cmd.asp) The US spends more per student than Germany... This is not a money problem...
12
American schools have zero to do with educating students for adulthood, and/or the stages of life in general. They are not about challenging young, plastic minds, but rather stiffening them into nearly breakable objects.
American schools don't teach, or provide the programs for the simplest of life's many needs. How to navigate difficult situations, which is all of life in school - is left for the students to all figure out on their own, all while being indoctrinated by a system/culture that makes them believe they are all alone in their feelings, and experiences in their young lives. Isolated is the main experience reported by most American children during their primary, HS, school years.
Then whoosh - they are college grads, all confused and bundles of energy that they are special and the future. Who then run headlong into an adult world, that is riddled with people in charge who haven't much progressed past High School. There are still the bullies - who were likely not ones in school, but are now with a little power, and are out for revenge! There are still the ruthless achievers, willing to do and say whatever it takes. No matter the ethics. And still management (formerly called teachers) don't do much about them - as long as their numbers are high.
We need to revamp the US education system (methods and practices) while wholly rebuilding the infrastructures (schools, their districts ) and fix how those who work in them get there and perform their duties.
8
@Boregard...We should invent a new concept in society called "Parenthood". This new concept could take on the responsibilities that our school system has failed to properly discharge. Parents, as we would call individuals assigned responsibility for children, would be expected to, at a minimum, clothe, feed and house their minions. In addition, Parents would be responsible to provide social and moral instruction that would nourish and encourage the development of well rounded children. This, of course, is just a half-baked idea, but maybe wiser ones could formulate a more substantial concept of Parenthood. Obviously, society needs to do something to overcome the shortcomings of, well, society.
6
Lip service and highly contested funding is really all that K-12 education receives in the US, but with little or no philosophical shift in priorities. For example, discourse about "who served" always focuses on the military, as though public-school teachers don't really serve by toiling in the trenches of minimally supported schools in which many kids are underfed and under-loved. Why does virtually every community offer monetary discounts for military veterans, while many teachers spend their own money to buy classroom supplies. As long as the American psyche values war over education, nothing will improve regardless of how much money is thrown at the dilemma.
28
The American school system, with most funding being local and tied to property taxes, is by its very nature, uneven. Those with the greatest wealth get the best, and even so, many of them chose to send their kids to private schools. I live in one of the wealthiest cities in America and students still have to sell candy, wrapping paper and candles to raise money for some school activities, such as dance outfits and cheerleading. The costs parents still have to pay for these activities make them out of reach for the poorer familes. Parent and local business "foundations" also pump hundreds of thousands of dollars each year into school computers and teachers aides to supplement the budget in the weathiest neighborhood schools. Our schools are underfunded because we don't want to pay more taxes and we spend our taxes on military buildup that other countries don't. We perpetuate a myth that every child has an equal opportunity when school resources differ markedly by neighborhood wealth, and college remains unaffordable to many and elite colleges to most. Meanwhile medical bills drain the resources of many Americans, so saving money for childrens' college is out of the question. Yet we brag about our system and American exceptionalism. We claim everyone wants to come here, when those who do are the poor and persecuted or the well-educated, who know that there are jobs going unfilled by a poorly educated American population. Our views are inaccurate and our values are wrong.
26
This Opinion lost me at the point where kids are separated into different tracks starting in the 4th grade. If that had happened to me, I would have lost the opportunity to mature intellectually, which I did, and continure on to advanced degrees. I'm aware of quite a few others I know who were either late bloomers or fizzled out early. It reminds me of one teacher's observation: "Early ripe, early rot." Maybe our refusal to academically separate kids as they do in Germany, France and England is the reason our economy is so vibrant and innovative - it's possible in the US to pick up at any age to obtain an education and contribute.
5
@Kay Bay,
you seem to be a product of the American school system.
In Germany kids are separated based on their merits and can change between the system easily - again based on merits.
They are not segregated.
And no matter which school kids select, at the end of their path they can all move on to higher education, even though will require additional tests to pass.
And, that too is free.
AND, Ohh Yes, before I forget, even the alumni of the weakest type of public schools in Germany beat the average US student of the same age group by far, that is, they are years ahead of US pupils, as you can see in the PISA rankings.
24
@Kay Bay—with all due respect, our children are separated into different tracks by who they choose for parents in their pre-existence. You may think this is much fairer than tracking for academic progress and ability in childhood. Obviously, you made the right choice before you were conceived.
13
I agree with this. In fourth grade I was literally failing school. I turned it around in sixth grade and went on to Ivy League colleges and grad schools.
4
AndiB - googling does not give you the accurate explanation. "Middle" school in Germany is not like the American kind that ends at 8th grade, but two systems: ninth grade school and tenth grade school. It is true that German "ninth graders: are not exactly considered creme of the crop, but they, as well as the tenth-grade level, can go on to a well-organized apprentice system. And both can go on to get a GED later if they choose.
America would do well to at least have some kind of alternative to the high school diploma, or at least a trade school where students who detest academics and have to be dragged to graduation day while they drag down the other students (and the teachers), have an environment better suited to their needs. And if they too choose to to get a GED later - great.
10
@JL:not everyone is interested in a college degree, but it is insulting and stupid to suggest some people are so stupid and without promise, that even a HIGH SCHOOL DEGREE is too difficult!!! (I am not talking here about disabled or developmentally delayed kids.)
A GED is an OPTION? what kinds of jobs can you get with an 8th grade education today? Even skilled factory work requires a high school degree!
2
This article perfectly illustrates what is at heart of the political divide in the US. The writer wants juggling and circus lessons for her daughter. And she wants someone else to pay for them.
8
@Reader In Wash, DC
You totally missed her point. Her point was that in the United States, crucial personnel are missing in public schools, or have to be shared between schools: librarians, counselors, teachers of the arts, custodians, etc. Budget cuts and bad economies mean the basic infrastructure of a school; buildings, classes, and teachers, are neglected. While in Germany, school is seen as vital, to be highly funded.
Of course, no one expects the level of funding as there is in Germany. However, it would be nice to see classrooms repaired, libraries opened and stocked, subjects like Art and Music being fully funded, counselors available for anything from college advice to crisis counseling, etc.
Instead, we have politicians who know little or nothing about education wanting to use it as one of their platforms. We have businessmen running for or getting appointed to school boards, who have the mind-set of a profit-making venture with children as the product. We have for-profit charter schools with the mentality that all these children need is a uniform and humiliation if they don't perform, along with finding ways to pressure parents to withdraw low-performing students. Our leaders vilify teachers as the sole cause of our students' educational problems.
Education is vital if you want to "make America great again". However, it needs to be funded appropriately in order to be up to the task. And, most importantly, public education needs to be a priority.
26
@Reader In Wash, DC,
which is easy to understand once you get the point that all other standard curricula have been taken care of even by the weakest public schools in Germany.
Look at the PISA results and you will see that the students in Germany on average are years ahead of their peers in the US.
So it is easy to ask for additional activities, even for circus lessons if all else has been taken care of.
9
@Reader In Wash, DC
You really do misunderstand the point of the piece.
She wants to have everyone's children to benefit from a good education. And when everyone is educated, we all benefit.
13
It's pretty obvious, as underscored by this essay: many Americans, if not most, would rather fall into a pit of vipers and die an agonizing death, than pay taxes - and certainly not MORE taxes. taxes are a plague and a pestilence and politicians have been winning elections on this issue for decades. Americans, more than most, have been sold this idea for years and it's almost second nature now.
sad.
31
Taxation was at the heart of the original Revolution.
2
The contrast shown in this article is yet another example of how the United (sic) States of America is a rapidly failing country. Red states in particular give little support to education and the citizenry often reflect it - "rolling coal" to purposely pollute the air - for fun! - and electing an ignoramus like Trump.
If I had had my family in Germany for six years and everyone adapted to it, I'd have *never* brought them home, save for visits.
For what? Driving along litter-strewn highways? Going to struggling schools? The chance to be murdered by a psycho with an AR-15??
This article illustrates that we're almost all in ongoing denial that the USA as we knew it is over, gone, done.
29
@Ambient Kestrel, that seems to be the same with quite a few other EU countries and even here in Singapore.
Some of my neighbours, US expats, decided to stay for their kids education sake, even if that means lower chances of a career at home.
That alone tells you a lot of what is going on in the US.
When some happily pay higher taxes to have a better life and a better future for their kids than what they expect in their home country.
That used to happen to people who left Third World countries.
2
Money will destroy this country and only then will it be humble enough to embrace the reality of a successful society.
8
And you didn't even mention the academics! Welcome back to chaos and frenzy, sans the results! US public schools are dreadful, awful institutions of insanity.
7
@Marybeth John That’s a wildly inaccurate statement. When corrected for income, our students score near the top of the international standings. The scores have to be corrected for income to be comparable only because most of the world doesn’t offer the opportunities we do to every child. I agree with the article, but not with your conclusion. The author doesn’t say that US schools are bad, only that they are underfunded and rely on a never ending stream of fundraisers to provide the enrichment that other countries do.
7
@Marybeth John
The article linked below is a bit dated..2014.. but illustrates a point that is not generally known. US schools can be very good if looks at the details. Massachusetts public schools would rank very high in the world if Massachusetts was a country.
One size doesn't fit all.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesmarshallcrotty/2014/09/29/if-massachusetts-were-a-country-its-students-would-rank-9th-in-the-world/#6d29448149bd
3
I have felt your pain! Both my kids went through K-12 in California, and as an East Coast transplant myself, I was completely unprepared for the constant fundraising, particularly as a full-time working mom.
It is so pathetic that an economy that ranks just one rung below Germany (California is 5th; Germany is 4th) cannot find the money (!!??) to properly fund a full education. Our funding models are broken and Prop. 13 is the culprit.
And one other thing: when we talk about full funding, we need to account for all the administrative and teachers' aide positions that have been wiped out since 1978. I am convinced that the expectation for volunteerism at public schools (which, of course, falls disproportionately on the shoulders of Moms) to make up for those lost positions factors in greatly to the decision of whether women become SAHM's. You want to fix inequality in the board rooms of corporate America? Make sure public education has enough money to run schools without an army of mothers.
190
@Sabrina
Some of us, degrees and all, wanted to stay home to be full-time with their children through their vital formative years. A family coming home to a reasonable tidy house and cooked dinner appealed, too.
Fixing inequality is about fixing schools in underprivileged areas so kids don't have to bus for an hour or so to go to a good school where residents often don't want them.
All that having been said, I do believe that public education has been woefully cheated of funds, mostly due to our mad emphasis on tools of war.
11
@barbL That's fine, but I submit that the SAHM job description should not include unpaid public school labor. We are running an entire educational system on the backs of women who are not paid for their considerable efforts. Instead, we could be providing additional jobs for people who need them AND maintain the quality of operations at all public schools if the funding models were changed and we made public education a priority. Personally, I'd be all for declaring a week-long strike of all volunteer moms at every public school in America to prove the point.
34
@Sabrina: Without Prop 13, no one but the wealthy could afford to stay here. Even my well-off son and daughter in law would have to leave if they had to pay tax on the ridiculous current value of their house. She's a teacher, and she'd be gone tomorrow without prop 13. Her replacement would need to make at least 150k to be enticed to come here.
The holdouts with their prop 13-protected houses make up the bulk of the state's middle-priced employees. Without them, you couldn't run schools, cities, or any businesses other than overpaid C-suites.
Ridiculous housing inflation is the problem. Prop 13 is an imperfect mitigation.
11
Do German schools have teacher unions that swallow up every mark of funding,do unions control how schools are run,do unions provide massive funding for political parties?
In California the brightest kids are held back by the slowest kid in class which borders criminality.
Are incompetent German teachers fired or get permanent job protections?
I was fortunate to attend school starting in the early 60's before unions. California schools then were similar to what is described in this article.
We were allowed freedoms commensurate to our ability to be responsible.. doing something stupid resulted in a spanking..occasional fights among boys were settled quickly by the feared dictatorial School principal demanding we shake hands or else...
Parents always backed school authority.
3
Yes, Germany has teacher unions. And everything-else unions. Doctors, professors, engineers. Unions protect workers from capricious management.
12
@Lane — Germany has very strong unions. As for the rest of your trip down memory lane, well...no.
9
@Lane—right, the unions, by advocating for more funding for academics. cultural enrichment, and teacher salaries high enough to attract the brightest collegians (an idea that is ubiquitous in law and tech), are the problem; not the administrative bloat and incompetence, the cultural addiction to sports and pop music (at all income and education levels) and disparagement of academic brilliance. And of course, the teachers union is the reason that parents do not back the teachers.
3
The problem is comparing with California. "A few points more" than in California means what? Higher taxes than anywhere else in the US. Illegals weighing down school budgets?
Perhaps a better choice of where to live might behoove the author.
5
@kwb We pay no where near the amount of property tax that comparable communities pay in the Northeast. Schools in Massachusetts and the NY metro are consistently higher rated than ours, even though our property values are higher. So, yeah. Sign me up for higher taxes if it means we get better funded schools that don't require parents to pay for supplies and classroom "wish lists", or to be bus drivers for field trips, or to grade papers for teachers so teachers can focus on teaching.
8
@kwb—right, like maybe West Virginia or Mississippi, where the aversion to taxes have created schoolsystems that are the envy of the world—not.
2
I lived in Germany during the 1980s working as a photographer for the US Army and got to see a large portion of the then West Germany in my early and mid 20’s. It was a revelation for a kid raised in Baby Boom America where we were told that America was the “greatest country on earth” and that we had it better than any people on earth.
I have long contended if Joe and Jane Six-Pack could see how the average family lives in many of the social democracies of Europe we would have a political revolution here in the United States. It always intrigued me that most of the people who claimed the US was the best did not have a passport and had never spent any time outside our country. If they had travelled, it was on a tightly controlled tourist friendly hit and run trip- not a chance to in one place for a season and learn of the people and culture.
It is said you can tell the heart of a society in how it treats the most vulnerable. In America we are increasingly making our elderly work well past their ability in order to survive, we are letting our public schools rot before our eyes, we let addicted and mentally ill people struggle homeless on the street, and have people wth catastrophic illness beg for money in cans at the local 7-11 or Circle K. We burden young adults with massive college debt that burdens the most productive and creative period of their lives.
What that says about our nation is not pretty. It does not have to be this way, my fellow citizens.
658
@David Gregory: Amen--well said!!!
38
I spent some time in German schools. I was in Munich no less. I can tell you without a doubt Germany is vastly preferable to the American school system. There's not even room for debate. American schools are absolutely terrible by comparison. It's literally the difference between enjoying school everyday and facing education with a mounting daily mixture of anxiety and boredom. And this is coming from one of those children who rode the train every morning. Germany: Awesome. America: Terrible.
I also happen to agree with Germany's approach to student track division. However, I don't think the division should start as early as fourth grade. I also don't think the decision should be entirely performance based. Grades might recommend gymnasium but you might end up railroading some children into a career path they ultimately won't prefer. Some smart children prefer not to go to university even if they are smart enough to get in. Germany's system could use a little more nuance.
Otherwise though, sign me up. I'm happy to pay more in taxes if I can expect an outcome like Germany's in return. I think of nothing better as public investment really.
25
@Andy: German is also overwhelmingly white, culturally the same and ethnically all Christian. We'll see how well the integrate their Muslim minorities in the next decade!
You are comparing apples and oranges here -- sure, a German school in VERY WEALTHY MUNICH (!!!) is better than a lousy failing American school in Camden, New Jersey.
But it is NOT BETTER than our top public schools in areas as wealthy as Munich. I'd put our TOP schools up against any schools in Germany!
I'll compare our worst performing schools to German schools, when Germans have schools filled with poor inner city blacks and masses of illegal aliens from Central America and Mexico.
4
"Based on their academic performance in fourth grade, children in Germany are divided into three tracks. I do not agree with this system but high-performing children benefit greatly."
What of those who are not considered to be "high-performing" at this young age? This system seems absurd - reason enough to not be dazzled by all the free perks.
4
@C. Williams
Those children can go to a vocational school where they are taught not only academic subjects but also participate in vocational training. Many choose this route even if qualified for gymnasium (sp?). Also, if qualified for higher level academics, a student may switch. Having said this, I think there is some social value in parents helping out in schools and/or organized activities although I too hate selling stuff.
2
@Judith Triggs
I'm glad that they can switch, but I would still be concerned about teachers/administrators picking and choosing between children at this age and what effects it might have on the child ie stigma, confidence. Perhaps i'm over-reacting, but i was a public school kid who was more or less forced to go to a prep HS - being able to participate in choices about your future, even if not fully, seems empowering however.
2
@C. Williams : My son was tracked at the middle track in Munich. He has done excellent ,although as a student he just squeaked through as he has never liked school. He did go on to college/university. What is not mentioned here is the unpaid ( school level ) paid ( university) apprenticeships one does as a student and this is where my son excelled. I can also comment that my friends sons went the lower level and went on to be an electrician through benefit of the paid apprenticeships BUT then had a change of heart went back to get his higher degree to go on to University. There are ways to adapt to this change of mind. All free ! No student loans. No worries about health care.
16
Try Sarasota High School. They perform an actual circus; or did do back in the 1950s when I was in attendance.
4
I moved from Brooklyn to Frankfurt not quite a year ago, so I'm experiencing some of the benefits the author describes. We definitely like the independence - our boys, 7 and just turned 9, walk the majority of way to school themselves, and to their afterschool program with a few other kids but not grownups. I like the less structured play, too.
However, we miss some parts of Brooklyn, too. Majority of my kids' friends are white and blonde. They don't seem to teach any sort of anti-bullying or "be kind" message. Sometimes it felt like overkill in Brooklyn (we lived in Park Slope), but I'd rather have it than not.
Like the author, the gymnasium system and general class stratification bothers me.
Also, the US that welcomed the immigrants (realize that's NOT the case so much now) and sold the dream and lets a lot of people get ridiculously wealthy also created some amazing technological, medical, and financial advancements that didn't happen in other countries.
It's really complex. Sometimes I worry about my children getting behind academically and that the utter lack of diversity will be bad for them ... but mostly I hope the other life experiences will outweigh those possible challenges.
12
I don't think you need to worry about your kids getting behind academically. Our daughter is also at school in Frankfurt, and anyone we know who has relocated from Germany to the US has found that their kids end up being way ahead. Some friends of ours recently moved back to the US, with their 12 and 10 year old kids (who'd done most of their schooling within the German system). The younger child, who had struggled to get good grades in math in Germany, was suddenly the best in the class... The grading system is very tough in Germany - getting a Note 1 is not easy!
5
@Karen,
don't worry about the academic quality of your kids school in Germany.
PISA, that an education ranking, consistently shows European schools vastly superior to US education, in some cases even years ahead.
2
Pay some taxes you'll have good schools. Not complicated. Look at Great Neck or Scarsdale. You get what you pay for, usually. When you don't pay you get zilch. Maybe Germans consider children important. Maybe Germany is an actual country with shared goals rather than an amalgam of states whose only commonality is contempt for each other. Americans talk a good story...
34
@sunnyshel Agree, but California has laws in place that don't allow property taxes to go directly to the local schools. They get sent up to Sacramento and are then redistributed across the state in a really complicated funding model. So what that means is, the meager amount of property taxes that have been suppressed by Prop. 13 are spread thinly across all public school districts. As a work-around, non-profit "ed foundations" have been set up in each district to fundraise the difference between what the state gives them and what schools really need to function. It's a mess. So even though a district like Palo Alto (comparable income-wise to Scarsdale or Great Neck) has residents with multi-million dollar properties, they still get funded the same way as every other district with similar qualities. So in essence, the parents of those communities are taxing themselves to make up the difference, instead of spreading the cost across the entire community/state.
4
@Sabrina
And that's the way a Democracy should work. Everyone is entitled to a free and equal public education. Those people who have multi-million dollar properties no doubt have multi-million dollar salaries. How did they get these millions? They work in California in the United States of America. They should pay back the place that has allowed them to live the way they do.
2
@Tenkan Completely agree. However, Prop 13, as the author mentions, has created a structural deficit. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger, a former Republican governor, said it needs to be repealed. But he was shut up by the Jarvis anti-tax nuts and no Democratic politician has challenged this "third rail of politics". Maybe the recent blue wave will strengthen the spines of Democrats to do so.
1
Americans in the abstract love to think they live in the greatest country that ever existed or they wear red hats that say 'make America great again'. Right-wing conservatives have gotten this country to drink the Kool Aid. Don't want accessible to all heath care, want schools that are always skating on the edge financially except in very wealthy districts, don't want higher taxes 'cause you don't care about infrastructure and all the things that were great in America once, want to drown in student debt for your education, want to be in a country awash with guns and risk being shot, want to live in a country where the popular vote doesn't get you elected, want to live in a country where the commander-in-chief is a "maniac running around with a meat cleaver" stay in America. Actually I'd like to live in a tiny country like Luxembourg were I could go in the morning to a little cafe, read the paper knowing my government is not in a position to do anything disastrous to the rest of the world.
31
At the start of each school year, you will also have the experience of buying $100 worth of school supplies for each of your children. You will wander around big stores looking for protractors and scientific calculators. You will be asked to contribute tissues and copy paper for the classroom. Kids from poor families cannot afford this, but there will be charity drives organized to which you will be asked to contribute. I expect in some schools students will be asked to buy their own desks.
10
Put aside the tracking, which divides students into college-track and non-college track as early as fourth grade, and focus on two things:
1) teacher working hours, and
2) per pupil expenditures
German teachers are asked to work more hours than American teachers. I would love to attend the school board meeting when Ms. Dumas suggests her children’s teachers work longer hours. She also neglects to mention that per pupil expenditures in the US are higher than in Germany, especially in the larger cities where (paradoxically?) pupil performance is the worst. Can I also attend the school board meeting where she advocates that money and resources be allocated according to student test scores at age 10, as in Germany?
It isn’t a lack of money for schools in the US- I know, a liberal talking point that will never go away- but how and on whom that money is spent.
11
@JB
Part of the problems you so eloquently detailed is that education is not respected in this country, nor are teachers. As a former teacher, I can tell you that if the profession were more highly thought of, teachers would be willing to spend more hours at work. We pay lip service to schools but do little to truly support education.
9
If lack of money for schools is a liberal talking point, how do you explain the recent protests by teachers in red states like Arizona and Oklahoma over lack of funding and lack of livable salaries?
6
@JB Germans are smarter with their tax dollars than we are, especially when it comes to education and transportation. We lived on the economy in Munich in the 1960s and I too went all over town on buses/trams as a 12 year old. Very safe then, and now. Why do we have so many predators in the US? This is a big story NYT should cover. Still rankles me we subsidize Europe's defense and pharma when they have the wherewithal.
5
This article highlights an inconvenient truth for our citizenry – we do not place a high value on education in this country. Try and deny that, but it is self-evident. We refuse to fully fund higher education for all. Our public school K-12 teachers struggle with low salaries and inadequate resources.
We are asked to believe that these things exist because "we can't afford" to fund our educational system – a laughable conceit, since we are by far the wealthiest country in the world.
It all comes back to what we value. If Americans demanded that their politicians fund higher ed, removing the privatized system we have now based on subsidized loans, it would happen. But we don't. Sure, there's plenty of lip-service about how important education is, but the reality is plain to see, especially when contrasted with a society like modern Germany where quite obviously education is valued highly as a public good.
As a college professor in this country I have seen the results of he German, and other European, educational system. The exchange students we get are FAR better educated than our own system. So I ask you – if we are such a great country, why can the Germans do this but we cannot? One answer – values.
35
We can argue about the state of education in the United States all day, but the fact remains that the public education mandate in this country is, for better or worse, very, very broad. Glance at some statistics about refugees/immigrants, special education, etc. before condemning funding in U.S. schools. U.S. schools take all comers in a way most countries don't (and certainly not Germany, where kids are tracked at a very early age).
Comparing us to Germany is truly apples and oranges.
7
@Sarah A If anything Canada schools that are far more diverse than those in the US, the percentage of immigrants in Canada are multiples of those in the US. Yet Canada ranks around 7th while the US is the 20s for education. I don't think your explanations hold up.
17
Is it laudable to pretend putting every kid on track for college, but having large numbers of them ending up with nothing at all? I some districts you have 20% of kids leaving school without high school diploma. Which is a sure way into a minimum wage or criminal career.
I prefer them taking the not-so-book-smart kids on a path for a vocational diploma and a trade with decent pay and career options.
6
@Sarah A,
that is a myth as nearly all international education rankings like e.g. PISA will tell you.
Much of this issue is "solved" by our system of financial merit. If you can afford a top notch suburb with matching schools, your child will get pretty much an equal education. If not, tough, you need to make more money. There is a limited work around if you can afford a parochial school, but that is a whole other category of self selected people, and like a charter school, the private school can eliminate the problem student....
My biggest take away from Germany with children is that the playgrounds have all sorts of things that test balance and agility. The zip lines and rolling barrels are things that would never fly in the US...my kids loved the German playgrounds, designed for kids, not liability juries.
14
I’m surprised to see so many comments referring to this article as simply complaining. What I read is a light hearted attempt to ask why has the worlds premier public educational system fallen so badly?
First, we have no national educational system. We instead have a patchwork of local, county and state school districts, each with varying standards and each with a different funding base.
Because we’ve tied school funding to real estate taxes we’ve created a bifurcated sytem. The “better” schools will always be in the wealthier neighborhoods and everyone else must scramble for resources, better trained treachers and those badly needed art and music programs.
While some quickly blame teachers unions, those same unions had to lead statewide strikes, not just for better pay, but for better funding for all children.
Politicians always claim there isn’t enough money and more funds for schools will mean higher taxes. But we’ve seen them time and again cutting taxes for the wealthy and simply shifting the school tax burden to middle and working class home owners.
This makes no sense, unless you believe campaign contributions are more important than children’s education.
A school dollar, well spent today will return ten fold over time by producing well educated citizen workers. Children are the human capital of our future. You can pay now, or pay for not paying now in the future.
29
do not overlook: our genius President loves the uneducated -
so much easier to hoodwink.
5
Anybody else remembering that old bumper sticker?:
It will be a great day when our schools get all the money they need and the Air Force has to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber.
29
What this article fails to address is the fact that the US spends more per pupil than almost all of the other developed countries and yet our students perform so poorly. In point, the US spends well more than Germany to educate our students. Where is all of the money going? How do we improve student outcomes? We should start with raising the quality of our teachers. Her in NYC, teacher candidates had a hard time passing a basic English exam, so the teachers union argued for dropping the test. In countries like Finland, teachers come from the top ten percent of the university students while here in the US they normally come from the bottom 25%. Here is a better article that will give more perspective.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/07/us-education-spending-finland-south-korea
13
" Her in NYC, teacher candidates had a hard time passing a basic English exam, so the teachers union argued for dropping the test. "
It's an (alleged) equity issue. Look at the statistics of who tends to fail those exams and you'll see.
6
@Common Sense
To my eponymous commenter in NY, NY - one reason America spends so much on education is the absolute explosion of 'special needs' programs.
Many are well needed to help children with true disabling conditions.
However, there is a large component of 'special needs' funding that goes to students from middle to high income families that are gaming the public system to get additional resources for their 'ADHD' and other 'socially' disabled students to cover for their own bad parenting skills.
6
Can anyone explain this sentence?
"On the few occasions when the school organized fund-raising efforts, the recipients were in other countries."
@Oxford96 Yes. It is called charity. Her school had enough. The did not need to raise funds. Schools in other countries do not. So they raised the funds for them.
10
@Oxford96 She means that they didn't have to do fund raising for their own schools, unlike in CA. When they did fund raising, it was to help less fortunate schools outside Germany.
5
@Oxford96 The school was fund-raising for people who live in other countries and needed help. Here in the US, we do that too...in my area usually for natural disaster relief. We don't fund raise here for local Holiday Food baskets any more because its just not fair to ask those who are on free/red lunch to give up their limited resources.
The writer does not understand that fund raising for local school districts are subject to rules and regulations, by state. She is talking about states where local people can fund raise for specific things they want the school to have, such as an art teacher. That's a no can do here...money raised goes to the general budget and the BoE directs how its allocated. Money fund raised will never reach the gen ed classroom, as it will be taken to fund unfunded mandates first. The best NYers can do is donate things, or have the friends/PTO fund an assembly speaker or a bus to an invitation or music audition.....while the school spends every last drop on special education , ELL and security, leaving nonremedial students in study hall.
3
So stay there. If you see Germany as better overall, stay there. Westchester schools are excellent, so move to NY. There are many other places with good schools, move to one of them.
You have choices, make them.
3
@Kam Dog You are missing the point, which is that you should not have to move to find better schools because the resources to make every school a good one should be available. Her related point is that the schools are universally good as a national policy, whereas here the quality is patchwork.
28
@Kam Dog Sure. Everybody can afford to move to Westchester, but aside from that, there's a lot of dirt out there that the rest of us occupy and cannot leave.
5
Ms. Dumas observations highlight the aspirations and failures of American education. “Equal opportunity for all. College for all. Follow your dreams.” Those popular phrases are the bedrock of America’s self image. Ms Dumas’s daughter went to an elite German Gymnasium school for academic achievers. How would she feel if her daughter was tracked into a lower tier after 4th grade? No free college. No professional life. A workers salary for her entire working life. Locked in forever because of weak grades during the first four years of her schooling. I doubt she would be happy. Her situation is similar to New York parents with bright kids who know how to work the system and get their kids into mostly white elite schools then pat themselves on the back for sending their kids to public school.
7
@Padraig Lewis Students not admitted into gymnasium will typically be tracked into a vocational program. Something that the California did away with decades ago.
5
@Padraig Lewis, vocational education is neither non-professional nor dead end. I would argue that my mechanic makes at least as much as I do, with my master's degree. There are other avenues to get back on the college track. As a former school teacher in the US (for 20 years) I think the biggest blow to our system was No Child Left Behind. Bush's effort to make everyone take algebra destroyed voc ed, put so many children on a failing path of college prep without providing any other education opportunities before graduation.
126
@Padraig Lewis : My son was not tracked into the highest level, he was the middle level, my friends sons were tracked at the lower level. One went back retracked himself and went on to University, one did vocational studies, my son went on to University. The article DOESNT talk about the vocational schools and paid apprenticeships which lead to well paid jobs as an electrician or plumber. All the children I know and some that have retracked themselves have gone on to excellent to very good paid jobs that include : health care and paid vacations. NO student debt ! There are a lot of nuances in the system that this article does not discuss. You don't have to be fast tracked at the higher level to get further education and later on a good lifestyle with a well paid job.
9
There are plenty of private schools in California that provide German level quality and like health care, in the U.S., if you want better results, write a check. That way you are only paying for yourself and your kids.
2
@jim90.1 Yeah, because only the children of the well to do deserve a good education...
10
@jim90.1, her kids went to public school in Germany, paid for by taxes. US residents also pay taxes, but get much less in schools. The point of the article is that we're already 'writing the checks', but getting very little in return.
6
I would never have kids in this country. Terrible schools are just one of many reasons. And before anyone had a chance, I already got a second passport and am planning my exit now. Best of luck with your falling apart infrastructure and weekly mass killings.
5
This article is not exactly perfect—some of the examples seem like froth—but the basic message is one that needs to get out.
Life in the US for people with children is filled with serious problems and pitfalls. How can you afford to live in an area with good schools? How can you get your kids into good colleges and pay for it? What about healthcare? What if something goes wrong? People here have been consciously brainwashed to believe that these problems are facts of life—that’s just the way it has to be. After all this is the greatest country in the world with nothing to learn from anyone!
In actual fact there is no country in the developed world that sacrifices its population in the same way as the US. Other countries actually fund healthcare and high quality education. Instead we have a whole industry (Koch-funded Charles Murray comes to mind) devoted to the proposition of US uniqueness and European decadence. Very handy to keep the Kochs’ taxes low. In Trump’s tax cuts we gave away so much money to businesses that they couldn’t figure out what to do with it all—so they gave it back to their investors via stock buybacks!
We’re fed a whole litany of false bogeyman (hard to count all the countries that are stealing from us), but the real enemies are closer to home. There is no reason life in this country needs to be such an uncertain struggle for so many people. It’s that way because the people running things want it that way.
20
This article and mostly the comments really illustrate how Americans like to pit themselves in the exceptionalism, wrapped in all the freedom and anti-socialism the Constitution can muster, without ever questioning the myth they are inoculated from birth.
“Things need changin’ everywhere you go” sang Johnny Cash and it seemed not many were listening.
Some things work better in other countries and that is just a fact (ever used a train in Germany or France and in the US?).
Some things work better almost everywhere else in the world for less money per capita (healthcare, public transportation...).
I personally never understood the undying reverence and patriotic loyalty of scammed, short-changed veterans. Especially on this day of remembrance of the end of WW1, I remember the accounts of soldiers who felt disgust and anything but loyalty for their own commanding officers who would not hesitate to send them in harm’s way for nothing more than asserting their own authority.
Are US teachers becoming the “French Poilus?”
2
Serious, non rhetorical question: what are special education services like in the German public schools?
4
@Left Coast The kids get one-on-one help in regular classrooms.
2
I'd say patchy. The classes are large and my experience of the Gymasium system is that it's pretty much sink or swim, special needs be damned. You can apply to get extra time for completing tests, but there isn't much else - that I've observed, at least. I haven't seen any examples of one-on-one help; not on a regular basis, although the school psychologist might sit in occasionally. Most of the kids I've heard of that have had any kind of 'issues' have ended up leaving the state system and going to special (ie private) schools - I know of two students who have done this because the school couldn't cope with their ADHD issues. Many of the schools aren't even wheelchair accessible.
3
First, the school system in Germany is not national. It is run state by state, quite independently. Sure, Bavaria is well known for its good schools, but look -- for example -- to the East, and think then about inequality. My guess is it's not accidental that you are sending your daughter to school in Munich, already a site of immense privilege. Does this author know nothing about Germany as a whole? Or perhaps she knows and -- smugly trusting in what she supposes is the ignorance of all Americans other than herself -- pretends not to. Secondly, it's utterly unpersuasive to acknowledge and then try to brush under the rug the fact that students FROM FOURTH GRADE are tracked in serious and (for many students) restrictive ways. Glad you all are among the lucky ones! What if you weren't? You don't care to ask that question, which make this piece seem not only unpersuasive, but also narcissistic. Sure, US public schools have many terrible problems. But this piece offers no insight or help, only badly informed, self-congratulatory complaint. Yuck.
7
There is a lot of criticism in the comments about our three-tier-system. However, if you are not among the lucky ones as you put it, you still have all the possibilities. Let's assume you are a late bloomer. You went to middle school (up to grade 9 when you normally finish middle school). If you have good grades, you can attend tenth grade, often at your own middle school. Then you can go to the Berufsoberschule or the Fachoberschule (you might compare these school types to a senior high school) and you can still go to university. No, your fate is not decided when you are ten years old.
By the way, I am talking about the Bavarian school system. In different German states there are different systems. Some states have something similar to your high school.
If you don't have the grades to go to university, you can become a skilled worker i.e. you go to professional school and you work in a company. That takes three years, then you take a theoretical and a practical exam. Depending on your job, you can make more money than some university graduates.
8
@Ellen K.
To add to you questioning the quality of the education in East Germany. I went to school in a very rural area in East Germany and had an excellent education. Even though my parents were low income, I went on to university. I got a state student credit to pay for my living expenses. No interests and you only pay back 50% of it, starting 4 years after you have your degree...
3
We spend more per student than any other nation on earth—except Switzerland, and we get less for it. Our schools, as measured on standardized tests, are consistently ranked behind all other industrialized nations—and many of our inner-city schools fall behind that of some 3rd world countries. Some would remind us of being at the circus—so no special “circus classes” required.
Obviously we spend enough on education. And this is despite the fact our kids spend Less time in class (180 days) than most other nations.
I’m not sure where the money goes—but I highly suspect, if we take a look at the top-down, centrally planned government controlled and union infested aspect of our educational system, the answer will reveal itself.
By the way—hoohray for The NY Times—who never misses an opportunity to extol the virtues of European Socialism. As the writer glowingly asserts, “We spend a bit more in taxes, but boy is it worth it!” Ahhhh yes, Bernie Sanders couldn’t have said it any better.
But ask yourselves—honestly—when was the last time you encountered a German, Italian, French, Swiss, Spanish or Greek tourist in This country?
The Europeans may have created their own brand of utopia over here, but they have also rendered themselves “pocket change societies”. Sorry...given the choice to make and spend my own money—or have most of it taxed away under the guise of “The Greater Good”, I’ll choose the American way every time.
9
@Jesse The Conservative
Pray your health holds up.
4
@Jesse The Conservative. Having taught in both union and non-union US education settings, and taking a 17% pay cut in the latter, I can state unequivocally that the teacher quality is better in union states. When I taught in VA (a right to work state) we had quality teachers fleeing NC to work there, a relatively better situation. I can't even imagine the drek left in states like NC or KS that refuse to fund education at anything close to appropriate levels. You may want to turn your ire to the administration of said districts rather than blaming the unions of teachers who easily put in 10-12 hour work days.
2
@Jesse The Conservative: visit one of our national parks in the west. There are a lot of European tourists there.
3
I'm confused as to why this article, which is written in first person by Firoozeh Dumas, is illustrated with a drawing of a blonde woman. Firoozeh Dumas does not have dark hair. Representation matters.
1
Root cause of America’s failing health&human services/public education & physical infrastructures: the systematic redistribution of collective wealth over the last 35 years from the working classes & middle classes to the top 10% via tax policy & tax loopholes & through subsidies provided to big agriculture:
https://www.heritage.org/agriculture/report/how-farm-subsidies-harm-taxpayers-consumers-and-farmers-too
And to corporations: https://mic.com/articles/85101/10-corporations-receiving-massive-public-subsidies-from-taxpayers
Congress is so in the pockets of external interests that they are no longer serving the interests of people. Nor are they upholding their oath of office since they’ve certainly forgotten what the preamble (mission statement) of the Constitution is:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
As far as the nation goes: We’ve shot ourselves in the foot & we are slowly bleeding out.
5
Absolutely. Spot on.
2
American School = Jesus School ....
OK by me if it keeps our children safe.
What's more important? Good education and safe mass transit, or constant war, a gigantic national debt, and no hope for the future? Where's your patriotism?
3
I live in Munich, have a 13 year old daughter going to public school here. I have NO idea what the autor is talking about and to which (wonderful) school his kids went to in Munich... certainly not one of the public schools here where the paint is falling off the walls, 30% of the classes do not take place due to lack of teachers and the food is expensive and aweful. Education is on the last place of German government agenda. Like the US. Greetings from Munich
6
If you walk into an emergency room in the United States and say you want to kill yourself, and have a credible plan, the American taxpayer will spend large sums of money to save you from yourself. Hundreds of thousands of dollars that could be spent on education will be showered upon you.
2
Betsy DeVos could not have come at a better time. What does Mr. Trump's Education Secretary have to do with what goes on in California, the most broke state in the USA ?? Calif. has $500 billion in unfunded pension liabilities which is why our state taxes and 10% sales taxes go to pensions, and you have to sell donuts to buy pencils and paper for your schools.
4
When I am in Germany I am amazed. You would think they won the war.
7
It seems to me that a great many of activities Ms Dumas is going to miss are ones that, in my youth, were provided by my parents, relatives and friends. School was strictly a place to learn the three 'r's and other serious school subjects. When we went anywhere outside the school for educational purposes, it was to places like the Unitied Nations (the building brand new at that time), museums, serious music experiences, etc. We did not have a school circus, juggling, pools, etc., simply a gym or schoolyard to play in. Of course, most of our mothers did not work while we were of grade school age, just about all of us had two-parent homes, the parents all actually married, and were exposed to an incredibly serious work ethic. Things have changed considerably since then, of course, but is not Ms. Dumas's article pretty much predicated on the unmentioned premise that parents no longer have the time to do such things with their kids, maybe not even the desire to do so, and think its a wonderful idea for schools to take over bringing up the kids and giving them experiences that used to be home-learned?
7
I have two young granddaughters living in Lindau, Germany, a beautiful town on the border between Germany and Switzerland. The public schools are not referred to as "Montessori" schools, but the operate very closely to Maria Montessori's educational principals. The activities are very 'hands on,' involved with nature and the outdoors. As for the 3 track system for the higher grades, as a public school teacher in Texas, I back it all the way. Kids can follow their interests, whether academic or vocational. Future teachers, for example, take a vocational track. This doesn't mean they aren't highly trained in academics. The public school system there provides great preparation for all types of professions. I hate that my family is so far away, but I'm grateful that my granddaughters have the benefit of such an enlightened system. (Also grateful for Skype!!)
12
I bristled at your mention of academic tracks in Germany. I lived in Germany and feel that a single test can pigeonhole a child academically for life. In Finland, educators found when they took away the tracks completely, where gifted children were separated out, and concentrated on children's education as a whole, it raised the bar for every child. As a result Finland has gone from one of the worst-performing academic countries in the world to surpassing Germany and being on par with the top Asian countries. The US offers gifted students many opportunities to excel, but I think it is possibly at the expense of the great percentage that are not.
8
I have paid over $500 for one son in High School to participate in extra events. Music and many other electives are covered in my State. Why would I be doing fund raisers for my own child? Why should my neighbor who has no kids be forced to pay more in taxes for my kid? Why can't my other neighbor send his kids to the charter school, that is closer to my house than the public school. In Utah charter schools are still public, and funded at a slightly lower rate per student, so public schools actually get more money with charter schools. In fact our public school couldn't end year around school schedule until parents paid for a new charter school. Then the very thing that public school teacher's unions fought, not only provided more openings for teachers, but it lowered the number of students per teacher in our public school. Stay in Germany if you insist that other people support your own offspring.
2
@Nichol
Wow. How selfish!
Are you not aware that "other people" supported your (presumed) public education beyond any taxes that your parents paid? As they did for me, and others do for my grandkids now in school.
Free public education funded by what I describe was one of the genius ideas of the new republic. Not in the constitution, but over the next several decades Americans implemented this amazing idea. That you didn't need to be wealthy or lucky to be literate.
My only income is Social Security. But I have voted for every school bond issue that has come up. Why? Because I remember the beautiful, new elementary school with music and arts programs that I went to courtesy of "those others" back in the 1950's. An era that despite political differences, virtually all Americans understood and were willing to pay for the free public education of its future citizens.
8
@Nichol, we all pay taxes to fund schools because we live in a society that benefits from an educated population. Your neighbor with no kids will one day be old and cared for by these students of today. His/her car will be repaired by these students, his house fixed by these students. Without a well-educated population, we all suffer. In the US students are urged to participate in fundraisers because communities refuse to fund bonds to provide necessary funds. It's a sad state of affairs.
4
@Nichol,
public education provides a future for kids that make a middle class.
Any country, that is successful in the long run, runs on its middle class.
Therefore a successful public education system makes for a successful country.
So you neighbour, even though he has no kids, will pay higher taxes to ensure his own safety and future tax income of the state that in return will provide for his well being.
It's that simple.
This is not rocket science, this is simple common sense.
2
Based on their academic performance in fourth grade, children in Germany are divided into three tracks.
When the Ivy League has open admissions, they will be ruined like our public schools are.
3
Munich sounds like my life on Long Island, 1965, minus the circus classes.
3
If you love your child don’t come back to the US.
5
Why would the Nytimes want to fact check and article that promotes a liberal agenda. The statement “for a few more percentage points in taxes”, we get these amazing benefits. According to the OEDC, Germany has the 2nd highest tax burden of any developed country, Germany also controls who is a citizen requiring that citizens not only speak German but cannot be on the dole. As such the structural burdens on social systems differs from the US. Finally, ask an immigrant living in Bremen whether the schools ar as described. You might also ask a student in Greenwich CT.
5
@Chris I live in Germany, and of course immigrants have to learn German if they want to live here. But we also have have free courses for immigrants so they can learn German more easily. And the higher tax money also goes to universal health care, better payment for teachers, cleaner streets and so on, so it's most definitely worth it
5
@Niko - My point is that the article glosses over material facts in an effort to promote a particular position. There is real reason to debate the social contract between government and people but I do take offense when the Press chooses winners and losers though less than complete factual disclosure.
2
THE US HAD IT'S CHOICE
Bernie Sanders run on the "Nordic" Model. He was informed "We are not Denmark" by HRC , and his economics declared by Paul Krugman in the NYT to be over the Edge
Republicans, Liberals (PK) and mainstream Democrats, ALL, rejected it
2
@Gerhard Sanders promise everything to everyone, a fiscal impossibility especially in this country.
1
@Gerhard
Wrong. Bernie would have TROUNCED trump.
2
@Bob
No he didn't and no it isn't. Just priorities.
The more diverse the US brcomes the less cohesive it is and people belonging ti o e faction see no need to favor or help other factions. The whites are forced by peer oressure to do do but the other groups are each trying to get as much opprtunity for itself. Curently the liberals are pinning for opposing things that cancel each other out and are unwiing to get real.
7
And yet the European colleges are jokes: America has all of the higher - ed crown jewels. Welcome back.
It was less than an average American lifetime ago that we saved Europe from destroying itself...again. We will most likely have to do it a third time; welcome back.
4
@WalkerI don't know where you got the impression from that our colleges are jokes. When have some quite famous and very educational colleges here (which btw. are much cheaper then yours)
7
@Walker,
those days are long gone as you can see in the higher education rankings.
Europeans have closed in and Asian have taken over US colleges and universities.
1
"Parents are expected to donate time and money to make up for what the government can’t provide."
Close but the word you want is "won't" not "can't"
5
Why in heavens name would you want to come back here?
6
I suppose they do have a good system of public education.
The Times, and other periodicals of a purportedly progressive vein, can be guaranteed to run articles, about once a month at least, which are meant to portray Europe , and especially central Europe, as a society filled to the gills with programs designed to warm the hearts of the most strident advocates of the nanny state.
But these articles haven't mentioned other things: Within the past couple of years I read an article that said that at a pro "Palestinian" rally, the Germans shouted Jews to the Gas.
All synagogues in Germany have been offered 24 hour police protection for YEARS (way before 9/11) because the urge to kill Jews reaches such a fever pitch.
But I am sure they have other good points. As in fascist Italy, I suppose the trains run on time.
2
@David Gottfried, in the past month there has been a massacre at a synagogue and multiple arsons at Chabad/Lubavitch locations around NY. Not saying Germany isn't anti-Semitic, but please don't hold the US up as some idyllic home for the Jews. Germany should be commended for offering the protection to our shuls.
2
@David Gottfried,
yes, Europeans have a problem with some of the immigrants from places the US has bombed back into the stone ages.
But that has nothing to do with the public education system, that is a religious issue.
And BTW, there is no Fascist Italy, at least not in Europe.
1
And you've said nothing of the fact that in Munich you weren't petrified that your kids would be shot at school. Heck, in Munich, you probably rode your bikes to school and not one person screamed or flicked the bird at the intersections, huh?
It's almost as if Americans want to torture themselves, and devise every possible way to make every moment of life more stressful and unpleasant.
Trust: school is going to be worse in America, but so is everything else.
6
The theme is a broken record... Why can not we get some of those Norwegians to move here... Why can not Ametican schools be as good as European Germany. Hillary's basket of deplorables comments.
Yes the other side is worse or better but go out and fix something socially broke down in the world at least once. Something... please.
And then have the sense to not write about how or why you did it.
4
Dear Firoozah, What you want in Munich to have happen in America will never happen, so long as there are shortsighted conservatives that think the government is always bad.
6
Life is full,of choices. If you really think Germany offers a better deal for you, then become a German citizen and live there.
5
@Bill Pasko
And let's not have any discussions on why things may be better outside US!
5
The author wrote,
"Based on their academic performance in fourth grade, children in Germany are divided into three tracks. I do not agree with this system but high-performing children benefit greatly. The top track qualifies for “gymnasium,” the most advanced secondary school, with a curriculum that prepares students for higher education. The gleaming facilities of our daughter’s gymnasium, complete with sports halls, music rooms and a library housing ancient books, rivals those of any top university."
How fortunate that her daughter got into the top track, and how wonderful that school is. But, how about the other two tracks? And, major tracking in 4th grade?
What else isn't right there? Why is there such a resurgence of right-wing Nazi groups? There's clearly a schooling problem there, and Munich was part of East Germany under the fall of the wall.
1
@Aram Hollman
To partially answer your question about the other tracks, perhaps this will be informative: In the early 1990's I had a German gf, came to America with her GI husband. Herta and her sister did not qualify for Gymnasium, but instead were sent to a trade school track. Both attained high levels for their trades, Herta became the executive dining room manager for a pretty large oil company. She worked hard, retired well.
Far better off that me with a post grad degree!
3
@Aram Holloman the other to schools are called the Realschule and the Mittelschule and they are completely fine, just not as high education
4
Couldn't agree more. Lazy reasoning all around.
Ima thinking - is this a race thing ?
To make sure poor folks get nothing - and rich folks get everything ?
cos it sure looks that way from across the big pond
I know founding fathers were slave owners - and as it begins so it ever will be amen. Hmmm.
2
@Frank
The tracks are about school achievement, not wealth. Obviously, there is a high correlation.
The others go to trade schools. Here in America, the non-university track students get what? The opportunity to indebt themselves at the local community college to ............. learn a trade. Free in Germany.
1
But that's socialism. Heaven forbid.
2
@Denis Pelletier,
What Europeans call being conservative would still qualify as socialism in the US.
Life is full of those little differences :-)
with taxes one buys civilisation
7
@Rob van Veggel: If you can trust the people who are spending the tax money to spend it wisely and fairly.
3
The money that could go toward the German equivalent education system is used to pay for millions of illegal immigrant children. Sorry, can't have everything.
5
@jaco,
but you do understand that Germany has taken in some 1.5 mio. refugees since 2015, plus double that amount in family reunion migrants, and still has the kind of education system as shown here - while still having only some 80 mio. people to pay taxes....
1
Our public education system is intentional, by design. Our country wants us [most of us] to be dumb ..
3
To the rich, THEIR children are the future of THEIR country. Good education for every child is a ridiculous loss of money.
The Comments below, where “Go back to Germany” seems to be a common theme, tell as much about Americans as the article. As with health care, we can’t examine the systems used by other countries, because we are the best, and our education system just can’t be improved.
19
@Pete
Amen! Because we're Number One!
Of course, the deplorables mindlessly chanting their ignorance don't understand what we are number one at.
Expensive, non-universal health care.
The most expensive cellular and broadband services in the world.
Too much money going to the military.
Etc.
1
In the early 1960s I went to a German school for two years starting in 5th grade. I came from California, and returned.
Back then life was very different in Germany than it is now -- it was still recovering from WW II.
Predictably I struggled with German, but picked it up well enough to do OK in everything but literature. Discipline in the German school was very strict -- students were hit with a ruler for minor infractions, like not doing one's homework. Curiously boys were hit on the head or shoulders, girls on the hand. I still have a lump on my head I think came from a ruler.
Serious infractions were rare, mostly for fighting and almost always by boys -- they resulted in being taken away for a more serious supervised caning, and generally never returning to the school. I don't know where they went. As a result there was zero bullying -- had this not been the system, I likely would have been bullied as "fremde," average size, no good at soccer.
The boys all wore lederhosen and a white shirt, the girls all wore a dirndl and a white blouse with a peter pan collar. The girls could wear stockings -- the boys envied that in the winter; we played soccer in the snow.
Germany was still poor, but with a solidarity not seen today. Children were seen as a national asset, the country's future, valued, taken care of ... trained and disciplined.
I returned to America, the land of you're-on-your-own-pal.
5
@Lee Harrison
Lederhosen and Dirndl is a dead giveaway for Bavaria. Would you consider East Texas as being representative of the US on the whole?
When I attended school in the 70s and 80s in northern Germay, corporal punishment was unthinkable. In Indiana, in the 80s, it had only been abolished a few years prior.
3
@Eric -- You're right but miss my point, and perhaps I didn't make it very well. I do hope you realize those years were very different in Germany than the ones that came a decade or two later.
I was sent back to the US for several reasons, but a big one is that there was no chance I'd pass the exam (in German of course) to go to a gymnasium.
I came back quite culturally disoriented, to California schools in the Bay Area, in the 60s. My high school had severe racial tensions, a minor riot, some heroin dealing and a lot of lesser drugs, a lot of bullying, and a general air of the inmates running the asylum. The German school looked pretty good in comparison, even getting whacked on the head once and awhile.
3
No mention of school shootings....
9
And best of all, parents don't have to worry about their children being murdered by a gunman with an assault weapon!
15
It's America's greatest shame. The condition of our public schools and education is a disgrace. I don't have children, but I see your children and they are uneducated.
10
US Education is doomed. Thank you Republicans.
8
@Mike
Actually, Mike, the worst school systems in the U.S. are usually found in our biggest cities, which are usually run by Democrats. The once-excellent New York City school system was pretty much brought to its knees by people like Al Shanker and Randi Weingarten, neither of them Republican icons.
8
What the author writes is no doubt true but what he forgets is that we make the best bombs in the world--at least we're good at something.
4
Shovel 50% of your country's discretionary treasure down the DoD rathole and the result is teachers who are forced to dip into their marginalized salary to buy supplies.
11
@Plennie Wingo
You're right. We should cut defense spending. Time for our "allies" e.g. dependents Europe, Saudi Arabia, Israel, South Korea Japan and others to start paying for their own defense.
Especially the Europeans. For over a century (WWI, WWII, Marshall Plan, cold war, NATO) It's been one way flow of lives and money from the US to Europe.
4
@Matt -- psst ... when did we enter WW II, and why?
2
...I’ve always thought Germany and America were the most similar nations in the world... Obviously Germany is America without minorities
2
@Manhattan Morning: Actually Germany has large populations of people who are not ethnically German. It's an issue over there.
1
@Manhattan Morning, Germany has accepted more migrants from Africa than any other European nation.
2
Curious: How much do school teachers earn in Germany?
Curiouser: Circus lessons?
1
@Chris Rasmussen a living wage, actually.
2
@Chris Rasmussen, they make enough not to need a second job to have a decent life and they even get paid during school holidays.
1
this family was luck enough to have been in Bavaria, in the Munich area.. it has the best educational system in Germany. Go look at other public schools in Germany.. a very very far cry from this Munich paradise..
7
so make sure to not vote republican.
4
Firoozeh, perhaps you should rethink returning to the United States given your delicate sensibilities. You lament over poor state education in CA but what you should be worrying about is returning to wildfires, mud slides, droughts, water shortages and random slaughter of its people by deranged gunmen. Public transportation, outside of a random bus or two, is non-existent. LA and San Francisco have legions of homeless living in the streets making walking treacherous. FYI there is a human waste hotline you can call in San Francisco if you happen upon a mess in the streets. Should you decide to return you'll probably want to go private with your educational needs. California ranks 44th in pre-K to 12th grade education, just behind South Carolina yet ahead of Louisiana; but they get high marks for trying! On the bright side, California has miles of beautiful beaches, spectacular mountains and In-N-Out Burger. A double double, animal fries and a chocolate shake beats a fresh pretzel any day of the week.
6
The U.S. educational system is an attempt to circumvent the natural distribution (bell curve) of intelligence.
Please calm down, and don’t accuse me of being a racist, until I assert the U.S. system is attempting to mitigate the fact that until Adverse Childhood Events, and attempts by the power elite (to minimize the competition their children will face in academics and careers) takes their toll, intelligence can be found evenly distributed across all zip codes, skin tones, and income levels.
So, let’s sprinkle in some lead poisoning, add a Gap Year or two,and see if it helps Buffy and Biff “get better grades”.
Don’t forget legacy admissions, and personality scores, and the “can’t study for” SAT test, the irony being the SAT was devised to filter out those dull Jewish “grinds”, who went to school to study, not join perverse “societies” of alcohol use and sexual assault.
The irony being that a man named Kaplin proved it was possible to study for the SAT test, just not the way the white shoe Eastern establishments expected.
4
Blame the teachers' unions and their corrupt Democrat Party enablers for the sorry state of American schools.
6
I fail to understand.....you are moving from what sounds like paradise to a state with a poor school system not to mention terrible drought and wild fires... add to that the very real threat of a major earthquake.....why?
@mike hailstone, it sounds like her family had a temporary overseas position and it's ending. People think it's so easy to get citizenship elsewhere - it's really not. We're American living in Australia, and I constantly see messages on our expat message board asking for ideas on how to extend their stay here. Many don't really want to return, but it's the only country they have.
3
OMG - she's become a socialist! Please alert INS and the TSA before she enters the US and begins to spread these crazy stories.
1
Our granddaughter is studying the Bible in English class.
In a Public High School.
In Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.
1
If she is studying it as a piece of literature, I see no problem with that. Students very often don't understand Biblical allusions in great works of literature, so there very well may be a pedagogical reason for teaching the Bible.
9
@s.whether They certainly have religion classes in Bavaria too! Besides, the Bible is an important historical work.
4
If it’s for the purposes of studying archetypes and/or as fiction, it’s not just okay, but great.
3
You may expect to see your German friends' children in one of the California colleges in which your child is studying for one third of the international student fees.
Oh by the way guess why your german friends prefer to send their children to a college in the US?
1
@Cemil They actually don't on the whole. I have a lot of Chinese students in my classes, but not German students or French, Swedish, Swiss, Austrian, Danish, Italian, Dutch, etc. You get the idea. They're only there if they have an athletic scholarship.
5
Solution:
Instead of California, move to Texas, where they can afford to pay for their schools.
So dread it already. Your editorial reeks of privilege and arrogance. Don't sell the wrapping paper, the lights will find a way to stay on, they always do. As a retired public school educator we have worked with the best and the brightest and all those in between who have walked thorugh our doors. Serving in the public school sysem has been an honor. Welcome home. Get your teaching credential and be a part of the solution.
3
@Teresa Iyall, you're missing the point. She's not criticizing teachers, she is commenting on the difference in funding and what schools spend their money on in various settings. Getting her teaching credentials wouldn't be part of the solution; as you well know, she'd just be an underpaid cog in the system like the rest of us teachers. And by the way, there's nothing between the best and the brightest - those are both the top. I believe the cliche' you were reaching for was "the best and the worst."
2
American schools are disgracefully inefficient because of the Teachers unions something the NY Times and the rest of the media that coddles the unions refuses to admit.
4
I don't get why the author is complaining. Now her daughter can get circus lessons by reading about the White House. And she can be sure that the the clown car will always be full.
5
Move to Lawrence Kansas, best public school system.
1
Why don't you stay in Germany? Unlike the US, it is fairly easy to get into Germany, get a job, get health insurance, and have your kids attend school. German regional governments are even courting good students from all over the world to go to German universities (for free) in the hope that they stay at least some time. And German's on average are by far not as xenophobic as they are made out to be by our fascist AfD neighbors.
2
This article would be much stronger if the author had cited funding statistics comparing school funding in the US to that in countries whose schools out-perform us. Surely those statistics would back up her point, right?
2
The article only speaks to the experience not how to produce the experience. Do German teachers make less, have less administers? Also you see the cost of US military budget.
2
@dave As a German who lives in the US, I can answer that question for you. German teachers do not earn less, they have a decent salary anywhere from $45 - $68,000 per year (dependent on what level they teach). German teachers are required to have a Master's degree (higher education is also free!). Germans are great at efficiency and thus are able to reduce admin costs and yes, German teachers are protected by unions as well.
5
@Katharina: how much do teachers in Massachusetts earn?
HINT: it is far, far more than "$45k to $68K"!!!!
MA teachers start at about $70,000 a year for what is in essence a part time job six hours a day and only 180 days a year, with all summers off with pay!
2
The world has become a much better place since Germans started spending their money on circus lessons instead of blitzkriegs.
5
@Allen Rebchook
exept that is 80 years apart. We do learn to heed priorities!
I would strongly suggest you stay in Germany. Were it not for the fact that my grandchildren live here, I'd be living in the Netherlands.
This country really has nothing to offer in the way of civilization anymore. What we do have, are lunatic imbeciles who when they're not yelling "lock her up," are braying about how "America is the greatest country in the world."
23
@george eliot
A country is defined by more than what is happening at the national level - good or bad - and what you see on TV/social media.
Your's is the endemic hysteria and caterwauling that has become an ugly element of the left ever since Trump's election. It was the same with the right all during the Obama years. In both instances, the fringe is not reflective of the bulk of Americans.
Remember, in all of our elections, +40% of the voters choose not to even bothering going to the polls. To me, that is a sign that what we've fought for over many years in the country - the freedom to be left alone and to be complacent to live our lives - is still working.
3
If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.
12
Amen.
5
The late Doctor Barbara Ann Laffoon Sizemore believed in public school education from the time she began teaching at a public elementary school on the South Side of Chicago until she retirement as Dean of the School of Education at DePaul University.
She lived and practiced what she preached. Focused on providing a quality public school education to poor black students in poor black communities while expecting and achieving excellence.
The Great She Elephant did her doctoral dissertation on community control of schools at the University of Chicago. Then she implemented her research into reality at the Woodlawn Experimental School Project and the Washington D. C, Public Schools.
While the Secretary of Education is a corrupt crony capitalist corporate plutocrat oligarch welfare queen who is worried about bringing guns into schools in case of a bear attack,. Betsy DeVos is a white supremacist bigot who does not believe in public schools.
MAGA!
11
@Blackmamba
Well stated and God Bless people like Dr Sizemore!
however, ms dumas had to sacrifice many precious freedoms when she moved to a socialist haven.
a regimented life, no interest in the NFL, no unfettered access to guns, long and boring holidays, no death penalty, longer life expectancy, lower infant mortality rates, free health care, fewer cereal choices, better beer, .....
mein gott who could tolerate those horrible things!?
18
@brupic
Not better beer. We're actually number one now thanks to the explosion of microbrewing over the past 25 years.
2
@brupic
I'll trade a Preztel for death penaty any day!
1
@DiplomatBob
well, I've had a few ounces of beer--only--in my entire life.
I've been to Europe more than 40 times plus lived in japan for a number of years.
it might be better than it was, but I don't think you'll find many in any of those countries lusting after the American stuff.
I could be wrong but it'd be the first time--other than thinking americans were not so stupid as to vote for trump in 2016....popular vote or not.
1
There is no such thing as the German school system. The Bavarian school system is run by the Bavarian Land. If I qualify as a school teacher in Bavaria, I can't teach easily in any other German Land. It's almost impossible even for German teachers from other German Lande to jump through all the hoops to teach in a Bavarian state school. For overseas teachers, forget it outside the private schools.
This insularism has been the hallmark of Bavaria for centuries. They put on a good act for American expats in Bavaria. Don't be deceived. Little has changed there in the last century. Under the false surface of elegance, behind the pretence of civilisation, of urbanity, it's still a hotbed of ultramontanism, antisemitism and National Socialism.
In the late 70s, when my wife was young, she went to stay for some months with a close friend in Munich. The friend's mother was a vehement Anglophobe, a rabid anti-Semite who believed the Jews had brought their fate upon themselves, a devout, daily-Mass attending Roman Catholic.
The Bavarian state school system, dominated by the Church of Rome, produced the working class and lower middle class thugs, the Brownshirts, who populated the Nazis. Most senior Nazis, including Hitler, hailed from what had for centuries been the Kingdom of Bavaria, before that the Duchy of Bavaria. Every senior Nazi with the exception of Goering, a Lutheran Aristo, was brought up as a Roman Catholic and went through their Land's state school system.
6
@Colenso
No doubt that Bavaria is East Texas, except for being more successful economical. This has resulted in a huge influx of Lutheran or agnostics folks from further north or internationally. As a result, Munich has been left wing in a right wing state for more than 20 years.
2
Then either stay in Germany or place her in private school......choice is yours.
2
I love the way people find a way to blame the state of American schools on Trump. People are melting with hatred and lack of reason at this point.
That being said, I work in a school district in Oregon, granted an urban one, and the schools are, even though nationally ranked some of the lowest, pretty wonderful. Parents do volunteer a lot --- from teaching art lit to fund raising auctions. There are always lots of parents in the school, and I think this is great --- it keeps families connected to what is happening inside the schools, it allows parents to actually have a bit of a hand in education and it allows families to get to know one and other through the school setting. It fosters community.
The biggest indicator of the quality of the school is the principal. The principal creates the school environment. I have seen not so great schools blossom under the hand of a different, better principal. That Oregon still has one of the highest drop-out rates on the nation is still pretty sad, I wish that problem could be solved.
5
@Ny Transplant
I appreciate the sentiment here, and anyone who wants to blame the current administration for the state of affairs in public schools has not been paying attention for very long. But I would put it to you that the reality is also that many parents do not have the time or the wherewithal to volunteer at their children's schools, nor do they have the money to back fund bake sales and the like.
I'm a bit skeptical as well of your assessment that it is the man or woman in charge that drives what makes a school great. As you say, your school itself is a lower performer. What seems to be happening for you is a well-organized volunteer camp of parents corralling a herd of youngsters who don't seem to be learning much except how to work for free. Seems this principal is more of a foreman, good at getting a lot from you for nothing, and nothing much for your students in return.
As for the silver lining you find about keeping families connected, well, keep that narrative in mind if they ever try to roll back child labor laws...
5
Is the issue lack of funding or poor management of the funding? I live in CT where the per pupil funding ($16,500) is considerably higher than the national average($11,400), but yet I still hear about lack of funding for education. Why is it that some states can spend $10000 per pupil per year and others can barely manage on $20000 per pupil per year. The schools will spend as much money as you give them. Cut out the frivolous spending and use the money more effectively before we sign a blank check for education.
11
@Ben -- look at the states where you see teacher strikes and you'll understand.
Learn something about school budgets:
https://marketbrief.edweek.org/marketplace-k-12/k-12-spending-where-the-money-goes/
What do you think a teacher is worth?
3
Ms. Dumas....for what it's worth from someone who once loved returning to school here, stay where you are!
Millions of students, to say nothing of teachers, here, dread returning to school every day. Our schools are not German schools. We are not Germans. We hold no career promises for our kids, nor do we provide the schooling and training to enable them.
Worst of all, far too many of our students are really not students at all when it comes to engaged. Far too few of them have career dreams any more. Government feeds and cares for multitudes where jobs used to be.
Our schools are fractured and so is our curriculum based on age instead of needs and talents. Our only hope is re-creating a horde of hope where now there is none. The obstacle is 15,000 differing school districts, all with their own agendas and sans clue about what to do.
Nationalized schooling for basic skills mastery, using online instruction and helpful mentors might be worth a try. Reading skills are key. Anyone? Anyone?
8
I was a HS Principal for many years in a suburb of Chicago and our school participated in several foreign exchange programs with schools in Germany, France, and Costa Rica. The teachers from these countries, who sat in our classes and participated in community events, made the following observations: First, they found classroom teaching in the US more innovative than in their country. Second, they were taken back by the influence of extra-curricular programs---mainly our sports teams---on the academic program. In their countries there was a clear separation between academic programs in their schools and the sports programs in after school clubs---these teachers felt the sports orientation of American HS blunted the academic goals of the school. Third, they felt that for the most part students and parents in this country took education for granted---yes, their children should go to school to get credentialed, but education as a value, not so much. In their countries, education in general was integral to becoming an adult and the role of teacher was at the same level of any other profession---doctors, lawyers, etc. As a country, even with the right funding, we still live in a culture that is anti-intellectual, which unfortunately, is a cultural value that no school reform initiative or organizational configuration can overcome.
38
Ms Dumas provides a humorous, yet insightful, examination of the difference between the Germanic (should I say Teutonic? Calvinistic?) approach to education v how we're more laissez faire, and parsimonious, here in America.
But, one statement from Ms Dumas stands out:
"Based on their academic performance in fourth grade, children in Germany are divided into three tracks. I do not agree with this system but high-performing children benefit greatly."
This, in a nutshell is the problem with American education. We refuse to track children so their education is better channelled to their aptitudes. As a result, we have an over emphasis on college prep.
Yes, using tracking the gifted benefit. Yet, it also assures that those students better suited to vocational and trade skills get the training they need to obtain viable and well paying trade and technical jobs when graduating - that is no college or trade school needed.
This, of course, is something education theocracy (aka UFT, NEA) will resist full throttle.
You see, the education bureaucrats love college prep here in America because it assures teaching jobs for many, many dilettante 'artist'-types (aka those majoring in the likes of French Poetry) who turn to teaching when they realize they themselves have marginal skills - like being able to teach plumbing.
So, let's be a little more introspective about how we are - or aren't - setting education goals here in America that are best serving students and the country.
6
@Common Sense Not quite. There are errors in tracking, at any age, leaving many talented children behind. I was bored in school and effectively dropped out of class even while occupying a desk in the back of the room. I woke up in my late 20s, have top universities on my resume, and have authored books published by leading presses. If I had been tracked, my contribution to society, not to mention my personal life, would have been diminished.
4
@View from the hill
And that is a testament to your personal journey and how you succeeded.
How many young people don't have that strength of character? And even if they did, would choose such a path? The answer - not many. And, setting education policy on such a vision is a road to bad results, hence where we are now.
We need to stop having a system built on the 'dream' that everyone is a a potential queen bee when in reality +90% of us are just drones.
4
@Common Sense
Not sure here. First of all, Scandinavian schools are even doing better on independent accessment.
Secondly, a German plumber will have functional English, how is that about your American plumber when Spanish is concerned?
Same goes for social skills. I do hape the average European high school graduate is able to tell facts from fiction or populism.
2
I can confirm that my experiences in France (in an area, actually, with relatively mediocre public schools) are similar to yours. I also will warn you, as someone who has recently come back home: nobody cares. I came home to a different America and suspect that you will too. Some people will believe that you "went native" and will discount every word you say. Others will seize on your every word as evidence for an endless cavalcade of talking points about how the fact that America does not have schools like Germany is because of Party A or B and their essential evil or stupidity. Nobody will listen to a word you say, and nobody has the slightest interest in actually shaking out a few compromises with people they don't like and setting about fixing some of the systemic reasons that America has become like this. Welcome home.
17
@kgdickey
The USA can easily afford socialized medicine for the planet as long as it no longer has to defend any other nation. Fair trade.
1
Why are you burdening your friends and family with these fundraisers? If you’re paying less in taxes write a check and be done with it. I
certainly wouldn’t waste my time going door to door, and I would be horrified to pester my friends and family with such nonsense.
9
@TD I could not agree more. You voted to decrease your taxes, so deal with it, don't ask me to make up in donations for your bad voting decisions.
1
Like simple uncomprehending children, Americans haven't yet figured out that the third world conditions of our infrastructure, our garbage schools, and inaccessible healthcare is--Hello!--a consequence of our selfish failure to perform our civic duty and pay our share of taxes.
We get the country we deserve.
28
@Raymond L Yacht
A colleague of mine, a PhD physicist like myself, with ample experience in the UK and US, said that those are third world countries disguising as first world.
Not sure I'd buy into that with first hand education and professional experience there, but there is a grain of truth.
2
Yeah, but people get to drive alone in $95,000 dollar SUV's, not $20,000 dollar sedans. The downside is few (if any) grandkids since the grads are saddled with $65,000 in student loans and cannot start families, or declare BK on federal loans (Thanks Newt and the 90's BK rewrite!).
Americans always opt for more of what they really don't need, because so much fear and scarcity are peddled by their political leaders and the media amplifies it.
To really see the failure of our educational system, just look at how easy it is to manipulate American's by appealing to emotions over logic. A few names (Socialist/Snowflake/Environmental Wacko!) plus a little good old-fashioned race-baiting and people start the chants.
That alone should be enough for us to redouble the education efforts. If not, there are always opioids to get people to the final off-ramp.
12
Have you considered the alternative, staying in Germany, and really prioritized making that happen?
5
Dumas is right. In the U.S., public schools struggle against ridiculous funding limitations--as if providing basic education for all children were a waste of money. After living overseas for a while, we returned because we knew our kids, being American, would benefit from growing up American. We were lucky enough to place them in a good public school system, but it succeeded only because many parents had the time and talents to act as volunteer support for the badly overworked and underpaid teachers. I stress that this was a very close call. Had we lived a few miles north or west, we would have been in a district where many parents had no such time, because they were working three or four jobs between them. Allowing the public school system to rot from underfunding is just plain stupid. Germany's system is better, and I think Americans are grown up enough to see that, take notes, and decide to compete.
13
Yeah, none of these problems existed before Betsy DeVos. When the unions were omnipotent things were perfect.
Oh, wait...
8
I just googled it: seems the US actually spends MORE than other OECD countries on education grades 1-12. More “investment” is not necessarily the answer.
7
Yeah, but we have freedom. And guns.
6
Here we go again, comparing "American" schools to a much small, less diverse European Country. Munich is at least more diverse than the usual suspect: Finland. But c'mon do we really need more tracks sending White kids on the "high-performing" track, leaving the Black and Hispanic kids to do what exactly? [I'm sure the writer is well aware that even well-to-do Black kids score lower on tests and find themselves victims of the "soft bigotry of low expectations," right?]
Certainly not having fun in circus class.
Sadly, this reads like an ode to my privilege.
9
It is an obvious comment, but in Germany with its strict gun control, students don’t go to school in fear.
15
Articles like these embolden Betsy DeVos to increase vouchers and charter schools run by for profit organizations - under the guise of "choice." The headlines alone do this. So sorry the writer's child is going have to endure an American public school particularly its diversity. I hope the writer joins the Parent Teacher Organization.
Diversity in Munich is probably more important that in most of your schools. There are périple from Turner, Middle East and Asia. Do you remember Ms Merkel opening the borders what Mr Trump doesn’t do... quite the opposite in fact. Stop thinking USA is such an unique temple in diversity.
2
I can see getting happily excited about advanced placement English or chemistry or some other academic but circus ?????
Maybe German schools have TOO MUCH money.
2
Everything you evoke about the backward United States confirms my vision of a feudalistic and collapsing society whose most deprived members are reduced to alms and preposterous stunts just to obtain the basics for their children.
I am told of teachers who cannot perform their tasks without buying notebook paper and pencils for their pupils.
How can ignorant Amerians seriously consider their country to be so exceptional? Yes-- exceptionally petty and cruel, where mercenary firms propose armoured backpacks (at extortionate prices) to protect schoolchildren from the next inevitable spree shooting always around the corner. Just clutch your rosary beads and keep a bible in your pocket, perhaps they are the only physical barriers between you and the madman's bullets because NO AUTHORITY really cares about prevention !
9
American exceptionalism, indeed.
6
The US system went financially and morally bankrupt by the ever-shrinking taxes for corporations while workers pay more and get less. (education, healthcare, infrastructure, opportunities). The average American has the (true) sentiment that he pays more in taxes than he returns. So the trust in the state and its capabilities is undermined. That's Saint Reagan's vision.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_tax_in_the_United_States
6
@Tom Boss
Corporations don't pay taxes. Consumers pay taxes. Taxes are overhead and get added to price of every gallon of gas, loaf of bread, pair of shoes, etc
5
After the under-investigated crimes of 9/11, our nation spent 20 trillion dollars on war and military.
Germany spent a comparable amount on schools instead.
We do have some really shiny tanks:)
We also have people like Ian Long who was a machine gunner with the Marines, came home and shot up the Borederline Bar and dance hall.
Actions have consequences, and how we spend out tax dollars has a profound effect on the society in which we live.
12
40% of Americans don't read a single book in a year. 40% of Americans get their only 'news' from Fox and hate radio. 40% of Americans support Trump and his republican party.
8
The burden of all this fundraising and service work falls disproportionately upon women. Certainly, there are many dads volunteering diligently here. But mostly, it's the mothers who make this happen. So women are subsidizing property tax cuts and other education-related tax cuts directly, with their own unpaid labor. This makes it harder to change the situation, because of the general assumption that women ought to perform unpaid service work.
15
Since you are a parent and I am not, I personally think that you should have to contribute more toward your children's educational experience.
I live in an already high tax state and while I am fine with a large percentage of my tax dollars going to support an excellent school system and educate the children of my community, I don't want to pay even higher taxes so that children can enroll in circus lessons for free or be bussed to take advantage of (fill in the blank) whatever athletic facility isn't available in the neighborhood.
I'm happy to support social contract for the basics but not luxuries, that should be the responsibility of parents.
8
I too am a resident of Minnesota and am extremely happy to pay taxes we do. As the author noted, raising kids in a society is a social contract involving everyone and if that means everyone has to pay more, so be it. You object to some of the areas of study to author noted because you don’t think they are worthy of study and you don’t get any value from it. First, life is not all about “value”. Second, why should you object to students learning how to think creatively and differently? These are the core values needed for critical thinkers and if we don’t foster that virtue, we as a people are up a creek. Don’t think of it as circus class—think of it as enabling a critical thinker that may one day be your physician and come up with a creative way to treat you in your old age.
13
@Sean Taylor I'm fine paying the taxes that we do and for the quality of life we have here.
But I do object to paying for extracurricular activities. Sports or circus lessons for that matter, should be paid for by parents. I assume that students can be taught to think creatively and differently during the, you know - classes they attend during the day rather than in circus lessons after hours.
Again, I'm happy to pay for a quality education through high taxes. I'm not OK paying for after-school activities and luxuries.
2
I’m so tired of all the Americans who write about how great their European sojourn was, only to return to America. There’s no such thing as a perfect place. If there was, we’d all be living there by now.
9
@Californian
Actually we wouldn't already be living there by now. Work visas and residence permits in European countries are very hard to come by.
8
@Californian It's mostly around money and living space. If you like living in a city and you don't mind your household earning less than $100k/yr and paying 50% tax then you are fine here.
If you want more money, or would like to live in the country side, then Germany is not so much place for you.
And no, most Americans would not want to be living in Germany. Aside from a visa, first, you'd need to learn Deutsch.
4
@Californian. No one said anything about perfect, just better. As with health care, Americans refuse to learn from other countries, because that would mean we are not the best at something
3
I wonder - did your children have special "German as a second language" classes or were they expected to figure it out themselves in German speaking classes? Did the school provide occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy or one-to- one nurses for students with special needs?
12
Quite frankly, if you dread American public school, don't come back. Nobody is forcing you to return to America. If you do come back, then pick a town with a good school system. This sounds very rude, but I'm tired of hearing of how bad the school system is in the U.S.
I went to public school in NJ and was ranked about 20th in the state. My classmates and I all went on to very good universities. The education was very good. The students were motivated, treated well by their teachers and we had very good guidance counselors. They did not have to put on their sunglasses and say "Looks like the University of Illinois!".
My apologies if I offended any Uof I Alumni.
5
@Peter "Nobody is forcing you to return to America".
Unfortunately, it isn't quite that simple.
If you are on a job posting for a year or two then you probably have to move to wherever your company needs you to go.
A work visa is for a limited time and if it expires you may have no choice but to return.
2
I’m glad you had a great experience in Germany. Why did you come back to California? For the higher income? I agree that California public schools need more funding. Why not take the private school route?
4
We already had a well made documentary about this situation: "Waiting For Superman". But, some do not like fingers pointed at public union power, so....crickets.
6
@Guillermo
So teachers in Germany are not unionized? Union bashing is not a solution.
Obviously, it puzzles me why do you move. Further thoughts is that i am assuming that your daughter is going to go public schools.
I guess you ARE keeping something from us, kind of your daughter being gifted will be able to graduate from one of the top notch colleges and universities and her professional careers will be more profitable (...more money) than graduating in Germany , for example as a Doctor
3
For your daughter's sake, please read up on Third Culture Kids and how they can defend themselves back in the States. Gott help her if she enthusiastically shares her idyllic experiences in Germany with peers stateside.
For everyone else's sake, will we ever appreciate taxes as a strategic investment in well being rather than spending?
15
These "life in Europe is so much better than in America" hit jobs are so myopic. Some perspective: Europe, and particularly Germany, practically invented industrialized genocide, mass murder, totalitarianism, and barbarism. As a society, those highly civilized societies writers such as this put on a pedestal, are one good economic crash from falling back into their 2000 year history of hatred, war, scourge, and racism. It's in their history, it's in their blood, it's who they are.
Past is prologue. It's only a matter of time.
6
@Jason
Please remember that genocide, slavery, barbarism, hatred and racism is also part of our history. At least the Germans have tried to come to terms with their terrible history of racism and genocide, and made reparations and amends to the victims and to the state of Israel.
What is our record in terms of the treatment of American Indians and African Americans? Unfortunately, it's our own history that you seem to forget so easily, but I hope it's not in our blood and it's not who we are. The past doesn't have to be prologue.
2
@Fred: our record is that we got rid of slavery with a blood sacrifice of 600,000 American lives in the Civil War….then got rid of Jim Crow and legal discrimination in 1965 with Civil Rights legislation.
At no time, did we ever try to kill every single black person in the US.
But the Germans really DID try to wipe every Jew off the face of the earth.They managed to kill six million Jews, plus countless Gypsies, gays,disabled, mentally ill and others.
This happened only 70-some years ago….within the memory of living people. Unlike the CIVIL WAR!
We have museums to lynchings, to slavery, to black Americans -- it is false we have never acknowledged the sin of slavery.
But it is IN THE PAST….while in Germany and Europe today, anti semitism is alive and well.
2
I read this piece after reading another Times article describing how school-age children are likely being damaged by their immersion in smartphone screens. In the Los Angeles area not long ago the schools received a $1 billion (that's b$, not m$) grant to buy iPads for LAUSD students -- most of which, of course, quickly disappeared. Many of those missing music and sports classes would still be here if that ridiculous iPad buy had not been approved and spent.
8
@Tim Clark Also -- why buy iPads when Android tablets are about 1/5 the price?
1
@Tim Clark: about 5 years ago, my local school district -- which is 90% black and 100% free lunch -- spent millions to give every child an iPad.
Many of them turned up missing. At first, we were told the kids "lost them" or "were robbed".
It turned out, the greedy irresponsible parents STOLE the iPads and hocked them on ebay to make hundreds of dollars.
The school raised our taxes then, to buy more iPads.
2
If America is so bad, why not go back to Germany? Or Iran? Or someplace better than the US (and where is that, exactly)?
By the way, according to the OECD the tax burden in Germany is about 40% higher than in the US, not, as you say, "...a little more in taxes."
I am pretty sure most Americans would not approve of a 40% tax increase, and no politicians, even Democrats, would propose such a huge tax increase (well, maybe socialists like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders would).
10
Ms. Dumas is entitled to her opinions, some of which are no doubt valid, at least for her situation. Considerations are more complex than she allows: https://sites.hks.harvard.edu/pepg/PDF/Papers/PEPG15_02.pdf ("Is Seeing Believing? How Americans and Germans Think about their Schools," paper prepared for the conference on Public Opinion and the Political Economy of Education, Munich, May 9, 2015).
Similarities and differences in the public's opinion of their schools are summarized on pages 30-31 of that paper. Here is the opening paragraph:
"Opinions about schools held by Germans and Americans are quite readily compared because the two countries have many things in common. Both enjoy large, advanced
industrialized economies for which productivity growth depends in good part on an enhanced stock of human capital. Both are complex societies striving to achieve greater social and regional integration. Both relegate the direction of their educational systems to lower tiers of their
governmental system, leaving the federal government with only a secondary set of responsibilities. Both face an increasingly competitive, interdependent world economy that is pulling low-wage jobs elsewhere, thereby limiting work opportunities for those lacking higher order skills. In recent years both have launched major, nationwide efforts to improve school quality."
5
In Germany they put students on non-college tracks from middle school based on their grades.
Good luck trying that in an American public school.
11
Germany will be a world power...soon.
Why can't we just copy all their positive attributes?
Well, your president is doing what he can - about the circus classes at least.
This administration is more entertaining than any circus on this planet.
10
@Ganesh S
A majority of Americans did not vote for this president. Please don't call him "our" president.
And now, dear New York Times, please follow up with a story about the other "part of Munich" and about the lives of those who followed the lower educational "tracks" to which Dumas makes passing reference:
"We are fortunate to live in a part of Munich with top-notch public schools . . .
"Based on their academic performance in fourth grade, children in Germany are divided into three tracks. I do not agree with this system but high-performing children benefit greatly. The top track qualifies for 'gymnasium,' the most advanced secondary school, with a curriculum that prepares students for higher education."
14
Something tells me that this author's daughter will end up in a private school.
There's nothing wrong with that.
Just saying.
6
My sister lives in The Netherlands. Her two children go to public schools of course. Both are fluent in Dutch, German, and English. I believe in public school system. It is a capital investment through taxes. My two children went to public schools in Tewksbury NJ. Then my son went to SUNY at Binghamton and my daughter at Temple University. Both are gainfully employed and paying taxes. Our healthcare are through the ACA marketplace. We don't mind paying extra in our premium for those who can not afford health insurance. Ms Dumas calls it social contract. I call it socialism blatantly. And I approve it.
13
*sigh* I totally understand this frustration. The amount of time and money I donate so the kids at my children's school have some of what they need is huge, and the time and money I spend so my kids can have what still isn't provided is also huge.
It's never ending, and so disheartening.
9
My son just said something interesting... "In AP Gov we are learning that in the US there is equality of opportunity and not equality of outcome. The problem with providing a system where you institutionalize that everyone will succeed equally then you create a system where there is no freedom anymore and therefore no equality."
7
Circus? Swimming? Seriously? If there will not be a norm-referenced standardized test later, then I'm not teaching it. I mean, can you imagine a multiple choice question about the inferencing skills needed in juggling? Because I'm fairly certain someone at Pearson already has.
5
Ms. Dumas,
We have rich pretzels on Fifth Avenue, with a president who announced he could probably shoot someone, and get away with it, awaiting your return, and bagels too.
With some levity in the mix, we have a live ongoing circus taking place in your country of birth, requiring a strong sense of balance and a mental knowledge of the perils of walking the tightrope.
Growing up in Europe as an adolescent, there was a tacit understanding that public schooling was superior, while access to an American college was an added feather in one's bonnet.
America appears to be grounded during our current state of affairs and lost in transit. We are reacting and pulling ahead. And, while wishing you a comfortable return with your offspring, my first thoughts of the day were of the many decent Americans, under a flamboyant rainbow, walking in our midst.
It is important, and sometimes challenging to open one's eyes and look near and far. You are not returning to a Utopian Society, but a young Nation with growing pains.
A diet rich in carrots, laced with a pinch of salt, will ensure a clearer outlook for you and me. We also have delicious and delightful wrap-ups and excellent wrapping paper to be found at the Dollar Store.
Joining The Statue of Liberty in welcoming you home.
2
After hearing these stories firsthand in several European countries, it finally dawned on me why Americans hate taxes so much. It’s not just about keeping more of what you earn. It’s a value proposition. We don’t believe we’ll get a good return. In countries where people have well-funded schools, solid infrastructure and guaranteed access to healthcare, taxes are not looked upon as evil to the same degree. It is quite the opposite here, so it’s easy to demonize anyone who doesn’t promise to cut taxes. Despite the campaign slogans, we can’t seem to deliver more for our money out of the gridlock of our dysfunctional political system.
23
Basically it comes down to this:
Do Americans want:
Free education?
Universal healthcare?
Tighter environmental controls?
Cleaner energy?
Better public transportation?
In today’s polarized America, if you don’t vote a straight democratic ticket, you will never get
all this.
2 years ago, almost 50% of Americans voted for the opposite by electing a president who couldn’t care less about all these things, and the 1% got even richer since then.
Americans have to wake up and elect people who represent them and care about the common good.
26
Having taught community college for over 30 years, it would greatly benefit our society for students to have apprenticeship programs so they could actually have a means of support and independence. Instead, high school for the inner city kids I teach served as a warehouse until they are unleashed into a further oppressive environment of educational Phd.s' useless requirements in an effort to "educate" them. They need training to have a career, whether a baker, nurse or auto mechanic. It is appalling how we bore them to death instead. Those that want to be truly educated will go for it. Most just want a job.
27
This is very oversimplified. Yes, the US has serious problems in its educational system and it is seriously underfunded at the federal level. And of the state supported university system in Germany is enviable. However, the German system tracks students at age 10. And guess who gets shut out of a university level education? immigrants, non-white children etc. The system supports the same types of inequalities that we have here in the US., The author entirely glosses over this issue. Yes, we probably need more strong vocational programs in the US, but tracking children so early in life is deeply disturbing.
17
@Ellen
We track them now by zip code.
5
You did not mention the concept of "Bildung"-forming a young person's life, a process that begins in the school----but never really ends.And you did not mention that in Germany there is no need for the puberty-prolonging 4 years of college.
You need to come back to Bavaria for another year.
8
And then there is paid vacation by law, paid maternity AND paternity leave by law, paid family leave by law, worker councils so that workers' have a voice in corporate decision making, and better retirement, unemployment and worker re-training benefits. Don't feel bad we do have the highest level of inequality in wealth and income in the developed world, the worst homelessness in the developed world, the worst health and longevity stats in the developed world, the highest rate of incarceration rate in the world and the highest ratio of ceo to worker pay in the world (360 to 1 compared with Germany's 18 to 1). In short we live in the richest poorest nation in the world. And a billionaire buffoon president.
36
Fine, but the US is where people come if they want to be creative, take risks, build something, and improve themselves. Virtually all of the great tech advances occurred in the US, not to mention Nobel prizes. The European model is obsessed with security and equality of
results. Stultifying, in the end.
5
I love it. So true. I went to American public schools and excelled and then went to MIT. It cost me $140,000 in student loans.
I also saw 95% of my peers fall behind. In America if you are 100% focused on success then you fall of the bandwagon and end up a dullard. Nobody is going to help you but yourself and your parents. My parents sacrificed a ton, and I got into MIT, but I also never worked on who I was as a person.
Turns out that part of the reason I was so good at school was that I was oppressing myself and focusing all my pain on doing schoolwork. I worked and worked and worked and tried not to think about the fact that I was transgender.
I didnt transition until I was 25 years old. Before I did I became a drug addict, got kicked out of MIT in my senior year for having a seizure on campus, and attempted suicide. After I transitioned I graduated from CU, became an award winning consultant, and now I have three patents and run two companies.
European schools have real resources, both educational and in relation to mental health. People who have problems get help early on. People like me wouldnt be as likely to get kicked out of MIT and become a suicidal opiate addict and waste 5 years of productivity!
I'm an independent who values my independence, but if there is one thing I'm willing to invest in, its taxes to fund better education. It's not socialism to have well funded education of the populace. It's common sense.
13
Someone posted: Imagine what good we could do in the U.S. if we didn’t spend $5 billion on midterm election campaigns.
Imagine if we did not bankroll so many "allies" e.g. DEPENDENTS: Europe, Israel, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Japan, etc...
11
Circus lessons? That’s a really bad example to make your point. I know I would resent the government taking my money and redistributing it for such frivolity.
7
While you laud the virtues of public education in Germany, and indeed there are many, you seem to ignore the reports of prejudice experienced by some members of minority groups.
3
@S Rose I think the author ignores this factor because it’s a constant when the US and Germany are compared. She is focusing on the differences.
5
@S Rose
And none of that happens here, amirite?
1
The US school system focuses and spends a great deal of money on extra curricular activities like sports, FFA, FBLA, etc... Germany does not come close to offering the whole child programs after school. This writer has a very limited viewpoint on what exactly is the full scope of the US public school. The trick is to get your child to be a participant in the many programs. Nothing is spoon fed in the US public school system. In the private schools, that's a very different story. But still the public school will outmaneuver private schools from the YMCA Mock Trial Program (Franklin High School dominated Exeter at Nationals in 2018) to 4A Basketball. But your kid needs to assert him herself or else, yes, I guess, the public school can appear to be pretty underfunded and low end.
5
It has been a consistent Republican agenda to defund and erode public education across the country. A poorly educated population is easier to manipulate.
26
Rubbish. US is right near the top of world expenditures per student in public schools. Many of the top performing countries have
much lower spending.
5
American high school students do very closely (or poorly) as their ethnic peers in the old country. Swedes in Minnesota? Very similar test scores to Swedes in Stockholm. Chinese Americans from NE china? About the same as kids in Beijing and Shanghai. Mestizos from rural Mexico? Better than their their cousins behind but not much and much much below ethnic Asian and European students. One of the reason Finland has such high test scores is there are far fewer Turkish/Middle eastern immigrants than in Sweden and Germany. If you just took ethnic Finns vs ethnic Germans the test scores are pretty similar. When everyone is relatively high achieving its much easier to do circuses etc. When lots of remedial work it makes it harder
13
Milton Friedman made this point 50 years ago. Low poverty in Sweden? Also low poverty among Swedish-Americans.
5
Sometimes the "freedom" Americans talk about so much seems to come with the wrong kind of price tag.
6
To balance the inevitable dog-whistling "diversity" comments, it should be remembered that Germany has as many foreign-born residents as a percentage of the population as the United States.
Yet, the system works.
Projecting American anxieties and failures on another society is a symptom of denial. You can provide a decent education for all in a multi-cultural society. But only if you really want to.
12
The mythology that the US is #1 came out of the 50’s when the world’s economies had been destroyed and the US economy was the only economy. The wealth created by the war machine was being spread throughout the US. I went to those schools that were sustained by that wealth. In the late 50’s early 60’s, with our economy booming and a huge influx of children, school districts went on a building spree. The elementary school I went to had p.e., instrumental music and voice, art, and athletics. The local high school was brand new with college prep, business education, and an entire wing of the school devoted to vocational education that lead to apprentiship programs. The country went to Vietnam. Butter or guns was the problem, we tried to do both. Protect the world from the commies, The Soviets were a real threat to Europe. We spent our treasure there and continued thru to the debacle of Iraq and beyond. No wonder that our social fabric, social contract are being pulled apart.
Now we live in a time where we say that we live by the ideals of the Declaration , the Constitution, and the Bible, Koran or other religious tomes but, worship mammon. The highest morality is the acquisition of money, things, status and power. No wonder we are struggling.
Think globally act locally. Get involved in you communities at the most local level. Hold our politicians and other elected officials accountable. Accountable for good schools, roads and other public goods.
Amy Klobuchar for President.
11
Wealthy conservatives call(ed) public education “socialism.” Tax cuts for the already wealthy impoverish(ed) US schools.
7
The American schools where the 1% send their kids have these things and more. And this is all that matters.
13
Come teach us Americans how to live. We forgot or never knew how good life could be for regular people. We deserve a better life.
5
I think most American lack interest in finding out how the rest of the world lives (lazy? poorly educated? brainwashed?).
Consequently, we do not learn to ask questions of our leaders as to why things here are the way they are...and demand solutions (student debt, lack of health care, people living on streets, gun violence).
Instead, we shrug our shoulders and follow along like sheep and nothing changes for the better.
10
Of course, you DON'T have to have a college degree to get a good job and enjoy a great quality of life in Germany.
Something else you don't have to worry about is being a victim of a mass shooting, or two...
American claims of being number one are only valid inside the u.s.. Fact is the u.s. is far behind on many levels and mostly only leads in areas of violence and aggression.
Why is that?
12
But you're safe, haven't you heard? In America, your tax dollars are used to keep you safe from well, let's think about it. Other Americans? No. Okay forget who. Think about all the military hardware your tax dollars buy that rich investors then sell for a profit to those glorious apostles of civil liberties, the Saudis, among other swell, freedom loving countries. You've moved home to a giant scam, a ponzi scheme. A country where representative government has been replaced by corporate governance aka fascism. So why'd you come back here? A lot of us want to leave. But we can't. For various reasons we're stuck.
9
Chances are that your child will have an awesome teacher that is challenged by lack of support and resources. Your job, should you choose to accept it, is to support that teacher as well as your child.
4
We are the greatest, richest country in the world. So why are we not doing this for our ctizens? When did the Idea that only the wealthy deserve healthcare, good education, housing, sanitation, safety, CLEAN WATER?
Where are a our resources going?
What the heck is wrong with us?
I can only hope that as old people die off we are no longe so fearful of "socialism" that we overcompensate by allowing people to die unnecessary deaths and children to go hungry.
9
@Al Greatest, greatest country in the world? By what measures?
Firoozeh, you should stay in Germany. I'm back in the U.S. (central Michigan) on a work assignment after having lived in Italy for a number of years. I lived most of my life in the U.S. and being back is incredibly painful. In spite of all it's problems, Europe is a far more balanced, cultured and family-friendly place. Now that I'm back I can feel the economic anxieties that Americans live with daily. They are obsessed with their health care and their jobs. There is a palpable dread in the uncertainty Americans live with daily. Everything here that's a luxury is relatively inexpensive, but all the necessities are incredibly expensive (health care, transportation, education, etc.). Americans have turned inward and the feeling of self-loathing is palpable. This is especially profound because of the elections and it's accentuated by the imbecile who now runs the government.
Please, do yourself and your children a favor and let them grow up in Germany.
24
@mrfreeze6 Just because you have a work visa for Germany doesn't mean you can get permanent residence there.
3
Germans also make early choices (8th, 9th grade) as to whether the track should be vocational or college. In USA, everyone is considered a future rocket scientist, no matter what the aptitude/interest.
7
That's called social democracy, a variant of socialism, or just common sense. As with the debate about gun control it never ceases to amaze us Europeans that the country that brought us the internet lacks exactly that: common sens.
6
I think the author is missing the main difference between the system in Germany and here: schools are not used to manifest social status and difference already in elementary school or even kindergarten in Germany. In fact - it is the other way around. It does not matter how deep the pockets of the parents are and you can not “buy” good grades and connections that will help your child through the system into a “prestigious” university. It has to be your child to achieve that - and that means they are exposed to stiff competition in most public school systems across Europe. It appears that the private school system here in the USA is set up to avoid exactly that.
7
Well, sure. No fundraising necessary when kids are put on a track in fourth grade and the resources allocated accordingly going forward. If that happened in the U.S., there would be outrage at the idea that not all children were given equal opportunities to pursue higher education and that some were discriminated against. Can't have it both ways...
12
@Didi That description of German tracking is overly simplistic. I know of many students who would much rather be in high school on a true vocational track. These are the kids who squirm through physics class, tired of sitting eight hours a day who would much rather be working on a motor or wiring system - skills essential for our society.
9
@Didi, Actually that's precisely what Americans miss and why their society is so unequal, that there is more than one form of success. A "mechanic" working for Mercedes or BMW is in fact a highly trained practical engineer who has many years of school training and hands-on work experience. It's quite as expensive as shelling out for a couple books and a teacher, and they get paid nearly on a pare with white collar professionals. Again, because the work they do is valued, it's invested in, and because society has more than one vision of success where it leaves any people who haven't "succeeded" to enter low-wage, meaningless, semi-feudal, wage-slave, part-time work. Fast food corporations in the US can schedule employees and send them home at will if there aren't enough customers at a particular hour. It destroys their lives, and it's visible at every level of society, even to our idealized, one-track, one vision of success educational system.
14
The author could write the same article if she just moved from her rich neighborhood in Munich - which is to Germany roughly what Manhattan or San Francisco are to America - to downtown Berlin. We don't have all this fancy stuff here, our schools are run-down, unsafe and broken, probably just as American public schools. The author appears to be unaware of this in her bubble, but public schools here are not all the same. In areas where the rich live, they are great. In areas where the poor live, they are awful. And in many places a huge majority of children enter the school system not knowing the language, and the teachers are more concerned with not getting beaten up by their students than teaching the circus lessons.
206
@GS If America is so bad, why doesn't the author go back to Germany? Or Iran? Or someplace better than the US (and where is that, exactly)?
By the way, according to the OECD the tax burden in Germany is about 40% higher than in the US, not, as you say, "...a little more in taxes."
I am pretty sure most Americans would not approve of a 40% tax increase, and no politicians, even Democrats, would propose such a huge tax increase (well, maybe socialists like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders would).
9
@Ro Ma
I would approve of tax increases and vote for them related to schools every chance I get, given that the U. S. has a paltry public support system and social safety net. Granted, it is an oligarchy and its mindlessly primitive Republican population is determined to keep it that way. Hopefully 2020 will bring about a correction and the U.S. can be brought into the pantheon of civilized nations at long last.
38
@Ro Ma I moved back to the US in 1994 after living 17 years in Germany. The "40% higher taxes" you cite is misleading. The German taxes also include excellent universal health care, unemployment insurance, their version of social security, publicly funded post secondary education, among others. They also have a graduated tax structure so the societal burden of these services is equitably distributed. When I added in the cost of FICA taxes and health insurance for my family of four, my German tax burden was actually slightly smaller than my American and the governmental services considerably better. This may have changed over the past 25 years, but I doubt that change would be significant. In any case I do not hear my American friends who are still living and working in Germany complaining.
76
You simply cannot gloss over the track system. It is critical to the success in German schools, and it will never be applies to American public schools.
8
@William
Funding--the issue in the article--has nothing to do with tracking.
2
Look back to history. The resentment of public funding for public schools became significant when white households realized their tax dollars were going to “other kids” (kids of people emancipated from slavery). This primal hatred and resentment turned into a shadowy faceless force that hid behind ideas that teachers are overpaid (when the reverse is true), or that public schooling is socialism, or that one dollar of waste in public education means we should scrap the entire system or starve it of funds. In America, so many people approach life as a zero-sum game. Either my kid goes to Harvard or yours does, so why support public education? Without a central feeling of unfit and compassion there is never going to be a political will to fix this. There just aren’t enough people who care about all the kids in the country...even if nearly everyone cares about their own kids and maybe the other kids in their neighborhood. How do you fix that? How do you make a society care about each other? How do you make people who read the Bible on Sunday morning but practice self-justified selfishness the rest of week feel different? If we could answer that all our problems would be solvable. We won’t stop gun violence because not enough people care. We won’t arrest climate change for the same reason. We don’t care because it mostly affects others and they are just a mass of people we are trying to crawl over and do better than.
13
@Baldwin The resentment by the people who pay substantial school tax appeared here when the nonremedial students were sent to study hall rather than given appropriate work, per the state law. A half day or more of study hall is a waste of taxpayer money and childen's time.
The resentment by poverty is always there...poverty subgroup doesn't want a morsel given to a child who has the minimum. No appropriate lessons to anyone with more than a minimum .... they are to be warehoused while poverty has the opportunity to catch up. The disengagement is showing how that is working out. The Stanford study shows SIX years difference in outcome depending on zip code opportunities. The lesson is clear...vote with your feet.
1
I think there's many reasons for the disparity in education between us and other western countries. But one reason that doesn't get mentioned much is corruption. Tax money & lotto funds that are supposed to go to school construction and bettering the system never make it. Instead it's siphoned off here & there with Mafia type schemes while useless dishonest politicians look the other way or contribute directly.
5
“… where for a little more in taxes, I get a lot more in services. And that leaves a bitter aftertaste.”
Proposition 13 in 1978 and its like across America where never about taxes they were about the ‘social contract’ and its abandonment in favor of ‘freedom’ as defined by Friedrich von Hayek and other neoliberal thinkers admired by ex-governor R. Reagan soon to be President. The Author is returning to a ‘free society’ from one in process where its social contract is becoming under attack by right-wing extremists. Let’s hope ours is finally, slowly, moving back toward ‘liberalism;’ and better pay for teachers who do not have to sell cookies to buy colored chalk.
5
“… where for a little more in taxes, I get a lot more in services. And that leaves a bitter aftertaste.”
Proposition 13 in 1978 and its like across America were never about taxes they were about the ‘social contract’ and its abandonment in favor of ‘freedom’ as defined by Friedrich von Hayek and other neoliberal thinkers admired by ex-governor R. Reagan soon to be President. The Author is returning to a ‘free society’ from one in process where its social contract is becoming under attack by right-wing extremists. Let’s hope ours is finally, slowly, moving back toward ‘liberalism;’ and better pay for teachers who do not have to sell cookies to buy colored chalk.
I live in Germany half the year, and what the writer fails to mention is that we pay more on K-12 education in the USA than they do in Germany. Much more. So why do the Germans get more for their money? Start by watching “Waiting for Superman”; you can download it from iTunes. It isn’t because the Germans pay more in taxes; those flawed analyses leave out property taxes and many other factors which are big in the USA but almost non-existent in Germany.
11
Oh, no, we don't want what she's suggesting! She wants socialism, which will lead to communism! We certainly can't endanger our democracy by providing all citizens with health care. (Just kidding!)
However, one difference between European education and ours is that while a university education there is "free," college costs money here. In Europe a student has to be highly academic to get into university. Here, we have some colleges that admit students who can barely read, run up huge debts, and leave without a degree. We have universities turning out school teachers, social workers, lawyers, etc. being fully aware that in the demographic area they're in, the market is saturated.
Many colleges here expanded or started during the baby boomer era and were selective. With fewer possible students, they aren't selective, and potential students are mislead into thinking a "college education" automatically guarantees a good job and economic security.
5
My four year old daughter is in an overcrowded class in Bordeaux , with occasionally absent teachers who have barely enough time to do anything other than baby sit. I don't know anything about Germany's elementary schools, but free education in France rarely translates to the imaginary utopia you have described.
9
I was in the Army in Germany for 2 years. I was not an educated person, but I noted that even insurance salesmen there knew far more than I did about the world. I learned about the three track system. It made much sense to me.
We do not concentrate on market needs here in the US. Why is a College degree at the abnormal cost of $80,000 or more the only requirement for entry into a career?
Benchmarking is a wonderful tool. Lamar White Portland Oregon
10
You should send your kid to a private school. That is what I have done. My first daughter also lives in California with her American mother, but she goes to a private school, not public one. I cannot even imagine her ever attending a public school in America.
2
While there are many ills suffered in America today, one of the concrete solutions is to heavily invest in education from its infrastructure, to food, books/computers to, as importantly, training our teachers and significantly raising their wages.
Sometime I think there is a conspiracy to keep the populace ignorant so that it’s easier to bamboozle them out of their votes, money and, literally, lives.
Education first. Let’s spend our money on something that can truly make a difference in our lives individually and collectively.
12
the United States and Great Britain pay to help protect Germany and Western Europe with their national defense. if Mexico and Canada would like to help pay for our national security, I'm sure we would have more after school extra curricular activities too. as for tracking kids, no thanks.
3
Deep down, I think the ‚frontier’ still persists and most Americans will readily and gladly buy into messages of rugged individualism, privilege and a mentality of ‚me‘. Thus, anything that serves a common goal - schools, roads, libraries, taxes - is eyed sceptically, and in many cases, even derisively.
Oddly enough, highly revered institutions in the US that provide well for their members (schools, benefits, decent wages, pensions) are closer to socialism - God forbid that horrid word! - than anyone would care to admit: big corporations and the military.
6
It’s worse than that. Things that may be obvious but need be said:
Trump and the Republicans are the most visible aspects of a massive syndicate that stands for the accumulation of offshore wealth by those who already have it. This wealth is to be extracted from the rest of us by hook or by crook, not by taxes but by scams such as America’s bogus health care ‘system’ which is little more than a culling mechanism for waste people.
By paralysing public education and gutting the working economy at the state level, they have created a mass of ignorant, desperate people, called ‘the base’, who are armed and primed for servitude, and whatever else deemed necessary. They have their own bespoke media to give credence to the lies, fear mongering and scapegoating that is the stuff of life and death in America. This is very frightening, and not just for the kids.
It is most important to understand that the funding they receive from their backers has created bounteous employment opportunities for people like Kellyanne Conway, Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the Fox News crowd. The line at the trough forms to the right and it is now a major industry. Without them your kids might stand a chance.
Oh, and look now, there’s the new Attorney General Whittaker ready to go to work on another episode in his lifelong trail of fraud. The big one, maybe; if he is not stopped by decent, clear sighted, active participants intent upon restoring democracy in America..
17
Until the top 1% are required to pay their fair share of taxes, there will never be enough money for our denizens much less our citizens of our country.
Long gone are the spoils of free and fair elections, representational taxation, and the ideals that made the American Dream a reality for so many.
Madison was correct when he said, "education is the true foundation of civil liberty." Some 40% are poorly educated enough to believe the hogwash spewed from their TVs and Twitter pages, their Facebooks and Snapchats, their Evangelical ministers and carnival barkers, which is why #45's approval rating is about 40%.
8
@james
The top 1% pay about 40% of all federal income taxes, the top 10% pay about 70% of federal income taxes. We pay much MORE than a fair share.
6
When I told my colleagues here in South Korea that some US states reduced the number of school days in a year in order to finance tax cuts, they didn't believe me.
6
The author is talking about more than schools. Pot holes, healthcare, mass transit, independence of children. The main reason we don't have those same great things is because of some type of "stockholm syndrome" in the U.S. where people are completely subservient to corporations, police and the military. Right wing media offer them psuedo logic and handy catch phrases to keep them in line. Sure, here are a good number of people in the U.S. who would support theses types of logical solutions. But for each who wants a solution, they are always opposed by another person vehemently against it, and still another who claims to not understand. All of this is cemented in place by corporate, and military money to the politicians to insure that no bold initiatives ever come into law. If you watch Fox news every day, this no doubt seems really far fetched. I'm truly sorry.
6
It's true the educational tracking system operates within schools in Europe. It's based on zip codes and school districts in the United States, but with roughly the same results. One thing that is different though is the conscious recognition that schools should work to reproduce more than one social type for society to be successful. You have incredible vocational programs in Germany where they've managed to retain high-value, export-oriented manufacturing because they train highly skilled workers from the start through the schools. Conversely, they can offer Greek and Latin at public schools, and the students slogging through them won't be treated as trash by their fellow voters when they have rarer skills and share scientific matters with the public like climate change. In the US, one track means everyone's entitled to their own opinion, however uninformed and ignorant, and no one says that here! So we pull out of the Paris Climate Accord because Trump tells his voters lies and trashes intellectuals, while it's the farmers whose crops will be destroyed and rural voters whose houses will burn to the ground.
6
No doubt a privileged school in the richest city in Germany provides fine benefits, but the educational performance in Germany as a whole is actually not particularly impressive.
5
people like Trump who appoint people like Betsy DeVoss to finish the dismantling of our public education system for one purpose..to get the rich off the local school taxes..to get the rich from paying federal taxes to support our education system..their motive is to outsource, de-privatize the schools, they will then own, you will pay them to operate, unregulated, substandard educators and schools...the republican party is is anti public school..they also destroyed critical subjects that were always emphasized ,,history, civics, geography , the arts, music ..they also have changed what is left of history in history books to enhanced their political power so they can remain in power..my daughter in law lived in Germany for 8 years as a military dependent..she attended German public schools,,she learned so many skills in the German public school system ,that they have come to not just earn her extra money but to teach her siblings what she learned, and they have impressed their teachers and schoolmates at the schools they attend. here in the USA..we have a school system that teaches our kids limited education..the republican party wants them to stay as lame and uneducated to impose fear in them so they can get them to vote for them....I hear teachers have to pay for supplies for their students,,they have many fund raisers just for buying new books or supplies...this is not great for America
3
The author's child made it to the highest level school, described as gymnasium. What happens to the other 2/3 of the children? What is their educational experience? Perhaps the view of German education needs to be expanded.
4
Yes we should have better schools for the taxes we pay. The public train and transportation system in the US is almost non-existent. But this article is snobbery... my child was being served Kobe Beef every day in Germany for his school lunch but in California he will be suffering with daily servings of Angus Beef and sometimes I will need to participate in a fundraiser to insure he gets a nice portion of gelato for dessert.
A little terroristic education infrastructure building by the US and Euro elites in portions of the world that have no public and little or no private education would be alarming.
Those parents in the caravan from El Salvador and Hondurus did not leave because their children had no access to circus training at school. They have no school building.
2
Ms. Dumas would enjoy China, (the dreaded authoritarian state?) where children flow freely on the streets with their backpacks and excellent public transportation because the social contract is real and pervasive.
They are loved and treasured and they know it.
1
I would much rather pay lower taxes and not waste money on juggling lessons in public schools.
5
Strange, for an education system so woefully lacking we managed to create Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Intel, Boeing, Caterpillar, Tesla, GM, Ford, Amgen, Genentech, and on and on and on.
7
Sorry I don’t care how good it was. Tracking in fourth grade is a dealbreaker.
3
I just returned from 4 months in Scandinavia, most of it spent in the beautiful city of Oslo. Americans have no idea what is possible.
5
The GOP turned "taxes" into a dirty word. The Democrats have done little to nothing to counter the negative campaign against taxes, even though much could be said to the tune of "Taxes pay for clean water to flow out of your tap. Taxes pay for your snow to be plowed. Taxes fund your library. Taxes help give you a comfortable and more convenient life." Why don't the Dems do this?
2
American's idea of quality of life is what they can buy.
And they can buy less and less, every year, and people are getting more and more anxious and depressed.
I wonder if we'll ever have the guts do anything about it.
Welcome back to the nightmare that is the legacy of Reagan, and the beginning of the fall of America. It started out in slo-mo, currently full speed ahead.
3
In the USA, there is no social contract- an unexpressed consensus to lift everyone in society; that no one is better than anyone else. Here it's every man for himself. The next generations will likely all be reduced to begging for things all people have a right to have; they'll be known as the GoFundMe generation.
You are so un-American, reduced services and failing infrastructure are the price we gladly pay for reduced taxes. Like our GOP friends say, if you don't like it move.
1
People demonstrate their values through their actions. Munich values education, transportation, and independence.
Americans value keeping money.
So, Americans can put their money ahead of their kids, but they should start being honest about it.
1
Please see below we are spending more than anybody in the world on education. Spending more is not likely to gain any better results. I have absolutely no factual understanding of why are results or so poor. However, I believe that many Americans have low academic ambitions and they're not pushing their children to achieve the highest possible results. Collectively we need to look at our culture and understand how we can drive educational success. Also where the heck is all the money being spent?
Fact Check
ABC News Quotes
The United States spent more than $11,000 per elementary student in 2010 and more than $12,000 per high school student. When researchers factored in the cost for programs after high school education such as college or vocational training, the United States spent $15,171 on each young person in the system — more than any other nation covered in the report.
In 2010, the United States spent 7.3 percent of its gross domestic product on education, compared with the 6.3 percent average of other OECD countries.
The Program for International Student Assessment measurement found the United States ranked 31st in math literacy among 15-year-old students and below the international average. The same 2009 tests found the United States ranked 23rd in science among the same students, but posting an average score.
6
It's a shame that US public schools don't track students like the German schools. Tracking benefits both high end students and those at the bottom. Placing students without the intellectual horsepower or motivation to do difficult academic work in collegiate tracks is just a recipe for failure.
8
The worldwide web has made it difficult for the uninformed to continue to hide behind ignorance.
Now America is revealed to compare unfavorably with other countries on education, health care, and money wasted on the department of defense.
Trumpism may be the last bastion of ignorance that provides a base for a dangerously uninformed president.
Let’s keep up the momentum for the next two years and then in the 2020 election return our America to sanity!
1
The USA spends 600,000,000,000$ annually on defense spending. More than the next 7 countries combined. China is 2nd at 200,000,000,000. trump wants to spend more. We are all culpable in this mess. Nice to see an involved electorate during the midterms. Let’s build on that!
@Todd****it's 715 billion this year.. and that's just what's on the books .. there's also the Black budget that's secret, and nukes under the energy dept. It's probably around 1 trillion
The obvious lack of a government balance between health, education, and welfare and a strong economic engine to support America is why I became an expatriate fifteen years ago.
My adopted country, along with most of Europe, has long since accepted these values for their own countries.
That my native country has not achieved this balance after 240 years in existence is inexcusable.
The oligarchy that runs America plays to the citizens worst instincts of greed and selfishness, and rationalizing this behavior by blaming the victims for their economic failures.
America began its life with a damaged soul because of slavery and genocide of native peoples. Electing someone like Trump who personifies these degraded values is clear evidence that we Americans have not progressed very far out of the swamp!
1
The relative level of education and analytical/critical thinking ability ( a vast deficit on the U.S. side) that I have long observed while traveling in Europe and the U.S. is appalling.
I attribute this to relatively materialistic values in the United States (over far more pluralistic values in Europe) , ridiculous tax cuts for the wealthy and especiallly corporations, and consequent lack of support ( not just monied support !!) for schools and teachers . Have we ever seen an airline give priority boarding to a teacher along with the active duty military? Do we value the society building teacher over bloated sports budgets?).
It is embarrassing and tragic to witness the deficit of values we express in building a healthy society (holistic caring about all in our society) and that we create and tolerate in the United States as compared to Europe.
Endless blind propaganda about the U.S. being "the best" in healthcare, education, "freedom", etc blocks problem solving and honest assessment not to mention votes on how our taxes are spent. Sadly what "made America great" was problem solving using science, engineering, and support of pragmatic optimal solutions using real information supported by education. We no longer have "reality", science, skills based solutions, or pragmatism let alone a leader who reads or is honest. Trump and the GOP have turned the country into a massive scam.
1
Although I agree with you that in Germany, the kids get a better all-round education, I think you generalized too much. Munich is in the State of Bavaria - the richest in the Country. I voluntier in our local food Bank; we have over 900 needy children in a well-off University provincial City. Do you really think These kids are getting the opportunities you discussed? Or, ask my Friends who are/were grade school teachers/prinicipals how they feel about the long unpaid hour, the overcrowded classes. We had the Chance in the early 1990's for our children to go to a public Grammar school. Now THAT was something: Small classes, intern in every class to help. First Day of school, the parents received a paper "what can you contribute to the school?" Do you have a special Profession, can - yes- help at bake sales, help in the library etc. WOW, I couldn't Believe it. And, one on one English as a Second language lessons. Our kids were fluent speakers but couldn't read English. But where were we? Hanover, New Hampshire, home to Dartmouth College so of course, similar to your experience in Munich:educated, financially stable families. This just unfortunately, is not the "real world" out there.
8
The thread of most comments posted in response to this piece surrounds money, or lack of it to provide the educational quality so many desire.
Yet, research shows that households that value education and parents who place a high premium on it yield higher educational results for their children. Reading books, limiting screen time and TV, eating dinner as a family and talking, doing experiential things together as a family - these all correlate to higher educational attainment.
Fixing our abysmal educational outcomes begins not in the legislature but in the home. The challenges facing America’s educational system are vast and without easy solution, but fixing it starts with parents who enforce high educational standards and instill upon their children the joys of building intellectual curiosity and love of learning.
But in order to do that, the parent must model it first, right?
2
Having taught English in a German Gymnasium 10 years and German in US schools for 20, I offer these thoughts:
US school policy and budget is largely decided by locally-elected school boards, operating within (financial) limits imposed by the state. One high school admin had a policy that no more than 5% of students could fail a class -- that is 1 out of 20. The less motivated students did no work, playing academic dodge-ball and hoping the one failing grade would not hit them. Classes frequently cancelled for pep rallies.
German school policy and finance are largely controlled at the state level. Parents with a complaint do not have the option of phoning a buddy who is on the school board. Students do have the opportunity to switch school type after the initial assessment following 4th grade; some move up, some move down.
5
Having attended elementary school in southern California in the 1960s, I can say from experience that the system was quite good. Years later, a college classmate of mine who taught school in California moved to another state because the system had deteriorated to such an extent. Not all, but many, of today's problems do stem from the adoption of Proposition 13 in 1978. I'm glad the author mentioned that fact.
2
New York State residents spend twice as much per student as do California residents. I don't think NY children receive two times more services than CA's children or end up twice as smart.
It's more than just money that makes American society second rate. America has the money to make our public services and school systems the best in the world. We lack the humanity.
9
I was getting ready to once again feel inferior to all the great things that a socialist democracy has to offer its citizens when I read the chilling statement that Germany's children are tracked based on how they perform in 4th grade, and only the "high performing" children get to attend a middle school and high school that allow for college participation. I then quickly googled how many German kids attend college, and found the figure of 30%. So, basically, your career, knowledge base and earning potential are determined for you at the age of 10. Wow. I'll take bake sales and solicitations for school supplies over closing down my child's future based on whether he can sit still and memorize his times tables in 4th grade any day.
161
@AndiB,
German students who don't get on the academic track are given vocational training, and wages are generally higher than in the US for jobs that don't require a college degree. Compare that to American kids who graduate with a mountain of debt and end up working at Starbucks. In Germany University is reserved for those who actually have an interest in an academic field, rather than just using college as a way to advance their career prospects.
68
@AndiB first, the college grad rate in the US is also about 30%. The difference is that in Germany the kids that aren’t college bound are given very high quality vocational education. Many jobs that require a college degree in the US require vocational training in Deutschland. One example is a bench-level analytical chemist. When I worked in pharma for a German company in the US, my counterparts in Berlin had no university degrees but did the same work for similar pay and NO student loans.
The German system, where University is free but only those who are truly qualified get to attend, preserves the true meaning and value of a degree. Here in the US, a degree means little more than telling the world you are in great debt.
86
I found the comment from another writer more telling - comparing the best of the German system to a mediocre American system may not give the best comparison.
All systems have fundamental drawback, based on which goals they prioritize. Are we trying hardest to improve the lowest performers, or forward the highest? Are we trying to educate thinkers or workers or both?
I doubt either country serves its impoverished people well - for Germany that is above 15%, and in the US estimates range from 13% - 15%. In general, the ability to educate in these areas is contingent on stability, safety and security, food security and shelter. The country that does better with these problems most likely has better schools.
23
We shall suffer the same fate in Florida. Recent amendments limited tax increases by the legislator to a super majority (60% ), limit the annual increase in assessed value for both homesteaded and non homesteaded properties. Our school’s and colleges are being severely impacted by the growing childless contingency of 6 months plus one day who votes Republican purely for taxes. Florida’s tax base is majority dependent on real estate whether it be document stamps or property taxes.
The SALT deduction has definitely impacted the price of my professional managerial class home in coastal palm beach. Taxes are local but the retiree transplants are not interested in the quality of public education or air snd water.
4
I do not have children but I believe investment in public education with our tax dollars is vital to our country.
I refuse to contribute to any schemes for bringing money into the classroom such as bake sales, Christmas wrapping or Go-Fund-Me pages. Instead, I tell those asking for money that they need to vote for legislators who support fully funding our schools and vote to increase our ridiculously low property taxes.
I also tell them to overturn laws that allow hundreds of non-profit churches to pay zero property taxes. It is their lack of taxation which adversely affects the funding for our schools.
And lastly, I vote against anyone who supports private charter schools. I want my tax dollars going into public schools where it can be monitored, not to make some venture capitalist more money.
23
Annual standardized testing requirements through federal law (NCB/ESSA) have inflicted incalculable damage on a generation of students here in the US. Charter schools continue to siphon money and other critical resources away from public schools. Curricula have been constrained and single pathways for success are limiting kids nor helping. Be more worried about a top down approach that is not in the best interest of students.
4
The author is welcome to donate to her local school for the (high priority) circus events. To complain about what other people, many of them childless, are working to provide for you, once you come back to the U.S., is frankly gauche.
Plus, there is no correlation between states that spend a lot on education and overall education quality. Most of the money doesn't even reach the kids or even the teachers who are currently teaching.
7
Also lived in Munich and had children in school there. Yes, the German system is excellent. It all has to do with what one thinks are basic rights. The division into three strands in 4th grade is proper, given that there is better (though imperfect) compulsory universal education of children up to 4th grade in top facilities. I might also mention that, if one graduates from gymnasium with the Abitur, one has a right to free university at any university in the country, subject to enrollment quotas in specific faculties. Munich has two of the best universities in Germany as well: LMU and TU. Here one has radically different secondary school facilities all the way from Andover down to the worst inner-city or rural school, not to mention universities for pay, like Harvard and Stanford. Justice anyone?
10
I have lived for 40 years in Germany, 20 of them in Munich. I have worked for all 40 of those years in the arts without a day of unemployment, except between jobs, when I had full coverage including assistance for moving to the next one. We have put three children through college, and have had some pretty exorbitant medical experiences, including the most costly pre-existing conditions there are. I don't live in a castle, but I have clean air, a noise-free environment, and access to every benefit (nature, culture, sport) that our day and age has on offer.
The list could go on, but let me get to my point: the extra costs beyond taxes? 0 (in words: Zero) dollars. I'm not kidding.
So is"socialism" so bad? Only for the people making money off of you. Social responsibility in our prosperous times can bring so much benefit if everyone chips in their fair share.
Wake up sleepy Americans!
88
my high school 35+ years ago had 3 high school counselors.
now, for a smaller class size, it has something like 10! That's a lot of money! And of course we now have the wonderful internet, all college information is at our finger tips, all education/financial forms at our finger tips, etc. Why do we need 333% more people.
I'm sure I'll be informed rather soon.
6
My wife was a high school guidance counselor. For her 30years of work the caseload grew and grew, with little staff increase. In addition counselors were co-opted to do testing instead of counseling. That is the reality, not the fake news from Alan.
7
@Rhporter - actually my news was all fact based. 35 yrs ago there were 3, today there are 10.
And i'm sure the "caseload" is higher, otherwise we would have 7 people doing nothing!
1
True story - at one time a school in an upscale area in CT decided to teach all the kids how to juggle (improved eye/hand coordination, balance, fun). Fast forward 30 years and two guys in the parking lot of my building are talking and they find out they both went to the same school when they were kids. Spontaneously, they both start juggling with the items they were carrying. I'll bet you never saw two guys in a parking lot spontaneously doing algebra equations.
17
You get what you pay for. You can't have Cadillac programs at Ford tax rates. And decades of overspending means our debt - at every level of government - is forcing "Ford" to be the norm. From 1980 to 2018 our national debt has gone from $1 trillion to $21 trillion. We keep voting for people who promise lots of goodies with lower taxes. The math doesn't work.
16
@SDC
Government debt — including student debt — can be erased in the blink of an eye.
Think about that: We own the government. Forgive ALL college debt. Immediately. Who benefits? Millions and millions. Who loses? Nobody. Well, Goldman Sachs can’t skim off the cash flow anymore, but really, who cares about those rich...fill in the blank yourself.
After the debt jubilee, fund K-16, as in Europe. It’ll cost a couple almost nothing compared to the defense budget.
2
@SDC Socrates asked us to imagine an election debate between two candidates, one who was like a doctor and the other who was like a sweet shop owner. The sweet shop owner would say of his rival:
"Look, this person here has worked many evils on you. He hurts you, gives you bitter potions and tells you not to eat and drink whatever you like. He’ll never serve you feasts of many and varied pleasant things like I will."
Socrates asks us to consider the audience response:
Do you think the doctor would be able to reply effectively? The true answer – ‘I cause you trouble, and go against your desires in order to help you’ would cause an uproar among the voters, don’t you think?
We have forgotten all about Socrates’s salient warnings against democracy. We have preferred to think of democracy as an unambiguous good – rather than a process that is only ever as effective as the education system that surrounds it. As a result, we have elected many sweet shop owners and very few doctors.
2
@SDC You can't make the world safe for crony capitalism on the cheap you know. And I bet our stadium flyovers are way more awesome than Germany's.
Actually, I have just the opposite view! I have lived for many years in Italy and our kids have experienced both Italian and US public schools. Despite Italy's rich cultural and artistic history, its school system unfortunately has gargantuan gaps and is way behind the times in its general approach. There tends to be enormous emphasis placed on rote memorization of notions, with kids of all ages being turned into little parrots who squawk back exactly what they were "taught" by their teachers . Is memorization a potentially useful tool? Yes, absolutely. But does it foster the development of the independent critical and creative thinking skills necessary in the new economy? When it comes to appreciating and seeking out individual talent, and encouraging and inspiring kids of all backgrounds (not just the elite who can afford extremely expensive international schools) to appreciate culture in all of its forms (literature, music, art, theater), US schools (at least the better ones) are light years ahead of the schools my kids have attended in Milan. We will be back in MA in a few months so they can finish high school and college there.
7
@Emily Powers Lori Your comments fail to note that Italy has been devastated by two factors. First is the worldwide economic crisis of 2008. Italy was particularly affected because of its archaic economic structure. Educational institutions were gutted. Second was the flood of refugees from Africa, with no help from the EU in resettling them. You are correct that Italy's educational system is regressive and outdated. But it is also a victim of outside forces.
2
@Emily Powers Lori
I'm sorry you have had this experience, but it does not mean that you have "the opposite view" of Firoozeh Dumas; you have the opposite experience, one you have suffered in Milan, not the one she has enjoyed in Munich. U.S. schools might be better than those in Milan (I don't personally know), while Munich's might be vastly superior to both.
1
@Emily Powers Lori Sorry there, but Italy is NOT Germany and these comparisons don't apply. Maybe when Italy has a stable government that lasts more than a few years, the mafia doesn't run cities like Naples and the graft/corruption, racism, sexism and disregard for the environment and rule of law (and the list goes on) that is pervasive everywhere then you views will carry more weight.
1
There are many things wrong with our public education system and there are many things right. We waste resources with these individual school board systems without a central plan. At the same time for a country like the USA, if education was ran at the national level we would have political creep and end up with uniform miseducation. There are many social factors affecting education, but the diversion of resources here into these private schools is a major factor. While parents pay tuition to private schools, cities absorb the incidental costs surrounding the infrastructure and the absence of well heeled students and parents, who could assist, continues to drive a wedge in American society. Like many things in the US our education system is based on our history, but comparing it to Germany or any other system with a rich diversity is unfair.
4
US schools suffer because American's have abandoned their basic social contract: to collectively support certain basic needs for the benefit of all. We use "economic" tracking" to discriminate and this does track students in the worse way. Economic tracking is insidious, cruel, and life changing. Baby boomers were able to attend good public schools in the 1960's because the tax structure was fair. Local municipalities built new schools, payed teachers fairly, and provided occasional school trips and other perks. When the current crop of geriatric Republican Senators were school children educational choice was often based on interest and desire, not which profession payed the most. In 2018 wealthy children still enjoy good schools and attend good colleges, but everyone else is on their own. We don't know how many children will never reach their educational potential because of economic circumstances based on government spending cuts. Instead of writing dissertations in their 20's with the energy and imagination of youth, our young struggle to make ends meet. They are "owned" by bank held college debts just like serfs in the past. It is a lost generation, but we all loose in the end.
32
Comparisons are certainly difficult. Fortunately, our two daughters were educated abroad in private schools.
I now tutor 4th and 5th graders and am appalled at the quality of education our public schools are providing. I certainly don’t have the answers nor do I wish to discredit the many fine teachers in our educational system, but we are condemning these kids to adult lives of intellectual poverty.
I suspect that Ms. Dumas will find public schools in far worse shape than when she left. We can and should do so much more to give these kids a chance to succeed.
6
@Richard May
Mr. May, I would just like to say that my nephew attended a fancy private school in lower Fairfield County. They conducted in elementary school some special education testing on him and determined he had none. Then, they kicked him out. In elementary school! They said the school was not right for him. That is the privilege of private. Public schools take all children, and we try to educate them all.
The under-funding of public schools mentioned in this article is unique to California. Proposition 13 freezes tax rates at the year in which a property was purchased. For example, Disneyland pays a 1975 property tax rate based on the last year in which it was technically "sold". The Prop 13 revenue loss for local schools, including state (UC) colleges is in the billions.
8
@rab You must be kidding. Public schools throughout America, especially in rural and urban areas, are tragically underfunded. Try reading Jonathan Kozol's Death at an Early Age or Savage Inequalities.
1
We all can agree that our public school system is broken. But the author did not describe what schools are like for children in the other educational tracks, nor did she mention special education. In the United States, the federal government mandates special education, but does not fully fund the local school districts to provide it. Therefore, a significant portion of each local school budget is for special education. I'm just curious how the schools in Germany, and elsewhere in the world, compare as far as providing an equal education for all students.
15
@Meg D. Germany does have special education opportunities for kids w/learning and/or physical disabilities. The three-track system isn't quite as rigid as it sounds, but it guides students into either an academic track (lawyer, college professor), a training track (nursing, law enforcement), or a practical track (baker, carpenter). If you finish your electrician apprenticeship (for example), there's no reason you can't go back to school and study law, though. I wish we had the apprenticeship program they have in Germany.
10
@Katrin
Certainly when it comes to building. The three year apprenticeships means that workforce knows more than how to use a hammer and an electric saw.
As an American expatriate in France for over fifteen years, I can vouch for this writers testimony of the benefits of the European educational system and the difference in values and safety in the community for children.
It is not an exaggeration to compare how European governments address their citizens needs with the American congress and president that spend a fortune on the department of defense.
I realize it’s annoying for some Americans to be compared to Europeans but the truth that this writer is outlining is that we Americans are not getting our fair share of benefits from our taxes.
In my case, all my income taxes are paid to the United States with none going to France per the treaty between the two countries. In return, the American congress will not allow retired Americans living overseas to use our Medicare benefits.
I take no satisfaction in criticizing America as it would be much more satisfying to feel pride in my American citizenship!
31
As a recently retired public school teacher, I fully understand why Ms. Dumas misses her child's German school. It sounds like Nirvana compared to an inner city U.S. school. But free after school activities is the least of our needs. Let's demand money so rich and poor neighborhood schools can hire enough teachers and other staff to support all their students instructional needs. Period.
36
I had the same experience living in Australia with regards to health care. My first child was born in Brisbane, requiring an epidural for my wife and three days in hospital. Total bill? $2500, $0 out of pocket.
Second child born in NYC at Mt Sinai. Epidural, out of the hospital within 16 hours. Total bill? $35,000, $10k out of pocket, not to mention the thousands in care leading up to the birth.
My daughter just started kindergarten in a well heeled district in Jersey. I literally lost track of the fundraisers. Most of them don't even have a specific cause associated. To be fair, there are some food drives, to benefit others.
23
Firoozeh Dumas-took me years to get used to the sight of tiny children with huge backpacks sitting by themselves on the train-
My 11 yr old attends school here in Munich, were I in the states there is NO WAY I would allow him on public transportation alone.
I am from Iowa and California-the state capitols respectively. In Des Moines I was a paper boy near Dowling H.S., thats when the child kidnappings began just up the street from my brothers and I paper route-Johnny Gosch/Eugene Martin just before that- the Hoffman twins murders who were on my parochial league football team.
in Sacramento area one simply NEVER allows a child alone ANY WHERE ANY TIME. its not paranoia its reality.
My experience as a legal case researcher handling numerous criminal cases gives me a hard earned perspective on the dark reality of American life.
I am beyond happy that we live in Munich where my young son is SAFE and his mother can walk any where any time with no threat to her safety.
OH-the school thing, yes its fantastic loads of programs- events-special trips all worth every Euro I pay in taxes.
I will take the arts,dancing,forestry and martial arts classes etc-- the tutors, the well thought out well planned school programs and SOCIAL VALUES of a society that has a SHARED COMMITMENT.
which in the shamefully stratified american system is not only driven by class but by RACE.
50
@ALAN KENT
My father was in Germany for business and he couldn't get over all the little kids march to school with their backpack all by themselves.
2
I lived in Paris for 10 years. I have read about the public schools system in Germany and have spoken to a few people about it here and there. One thing that is not mentioned in the article, is that most German public schools for children are a half-day. The old idea was that once you had a children women would stay home and not work. Of course many women work now. Unless I am misinformed about the half day thing. It is my understanding that woman are interested in the full day but its not common.
Also as much of Europe education is very specialized. What I appreciate about the American school system is the overall generalized nature of curriculum. If someone doesn't do well in middle school they still are treated as equals in high school. Also, if your high school experience is not good. You could start out for one year at a community college and transferring to a 4 year University later, which is possible. So there are many chances for a student in the USA to achieve a college degree.
As for the better public services in Germany. I believe the USA will achieve these things in due time. And in Paris at least which is a big city like Munich mentioned in the article, children don't ride the metro themselves. In fact you rarely see children on a Paris subway or metro, riding by themselves. They do ride public buses because there is a driver more around the teenager range. I kinda felt like the writer over glamorized the entire experience.
9
@Elise
The half day depends on the city and state. However, kids have homework to do in the afternoon - deciding on their own (or by their parents) how to spent that time - and almost all school systems offer voluntary supervised homework in the schools in the afternoon and for those who want it a lunch in between.
The problem is a different one - in order to be done by 1pm with most classes for the first 9 grade (after that afternoon classes are the norm) the school starts often at 7:45 or 8am - when that is confirmed by many studies too early for kids to learn anything.
1
In the US, the problem is that we have a "one size fits all" and it lowers the expectations significantly of what one can achieve - because everyone is kept at the same mediocre level. And students who don't do well are moved up regardless (I have seen this repeatedly from friends and family who teach). We need a multiple track system in the US that moves the really smart and highly motivated to the highest levels. Only those should be ready for college and we could close down hundreds of mediocre schools tomorrow.
I see American students who graduate who have far less skills than their counterparts raised elsewhere and they have far lower work ethics and motivation.
It's not a matter of money - look at all the failing schools with very high spending per person ratios. The system is badly broken here and until we fix it (and it will be painful to fix and it's not a matter of more money) we will keep lagging behind.
And German college is not "free" for everyone. It's reserved for the best and the brightest.
11
It is free in a sense that everyone who pass the entrance exam will be admitted for free. I guess it works the same way worldwide, in the US not everyone can attend a good school but only those who qualify/get good scores from high schools. The difference for those admitted is, in the US you got to pay, while in EU you don’t (I’m raised in EU, lived for 7 years in California, and now am in Japan where the system works similarly to Europe).
3
Some more thoughts on foreign languages. American schools are generally poor on this, as are English schooles. Maybe this is owed to to the assumption that English is the universal language and there is no need for native speakers of English to pick up another language?
Contrary to what some posters have said, English or any other foreign language are not mandatory from grade 1 or even mainstream. Whatever patchwork there is in preschool or elementary school is focussed on immersion, and if you listen to professionals, is probably more detrimental than helpful. It is possible to achieve near-native skills if you start in grade 5.
English in grade 5 is mainstream across the 2 or 3 tiered system in Germany, and with the focus being on communication rather than rote learning, almost everyone in Germany will have functional English.
The smaller countries with a germannic language were doing better, much of this probably owed to not dubbing but just subtitling TV. This happens less these days, and based on a huge collaboration with a Dutch business partner, I am no longer impressed by their functional skills of English.
Romance countries were faring more poorly, probably owing to the dissimilarity of their languages with English and how languages were taught. My impression is that France is catching up, while Italy and Spain remain at a lower level of language, espeially English competency. Slavish language countries generally are a mixed bag.
2
The German tree track school system is often criticised, and yes: It is based on traditions that date back 200+ years, it was not designed for maximum equality of opportunities (quite the opposite), and yes: It could use an overhaul for sure.
Education is a state issue in Germany, and no state sticks to the tree track system as rigid as Bavaria. After reunification the new states had to design their systems from scratch. Saxony for example went for a system with just two track for good reason.
And, please note: (1) Chosing one of the two "lower" tracks does not mean you are barred from academic education. There are quite a few ways back for late bloomers. (2) In Germany, academic education is not as career defining as e.g. in the US. A good part of Germany's competitiveness is due to the excellent vocational training available.
19
@Albert Neunstein
Thank you for answering my question about German children who may miss an opportunity for academic excellence due to struggles in the early grades. Here in Massachusetts I have often seen "late bloomers" (nice way of phrasing it!) who start to excel in middle school. There are so many factors beyond a child's control that determine school success.
1
We're hearing from all of these people living in Germany, but with no explanation of how they got there.
It is very difficult for non-EU citizens to get permission to work there, so moving to Germany isn't really an option for most people.
11
@Peter Piper
Possible. But Berlin is teaming with Australians, Americans, Japanese, Indians and other non EU citizens. Not sure how that happened.
If one has some qualification it is worth looking into it.
I know people who have declined to move there due to the weather.
@Peter Piper
Please feel free to continue believing what you want. Of course the level of difficulty of any task is measured by how bad you want it.
@Peter Piper It is difficult for Americans to work there. The countries place what may be a higher burden on their equivalent of the US H-1B visa. In other words, a higher standard to prove you need to import labor to perform the role. There's another problem specifically with regard to Americans: a law called FATCA. I haven't seen NYT publish on it, but see this opinion piece from WSJ that lays out the problems: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-law-that-makes-u-s-expats-toxic-1444330827
We could do much better at much lower cost if we implemented an aptitude and business needs screening process akin to the ASVAB model used by the US military. The Army never has too many lawyers and not enough truck drivers for a reason (unlike the current US economy). I’ve read that only about 30% of jobs in this country truly require (no desire) a college education. Given that college is an expensive proposition, why are we allowing more than 30% of high school grads to pursue degrees? Furthermore, it’s obvious that there are jobs in the economy that do not even require a high school diploma. Stockers in retail, a majority of auto repair positions, virtually all home care titles, quite a few low level administrative assignments and perhaps most government jobs could be accomplished by workers with a 6th through 8th grade curriculum. My own grandfather was pulled from school in a coal company town and put to work when he turned 12 because he was big enough to do factory work and had more than enough education for the job. When he was even bigger at 16, he was moved to the mines. It made perfect sense. The company refused to spend any more money than needed on his or anyone else’s schooling.
I get your point that many jobs dont require a university degree but pulling a 12 year old out of school because the company is not paying for his schooling any more? Sounds like your grandfather was owned by the coal company that cannot be the right way as there is still something called self determination and robing a 12 year old of different possibilities in the future can't be the correct way. Neither can be deciding in forth grad if a kid should have the possibility to go to university or not.
10
@From Where I Sit
First, unemployment numbers suggest the USA is at virtually full employment. Second, If your saying students should just accept there lot in life, that's fine, but that company you keep talking about better be able to pay at least 20 bucks an hour. Housing, car payments, food, heat all cost more money now than 20 years ago. Minimum wage gets you a nice park bench to sleep on. Please take the time to reason out your response.
@Markus
Self determination should go to those who’ve EARNED it, not those who need someone else to pay for it.
1
One aspect of cities in Europe, and by that let's go by example of Germany, is the livability in a city. When I moved here few years ago from Canada, the one thing that became painfully obvious is that most of the cities are designed around people not cars.
I walk to work, 15 minutes. On the way home, I pass not one, but 4 supermarkets, 5 bakeries, 2 drugstores and 3 pharmacies, 5 dentists and 8 doctor offices. There are 3 schools and about a half a dozen kindergartens. No need to even take subway, bus or tram - all available.
I've moved here because I'd rather spend 2 work-years of my next 10 years with my family rather than in a car. Quality undergrad education is just icing on the cake (yes, similar funding problems exist in Canada where school boards view the status quo of fundraising as a normal and waste resources on wage increases without planning for extracurricular activities. but that's a culture problem, not so much tax problem in Canada)
20
As a student in Germany, on my first day of school (maybe it was the second ) I was kept behind because I hadn't learned the grammar lesson of the day. Segregation started on day one. Had my family stayed in Germany I would have been relegated to a skilled labor stream.
In Canada, I was no better a student but the academic discrimination did not really start until I got into high school.
I managed to get into a university and became a teacher. I was president of my class at McGill and had a great career. Fifty years later I still get "Thank-you" letters from my students. I write books. I write musicals. I compose music.
Some of us only wake-up much later in life. In Germany, I would never have reached my potential - because from the beginning I would have been labelled unworthy of a university education.
25
So your opinion is based on your experience from the 40s or 50s and not the current school system? According to my parents who went to school around that time slapping kids was also still pretty normal in schools then so I wouldnt use that experience to form an opinion on the schools now
8
@Markus
Yes, this generally still holds true in Italy as well. At 13, kids and families are forced to choose between an academic track (liceo - classical, scientific, languages) and a technical track (istituto tecnico) which gives a more vocational preparation. Late bloomers (even if they wake up at, say, 15 or 16!) generally don't get a second chance in Europe, especially if their families are not wealthy.
5
Ms. Dumas,
I would like to add to your experiences as I have taught overseas as well as in several American public schools. Our schools in well resourced neighborhoods--like yours in CA, or some in NYC or Cape Elizabeth, ME--are so much better funded than their neighboring schools it is laughable. But it's not funny.
Additionally the needs are profound. I currently work in several schools as a consultant where 70-98% of students are on free and reduced lunch. About 10% of the studnets classify as homeless. About 35% are ELLs and about 25% have refugee experience.
Imagine a 8th grade class where the top students are doing high school math and read beyond the college level (1600 lexile) and the bottom ones are adding single digits and reading at a first grade level. Such is the educational disparity within our country much less compared to functioning countries.
19
Having taught most my adult life and having been brought up in an African American neighborhood, it is impossible not to consider how race influences educational funding. In lower income communities the need for more resources seems obvious, but often they receive the least.
How is the educational achievement of the 25% who are refugees somehow reflective of the US educational system?
2
Oh boy, talk about seeing the world through rose-colored glasses: Munich is the city with the highest income per capita in Germany: almost all observations in this piece apply only to schools in wealthy areas. It’s like comparing the schools in Greenwich, Connecticut to those in someplace like Erie, PA. The rest are based on a lack of information
22
@bjmoose1 Reread the article. The writer does not claim to be writing about ALL schools. It's based on her experience. What lack of information are you referring to?
@bjmoose1 What lack of information? The author is describing her experience and is not making claims otherwise.
In Germany schools are financed by the state (Bundesland). There are no differences between schools due to money. And yes, everything mentioned in the article is reality - in Pulheim, Nordrhein-Westfalen. So this isn't just a rich Munich thing.
1
It's true the tracking system starts too early in Germany, however there are strong reasons for having a robust network of vocational schools (not all kids are academically inclined or have to be).
12
@person
Exactly - same here in Switzerland. The 'handwerker' is seen as a noble career path.
1
I've lived more than half my life (I'm 69) in the Netherlands, where my husband and I raised 5 kids who are now raising 8 of our grandchildren. Our educational system is similar to that of Germany: early tracking, different kinds of high schools from vocational schools to gymnasiums. No complaints so far. Three of our kids went to university (one got his Ph.D.), one went to art academy, one started working after high school and makes more money than any of us. I think one of the main things that makes Western European education so good is that there are no sports programs (outside of normal phys. ed classes), so money can be spent on actual education. No school teams, no expensive uniforms, no cheerleaders, no stadium or basketball court to keep up. If you want to play on a football team, you join the local football club for kids your age. I suspect that makes a big difference.
127
American schools are very well funded. The problem is how the individual school districts SPEND the money. Employee salaries/pensions/benefits eat up the lion's share of district budgets. Students often use 20 year old textbooks, but the district employees keep getting pay raises and benefit increases.
13
@MarathonRunner
Business Insider did a study comparing teacher salaries. We come in behind Germany.
And I'm always curious why people think that teachers should care little about making a decent enough salary to support their own children and yet take excellent care of the children in their classroom.
25
If such basics as employees eat up so much, then those schools are not well funded by definition.
18
@MarathonRunner
Teachers are professionals with graduate degrees. How do you propose we recruit and compensate them if not with good pay and benefits? Do you think Germans spend their school money on other things while teachers work for free?
Just more magical right wing thinking when it comes to schools. "Bad greedy teachers" take all the money. Who do you propose teach? Do you think there is some mythical, pristine pool of perfect, dedicated teachers, untainted by evil unions, fully skilled, who will work miracles for free?
2
Some statistics:
GINI Coefficient (2018; OECD): U.S. 0.391; Germany 0.293
Defense as % GDP (2017; World Bank): U.S. 3.15%; Germany 1.22%
BTW: Germany, a backwater socialist disaster, has for decades enjoyed a huge trade surplus in very high value-added goods and services.
Just saying...
16
@Enabler Hi I just wanted to point out that Germany is neither a 'backwater' country, nor is it socialist. It has one of the world's most advanced capitalist economies.
1
@Enabler. Oh please; if you think Germany is in any way "socialist", you don't know what the word means. And to describe it as a disaster is breathtakingly ignorant. I've lived here almost 40 years, and there is nothing socialist or disastrous about it. Higher taxes but better services than in the US? It's a trade I'll make. Universal health insurance, including dental and glasses? Ditto.
By the way, the higher the GINI co-efficient, the greater the inequality, so the US has more inequality than Germany.
You're right about German defence spending though; it's shameful.
@Enabler A lower GINI number, indicating greater economic equality, is actually a good thing. Defense as a % of GDP means that more of our productivity goes into building stuff to kill people, not improve anyone's quality of life. Not sure your statistics prove that Germany is a "backwater socialist disaster". The article you are commenting on would indicate quite the opposite.
1
For running a country, defunding schools and training can work as long as you keep the doors open to immigration from places that do invest in these things: actually, a very broad range of countries.
Even if you undermine the life prospects of your own citizens, at least the citizens of other countries are willing to participate for awhile in the labor economy in the new place: Until, of course, they need to take care of things in their own lives that really matter -- educating their children, dealing with illnesses, escaping crazy firearms policies, or retiring.
3
Not sure what high schools are like today, but when I spent my senior year in a high school in a midwestern college town, after completing 10th grade in a German "Gymnasium". My impression was that the school was very well funded and was offering a lot for students who were interested and able.
Advanced placement Math, Science, English classes were comparable to German "Gymnasium" curriculum, except in the US they were considered college level and offered college credit. Extra activities such as band, theater, sports, science fairs went way beyond what I was used to in terms of quantity and quality, even if similar activities were offered at my old school. So top level academic level was comparable, and the top students tended to hang out together and have similar classes and activities. So even without tracking, you got some sort of tracking...
On the down side, the average academic level was much lower. I spent the first few weeks in a mainstream English class where the counsellor had placed me until my PSAT scores came in, and bored myself to death. I then did AP senior English and fit right in, after just four years of English in Germany, owing to the fact that foreign language classes are heavy on literature and discussing it in essay type exams.
I was also amazed that one could graduate with the equivalent of 7th grade math and just one year of a foreign language.
17
@Eric Some more thoughts on tracking. Traditionally, we had a three-tiered tracking from grade 5 or 7, depending on the state. Bavaria is probably the most conservative state. I am from northern Germany with tracking from grade 7 and a tiered system in parallel with comprehensive schools. In the end, you end up with different placement levels, and this results in in different groups hanging out with each other, much as I experienced in the US.
I now live in the neighbor state of Bavaria, which is almost as conservative and as much of an economic powerhouse. My kids attend 7th and 9th grade in the top tier. The bottom tier has been effectively abolished, and parents can override 4th grade recommendations for tracking.
Useful English instruction started in grade 5, even if they had some exposure before that. Overall academic level is not different from what I experienced in a northern Gymnasium 30 years ago, except that they can't choose a third foreign language due to the switch from 13 to 12 years.
What I see in my job at a high-tech multinational is that administrative folks who went through 10 years in the middle tier plus 3 years of apprenticeship (on the job training + 1.5 school days per week) are competent in English, German, maths and soft skills. Folks who are more technically inclined can leave school after grade 10, do an apprenticeship and then college level or the other way around. They are generally competent, but maybe lacking a little on communications.
4
@Eric If America is going to copy something like tracking (don't we do so informally?) then it might be best to refine it: add provisions to allow track changing with a little effort. People change and there are late bloomers and such.
2
To be economically viable and the most efficient, tracking needs to be closely tied to the actual jobs out there, not some high school kid’s whims. There’s no reason that an accurate system to assign students to the training that businesses need cannot be built.
1
As an American living in Germany, I agree with all that the author has said about this system. As she suggests, we have also noticed that because the tracking system begins in 4th grade (especially in Bavaria, students are sometimes mistakenly placed. There is a general agreement, as far as I can tell, that this begins too early. Also, interestingly, when students from our daughters' German high school have studied abroad in the U.S., they often absolutely love it--maybe it's natural curiosity at that age, or something about the cultural friendliness (not represented by Trump) and social life in the schools. It will be interesting to see if your children end up liking it more than you might think. I hope so. Thanks for the essay!
10
I live in Germany, and our kids go to a public school here. While I agree on many points, I don’t think it’s entirely fair to paint German schools as the only, or best, model. As other posters have suggested, location in Germany matters. Berlin is not known for its superior schools. In fact, if your child has special needs, you’ll find that schools have only just begun to use integrated classrooms, and many teachers lack training on teaching students with special needs. I had a conversation with one teacher who wasn’t aware of the most basic teaching methods that would help a child with ADHD, such as a checklist, or band around a chair to fidget with. In his option, integration would require the school give up the pursuit of excellence. The tracking of students into gymnasium vs Realschule is also problematic. Conformity is valued over individualisation.
I’m here for now, enjoying many amazing things about the Germany mentality towards children and childhood. I think that is more important than the schools in place. Independence is strongly encouraged and there’s a better sense of a child’s developmental needs. The curriculum and school day is better aligned to the needs of the child than the academic outcome (children don’t begin to ready until 1st grade here). And best of all, I don’t have to worry about school shootings.
But to say there isn’t a payoff isn’t quite fair either.
13
Sounds a lot like the education system in Belgium. I expatriared from the East Coast to Brussels more than 20 years ago and have paid an incredible amount of taxes on my income. (An employee’s share of social security is 13%—no ceiling on earnings—and the top federal income tax rate of 50% kicks in around EUR 40K (USD 45K). Add 5-10% of that for regional and local income taxes.) I don’t have kids, but I don’t mind paying these taxes knowing that I receive a great benefit from living in a well-educated society (with world class universal health care to boot). Seems like a better deal to me in the long run.
25
Consider that many of your tax dollars are being wasted on that high level of education for the large part of the workforce that performs service economy jobs which can be effectively performed on a sixth grade education.
2
While I do agree with the sentiment of the article, I very much reject the notion or idea of eduation (or healthcare etc.) is 'free' in Europe or Germany in particular.
Actually, we share the costs among a larger group of people through taxes and social security. There is no such thing as free lunch and this applies outside of the US as well.
The key is how we divide the costs and who pays for it.
25
@Alex The author never claimed it was free. Clearly stated that a few percentage points of the taxes paid are directed towards schools.
12
@Alex But it's the bang-for-the-buck (Euro) that she's pointing out. That should be obvious. Yes, people universally will complain about their governments. But there is a lot that is much better here in Germany than the not-so-united-States. Because everyone contributes something. Yes, regional differences abound. But at least the possibilities are there.
And then there are the few paragraphs I could gladly write in regards to my hip replacement and the quality and cost of care that was not only received, but, frankly, taken for granted.
16
Econ 101
Q Where does the money come from ?
A In Germany from STATE taxes, in the US from LOCAL
taxes
Q How does this influence schools ?
A In Germany, the State Ministry of Education, controls
education, down to the assignment to in which school
a teacher teaches. It aims to make a schools equal
In the US, local school board spend locally raised taxes.
Thus poor districts have poor schools , rich districts
good schools - driving inequality of opportunity
29
@Woof Sorry, but you are mistaken.
n Germany, education is the responsibility of the states (Länder) and part of their constitutional sovereignty (Kulturhoheit der Länder), while the federal government plays a minor role. That creates problems for children who have to change schools from one state to another, because the schools are not standardized.
11
@Woof
The states pay the teachers and set the curriculum. The state education secretaries meet regularly to insure that standards are comparable across Germany even if the approaches (such as when and how much to track) are different. Rich states subsidize poorer states to allow for equal living conditions.
The communities pay for the buildings, the upkeep and books, equipment. Again, the state will subsidize poorer communities.
11
@emr But that is different than in the US. In the US the funding is a mix of « state and federal funding » and « local » I.e., literally the school district surrounding the school. Schools are funded by property taxes in particular, so rich districts have more money for better schools because the properties are worth more.
8
Every thing costs money. Either you pay for it or someone else pays. In Germany someone else paid. In the US, she has to pay via personal contributions of time and some money. When person A has to pay for what Person B, C and on previously paid, it is not surprising that Person A complains. Be grateful for the gifts you have received and move on without complaint.
4
@Michael Blazin Unbelievable... I received an amazing public funding education and now as an adult with no children of my own I am more than happy to pay taxes so other children from working class background like myself have the same chances I had in the past.
53
except education is not a solely individual benefit. society benefits from good education. so society should help bear the cost.
44
@Michael Blazin You make a common and typically American error by using all singular nouns (Person A, Person B, etc.) In reality what happens in countries with excellent education systems is that everyone pays. The cost is spread out (ideally to all citizens based on their ability to pay) and guess what?? EVERYONE benefits.
One of the biggest problems that we have in this country is a mentality that refuses to acknowledge any existence of the social good. People stubbornly insist on believing that a child's education is a benefit only to the child and his/her immediate family who get to see this child prosper because of it. Well-educated children are a benefit to EVERYONE who lives in a the society that has shouldered the cost of their instruction.
145
Bavaria, and in particular Munich, are among the places with the highest quality of life in the world. Not only education but also health care, public transport, public spaces, such as parks and museums, are at an incredible level of quality and mostly free or at least affordable. This is not the same everywhere in the EU. Nevertheless, there is a broad consensus all over the EU that high quality and free education is the basis of a developed society and social cohesion. Much as healthcare, education should be considered as a right and not a commodity that has to be purchased. Societies which do not respect this central tenet generate inequalities which ultimately tear them apart. This is the case in the UK which will also sadly leave the EU soon.
73
@Martin Too true! Bavaria (especially Munich) has probably one of the best living standards across the board, and probably more of an outlier than the norm (in Germany or in Europe). But that said, it is an example of what can be achieved. And when it comes to our kids we should spare no expense right?
Growing up in western Los Angeles, the state of schools was third world. Forget activities and excursions, or music classes, we had bathrooms without stall doors (and seats if you were lucky!). When we would go back to Bavaria to visit family I would be shocked visiting my cousins' schools, with clean, brightly coloured state of the art schools. It became clear who the 'poor relatives' were...
14
Are you suggesting that the taxpayers or school staffs removed the bathroom doors and broke the toilet seats? It’s the locals, I assure you.
1
Pffft, Victor Orbán; Rassemblement National (FN); AfD; Law and Justice Party; Matteo Salvini; Danish Peoples Party ...
Articles like this are always likely to elicit this kind of vapid comment (yours, I mean) - and since you mention it there's no denying the UK leaving the EU will be a huge and costly error - but perhaps spare us the eulogy to "developed society and social cohesion."
Neither are advanced by smug, self-congratulation.
Great article. I lived in Germany for a few years. I was neither of school age or had children in school, but the schools still stood out as a phenomenon, quite different and quite better than what I experienced in the USA. I remember one young man in particular, whose mother asked if I would help out with his English lessons. I soon noticed that the boy spoke better English than I, but I carried on in return for his instructions on German.
Our educational system was better at one time, but the democratization of education in America became its undoing. One size never fits all, and when it meant lowering standards to the lowest common denominator, you just knew it was bound for disaster. Yes, advanced students profited in the USA, too, but in total, the educational system was an all or nothing approach that resulted in secondary school education for all, regardless of the level of ability. The dumbing down of Americas was a steady project, but it hit rock bottom as a result of the Great Recession, where even the teacher became the enemy of the state in an effort to reduce the budget.
What we have left is a rat race between communities that can and cannot afford to pay for their child's education. If the community doesn't value education, I agree that there is little sense in throwing more money in to it, but leaving people uninformed and inexperienced in a democracy is part of the reason we see what we see today, in terms of polarization and institutional dysfunction.
19
The benefit of a system with poor or non-existent public schools is that it motivates parents to excel so that they can afford a better private school for their children. Society generally will benefit from that higher level of motivation (at least among the best). And justice is served, because better people are getting better things. But really, bringing in consideration of the benefits to society generally is tantamount to communism. Would you have us all in gulags? What about Venezuela?
9
@Robert David South
Thanks for this, as it's one of the better pieces of satire on the American attitude towards education in general that I've seen recently.
40
@Robert David South Education is publicly funded pretty much throughout Europe, and so is healthcare. Far from what the writer of the comment above falsely claims, this does not lead to communism, but to better quality of life for everybody and a better opportunity for everybody to advance their social status through education, not jus for the rich. Look at global indexes of quality of life, and you will see that European cities rank at the top of all those lists, not American cities. So, sorry, the threat of communism when school are publicly funded is patently false, stop using it. Publicly funded services such as schools and healthcare improve societies. The US could learn this. Oh yes, and strict gun-control laws. We hardly ever have mass shootings in schools or other public places here in Europe, the difference is that buying a gun is incredibly difficult here, as opposed to the US, where one can buy guns in the same store where one buys broccoli.
12
considering societal benefit is tantamount to communism? so this should apply to everything?
Taxes paying for roads because of societal benefits of operational infrastructure, nope commie.
Oversight of opioid Rx due to destructive societal effects of narcotics, slippery slope.
Pollution regulations so your water doesn't melt your pipes (both metal and biological) socialism!
as I'm writing this I'm hoping you were being as sarcastic as I was and my insomniac brain missed it.
They say the past is like a foreign country.
When I was growing up in the U.S., some fifty years or so ago, I went to a school where you had a multiple of extracurricular activities. No one had to pay anything extra. The school had enrichment classes and a good library. At the high school you could take classes at the neighboring college. I received a world-class education, which would compare favorably to any received anywhere by anyone.
While I approve of these op-eds by ex-pat Americans extolling life in other countries, they lack the perspective that things *were* once better in the U.S. If the U.S. wants to advance, it needs to do two things: look at what is done abroad; *and* ask why things deteriorated at home. Doing the first without the second will get you nowhere.
All the best,
Safely and permanently abroad
55
@abo Concur! My experience in a Midwestern college town high school in the 80s was that it was easily on par if not better than Germany when top level classes and extracurriclar activities were concerned.
At the same time, it was sorely lacking in average English, social skills and maths skills.
1
I’m in Paris and don’t feel particularly safe what with vicious anti-Semitic attacks, constant
demonstrations, and a Europe that doesn’t want to pay for its own defense. Chronic youth
unemployment doesn’t exactly strengthen the
social fabric either.
1
@abo - Exactly. My high school in California in the 60’s had an olympic sized pool, a stadium, a planetarium, an auto shop, library.... and as the author pointed out, Proposition 13 ruined everything.
The problem with Americans is that they have no sense of civic responsibility because of their every man for himself culture. More, Americans favour on the cheap, short term solutions for every problem.
It makes perfect sense that Americans elected a narcissist as president because the US is a selfish society. Trump is now your image, your reality.
I will never move back.
2
Since I arrived as an emigre in 1975 I have noted the cultural and political insularity of the United States. (Apart from five years in Germany, I have lived here since.) I also remember the initial hubris that began to slowly diminish but only in the 1990s.
When one looks at the statistics of foreign travel from the US, one fact becomes clear. Only a tiny percentage of Americans’ travel (other than the robust traffic between us and Mexico) is recreational travel overseas. It is of course partly an issue of cost (interestingly it isn’t the same in the other direction), but it’s also a question of the lack of 1) shared prosperity and 2) cultural curiosity.
Even trying to introduce something as innocuous as dedicated bikelines (common in other advanced economies) in our relatively affluent country is met with howls of resistance and a deep dislike of financially supporting that kind of improvement to the quality of life. It’s no so much a sense that we do it better but more a reflection of a broad inertia in American political and social life generally, and an almost obsessive dislike of reform. This of course suits the conservatives.
I noted, with some sense of hope, the increasing travel abroad of my son’s (early 20s) cohort. They come back having seen viable alternatives to the impoverished aspects of American life. And they wonder why. I hope they can make a difference when they eventually reach positions of leadership. Meanwhile we continue to slip further behind.
39
@Gerald I agree with you about the insularity of Americans. However, having lived in an international setting, I can tell you that Americans are not alone in that. If people in other parts of the world know things about us, it is most likely from watching American television. I met people who thought all of America was concrete--because they only saw shows set in American cities. And seeing all that American TV helps them learn English. I once met a Dane who had learned his English solely from watching American TV (Dallas was on at the time) and could manage pretty well. How many Americans speak two languages well?
Secondly, the United States is HUGE. Many Americans spend their vacation time travelling around this country. Especially given the polarization which exists now, that is not only a good thing but also a necessary thing. Sure it would be great to visit other countries, but given the cost, the language differences (a not insignificant factor), and the availability here at home of so much to see, one can hardly blame those who don't go abroad.
7
@meh
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. Before I actually came to the United States my own “America” was a fictional blend of TV and film. My Norwegian grandchildren have learn much of their English from American and British media, but they’ve also travelled to the US and widely within Europe. To be clear, I wasn’t assigning blame to anyone; it simply is what it is. However, curiosity is a choice and can be a feature of education. I know from experience that n Western Europe and the 30 odd countries of the European Union, many people travel routinely between and are exposed to different cultures. I also agree with you that a deeply divided nation does need to take care of its own house. However, I doubt very much that Americans visiting the great national parks stop by to visit the inner city and small town wreckage that exists along the way. As for geography, the size of Europe and the United States are almost identical in size.
7
@meh In Germany, France, Spain and Italy, while they do watch a multiplicity of American television programming, most of it is dubbed. In Denmark and most other countries, they use subtitles. It was more helpful for language acquisition than was dubbing.
5
Thanks for this article! Interesting that you point out the focus on independence as a skill in German schools.
Brought up in the German educational system I spend some time on an English well regarded public (private) school. The first thing new to me was the authoritarian spirit (which again fostered friendships among the fellow sufferers/students) that was diametral to what I was used to.
Fortunately, my academic life in this school was easy despite my very basic English knowledge. The curriculum was for me more repetition than anything else. In the end, I didn't cope with the school's mentality and got fired, a unique experience, fostering my deep feelings for freedom.
Some years later I visited the USA and fell in love with this country for its sheer creative power. But I was astonished to learn that only an elementary education is free. Following a mercantile logic higher education in the US is an expensive product and hence only available for a high amount of money. I would never be able to send my children to an ivory university, but I can send them to Heidelberg, Tübingen, München, Berlin for NOTHING. This is one of the main reasons why Germany is still well up, although we have no natural resource for sale.
23
There is a huge amount of financial aid available for US college students. If it’s so unaffordable as you say, why is attendance at historic highs?
1
Just look at our student loan rates-and you’ll see one reason why they are high....though I don’t believe saddling low income (or even middle income) college students is the answer.
3
My parents couldn’t afford college so I didn’t get to go. It’s that simple. That’s how it should be in a free market. But then we didn’t feel entitled to something paid for by others. Instead, I did my duty and enlisted in the US Army for my eighteenth birthday. While I didn’t get assigned to the career field I was promised, I know that I EARNED my training.
1
On the other side, volunteering enhances life in the USA. Europeans expect government to do many of the things volunteers do happily here.
3
@Lee Haefele A lot of those volunteers are not "happily" doing things, they are forced by peer pressure.
9
@Lee Haefele Indeed! Also, volunteering falls disproportionately on mothers, further damaging their ability to dedicate sufficient time to their careers and diminishing their earning power.
7
@Lee Haefele, we happily volunteer here. Most schools I know of have a robust PTA.
My second wife is a doctor from Germany / DDR which had a really good education system. Switzerland is top notch she says. She even said the levels are high and when doing homework with him, she is impressed with the quality and demands. I come from all over America. 29 years here, 6 kids born here, 5 are adults, 1 is 15. Great schooling and then their apprenticeships. No University needed and no debts. They got paid while working an learning. Real jobs, great for employment. The 15 year old is finished with school and wants to get into Graphic Design. Attending a one year preparation school in Zurich, then afterwards he will search for an apprenticeship. This preperation is a must as the open positions are tight. For me in America it was pretty much all about sports, competition, school agains school. Not here, none of that, just learning, and very few are overweight. I lived in N.J. as a baby, then in this order. Idaho, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maine, Colorado, Oregon, Colorado again, Washington State then San Francisco before falling in love with a Swiss girl. Fine here, great pay, paid vacation, insurance etc,. and seeing my kids getting it too is a big plus. No going back to California.
26
What is being overlooked is the fact that school funding is a budgetary function of our state and local govts. How those budgeted tax dollars are spent is the true issue that needs to be addressed. Is there any wonder as to why parents look towards charter schools to address the short comings of our public school system. Throwing money at educational problems does not resolve them, case in point Camden NJ.
2
@George Clearly, throwing money at educational problems DOES solve them, as proven by the educational system of most European countries, which is publicly funded through taxes.
6
The worst performing school district on LI has among the highest spending per pupil in the state. Explain that.
1
@George: Camden and Newark NJ -- in the state with the highest property taxes in the US, and the highest teacher pay -- get over $33K PER CHILD, or about twice what any European nation pays, but with dreadful, awful, failing results.
@In medio stat virtus; then explain Camden and Newark.
1
As an American mom with French born children, I concur - my kids' life is different from their cousins in Minnesota.
My girls have been going to the neighborhood store alone since age 5 and 7. It is three blocks away. They also play at the park alone and are allowed to walk around a store by themselves to "see what is new". The article states that a certain number of people have to participate in order to achieve success, trust me, French people have no problem putting a kid in their place (whether the parents are there or not!). I used to think they should just mind their own business, but now I see this is why my kids can be so independent... because they are being taken care of by all the interfering French.
Like the neighborhood kids, by the time they are 9 or 10, I know they will be out in small gangs doing nothing in the summer. We live in Paris, btw - not a small village in the mountains.
Of course, the school work is harder and they must memorize poems at age 6 (to present in class) and they learn cursive before print, so maybe they have "earned" independence because they work so hard in school. French kids are also very comfortable speaking with adults and can talk about a variety of topics - maybe not as creative as American kids, but definitely verbose linguingistly.
26
I have been in Munich for almost 3 years. I have lived and worked as a teacher. 2 weeks ago I had my first child and will be returning to the uk at Christmas.
Your article completely mirrors my feelings about the UK too. Yes we do have a ‘free’ health care system. But it’s seriously failing. Something my family are unfortunately experiencing.
I have been teaching for 10 years now and totally love uk curriculum and the dedication of the teachers. But again, there’s no money!!! We are supposed to be a developed country yet the poor are getting poorer.
Raising taxes is something that so many people want. But governments are too weak and too scared to make the changes. And don’t even get my started on the cost of BREXIT (insert eye roll here)!!
I will miss teaching here so much. It will always be the best 2 years of my career.
Thank you munich for opening my eyes. Now I need to see how I can use this to help make a change.
13
@Laura :I have lived 30 years in Europe. Munich 18 years, Zurich 10 and now 2 years in the UK. Each system has its pluses and minuses. I must say that the UK has gone through some changes and not all good from what I hear BUT I must defend it a bit here. Although I have been here only 2 years I have seen from my own experience and my elderly UK in-laws that the health care I have received, my husband has received and particularly my ailing in-laws has been excellent. The NHS may have its flaws, but it is still a good source of health care and I have seen that first hand. I feels sorry that Brits criticise it so much. The education cant be all bad as all 4 of my UK nieces and nephews has also been very good and some are on their way to top notch Universities.
Societies that focus upon the fundamentals of health care, equal rights (especially for women) and education are successful. They are successful not just in raw economic terms, but in delivering a decent quality of life to all of their citizens.
As a nation, we seem to have forgotten Jefferson's urging that "An enlightened citizenry is indispensable for the proper functioning of a republic". We are paying the cost of ignoring that right now.
Argue about the particulars by all means -- they are important, and no country is perfect. But the central point, that we as a nation do not value our children highly enough to ensure a good education for all, that we are not willing to pony up the taxes to accomplish this, is still right here.
Most of what we have that is good is either the legacy of the past when great leaders and dreamers built a great system, or is the product of a present where the wealthy can ensure their children get a great education, but oh-my-goodness-isn't-it-a-shame-about-the-rest. Stop being defensive, and wake up America!
21
@Malcolm
Yes, Americans are greedy, selfish and self-centered and they, and their country, and half see themselves in their "Great Leader."
1
Lived/educated in Munich as a kid and a young adult.
While there, I reacted against the idea of being tracked into careers at age 9. Now as an adult (and physician) I wonder if it isn't more of a problem with how americans respect and appreciate the careful skill and necessity of the trades.
Germans, and Europeans in general, have a much greater respect for being an expert in a field, whatever that may be. People seem to understand that many careers are valuable and contribute important and necessary elements to society. The US and UK, on the other hand, seem to value and perpetuate a non-merit based aristocracy which turns its nose up at tradespeople
Maybe if we respected the trades a little (well, a lot) more and valued non-white collar careers the European model would be less threatening.
37
@John
I split time between the two countries. The building next to mine in Berlin has been - over the last two years - been redone. It was the last one that in my street that was still in pre-1989 condition, but as a building from 1910 had sound fundamentals. About 10 units of the roughly 60 refused to move out and the renovation had to go on with them in there. The craft on display and the patience with which quality was applied, mostly by manual labor, - no big equipment save a crane for some of the time the roof was rebuild, no electric saws, no sledgehammers - was amazing. The excellent tradesmen were partly from Eastern Europe mind you (except the carpenters), only the foremen and the architect were from here. To get quality you need to know how to get it. We know this in the US - but only in the tech industry and entertainment.
8
I too am an American with children in the German school system. Perhaps because I live in a different state, or perhaps because I live in a rural area and not the city, my experience is entirely different.
My eight year old goes to school for 3-4 hours a day (compared to the 7-8 hours a day of schooling my sister’s children receive in the Nebraska and DoD schools.) Because teachers cannot cover enough material this way, my daughter has between 30 and 90 minutes of homework to do each day. Oftentimes this homework covers material for which the children require extra instruction from parents to complete. Children from families in which both parents need to work, or in which neither parent speaks German natively are at a serious disadvantage.
In order to help fill these holes, parents at my daughter’s school volunteer as “Lesemüttern”, mothers who give short individual reading instruction to children.
There are no clubs, no after school activities. There was indeed a circus.
There are no substitute teachers. My oldest was left alone in the classroom with other children repeatedly for long periods when staff fell ill.
The budget per student in Germany is actually slightly lower than it is in Nebraska. So any supposed increase in the quality of elementary education in Germany is not the result of a higher commitment of resources.
We pay for my daughter’s books and workbooks. We also help with school fundraising via the Förderverein. My child walks for money for the school.
17
In Germany, primary education is managed by the states, not down at town/city level like in the US. However, I think the taxes themselves are set and collected by the federal govt., and redistributed down to the states. Then there are significant differences between how individual states (you seem to be in North-Rhein-Westfalia) manage their education budgets. I've also heard that more rural areas have more difficulty attracting teachers, etc., which seems to be a universal problem.
3
NRW is correct.
Further disadvantages to the school system here come in the form of religious discrimination. Despite the fact that this is a public school, my daughters both took part in Catholic religious instruction which resembled Sunday school instruction. Their only other option was to spend unsupervised time alone in the hall. Each school year starts and ends with religious services in the local Catholic Church. Children spend multiple school days celebrating Catholic religious holidays at the same church. They even get an ash cross on their foreheads for Lent. Parents can ask that their children not take part but this has serious social disadvantages for them.
Remember in Germany school attendance is legally required and enforced with expensive fines. The power of the state is being used to coerce parents into accepting and paying for religious instruction for their children despite the scarcity of teaching hours for our children.
I’ve lived in Germany for 18 years. Despite the serious flaws in the German education system, I’ve listened as Germans have repeatedly extolled the virtues of the German system and criticized the American system. They truly believe this propaganda. But I’m convinced that a careful, detailed critical comparison would leave the Germans with less to be proud of, and the Americans with more to be proud of.
8
@Myrle Krantz, you touched a subject which truly is a problem in Germany, which is the connection between (Catholic and Evangelical) Churches and State. Despite separation of church and government in the German constitution, both main churches are strongly intertwined in state and federal government.
It's also true that some rural schools have no offerings for children that don't want to participate in religious teachings, when they should be offered 'Ethics' education. Having gone through this school system in rural Bavaria (more catholic than the Pope), I have to say that not taking part in religious lessons hasn't brought me any social disadvantage (and even back then there were quite a few children that didn't take part in Religion).
As to the comparison with the US system, this article shouldn't be seen as if there's only a choice between the German/European system and the US system. As other posters said, the US used to be a lot better in public education, and the current dismal system is just a result of people voting for the party that intends to destroy any social support system that's still left. When the lesson to take away is that America doesn't have to follow a dog-eats-dog and each on their own mentality where the only thing that counts is your ability to pay, but that there are ways to get good quality of life and public education without breaking the bank.
I sat here repeatedly nodding my head in agreement, first word to last.
4
The situation is similar, including the many benefits, in Switzerland, although the academic tracks happen after 6th grade. My children got fantastic educations and I don't recall paying for anything other than the annual winter sports week.
My son, for instance, graduated from "gymmie" fluent in German, French, Latin and Greek. With a sophisticated understanding of history and philosophy. And superlative math skills. He also learned to be a nice, tolerant, flexible person. MIT was happy to accept him.
One aspect the author omits is the teachers. Teachers here earn a comfortable middle class salary and, as importantly, teaching is a very respectable career choice.
60
@veloman
In Berlin and other more left leaning states the tracks start after 6th grade, too.
I've lived in Germany for six years and, while I completely agree with the author about the benefits of well-funded education for kids, I was a little shocked by the track system, which sets students on a lifelong path at a very early age (ending either in university or some kind of a vocation if you are deemed one of the lower performers). As a child, I struggled with illness and depression from elementary school through high school, which made school a struggle at times for me. However, I was in a very good school district with a fantastic arts program and good AP classes. Eventually, I was able to get a university degree, a master's degree and become successful in adulthood. Since being in Germany, I often wonder what would have become of me in a German school system. Would I have even been able to go to university? America is definitely going the wrong way on funding of education, but I do appreciate the spirit of education in America, where it's never to late to be a a success.
25
@Heather
There are plenty of free evening school programs that allow anyone to get a higher education. A friend of mine did so, was - due to many reasons - in a vocational track, but during his twenties it was clear he wanted more. He got a university degree while working and now owns his own business.
6
@Heather The track system does not necessarily set a child on a lifelong path. In addition, some states have "Gesamtschulen", which offer both a Realschulabschluss as well as Abitur, so the "decision" happens at about 10th grade.
I personally know a physician who only had a Realschulabschluss and then when to night school to attain the Abitur and then to continue on to medical school.
1
Gesamtschulen are wonderful but not widely available. In order to get my ten year old daughter into a Gesamtschule I had to accept that I would be driving her there and picking her up every day. If I were to send her with the bus, she’d spend more than 3 hours every day in transit. (Assuming a connection doesn’t fail because of lateness, but they regularly do fail.)
There is no Gesamtschule closer to us.
Many children in my area applied to a Gesamtschule and were not accepted because of lack of capacity.
2
Michael Moore's movie 'Where to invade next?' (2015) illustrates this situation pretty well...in one segment he visits a French primary school to show the high quality, nutritional lunches they serve compared to what's found in most US schools. Throughout there's a discussion of higher taxes (though not that much higher than what's found in the US) and in one country (either Italy or France I think) the government breaks down exactly where one's taxes go right in individual pay stubs. It's hard to believe that if we could see how our taxes are broken down in each pay check and especially if we could see how much goes to the military that priorities wouldn't change.
33
Again, another attack towards this country compared to Europe's so called excellence over us in healthcare and free education. Germany is a much smaller country, so it is easier to regulate, as are the other European countries. What most forget, however, is that Germany, as well as the rest of Europe and other countries, do not acknowledge that their budget does not include high military expenses. They expect the United States to come to their defense in a conflict. Therefore, this country spends a lot of our tax money paying for a military the world wants depriving us of excellent healthcare for all and a free college education. Moreover, the rest of the world expects our country to send financial aid to their country and expects as well, to welcome many immigrants that require financial aid. It is time, we start spending our tax money in our own citizens!
12
@ART I think you are right, the US spends an unbelievable amount on the military, though my understanding is that the economics of it is about even. It’s effectively government spending injected into the economy and in many respects military spending supports economic policy.
It is still eye watering, but it’s not as simplistic as saying less spending equals more money for other things.
5
@ART While your remark about the military has some merit (even though it's literally overkill), your remark about refugees does not. More than 700,000 refugees applied for asylum in the peak year of 2016 (https://www.bpb.de/gesellschaft/migration/flucht/218788/zahlen-zu-asyl-in-deutschland). That is almost 1% of the poulation in a single year. Just busing 3000 people *each day* to emergency shelters which were pulled out of thin air was a challenge. The equivalent for the U.S. would have been a staggering 3 million refugees (the actual number was 85000). One could argue that Germany decided to take on a different part of the global division of labor; perhaps one that suits us more. Or do you really want a military superpower Germany?
29
@ART
If we didnt do the tax cuts for the rich, we could afford better healthcare and cheaper college. If we want to spend money on our own citizens,we can tax back the high pay of our leaders. They run their businesses so they can personally profit more, and sneer at businessmen of prior generations who regarded themselves as serving the country as well as their stockholders.
Also, military spending is our way to do industrial policy, sending jobs and money to subsidize states and districts (whether they need it or not). A major purpose of this spending is buying votes for politicians who vote for more money for the military and more votes for them in the next election because they brought to or kept military spending in their districts. We spend for the military in ways that buy the most votes rather than the most military strength.
11
Being a German immigrant to the US and having three now grown up kids in Germany I agree in many points. However: 1. It's not just a view tax points-taxes and social fees in Germany sum up to nearly 70% dues of your gross income 2. Munich is a special place, school quality looks pretty much different for example in Berlin. 3.Germany is a special place in the European union too - actually exploiting the EU regulations for its benefits. 4. Germany let the US pay for it's ( military ) defense.
17
Wrong. Even the top tax rate isn't nearly that high.
13
I have lived in Germany 12 years and raised two children here. My effective (after deductions) income tax rate is 25%. However, I suspect the commenter included the 19% sales tax (VAT) and the 100% tax on fuel, among other things.
5
@Thomas Brinker
Germans and Europeans in general pay for their medical care through their taxes. If we added what we or our employers pay for our medical insurance to our tax rate, our taxes-plus-medical-care would cost more than their taxes-plus-medical-care because our medical care is so much more expensive.
7
I am a product of the nyc school system and received a very high quality education, albeit without circus classes. We were tracked from the fourth grade on and this contributed to fostering in us an inquisitive and, yes, competitive spirit. We were taught as all of us being equals. None of my classmates were enrolled in test preparation services and yet 90%+ made it into the most prestigious PUBLIC high schools in the City BTW, our Mayor wants to change this and basically establish quotas (top x% from each feeder school — but not religous or private school — be automatically accepted into these specialized high schools). So are we to dumb down the curriculum or have those placed here by quota fail? Shall we give up AP calculus, physics, biology, etc. and be average here. Would be have a US Attorney General if we did this? A myrid of reasearchers, MDs, entrepreneurs? Look at the alumni lists. Tis teachers and parents.
It is parents and teachers that make the substantial difference. Look at the parents now fighting to get their children into nyc’s charter schools. all funded by public dollars, but not necessarily union teachers- and have after school activities, allowing parents to My teachers were all proficient in their subjects and more. They were open after class to speak to us. Were paid to conduct after school activities, like photography, chess, sports, and we had free use of the school yard, basketball and softball and football. We had bus and train
14
Here's what you need to do. Get involved in local politics and advocate for paying taxes at a level to support a modern, advanced society. There are very powerful forces aligned against you, with tremendous experience and deeply entrenched. But tell people your children need to be educated to have a good future. We start from there.
25
My experiences in Texas as a student ,studying 3 languages , psychology ,sociology , ecology, sports, travel, opera , art museums & government/public works & all K-12 ,not at university. Can you imagine? All in 1960's-1970's! Ended up being a teacher in the 21st century & much had disappeared in both Texas & California ,where I taught . And yes ,I have experienced the German school system ,we need to be ashamed to believe that electronics can replace an experience in education. That only wealthy children deserve a good education. Education as we currently know it has brought the demise of government , believing winning is more important than our children's future. How can government be small when it educates all of our children for the challenges of a changing future. And yes, I have taught at a charter school, the Walmart of education. Ms. Dumas, thank you for a great article on the future of our country.
32
While Germany does not have a centralized system of education such as in France, it does have centralized education by the 16 states( Länder). In the US education is highly decentralized. There are some 13,000 plus school districts and they are diverse in their philosophies and administration. To compare German elementary and secondary education as a whole to US elementary and secondary education invites wild generalizations, some of which no doubt may be applicable to the writer's particular experience in her one school district in the US, but to compare a system of 16 districts to a "system" of 13,000 just does not hold up to scrutiny, the writer's strong rhetoric aside.
6
I grew up in Catholic schools. The nuns were strict and we paid attention for fear of a ruler on our knuckles. The same for my Jesuit all boys high school for three years. Strict, follow the rules, complete three hours of homework a night and a written composition every weekend.
But...my best year in school was spent in a private Anglo-American (International) High School in Athens, Greece. It was, by far, the best school I ever attended. About fifteen students in each class, we were all required to participate in a drama play each quarter, a team sport each season like basketball or soccer. We studied Greek and French and English. And, once a month we went on weekend field trips throughout the country to study ancienct ruins as part of our history class. And, being coed, it was not only fun but an opportunity to date and learn about girls and the realities of relationships. We walked to school without any thought of being harrassed or attacked, and ate lunch in the local tavenas. My fellow students were from all over Europe and the teachers were either American or English.
Regardless of the type of high school your son or daughter attends in the USA, I strongly recommend that you send them to an international school for at least one year in high school. It will forever change their life and open unlimited possibilities. Our community colleges and universities are excellent in the USA but our K-12 system is a disgrace. It asks teachers to accomplish the impossible.
15
@David Michael So you had to pay attention or face physical punishment from catholic nuns? First question: that doesn't strike me as very Christian behavior. Second question: isn't it illegal?
1
I do not love paying taxes, but having lived in Europe for 5 years I realize that - you get what you pay for. When we collectively invest in ourselves we do better. This isn't socialism... the gov't doesn't own everything. We need to provide for our children - our future - so all talent no matter our income levels benefit which benefits all of us.
94
Most economists agree that a good and free education pays for itself. A skilled population is great for the economy. I don't have children - and I don't plan on having any but I gladly pay taxes to fund education and support families. When I'm old I have to depend on other people's children to keep the country running.
131
It's important to remember that public schools in America are being systematically starved in line with the Randian takeover of the Republican ethos. It's not an accident that the average education is threadbare compared to nations which tax and spend to society's advantage.
66
@Bill Scurry You're entitled to your own opinions but not your own facts. In inflation-adjusted dollars, per student expenditures on public primary and secondary education in the US increased from $6,539 in 1965 to $10,951 in 2009. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2011/expenditures/tables/table_06.asp. I believe average student performance dropped during that same period.
6
@Douglas Levene
True, facts are important.
After adjusting for inflation $6539 in 1966 is equivalent to $44060.00 in 2009. This is according to us inflation data
https://www.usdinflation.com/amount/1
8
His amounts are inflation adjusted.
At $10,000/student we have $250,000 for a classroom of 25 students. Money is not the issue. This is made clear by the fact that neighboring, sizeable school districts in California can have funding vary by over $8,000/student with an ~immeasurable difference in outcome.
3
we are always sold a bill of goods of how wonderful everything in America is - until you travel abroad and see how much more advanced so many of the countries are - infrastructure - schools - healthcare - living standards. And what do we have? trump
252
@washingtonmink The idea that everything is best in America is unfortunately now about 50 years out of date. Many countries caught up to and then surpassed the US in many areas that really matter, such as education.
5
@washingtonmink
Well said.
Most of the 286 comments are positive on German education, as well they should be. There are, however, deficiencies. But we would do well to learn from the successes.
Among the most important positive aspects of German education is that education for all is considered an important benefit for society at large. Education is not strictly measured as a means for career advancement. Among positive consequences that follow:
(1) education is free to everyone, even for foreigners. I have three law degrees, only the German Dr. jur. cost me nothing.
(2) German educators and scientists are highly respected.
(3) German government is open to learning from its experts and their knowledge of other approaches.
(4) German government is open to looking out for everyone. Education contributes to the social market economy.
There is much Americans could learn from German successes not only in education but in many other areas as well. Just at a time of greatest need, however, we have descended into xenophobia, and not just since Trump. Too many Americans at the highest levels believe that America, no matter how great the faults, has nothing to learn from other countries,
It was not always this way. In the 19th century many looked to learn from foreign experiences. The 100th anniversary of the end of WW1 is an appropriate day for this article. Since World War I, too many Americans have ' vainly imagined that they have unlocked and exhausted all the stores of wisdom and policy.'
60
@JR
It always irks me when politicians accuse people who advocate for universal healthcare to be socialists. And progressives are unfortunately not the swiftest when it comes to rebuttals. Even Bernie Sanders, in the first debate against Hillary, evoked Denmark. Denmark! Which gave her the opportunity to gloat smugly and to great applause that we are of course America, and proud of it.
When illustrating a concept with examples, pick some something relatable. Germany, France, Canada.Think horses, not zebras. All the above have higher quality of life with universal healthcare.
3
@Margaret France has universal health care, but it is not 'free'. You are reimbursed for 80% of the cost of medical care, but the health care cost itself is much lower than the U.S.
1
I have grown increasingly disappointed with the Houston area public schools, because they have largely become punitive, toxic messes that are largely just stressing out kids, parents, and teachers. How does Germany address kids moving at different paces through different subjects? At least our schools here just move on, further punishing students who get sick, or can't keep up, or come from low-SES backgrounds. After all, the only thing that matters is the almighty standardized test at the end of the year that everyone is expected to "pass" at the same time in their lives regardless of their abilities and their home situation. And no, that strategy is not working out all that well for the U.S.
19
@Todd Johnson
If I'm interpreting this essay correctly, Germany uses the much-feared "tracking" system to place kids in classes according to their abilities--the advanced kids in one class, the slower kids in another, the middle-of-the-roaders in another. I was in a tracked program myself--fast track for English and science, slow for math and French--and it worked well (except even slow algebra was too fast for me.)
At this point in American education, tracking is perceived as a great evil; all kids are expected to perform at the same level, regardless of ability or disability, work habits, emotional maturity, or interests. Because teachers want their students to pass, they naturally teach to the lowest levels of their discipline so everyone can keep up. Most of my students--I teach at a community college--tell me their high school curriculum and work load is "a joke." The American system is deeply frustrating for many of us who work in it.
10
A lot of commentary focuses on our inadequate spending. However OECD data says the US outspends all but 3 countries on primary and secondary expenditure per student (and Germany isn’t one of the 3). Is it possible the answers are more complicated?
https://data.oecd.org/eduresource/education-spending.htm
10
@AJ Well of course. We spend oh so much so teachers can retire at 55 with lifetime benefits and salary with cost of living raises for the rest of their lives. Then they complain that they are underpaid.
8
@The explanation is simple : USA is the only developed country convinced that small 15 student class sizes are preferable to 30 student class that are the norm elsewhere. This doubles the cost per student with no demonstrable benefit except for grades 1-4. Even worse most school districts in USA cannot afford 2x the cost per student so they scrimp on teacher salaries compared to Europe and hence middle and high school teachers are underpaid and under qualified compared to Europe. Not surprisingly US students outperform European students in grades 1-4 but then keep falling behind in grades 5-12.
11
You’re misinformed. Average primary school class size in the US is 26, higher than anywhere in Europe except the U.K. — Germany’s average is just under 21. (Google: SASS for the US and OECD for Europe.)
I so enjoyed this article because I just returned from Germany ( Dresden) where I spent much 1 on 1 time with my 7 year old grandson.
He took me along on his tram trips to and from his school. He knew all the ropes, where and how to buy tickets, where to get off and on, and how to buy that 'mandatory ' pastry after school. He always added up how much things cost, with an eye to economy, and took however many Euros needed from my wallet. He is bilingual English/German and could translate for me if necessary. Even though his advanced facility with English is due to his American father, in German schools (as in all of Europe) English is mandatory from the 1st grade.
My grandson goes to a Montessori school, which you must sign up for well in advance but is included in government funded education. What is so striking to me is that kids have so much fun in school. They have wonderfully imaginative playgrounds all over Germany. Children are outside playing much of the time, even in preschool children are bundled up and taken outside everyday. The classrooms are colorful, well ordered and children know the rules. Things like 'circus days' may not be necessary but they are fun - and feed the imagination. I was present for 'theatre day' . The kids were so excited about putting on their own play - with simple homemade costumes.
And note that this an average school. Nothing 'posh' about the area or the parents.
121
The problems of misuse of taxpayer/public income belong to both parties. Especially on the east coast for dems in public construction and corrupt local machine politics. GOP leads the way nationally with Citizens United and huge tax cuts for billionaires, and the manufactured deficits that follow.
8
No, yours is a false equivalence. The GOP has proven itself repeatedly to be the party of giveaways to the rich. The Democratic Party is the party of civic-minded American patriots.
It's not just money but quality of education in USA is far worse than most West European countries. USA is now having the worst or highest percentage of college graduates who believe in fairy tales of "intelligent design" than hard science of evolution. More than 38 percent of American college graduate "strongly believe that "human human beings was created by God in its present form". It's worst in America's own recent history. Here influence of religion and many other superstitions (political, social, and religious) are growing in education that is affecting our society and politics. Many of our intense political debate, including climate change, LGBT, abortion, GMO etc are also few of its consequences.
It ultimately affecting our ability to create wealth and maintain our social ability and society.
51
@BonkuI Your point is as baseless as those whom you rally against, with the exception that you try and exempilfy yourself as true judge and decider. Let us first state our beliefs and profession — you a prof at Michigan ( which discipline?), You an empiricist? Me a believer. You say if one believes in GOD they cannot support evolution? Why? That is no proof that GOD does not exist.
@Bonku. ‘Worst Percentage’. What leads you to blieve that evolution and creation by GOD are mutually exclusive? Do you gamble at all sir? I believe in the big g bang. Given that, what are the odds we ended up here? Or Pascal’s boxes. Also a WSJ piece that decided that odds were against other life inthis universe. But you have GOD’s word in the Bible. Not good enough for i assuem, present me with the odds as a gambler. Or Pascal’ s box
At many public schools, including in our district, there are no more fundraisers (wrapping paper, walkathons, bake sales, etc). There is only a once-a-year request to donate to the school foundation. The school districts/superintendents have realized that those fundraisers were a burden, and that they will receive as much or more money, if they simply ask. You've been abroad for some years, so you may not have realized that this process is happening. If your kids' school district is still doing the fundraisers, you can make this suggestion.
11
The upshot is the same, though: schools with relatively wealthy parents get more than those in low-income areas. This isn’t equitable, democratic, or patriotic. It’s un-American.
10
I have said for years, that our national discussions should be about HOW we deploy our taxes. When we talk about politics, we forget that at the core, it is about WHAT we want OUR money spent on. That means, that if you want your tax dollars to support large companies, wealthy individuals, the military industrial complex (also big business),you choose that over social programs such as public education, healthcare, childcare, Social Security etc. It means you are happy to have your taxes skimp in infrastructure, environmental protection and health research. Of course, it is each person's individual choice. For my money, a little more in taxes, when you receive SO much more, ends up being cheaper in the long run, rather than skimping now. What does that commercial say? Either "pay now or pay later"...............
20
We (family of 2 kids) moved from Stockholm to New York 3 years ago. So we did quite the reverse of what you did. Sweden have a quite similar approach to education as Germany and is an amazing country to live in with kids.
No. I don’t think it can be replicated in the United States. There are too many cultural and structural fundamental differences that create different foundations of society based on values between European countries and the U.S.
Many of the countries in Europe believe in a centralized approach where the U.S. believe in a non-centralized way of living. There is a system in place that people trust in many European countries and it works. The system works better overall but also have down sides.
The U.S. believe more in an entrepreneurial spirit where the non-centralized approach is more commonly used. The result is more work for everyone all the time. School, insurance, taxes and really any task or everyday activity requires a lot more time.
Maybe it has to do with diversity and the mix we have in the U.S. and in combination with the whole system where people and organizations can and like to sue each other. All this create a lot of extra work.
However, we love it in New York based on the everyday struggle and the diversity that you get here compared to Stockholm. When a lot of responsibilities fall on you as a parent you get involved. When you get involved you meet new people. When you meet new people you get new perspectives. And friends.
21
One essential correction. Germany is not centralized. It’s education system is also federal and therefore decentralized, i.e, controlled by the individual Bundesländer. There’s no national education system. For example, in Bavaria, they’ve retained tracking, so the author’s child was tracked at a young age. In other Bundesländer, students attend Gesamtschulen (American English lacks a good term; I’d use the British ‘comprehensive school’). That being the case, I don’t see why federalism should be an impediment.
14
the United States has great public schools. In New York, for example, both CUNY AND SUNY offers great education at affordable prices. And every state has community colleges and state universities that offers students college education that many of their parents and grandparents could not have imagined. America is a great country and has offered opportunities to people all over the world for hundreds of years...and those opportunities include getting a great education at the elementary, secondary, and college level. America is far from perfect and we can learn a lot from other countries and other systems, but let us not forget or belittle the positive traditions of our country.
14
@history teacher I notice you used the word "great" four times. Please substantiate.
In German schools they do not pretend all kids are of equal ability; they do not pacify everyone's feelings by pretending all kids are college material; and you do not get a trophy just for showing up. They don't do that in French schools either, which is the system I was educated in. Tougher, less concerned about individual feelings, and much more effective.
74
This is patently false, at least when it applies to contemporary Germany. In most places, parents can easily override educators’ tracking decisions. Most German parents want and expect their children to attend university now.
After Germans with children move to Switzerland, they often worry when confronted by cantons with strict tracking systems that do not necessarily let the parents dictate where their children belong. A number of good pieces on this have appeared in the Swiss and German presses over the years (a particularly good one in Süddeutsche Zeitung last year). This desire to send their children to Gymnasium and then university manifests itself in the rate of Gymnasium attendance. In Zürich, for example, German children attend Gymnasium at over twice the rate of Swiss children (59% versus 26% in 2013/14).
13
@Northstar5
And in both countries the working class pays for free university education for mostly middle and upper middle-class students. And that is after the working class students, more especially in Germany, have been selected early on or educational tracks that will give them minimal opportunity for university education.In addition to which German universities are nothing to brag about.
7
@Sean Two really good comments. You might also add that in Bavaria, it is now possible to be in the Mittelschule (formerly Hauptschule), the lowest of the three tracks, and still make it to university in certain fields. This would be with no tuition costs.
6
I too lived in Munich, a lovely city. I find the story exasperating in a number of ways. Yet ultimately, I believe that Western Europe has to be held to account for providing for their own defense. This American society is increasingly violent there is no doubt. Yet shielding the Europeans from the expenses of freedom must end. Maybe then we can fix the potholes, pay for granny’s procedure and stop the endless fundraising in our schools.
15
@Lake Monster Are they not doing exactly what you suggest at this very minute - raising their own pan-European army?
@Lake Monster
Living in Frankfurt, I think we can do without the American way of self defense very well. There is no need for everybody carrying guns, let alone semi-automatic rifles, and actually there is no gun violence at all. Not in schools either, and no teacher required to defend their children against the ever-present threat or gun massacres in schools. Self-defense, no thank you.
3
@Lake Monster You're spreading a myth. The cost of "defending" Western Europe pales in comparison to the cost of creating a social system Firoozeh described, fixing the crumbling infrastructure, or giving American kids a better educational system. Also, the purpose of American military presence in Europe is not just to defend Europe. It is mostly to keep our world dominance in the face of the Chinese and the Russians.
2
As Plato famously argued in the Republic, a country is in peril when it starts to become two countries -- the rich, and the poor.
My entire adult life -- I'm early Gen X -- I have seen the US basically adopt an experiment to prove Plato was wrong, and that such a nation is, in fact, really really great. Prop 13 in California was the opening salvo.
I wish I could say to America, as Dr. Phil would say, "How's that workin' out for ya?"
39
@pjc This country has always been made up of the rich and the poor. The difference now is that the poor white population can no longer feel superior to non-whites. Technology has finally leveled the playing field. It no longer matters what your nationality, ethnicity, religion, sexual preference is. What matters is what added value you bring to the workplace. Nothing more!
It's far easier to control the ignorant than the educated. I believe that keeping average kids under-educated is a conscious effort on the part of the US government to manage and control the electorate.
What's harder to understand is why the citizens can't see beyond the cultural red herrings, and consistently choose politicians who actively undermine any chance of success.
Making sure a large swath of the electorate can't afford healthcare or higher education, is underpaid, and at the mercy of large corporations will surely be the undoing of America. It's ironic, really, that this can happen in the wealthiest country on the planet.
As for tracking in schools, one only needs to compare the results to see that the "all kids in one class" concept leaves the US system far from the top of the list.
68
@SpyvsSpy We have dumbed down the country and as such, there are a great many people who no longer believe that being educated has value. Perhaps this is a function of our worship of celebs who are famous for nothing more than being famous and our worship of athletes and stars instead of educators, scientists and engineers.
Some months ago, a majority of Republicans polled stated that they thought higher education was bad for the country.
And we are also in a culture where many people care more about their kids being happy than their kids being challenged with hard work. In NYC, even DeBlasio (and the NY Times Editorial page) wants to do away with the objective specialized high school admissions test. Somehow, there are people who think kids who can't do math will somehow do well at Bronx Science, Stuyvesant and Brooklyn Tech.
We don't really care about our children. If we did, we wouldn't permit them to be murdered by guns. Other countries can afford good schools because they don't spend a majority of their tax dollars on their militaries. "Joseph Stiglitz, former chief economist of the World Bank and winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, and Linda Bilmes of Harvard University, have stated the total costs of the Iraq War on the US economy will be three trillion dollars in a moderate scenario." Imagine if we had spent that on education - I have no doubt that would have made us more secure and led to a far stronger economy than wasting it in Iraq.
51
@Martin Brooks DeBlasio wants the criteria for entry to specialized schools to include more than a test score. Like Harvard. The current method rewards only the skill of test taking.
@Martin Brooks, Three trillion dollars would buy health care and education for years.
1
Yes, in Germany and other countries that put their money where their collective mouths are with respect to education, health care, and the well being of all citizens no matter which base they are born on, the public gets what it pays for and expects. There are excellent public schools, good health care for all, public transportation that is useable, and on the whole, a standard of living that we will never see until we get over the idea that only the deserving should have decent lives.
Our country is being shortsighted and worse when it cuts taxes because those cuts lead to cuts in public services. It's no accident that the GOP and Trump and the others say racist things: it's a wonderful distraction from the real issue: the complete lack of decent services for most Americans while the richest get whatever they need, not because they deserve it but because they have the money courtesy of us.
71
And, the teachers are better paid.
We used to have free university education before the governors cut back on funding from our state taxes. many states have chosen to follow Brownback's approach to funding.
22
To this day it still amazes me how most countries around the world have public colleges and universities but the richest and most powerful country does not. Would having public colleges and universities level the playing field too much? Would it do irreparable damage to the status quo?
The rest of the world, including most the third world strives to provide an standard and solid education to its citizens but not here. Go figure!!!
Let’s party on!!
32
@Plebeyo By now we should know that a college education is much cheaper than incarceration.
This nation made a choice, for more guns than bread and butter.
Health care and education are good economics.
9
@Plebeyo its quite simple. US citizens have been brainwashed to believe it is socialism for them to band together by paying taxes to provide education, healthcare, public transportation, retirement income for all citizens is un-American. Until we realize it is to our advantage to provide for ourselves through taxes the services we want and to elect representatives who represent us, we will continue to not have the services we desire.
1
One Hellfire missile fired at a Jihadist from a drone costs about as much as Ivy League tuition, if memory serves. I would have to open another window to check the exact prices, but my point stands.
I have been living in Finland for the past twenty years. Every morning I can see little children walking to their grammar school. My own daughter walked to her school every morning. Life here is much like my life was as a child in the late 50's California suburbs. Kids walk to school. Old people ride bikes around the bike trails and parks. People live downtown and walk everywhere they go. Families go ice skating on the lakes in winter. There is very little crime and almost no violent crime. The schools here are THE priority for Finns. They know that their small under-populated country has little chance of survival if they all don't excel in school and sports. My own 13 year old daughter now takes three languages at school, plus physics, art, music, gym, history, geography, ........ To get American schools into that same level would require a complete and total make-over in the American mindset. Americans are not good at social contracts. In America, collective welfare has stopped at circling the wagons and barn raising.
182
@Wiley Cousins But Finland is a socialist mess and all the people are miserable. Ask any Conservative.
4
The difference is that Germany is (by and large) a homogeneous culture with a well-defined social contract. Teachers are respected but do not engage politically, certainly not as an extended arm of a political party. They also have authority in class - disrespect and disruption are close to nonexistent. This means that kids can engage in a learning process based on rules that everyone accepts and follows. If - as in CA- you have 50% kids whose primary language is not English, you can;t actually have a rule that benefits everyone equally.
20
@Kai I am sorry, but how is speaking a different language at home disrupting the "social contract"? Where I grew up, in a minority language community in Italy, we all spoke different languages at home, but this linguistic multiplicity did not impede us to understand that there was "a learning process based on rules that everyone accepts and follows." So, please do not conflate your dream of a "homogeneous culture" with different approaches to pedagogy and institutional education, because it does not make any sense.
56
@Kai
This is nonsense. The smallish primary school our daughters attended in South Australia proudly displayed in the reception area the number of languages (100+) spoken in the homes of students. Most classes in most years did art projects illustrating the dress-foods-geographies-rituals of the countries and cultures the students came from.
It's about acceptance, acknowledgement, inclusion and fairness. All it takes is to want to do it. (Though it's easier if the government and the community at large is sensible.)
3
@Kai
Wrong. Just plain wrong. Berlin is so multi-cultural that we have serious issues w the majority student “language” in most grammar school classrooms. It is a huge challenge. Homogenous Germany is a fairy tale notion, reality has to do with enormous Turkish, Arab and now refugee population. German-speaking children are often in the minority in a substantial number of inner city schools here.
Equality works, but it is truly challenged here at the moment.
I wish I could say similar things about our experience with German public schools. Just like here in the U.S., some German schools are great and some not so much. My 4th grader (at the time) and one other non-German speaking child (from Iraq) were supposed to receive language support from the school, but neither child received that support. We were asked to enroll our child in a religious class, choosing between Catholic or Protestant. When I asked for an alternative, the school suggested she could just sit in the hallway during that class. School was over sometime between noon and 1:00 pm, depending upon whether or not the last period teacher decided to or could teach that particular day.
All that being said, my daughter did learn a second language which was not an opportunity provided by her school in Kansas. Since we were only in Germany for half a year, we considered this a net gain. That, and understanding how life changing a great public transportation system can be.
16
Thanks for a non rose colored example of another type of German school. I figured it really couldn’t be that great everywhere in Germany, or the far right wouldn’t be rising so fast.
4
@Julie Zuckman’s; The half year (!) experience of expats trying to integrate into the middle of a different country’s educational system is a very poor indicator of the general quality of that system. As an American who has lived in the Netherlands for 20 years with a daughter who has grown up in the system since birth, I can say clearly and with no hesitation: it’s better here. As the author says, we pay a little more in taxes and get a LOT more back in everything, from education to public transport to health care and street cleaning. We also have educational tracking as described in the article. But the difference with America is that doctors and stock traders here don’t make a gazillion times more than the average person. Being tracked into a non-university path isn’t a death sentence here. Overall, it’s a much better way to live. Instead of endlessly, breathlessly, aimlessly “pursuing individual happiness”, we can give ourselves the means to build it together.
55
The far right does not prioritize education. Try again!
Wonderful piece, thank you. I went to a German gymnasium back in the '70's as an exchange student, and even then was amazed at how far ahead of ours the schools were. It breaks my heart that our public school children now go without music, art, PE, foreign languages, ANY kind of cultural enrichment. Excessive standardized testing, though--we have plenty of money for that.
28
@SherlockM
Statistically Germany spends $9000 a year per student, US spends over $20000. Schools in US are much better funded than in Germany. The problem is not lack of money. US has laws like “no child left behind”. Law that hurts schools because it forces teachers to teach in such a way that the dumbest student must pass tests. Germany is not afraid to say that not all students are smart and some will not go to college. Germany does not put metal detectors in schools, US does.
4
All property taxes should be pooled, and all schools in a state should get the same amount of money for their students. This is a no-brainer.
28
Then why would some communities agree to tax themselves more? They wouldn’t.
8
@Frequent Flier
If you were going to do that, why not just fund schools from a state's general fund (via income taxes)? Some states do this, at least to some extent.
4
@Frequent Flier
"This is a no-brainer. "...
It would be if it were that simple. In NY, at least, state aid to school districts is based on income levels and taxable property value per pupil. As a result, all schools in the state receive a decent package. In fact, in each region, some of the poorest (high need) districts have the highest per pupil spending ratios.
In the end, some districts choose to spent (and tax themselves more) for additional programs. You can provide a solid base for education expenditures, but you can't stop a community from spending more if they want to.
2
My family immigrated to the US. We were poor and trying to establish ourselves here. We didn't live in the rich neighborhoods with the good schools I ended up going to some very mediocre schools. But... I managed to get a great education. Some of the projects and the way I was taught certain concepts still stick with me, to this day. I and some of my classmates I keep in touch with became PhDs, MDs, engineers, lawyers, etc. Other classmates became teenage parents, drug addicts, or dropouts. The diversity that I experienced in school, racial, economic, family situation, was an education in and of itself. What I'm saying is that I don't know why some of us learned so much while others floundered, but it was probably a mix of person, family and learning environment. While I'm not sure what the secret recipie to enducational success is, I'm pretty sure it does not require circus lessons.
28
@Isabel But a stable family life has a lot to do with it. Our government does not even have family policies to speak of. There is no consideration of the importance of job security, good housing, food security, quality daycare, and early childhood development. Hungry and homeless children can't learn, they have to deal with real problems.
Republicans only consider cuts in social programs without a thought of consequences. Trump does not even mention social issues just money for more weapons and how great he is.
10
I have no idea what your comment has to do with what I wrote. From my experience, attending even mediocre to subpar schools in the US, as rated from a generally accepted mix of funding and student outcomes in comparison to other US schools, and having not so great teachers, is an education that sets one up for success in life. And that's becuase the methods used here are generally great, and teach student independent learning and critical thinking. Obviously, kids who live in chaotic homes with drug addicted parents (like some of my school friends) won't be able to take advantage of this as much as kids in stable homes. But, that's not the school's fault. And when I say I went to some bad schools, I don't mean your average suburban school. I mean I had classmates who struggled with homelessness, neglect, alcoholics parents, etc. I went to the schools that had daycares for teenage parents.
1
"Good" education depends on what a parent believes elementary and secondary education is for. If it is to teach children the three R's and a sampling of the wide world of knowledge, American K-12 does that just fine IF the student wants to learn and IF parents support their learning. If parents want something more, it's their job to provide it. Beyond K-12, learning is a lifelong enterprise. Those who want to learn something, can.
1
@abigail49 My goodness, what a charming 1820s notion of what public school should be. Of course learning is a lifelong enterprise, but that doesn't mean that 21st-century schools shouldn't offer a modern, diversified, rich educational experience and help form good citizens. That is what it means to have a society.
29
@abigail49 good public schools and stable family life are the foundation of lifelong learning, the shoestrings to pull yourself up on.
Of course Europeans can afford all kinds of social spending the US has been supporting and providing defense for Europe for over a century - WWI, WWII, cold war, NATO. And yet the NATO "allies" e.g. dependents won't meet their very meager spending targets. Time to keep our money at home and let the Europeans pay for their own defense.
11
@Reader In Wash, DC
I doubt that is a possibility anymore than a solution. They will continue to spend on their defense what they currently are (including their proposed increases) and we will continue to spend what we do. They simply disagree on both how much and what type of military spending is necessary. That said, their spending on education and healthcare will continue as they see fit.
Our military budget will not go down (it went down briefly under Obama due to the bipartisan sequester back when Republicans cared about deficits) and he is maligned to this day over it. In any event, I think the European education system will, going forward, be under considerable strain. I wish them well and it would be nice if we are able learn something from how they handle it.
6
@Reader In Wash, DC Noone forces the US to spend more than any other nation on the military. No other nation has invaded the USA. The nation has enough nuclear weapons to destroy the planet several times over. What business does the nation have in the ME and Venezuela and so many other nations around the globe?
NK is not about to invade the US, not Russia or China either if we leave them alone.
@Reader In Wash, DC Nope. Germans just pay higher taxes than Americans are willing to pay, especially Americans in red states who are constantly voting in Republicans who keep gutting federal and state budgets to 'starve the beast'. When I lived in Germany, the tax rate was between 40-60% depending on how high one's income was. The difference is that you could see the benefits of the tax in public services and infrastructure.
NATO is an alliance that mutually benefits the EU and the USA.
1
Nice article. If a much larger fraction of our population spent time with their families in other countries, especially Germany, Denmark and Sweden we might better understand.
19
@WHM At first, I thought it was enough to merely 'recommend' your comment, but now I realize, having read the other responses, I need to REPLY, as well. I was 58 when I moved overseas; what a wonderful way to 'better understand'. I didn't even move to an 'enlightened' country; but I did come into contact, every day, with families from Germany, Denmark, Sweden.
300 Million Americans still think our society is so much better than everyone else. If more Americans could live overseas, we'd be a better, more well-rounded, enlightened society. We understand that other people may actually organize their life, society, and government better than we do.
113
Why did you come back to this terrible place?
I only dream of leaving it and I'm in NYC (generally found, among researchers, to be the least happy metro area in the US, right next to Gary, Indiana actually)
16
German schools are more efficient and effective than American schools. The schools are bigger and the class sizes are bigger. They have fewer principals, administrative staff and a higher proportion of teaching employees to administrative employees. They do not have buildings that contain two or three "schools," each with its own principal and three assistant principals.
They do not "mainstream" "handicapped" students and do not declare that children with behavioral problems are handicapped.
They have an elaborate tracking system that puts children of similar academic abilities in the same classroom with a single teacher and 35-40 students and no teachers' aides. In America, we have class sizes from 20-30, but it is common to have teacher's aides manage the two children who have behavioral issues and disrupt the instruction of the other children. In Germany, the disruptive and special needs children are segregated, and provided appropriate services.
The tracking system also means that the federal German government makes a decision when a child is 12 or 13 whether the child is ultimately going to go to college or trade school, and the decision is permanent.
Teachers are paid lower salaries. In place of bloated administrative staffs and teachers' aides, they hire teachers for enrichment activities. Similar to charter public schools in the US.
Schools are optimized for children, not to benefit the education hierarchy.
24
@ebmem
Americans tell themselves the lie that "choice" is needed by the schools. But more importantly, teachers need respect to be attracted to the profession. Treat teachers like "workers," and they will demand that more workers are needed to do the job.
2
@ebmem NO, the track that students begin (at age 10, actually) is not permanent: They can test up (or move down, if they wish). And NO, teachers are actually envied for their good salaries, good benefits, and job security. Nothing like US charter schools, and everything like properly funded public schools.
28
I'm not sure that Germany necessarily can compare well with the US in terms of educational quality. To start with, it may be that the US educational system is too varied for such a broad argument. To posit an example, I thought that in comparing Senator Clinton's educational access plan to that of Senator Sanders, it was a concern that many small colleges that offer high quality education (but are not wealthy and have somewhat insecure institutional finances), and represent one of a wide, diverse array of possibilities for students with their own individual interests, might be driven out of business. State Legislators might initially finance free tuition, but in the out years under the pressure of budget constraints cut funding more each year, and start listening to plutocratic excuses to wipe out access to bricks and mortar, direct experience of spark of mind to mind education (there were worthwhile human reasons for some elite secondary schools in years past to seat their students in tight circles of desks to force them to engage directly in the classroom discussion, with no place to hide from it, and to encourage thoughtful, accountable intellectual aggression) for most people altogether - this occurring after the wide, diverse set of scholarships and other financial aid and small colleges and various educational alternatives had been broken down by the reaction to free tuition. Invest in improving education for everyone - but hold on to those advantages the US has built.
1
Education is the equalizer. With a good education, almost anything can be achieved. It is the means by which anyone can achieve the American Dream. Without a good education, we become what we are today-a country divided. We are not divided by what we want-I believe we all want the same things. We are divided by how we understand those things. Everyone wants the best schooling for their children. There is no debate there. It is frustrating to watch our politicians pretend to fix this. A broken car shined up or renamed is still a broken car. If we were a functioning democracy, we would carefully analyze what is wrong with American Education, compare it to other nations, and do what it takes to fix it. But instead, we are like people fighting for their last scrap of food. Logic, intelligence, decency and problem solving are lost. It does not help that politicians purposely mislead us. I think that you have to be pretty smart to come together as a country, as a city, as a neighborhood to face problems and generate meaningful solutions. Is there some benefit to not providing us with a good education? Because American schooling has been consistently bad. Is this a means to keep people from advancing, to keep us working day in and day out without ever making progress?
13
I’m sorry you have to face public school disappointment but glad your child had a good experience in Germany. Thanks for telling that story. Personally I’m concerned about both the economics and content of public education.
In California, there’s no relief in sight. Besides Proposition 13, middle-class flight, changing demographics, decreasing tax base, overcrowding, and diluted curriculum, all co-conspire against parents of good students. Germany sounds better than ever.
10
Germany's population is rapidly shrinking and schools are shutting down for lack of students. So the few kids that remain may enjoy now, but face despair in 20 years.
5
@Wu Fertility rates in Germany as of 2016 were 1.50 births per woman vs US for same period at 1.80 per woman... not a lot of difference, so I'm not sure what your point is. Germany at 82M inhabitants is the most populous EU nation.
It is fairly clear that access to family planning and modern methods of contraception lower a nation's fertility rate but also provide economic growth benefits by allowing more women to receive education, join the labor force and achieve some level of economic stability. Lack of access to family planning and those modern methods causes high fertility and creates barriers for women's educational and workforce opportunities.
2
@Wu
Sources, please? Those of us living here are amazed to hear things like this. Population growth is an issue everywhere, btw. Easy> do what Germany is doing. Take in refugees and integrate them. It is slow,but it works.
2
@Wu Funny how in one comment from the US Europe is doomed because of a shrinking population, and in the next because were are drowning in immigrants...
2
And you forgot the obvious difference; when's the last time someone shot up a school in Germany? So along with being able to safely walk or take public transportation to their schools and having a superior curriculum and extra-curricular activities, the kids are also far safer in their schools overseas. Yet we think we're number 1.
I do have to differ though with your opposition to tracking. I think we do a great disservice to US kids by our persistence in telling them that they all need to pursue an academic track and go to college. In truth, many are not academically oriented and would do far better given the chance to pursue vocational or technical pursuits as well as apprenticeships. That so many US kids fail to graduate from high school or "graduate" barely able to read, do simple math etc and are woefully unprepared to do anything but stock shelves is a travesty. Other than for immigrant children(who might require testing in their native language) by 4th grade children are generally displaying clear signs of their abilities in an academic sense. We serve no one well by our insistence that "we're all the same". It's not just OK to be different; variety is natural and adds to the mosaic of life.
53
@Greenie Tracking can be a good way to provide for different student needs, but it needs flexibility to provide "second chance" opportunities to change tracks for students who qualify. Forty years ago, Taiwan had a rigid tracking system with a student's track determined by performance on the high school entrance exam. Later flexibility was provided by designing channels for students to change tracks. This is needed because students can end up in a particular track not only on the basis of ability but because parents divorced or a parent lost a job through layoffs or illness. All of these situations can force the student to work part-time to help with family finances, leaving no time to prepare for entrance exams.
8
Education (Early, middle, and K12) in California is highly heterogeneous and depends on ZIP code. For instance, last year CA had approximately 690 students with a perfect ACT composite score of 36 which is more than NY, CT, and MA had combined. 139 of these students came from Palo Alto High, Mission San Jose, and Gunn High School. At the same time CA school system is ranked 44th in the nation. CA K12 system is extremely diverse, unlike Germany, with 51% Latino, 25% White, 17% Asian, 9% AA and Other demographics. This creates enormous problem as high performers tend to be clustered in specific schools. I think that if you enroll your kids in the German school serving mostly immigrant population you would be facing similar problems as in CA high schools located in immigrant-majority areas. Countries with least diverse populations, like Finland, tend to have highest rated schools. Singapore is an exception.
23
I went to excellent public schools in California, and was well-equipped with my education from there to earn a bachelor’s and two graduate degrees in the US and an additional master’s degree in Germany, the latter of which I just finished last year. I also taught English for a year in a German Gymnasium many years ago, and I served as a lecturer at the German university at which I was studying during my master’s program (yes, I was very busy and tired a lot). To be honest, my US primary and secondary education instilled in me a love of learning and a drive to succeed academically that I have rarely seen in the German young people I have known throughout the years. I also had very demanding, results-driven parents (which obviously contributed to my compulsion to over-educate myself later in life). I believe it’s important to work hard and to do your best to maximize your opportunities wherever you are. Kids are much better off, I think, when they’re encouraged and supported in their academic interests, and that, honestly, can happen in the US just as well as it can happen in Germany. Best of luck to the author and her family as they repatriate!
12
The various letters all seem to miss a very important point: education in the US is funded through local and state taxes. Federal taxes pay a very small part of the money that goes to education. So all those people who suggest we cut the defense budget to pay for education really need to get an education about how their public system is funded!
15
Of course you are right, both about how schools are primarily funded by state and local taxes and about " all those people who suggest we cut the defense budget to pay for education really need to get an education about how their public system is funded"
But the recent federal "tax cuts" force people in high tax states to fund more of the federal deficits by limiting deductions for state and local taxes. So there is actually some truth to the claim that money now going to the "defense" budget could be redirected towards education: state and local tax deductions could be restored if only we didn't have such a large deficit, caused partly by excessive military spending.
12
Of course you are right, both about how schools are primarily funded by state and local taxes and about " all those people who suggest we cut the defense budget to pay for education really need to get an education about how their public system is funded"
However, the recent federal "tax cuts" force people in high tax states to fund more of the federal deficits by limiting deductions for state and local taxes. So there is actually some truth to the claim that money now going to the "defense" budget could be redirected towards education: state and local tax deductions could be restored if only we didn't have such a large deficit, caused partly by excessive military spending.
And there wouldn't be as much confusion about who pays for what if we had schools that properly taught civics!
5
@Steven Caplan
Less money paid in federal taxes leaves more money for other things including state and local taxes.
6
I grew up in California in the shadow of the tax rebellion. My current little rural school district has many more options than what I had as a kid. We don’t need to be in Germany for great schools. We especially don’t need kids sent off on career tracks and achievement tracks as fourth graders.
10
@Anthony No disrespect, but as a resident of Kansas, what do you know about educating any one?
A co-worker of mine lived in an expensive area of NJ with top-notch schools, and the high property taxes that goes along with it. The moment her daughter graduated from high school she put the house up for sale.
People with kids are the biggest boosters of well-funded schools. When their kids are out of the house.. not so much.
11
@Mario When someone whose kids have graduated sells their home, guess who buys that home? Someone with kids to educate. So, your final point is unclear. Yes: people with an interest in the system buy in and pay the accompanying taxes. Your problem is?
As amusing as it is to hear people proclaim that America is the best country on earth, there is something peculiar about the obvious aversion to the arts and sciences in public schools.
There's also something pretty weird about having gym teachers serve as "health teachers," and then tasking them with both drug, and sex education. Some questions are best left to people who don't demand to be called 'coach' when you address them.
If mathematics were taught from a Cartesian perspective, then kids would almost certainly find math far more interesting, and God wouldn't even have to die in the process.
12
Thank you for bringing this perspective. There is a better way- our schools fight to justify funding with data and test scores and lists of 'best" colleges, when we should be creating contexts for learning how to learn. Too many schools miss the point that education is about doing, being, exploring and finding beauty. Our American appetite for competition has created a race to nowhere as we leave each other behind and fail to address the anger and animosity that this creates. Still, there is much good here, kindness abounds and there is nothing more heroic than teaching literature to this cell phone addicted generation- but most of that will go unsung in our rush to get through the day to get to SAT prep.
11
@John Quixote
To back up your comment, I've spent the past ten weeks flailing about in my college general chemistry II class doing calculations. I am saddened by such a wasted amount of time we could have spent hands on, exploring chemistry in the outside world, experimenting during our labs and learning through curiosity and play. Instead, I hear nonstop droning of meaningless letters, numbers, and symbols applied in theory only, to prepare for the honor of the glorious the American Chemical Society test waiting for me to fill in 50 multiple choice questions on the bubble sheet. Talk about anti-climactic.
1
Firoozeh Dumas's point of view resonates with me.
In my first career, I left the states to teach in public high schools in Norway for 10 years. I saw students get a worthwhile education and have the opportunity for a path to growth. Many went on to universities and technical schools. Others chose to take over the family farm or the family business. All learned at least one foreign language. in addition to English. Everyone had exposure to sciences and math. Students had classes in sex education.
No one missed out on education because the family couldn't afford it. Every student participated in sports and outdoor activities.
My granddaughter finished her primary and secondary education in Oslo schools and has gone on to higher education in Lillehammer. My grandson is in his final year of middle school in Oslo. He and his school class just returned from a trip to Poland to see first hand the concentration camps, meet with government officials and Polish youth, and learn some of the lessons of Europe in the Second World War.
I don't believe my grandchildren would have the benefit of those broadening experiences in a typical American school of today. We continue to provide proof in this country that we undervalue education and give short shrift to providing our young people with equality of opportunity and paths to growth.
54
Spent two years at MAHS, a US military school which no longer exists. We had all of this and loved living there. We have chipped away at US education funding on every level and it shows. It shows most for kids in urban and rural schools that don't have parent resources to backfill the school budget. It hurts POC and rural kids most of all.
13
I pay $12,000 per kid for a fabulous pre-K program (which is cheap). My property taxes are $5,600 a year which are going to pay for the entire education of my kids through school. Go figure why public schools struggle. It's not rocket science.
17
@Jonathan
I've got a bridge you might be interested in John.
We do spend more money per student than any other country, and certainly more than Germany or France. Our higher teacher salaries are probably the biggest reason, but there are other factors as well.
Those who are not satisfied might consider inquiring how the money is spent.
5
@Jonathan My gut feeling would say that money is spent like healthcare. Most of the money flowing to some excellent but extremely expensive private schools and a pittance for public schools. Many European countries make private education difficult, so even kids from rich families are in public schools and everybody can find reason to fund them well.
6
@Jonathan
Our higher teacher salaries? Where? In many parts of the country, teachers can’t afford to buy a home or live in the neighborhood of their school. Many teachers throughout the country have second jobs on weekends and summers to help pay the bills. And many school districts expect teachers to purchase classroom supplies out of their own pocket. No, our teachers are not highly paid.
43
High teacher salaries, this is sarcasm right? We pay teachers in most of the country barely livable wages.
A quick internet search reveals that average US per pupil education spending is substantially above such spending for other OECD countries. In states like NY it exceeds $22,000 per pupil. So perhaps the problem lies elsewhere. NYC has a bloated bureaucracy and a highly restrictive union contract under which poorly performing teachers collect full salaries while spending their days in “rubber rooms”. It may be comforting to blame Betsy DeVos but she is not the problem.
10
@Pete
I'm all for getting rid of those so called "rubber room" teachers. However, they and the 150 million it's reported that they cost the city is less than one percent of the 25 billion dollar city education budget. We should not let that be a distraction. A few bad teachers are not the problem with education in America. No doubt, there are tremendous problems, particularly in large urban areas, trying to educate students. I think we have to look at the real issues though (poverty, homelessness, among other things) and design solutions accordingly.
12
@Pete unfortunately, our public schools in America face a constellation of problems, only a few of which (bloated bureaucracy, problematic unions, Betsy DeVos) you name.
1
I grew up in Munich and I don’t remember circus classes. I guess it changed in some areas and schools. Also Munich is an incredible expensive city.
The three track system after fourth grade does mainly exist in the state of Bavaria, where Munich is, but not in most of the other states. The author is right about the social system in Germany. Yes, you pay a bit more taxes, but everyone benefits.
11
Let’s consider at least one reason for Germany’s excellent school system.
Germany is not meeting its own NATO commitment to spend 2% of its GDP on defense. This is about $30 billion of underspending per year. They have about 12 million school-age children.
By not meeting their defense spending commitment, they have about $2,500 that they can spend on each child. That’s a lot of after-school activities.
Of course, they don’t lack military defense, because the U.S. picks up the slack. The same is true throughout most of Europe and Canada.
In essence, U.S. taxpayers are subsidizing European schoolchildren’s little paradise. Again, American parents whose children are lacking all the enhanced educational opportunities are essentially paying for such activities for European children.
I’m not arguing that Germany should spend more. They can simply renounce their spending commitment to NATO. (Their long term defense budget already does this by never reaching their target.) But if they choose this option, then the U.S. should withdraw from NATO and cut its own defense budget, allocating the money toward schooling, enhanced social services, and reducing the deficit.
All those who argue that the U.S. must remain the globe’s policeman, should think carefully about the cost and at least have the courtesy to remain quiet when President Trump speaks forcefully about Europeans paying their fair share to NATO.
15
@John Very well said and I wish more people could understand your message. The same dynamic applies to free health care and across the other west European nations. Thank you.
7
@No, the U.S. should not withdraw from NATO, but it should cut its defense budget and use the money to rebuild a civil society. Let it contribute less, maybe something more like what other NATO members are contributing. And let it cut the influence of its defense industries and join the rest of the countries of the world in trying to take care of its citizens. If the other NATO partners can't live with the resulting loss of protection, they’ll have to deal with the new reality. Maybe it would make our world a less paranoid, more humane place.
21
@John The issue isn't our NATO expenditures, it's fighting wars we never should have fought (like Iraq, which will wind up costing $3 trillion) and giving the military unbelievably expensive weapons it doesn't even want or need because our Congress takes bribes from military contractors and because they want the jobs those contracts bring.
Furthermore, countries do not "pay" NATO. Rather, NATO countries agree to commit to spend X on their own defense. Trump doesn't actually understand how NATO works.
We're still trying to fight wars like we did 50 to 75 years ago. For all the money we spend, we're quite lousy at it. Aside from when we stopped the Iraq invasion of Kuwait, we haven't won a war since WWII. We've never won a guerrilla war. Tomorrow's big wars won't be fought on the physical battlefield anyway, they'll be cyber wars that manipulate elections, bring down infrastructure and steal business secrets. We still think the guy with the biggest bomb is going to win the war and that somehow, destroying the entire world isn't enough, we have to have enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world many times over. And we do all this at the cost of our children's education and our country's infrastructure. We're fast becoming a third-world country. We're great at strip malls, shopping centers (although big shopping malls are failing), gas stations, Starbucks and Football.
22
Having taught in American public schools for thirty years in a very mixed socioeconomic community, I learned a few things. My experience was limited to one school over this time so wide experience is lacking. Parents really do want schools like the ones they attended and can relate to. It takes one class or teacher whom a student loves to keep them in school. Education in America has a tough time trying to meet the expectations of stakeholders. For instance read the comments in any article on education including this one. Betsy Devos and extreme conservatives do not like public schools and do their best to undermine them. We are not good at finding a middle ground with too many school board meetings being sad spectacles instead of problem solving constructive events. Public finance of public schools can be farcical as the measure of all things is not how little we pay in taxes. First year teaching my class size was 18 max, Last year it was whatever the fire marshall said could be stuffed in a room. We Americans can have a hard time pulling together when rugged individualism is a virtue. German schools being whatever they are, I suspect there is more societal agreement than we can ever dream of.
37
Richness of experience and extracurriculars aside, ask a German and an American high school grad ten basic knowledge-class questions. Geography, basic science, etc. The results will tell you everything you need to know about just how low American public education has sunken throughout most of the country compared to other countries.
37
@Ken Nyt
Yet we remain the financial epicenter of the world, the protector of much of the free world and the place many people want to immigrate to. Can't say that about Germany.
1
1. My child, who will be graduated from college this year, attended schools in coastal Maine, where he received an excellent and attentive education (often with 12 to 14 students in a class), and there was no need for parents to do any fundraising. His high school just completed a massive renovation and expansion campaign, and at this point has facilities that would rival many colleges.
2. "... the idea of a city where children can practice independence from an early age requires a social contract..."
At the risk of being mislabeled a racist or worse, I will note that the strength of such a social contract is usually at least partly rooted in societal homogeneity, a quality that was threatened by the recent massive immigration of Middle Eastern refugees, which many Germans perceive as threatening their hard-won social contract.
17
@Eric
with respect to point #2 - in NYC, arguably one of the most diverse cities in the US, children regularly ride the subway, alone or with school mates. I've never noticed anyone here feeling threatened by Middle Eastern refugees - or any refugees, certainly not the children who are doing homework, listening to music or chatting with friends on the subway on their way to and from school. Maybe because when all is said and done, we remember that our ancestors all were refugees.
13
@Barbara:
I grew up in NY, and rode the bus to the train to school, alone, in the second grade, so I agree with you.
As far as homogeneity versus diversity, I was not saying that one can only achieve a feeling of community in a homogeneous environment, but rather that that was a longstanding element of Germany's (and most European countries'), without which many people there feel that the entire arrangement would be at risk.
That being said, I will note my personal experience, which was that the long trip I used to take was through "white" areas. Later in that same year, when the school relocated, and again several years later, I had to walk through "black" areas, where I was harassed and occasionally attacked, explicitly because of the color of my skin (I was a white boy, which is both a description and an epithet).
While this experience helped me greatly in learning how to communicate with a wide range of people (skinny white boy can't outrun kids several years older), it would not support a "pro-diversity" argument.
As I say, just my personal experience, but there is a gut feeling inherent in homogeneity that goes a long way to establishing that sense of "social contract," and the loss of that "gut feeling" can also be a factor in dismantling it. Older New Yorkers, I think, have a sort of a "city-state" identity that leads them to feel solidarity with others who look or sound different, but children will revert very easily to tribalism if given a chance.
6
@Eric --- Wrong, Wrong, Wrong I an American have also lived in Munich for over ten years and have a son who has attended school there and am now married to a German teacher. First Munich is about 50% immigrant. There has been a not insignificant Muslim Turkish population for sometime.
I would also agree with Ms. Dumas that the U.S. should be embarrassed to have such poor infrastructure, schools, heath care, expensive College education, and on and on. Yes I paid a bit more in taxes but got so much more for it. The 1% are afraid that if Americans learned what is possible they might have to get by with a few million less from their hundreds of millions and billions. The lack of social contract here is stunning and disheartening. It is every man for himself, dog eat dog, winner takes all. Sad
1
I participated in a teacher exchange program to Germany this summer. My host family said that Germans realize children are their greatest resource. The opportunities and variety of experiences was wonderful for kids and families there. Here we have to fight for funding of any kind and we have a Secretary of Education in Betsy Devos who wants to take what little we have and give it to charter schools.
32
@Ellen
Ninety percent of school funding is at the state and local government level in the US. The other 10% is doled out by the federal government to cover some of the additional overhead imposed by the Justice Department and directed toward problems created by the federal government.
Do the schools operate at full capacity during the summer? Interesting time to compare schools.
Did you notice that there are fewer administrative employees per child and larger class sizes? Did you notice that with the higher class sizes there weren't any teachers' aides. Did you notice that they didn't have individual learning plans for the 40% of the student body that had some special need that couldn't be addressed absent a personal plan? Did you notice that the schools were bigger and yet did not have three assistant principals? Oh, that's right, school wasn't in session while you were on paid vacation that was likely funded by some of the 10% the federal government chips in.
1
One oversimplification after another. Just for starters, I live in a well to do suburb of San Francisco and my close neighbors have two kids in our public schools and I have not yet been asked to buy any wrapping paper, cupcakes, or whatever. Their mother is VERY busy but mostly taking them to and from soccer and dancing lessons, etc. I have recently voted in support of a bond issue to support our local schools that passed by a wide majority. I might also mention that a German friend sent his kids to university in the U.S. because he was unhappy with the German university system that he had gone through. Yes there are problems, serious problems, but they are not all in the U.S. and how good the local schools are is a very local problem anywhere in the world. It does little good to make sweeping generalizations based on small samples, indeed that kind of thinking leads to wrong answers.
12
@John
Well, I guess it does cut both ways. Of course in the US we also have Donorschoice where teachers beg people anywhere to fund the things the students need but their schools can't provide. But I guess that is anecdotal as well.
10
@John
You voted for the bond issue because you know that your property taxes are capped and that property tax increases over the cap will be allocated to people who are new to the neighborhood. You feel comfortable voting for tax increases because you will not have to pay them. When you have tax increases that residents who won't have to pay them get to vote for, an unsustainable process is in place.
At some point in time, when the people who are paying ten times what their neighbor is paying for an identically valued home realize they are the majority, the bubble is going to burst. Plan to retire and sell your house before that happens.
@John
Perhaps the clue to your school is that you live in a "well to do suburb". Spending per pupil and teacher salaries vary widely over the country.
It is clear from this article, anyone can take an anecdotal experience that may or may not justify their narrative, however, there are TWO realities in America that are irrefutable and they are directly related to education(or lack of access to it).
America has the worst income inequality (and growing) of any of the world's western industrialized nations.
America has more people in jail than any other country in the world.
44
@Deus
America has a heterogeneous population, unlike Canada. We subsidize international security as well as drug costs for Canadians, because Canadians are not wealthy enough to cover the costs. We do the same for the world's western industrialized nations.
Income inequality grew under Obama policy and is declining under Republican policy.
1
@ebmem Are you serious? Canada is heterogeneous. Not sure what you mean about international security, but we are subsidizing drug costs for the pharmaceutical companies, not for the poor Canadians.
1
Lets face it people, life in America started a slow march to the bottom with Reagan.
Though we did however recently allocate another $50B to the pentagon with nary a blink of an eye; barely made the news.
And the recent tax cuts? I don't know how this all shakes out, but it can't be good for the vast middle...or what's left of the middle.
130
Come to Massachusetts! It isn't perfect, but certainly offers more than California. We left San Diego's perfect weather for the Boston area when our kids were starting grade school. We were dumbfounded at what the Massachusetts schools offered. Our local elementary school in San Diego was a great one, but it had no art teacher (parent volunteers taught), no gym teacher (again, parent volunteers), no librarian, no school nurse, no counselors, no classroom aides. Our local public school in Massachusetts has all of the above. Overall, taxes in Massachusetts are slightly higher, but man, is there bang for the buck!
94
@Regina S.What school district? That makes all the difference. In MA or any other state.
@Regina S.
And you get Elizabeth Ann Warren too!
4
@Regina S.
Ah but the weather in Mass can be a cruel transition for us Californians! I've always wondered about living in Northhampton after reading Kim Gordon's memoir and her mention of life there.
Imagine what good we could do in the U.S. if we didn’t spend $5 billion on midterm election campaigns. Campaigns that everyone hates. Campaigns that never stop. Campaigns that are turning us into a plutocracy . . Or is it an oligarchy?
87
We spend 600 billion on a military that loses all wars. Their incompetence is mind boggling.
3
@Just Curious
Agree. Also, how many wars/conflicts are you in and how much do they cost?
I am old enough to remember attending an excellent public school on the East Coast that provided excellent curriculum, teachers, and supplies for us to thrive - no fundraisers needed! We also had scores of after-school activities (with busing included!) to partake in. You know, to see what we could possibly to do with our lives before we went to college and had to declare a major.
I wrote for the school newspaper, played volleyball and water polo (very bad at the latter), practiced on the debate team and debated other schools, sang in the choir with several recitals every year, took flute lessons and played in the orchestra, and sang and danced in the school musical every year. All of these were free! And I got an excellent education!
Now as a parent for kids in NM public schools, we parents have to pay for basic school supplies (they don't even provide pencils). We organize fundraisers to pay for the electricity and teachers' bonuses. We volunteer our time to put together homework packets and even grade homework. Parents even substitute teach when someone is out sick. There are zero after-school activities. There isn't even lunch and recess anymore (we all pack lunches every day). No gym class.
What is going on??? Kids are the future, but we treat them like an annoying afterthought. Our kids should be our Number One investment, above everything else. Full stop.
89
@Carrie it sounds as if public education in NM isn’t fully public. By underfunding the schools, politicians and possibly school boards have shifted a chunk of the educational costs to the parents whose children attend the schools. That’s a political problem, and those responsible for underfunding schools should be voted out. You should point out that today’s shortchanged students will be funding tomorrow’s Social Security fund through their payroll taxes.
14
@Carrie That's insane. In NYC we have a strong union and we as teachers do not allow this to happen. That's the benefit of a strong union. When there is injustice against our students we have the power to fight.
2
Beyond that, U.S. elementary schools now outsource grading. "volunteering" parents take home math homework, grade it, and return it to the teachers the following day. There is no choice, teachers make it abundantly clear that all the "volunteering" helps your kids succeed, and classes are so large that "volunteers" have to help during any day of the week, after programs only work with volunteers or will be cancelled, and school requests for basic materials, include teacher supplies, makes you wonder what "public" in public school means. Kids are made to feel bad, if they cannot meet basic fundraising goals for their classes. There are literally awards for math, fundraising, reading, being nice, and most importantly coming to school everyday, because that is what U.S. schools get paid for.
Having lived about half my life in Europe and the U.S. (and some years in Asia), I see the costs of the U.S. public school system, it's a complete drain on parents, not necessarily in money but in emotions. Enrolling my kids in Europe for school, was like an Apple app, click "ok" and you're done. Here, in the U.S., you sign vouchers after vouchers, get masses of emails, obligations, paper work, deadlines, and more. In Europe, kids somehow just learn, parents not to be bothered. Selected work is sent home at the end of the semester.
As the author indicated, my kids went to school on their own in Europe, that includes first grade, they used public transportation, then walked the rest.
36
@Tom
Before the Department of Education was created, the federal taxpayer contributed zero to K-12 education, and made a small number of National Defense Student Loans for college students.
California had an education system that was the envy of the world, with zero tuition public universities.
Now that the federal government has been pumping up spending for guaranteed student loans, the salaries of university presidents has risen from the inflation equivalent of $130,000 per year to $1.5 million and that federal borrowed money plus Pell Grants results in students 10-30 year periods of indenture.
Federal spending at the K-12 level [soon to be expanded to three and four year old children in pre-K] at 10% doesn't cover the increase in administrative costs for the principal and three assistant principals for schools along with their staffs.
Classes in the US are smaller, significantly, than class sizes in Germany. But teachers are able to coerce parents into grading homework and raising funds by threatening their children.
We're from the federal government, and we're here to help you.
@Tom
And of course to go to school on their own your kids had to live someplace where there was public transport and walkable streets. Chances are also that they went to the local school and weren't sent to a school clear across the city to achieve racial metrics.
1
If German schools foster more creativity and independence compared to California, why is so much music and culture produced in California and consumed in Germany, and not the other way around?
11
@Brendan great question. I wonder how many of the music & culture producers were educated in the California public school system or were not?
2
@Brendan
Apples and oranges, man.
The music and culture produced in CA outweighs that in most places because creatives flock here, aren't necessarily bred here.
15
@Left Coast
I'm wondering what music and culture you have in mind.
And if patterns of consumption prove quality, isn't McDonald's the best restaurant in the world?
9
I assume this Op-Ed was written/submitted just before our most recent, well-publicized mass shooting. Otherwise, the author likely would have added 'potential for mass shooting' to the list of dreads for her daughter's return to an American public school.
The US is a perverted nation, no ifs ands or buts about it.
We spend more on war (or as we cleverly prefer to frame it, 'defense') than the next six or so nations, combined.
We have the largest prison population of ANY nation on earth, as a % of the overall population.
We can have images of violence depicted in TV shows, movies, video games, and in massive Hollywood 'blockbuster' billboards, but if we show so much as a woman's nipple, people complain.
We value people's supposed 'right' to own unlimited amounts of strengths of weaponry with no oversight and little to no questions asked, more than we do the lives of schoolchildren.
We apparently have 'no money' for up-to-date schoolbooks, computers, sufficient heating or air conditioning in many of our schools, but unlimited resources for war and space exploration (the latter which, while all well and good, really shouldn't take priority over basic education for our citizens).
Corporations line the pockets of company leadership, offshore jobs, and those jobs that remain come with minimum wage salaries.
Healthcare is unaffordable for many. Infrastructure is decaying and crumbling.
And then we have the White House....
93
@Lisa Please don't lump war and space exploration together. Space exploration is a tiny, tiny amount by comparison, with very different aims.
2
All signs of a dying country. People with young children should consider emigration, the sooner the better%
1
As an American born child with deep Germanic roots, I can understand this persons sense of disorientation. To be wealthy here gets you importance and respect. The history I learned as a student in New England schools explored the distortion of Christianity to justify wealth that was Calvinism in American roots.
To be considered "worthy" in German culture, one has to be so much more. The "complete human being" is a concept we know as the Yiddish word "Mensch" but it has old German roots. Germans strive to be "comfortable", but they also obsess foremost about being "correct", which means educated, cultured, aware, and always, a "better person".
This approach to living is not foriegn to Americans, but it is considered "optional".
43
Americans tend to not value education as much as do other countries. This is why you hear comments about "letting kids be kids" and not pushing them further than they are willing to study.
16
But you will have to pay more in taxes and get a whole lot less when you return - unless you are in the billionaire class. You will have to pay for the $1.5 trillion in additional taxes to pay for the tax cuts that the rich just got in exchange for absolutely nothing in return. Someone has to pay it back, and it ain't gonna be the rich.
The difference with Germany and us is that we have socialized poverty whereas Germany has socialized prosperity. Go north to Denmark and you will find socialized prosperity too. Yet those on the extreme right and right-wing media think socialism is like that of Venezuela; and Brazil is getting beat up by Sinclair Media blaming socialism for its ills rather than rampant corruption - but since they have taken over most of the local TV news stations in the US their perverse notions of socialism are getting through. We have crony capitalism - closer to klepto-capitalism now - were the wealthiest take astronomical sums of wealth out of society for themselves leaving society broken and dysfunctional - especially schools and healthcare.
Welcome back to la-la land of trumplicans.
46
I lot of comments accurately pointing out that our tax money in the US goes to the military instead of education and healthcare.
Take it a step further. The troops are poorly treated. The money goes to weapons manufacturers. The wealthy 1% own all the stock and take all the profits from these contracts.
All your money goes back to them.
They get to use the US military as their own private army, using it to secure the low commodities prices they prefer.
The profitability of weapons not diplomacy or ethics drive our foreign policy and the profit from those weapons deals are used to bribe our Congressmen and Women through the NRA — an organization engaged in keeping americans as weaponized as possible.
Well who did you think was contributing all those millions of dollars of "dues" to the NRA before the Russians started donating their dark money?
In short your taxes are used to make the rich get richer and they'll be another mass shooting near you... it's a twofer.
38
@Arthur
“War is a racket.”
- General Smedley Butler
1
@Arthur Second this. Absolutely correct.
In Northern Europe you have populations with their leaders who value child development:
Unlike in America where the majority of the population values themselves more than their kids.
Booze -drugs -passive stimulation - absurdism and shopping are the priorities here -Ignorance and escape mechanisms and instant gratification.
AND of course we elect leaders who wouldn't be elected dogcatchers over there.
ps -apologies to the dogs
20
You forgot to mention, if your company transfers you to another city for a week or more or you need to go to a medical facility for specialized medical treatment, you take your children too and the continue their education at the local school. What's more, every class in the national school system is at the same level of learning ... reading, math, literature and so forth. So everything about your child's educational development is annotated and on record so the new school knows of any special needs your child requires. And if your child has learning disabilities or has fallen behind, they're given special educational training aimed to discover what those issues are, what is needed to correct their learning inabilities then brought up to the current level of education of their local school before they're sent back. It's very rare a child has to repeat a grade because they're closely watching every child's progress looking for signs of difficulty. What's more, it doesn't cost a parent a penny. If the child needs to travel to another city and there's no public transportation, they'll send a taxi to pick the child up and return them home. It's truly remarkable how well the fabric of the social contract is woven. Of course, taxes are necessary to fuel this, but the public doesn't hesitate and dispute the cost because everyone benefits.
37
It’s not that we don’t spend enough. It’s that we spend too much on administrators and,here in Texas, too much on high school football. In many districts here the high school football coaches are the highest paid employees in the district. Recently, on district here spent over $70 million on a football stadium. Is that really the best use of funds?
116
@Thomas Smith It's both - we don't spend enough,and we don't take education seriously enough to spend it on the right things. Why can't we just admit it? Taxes are needed to support a functioning society. We have spent nearly 40 years (From the Reagan "government is the problem" years on) pretending that there was another way to supply services to the people of this country, and that actually, these services weren't really necessary. Why can't we admit we were wrong about that and change course?
50
Isn’t Texas where ‘real’ Americans are?
1
I purposely left Europe (France) when my daughter was in kindergarten to return to California because the regimented European rote memorization methods of education are reminiscent of American schools of the 1950s. They teach kids what to learn but they don't teach kids how to learn.
7
@rlschles I suppose that experiences vary quite widely, but my children spent eight wonderful years in French elementary and middle schools. Yes, my kids had to memorize some poems (in French and Japanese), but that was a very small part of their school work.
The major difference I observed centered on America's obsession with two things: buildings and sports. The French school, much like the German school mentioned in the article, used public sports facilities. I must admit that neither of my children qualified later for a U.S. college sports scholarship.
My children's French teachers knew their subject material and challenged them to think. The children's years in French schools prepared them well academically.
36
@rlschles German here. I haven't seen rote memorization in kindergarten anywhere in Germany.
1
@rlschles
Sorry but they don’t teach kids critical thinking and how to learn in many US public schools either. Instead we rely on unproven technologies foisted upon school districts by edutech companies making a lot of money with the students being experimented on. You need to learn conceptually AND practice, practice, practice. And sorry again, but rote memorization has its place. Or do you want your kid to pull out a phone and calculate 12x8 instead?
1
Americans consider professional baseball players and entertainers valuable enough to be paid tens-of-millions of dollars - while being supplied with the best equipment, supplies, medical care and assistance available - while working in state-of-the-art facilities to which they travel free of charge --
Americans consider public-school teachers valuable enough to pay them around $38,000 a year - while often having to pay for their supplies out-of-pocket - working in poor conditions in antiquated buildings still covered in lead-base paint - while receiving little or no support from their supervisors and the local community --
It's just a simple matter of priorities - that's all -
People put time, effort and money into the things which they value as being important -
Which really says a lot about the American society
135
@Howard G
How about if you go to the public website that lists the compensation of all state and municipal employees, which is public record in NYS. Newsday has a link, but you can find it otherwise with a simple search.
Find your school district and see if there is anyone who is being paid $38,000 or less. If there is, the person is not a teacher, he's a part time employee. You will be fascinated that the kindergarten teacher is being paid $140,000 and the Athletic Director [Is that really a job?] is getting $240,000. Superintendent of Schools, seven figures. Keep in mind that the $30,000 per employee for family health insurance is not included, nor is the contribution for their fluffy defined benefit plan for their pension which they will receive in addition to Social Security, with no offset.
Nice gig for that kindergarten teacher who is not spending any personal time on lesson plans or grading homework. Work 180 six hour days and complain about being undervalued.
After finishing your perusal of the underpaid civil service workers, ask yourself if you made the right decision when you voted in favor of the $15 million bond issue to remodel the administrative offices.
Also ask yourself if it is reasonable to be required to buy six rolls of paper towels and six boxes of facial tissues to send with your child on the second day of school. A school supply list with paper, pencils, pens, crayons and notebooks, OK.
3
@ebmem
Kindergarten teacher being paid $140,000? Where are you getting this misinformation??
6
It is striking that men with just a high school education are more likely to vote Republican. Could this be a brilliant plot to cut taxes, underfund our public schools, offer a marginal education, and vote Republican?
44
@macman2, The dumbing down of Americans and the public educational system in general is not a mistake.
2
@macman2
As education, income level and age increase, people tend to vote Republican.
The majority of voters who lack a high school diploma vote Democrat, and the majority of voters with a college degree vote Republican.
What was unusual in the 2016 election is that men who have a high school diploma as their highest level of academic achievement as well as income well above the national median got smart and switched to vote with the educated Republicans.
The detailed analysis is not yet out on the 2018 elections, but so far it would appear that well educated white suburban stay-at-home moms voted Democrat. They spent enough time with the TV on to believe that all men in the workplace, other than their family members, are sexist pigs. And that all men in the workplace are Republicans.
The tens of millions of dark Democrat money spent in the last two weeks before the election was well spent providing propaganda to an exceptionally vulnerable population. Democrats won in Republican leaning congressional districts by 1-2%. Let's see if they can accomplish anything worth re-election during the next two years.
You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time.
You have been fooled into believing that Democrats are the party of the educated and will go to your grave believing it. Facts are irrelevant to those who vote on emotion.
1
Yes, here the education is basically no better than it was 60 years ago with kids at desks doing paperwork and hours of busy work at home. When not doing the tedium they are waiting and waiting and watching and in lines..
a lot of the money goes to special education but not so much to innovation there... maybe tad for much smaller classes but sadly toward compliance massive amounts of paperwork and legal costs
3
When was the last you were in a school classroom?
I have several European friends who echo these thoughts. They come to America and re incredulous that we struggle with things that they can't imagine at home. The American myth is that European socialism costs much more. It doesn't. As the author states, these people pay a little more in tax and what they get in return are programs people can actually use-- education, including University, health care, childcare, public transportation and generous parental leave. We don't have to spend more money in the U.S. we just need to spend different. I suppose we can start by clamping down on the President's weekly trips to his properties and golf courses, and we can call all those troops back from the Mexican border to protect us from a bunch of rag tag poor people in a caravan.
215
@Maureen - Here in the US, 75% of the Federal budget goes to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
In the states, its nearly all Medicaid and K-12 education.
2
Are we really paying less in taxes? Add Federal, state, property, and sales tax together. Then add in all the car registration fees, fees on your phone, electric, water bills, and taxes on everything gallon of gas. I think what we really have is too many overpaid school administrators (our local high school has four principles- one for each grade!), and too much military spending.
1
"Based on their academic performance in fourth grade, children in Germany are divided into three tracks. I do not agree with this system but high-performing children benefit greatly. "
The author benefited from a hierarchical and unequal education system. Should we here in the US create a segregated public school system based on ability? Or country of origin? Public schools in the United States should be more equitable, not less. The German system is not one to emulate, unless further segregation, inequality, and institutional discrimination is the goal.
6
@DanielleB
Yes. Great facilities but inherently limiting for so many.
@DanielleB
Um, we already have a segregated public school system in the US! In many parts of the US, school districts just 10 miles apart have huge discrepancies in achievement, funding, salaries, facilities, etc.
Inner-city schools often lag behind wealthier suburbs. Similarly, rural schools sometimes can't offer the same variety of courses and experiences as larger districts. Even within a single city's system, the quality of schools can vary widely.
Like many aspects of American society, access to high-quality public schools is highly impacted by where you live, which in turn is often limited by bias (both overt and systemic) for or against factors such as race, ethinicity, religion, political affiliation, etc.
Stop looking at the US through rosy-colored glasses. Things aren't nearly as "equitable" here as you and many others profess. American kids do, in fact, end up in different "tracks," by virtue of their wealth, where they live, their gender, the color of their skin, etc.; but most people are unwilling to acknowledge it.
30
@DanielleB
After 4th grade we spend far too many resources trying to ready the kids who might excel at something else- for a standard 4 year college degree. The other children are held back when all must learn at the same pace. There must be a better way.
5
I went to a vocational high school which had all the curriculum required to allow applying to universities, it was longer by a year, but provided practical training which I am very glad I got. After graduation I got accepted to a very good university (based on tests, not high school grades) which I finished quite easily. It is not true that vocational schools exclude pupils from college.
It is true though that percentage wise less vocational school graduates did continue to university. It all depends on talent and perseverance. Did I mention that everything was free?
26
And why do you disagree with tracking?
The politically-motivated abolition of tracking has been terribly harmful to the best performing students in the United States. The worst of it is that under pressure, teachers must now teach to the bottom of the class rather than the middle, something that in studies has been shown to damage the better students.
Every child has a right to an appropriate education and that includes both good students and lower performing students who would benefit from a more vocational curriculum, as currently offered in Germany and at one time offered here as well.
40
But tracking whether you are on the college track by 4 th grade is absurd. I would have been put in a non- college track if elementary school was when the decision was made. I honestly didn’t hit my stride until 10th grade (in a tracked high school). Graduated Magna from university, got through law school, been practicing law for 25 years. I can’t imagine someone trying to decide my future at 9.
11
@Diana J
Agree, that's absurdly early.
The USA spends about twice per student per capita, adjusted for inflation, as it did in 1970 with still mediocre results, so the problem is not that we don't spend enough.
In California massive amounts of tax money have been transferred to public employees, for current salaries and pensions, essentially robbing their schoolchildren. Maybe start there.
20
@FredO
So we support school children by denying their parents, if they work for the state, a decent salary and a pension one could actually retire on without working at Walmart to make ends meet? Somehow that doesn't compute.
7
German teachers make higher salaries than their US counterparts. Start there.
1
@FredO
Transferred? That's interesting.
1
To add to it, Munich has a very high quality of life- simply a nice place to be.
As a high school teacher in the US, my major criticism of the American educational system is that we can do a much better job developing critical thinking skills. Too many teachers base their grades on mindless homework completion and multiple choice tests. European assessments tend to be open ended writing assignments that require greater thought.
35
It's gratifying that the writer had such a positive experience with the German education system.
However my English niece and her two young daughters have had a very different experience in a small Bavarian town where they are living temporarily, and where the German propensity for regimentation and compliance has made the children's lives miserable.
For example, despite not speaking any German when they arrived they were given no separate or additional language instruction and were essentially thrown into the deep end to sink or swim (oh and make sure you have the regulation lunch container for your child - and for goodness sake don't use the one you had in pre-school when you start in primary!).
The younger of the two (who is 6) was forbidden from speaking in English to another student one of whose parents was American. My niece's oldest child (who is struggling with German since she's only been there a matter of months) has been made by the teacher to stand up and share her currently dismal phonics test scores with the whole class whose own scores are, as native-speakers, understandably much higher.
My niece, who was herself a primary school teacher in England, cannot stand her children's misery any longer and will be taking her children back to the UK sooner than had been planned.
The problem may well be that this was small town Bavaria and not Munich. But clearly all is not bliss in German education.
19
@NJB
Sounds like small town America.
@NJB
For perspective, a small town in Bavaria is much like a small town in the rural American South.
Sounds how some people here treat Spanish speakers or would like to
1
Raising money for your child's education should leave a bitter aftertaste. Every California parent has the right their kids have a free, public education without teachers ever asking for a dime. I never asked my students for a dime or to hawk cupcakes.
The Free School Provision in the CA Constitution was memorialized in 1875, meaning the community is responsible to provide adequate funding for schools. I started teaching soon after Prop 13 and worked with an old-school principal who knew every kid's name, greeted them as they arrived, always was at recess, ran the lunch line, and sent the kids off in the afternoon. He had no interest in fund raisers for field trips because he predicted millions of other patents will have your aftertaste. He said politicians will gladly under fund education once they know schools will ask kids to hawk glittery wrapper. He said students won't miss the field trips and they have much better things to do with their free time like play.
I'd rather see an increase in school funding for the activities you miss and hiring more teachers instead of raising salaries. In the absence of political will, parents have our state constitution to back a claim through the courts that communities must provide adequate funding to ensure every child has the inalienable right to a free, public education.
5
@Keith I find it positively disgusting, whenever I hear of 'bake sales', campaigns for backpack donations for kids, wrapping paper sales, etc.
People who participate in such things are the perfect pawns..private citizens putting pressure on other private citizens, to give. Making them feel guilty for 'not supporting kids'. I'd love to see people take this same energy, and direct it where it ought to go: straight at our government. It is our government which has failed us and our kids. No amount of bake sales is going to change that fact.
15
It didn't include any cost comparisons or service comparisons. For example, how many German children need German as a second language or remedial German? We spend on those items here. And what are the sources and uses of public funding in local German communities? Are their local resources directed to things like supporting unwed teenage mothers? America has different priorities. We don't lack for tax revenues here.
12
Ms. Dumas and the commentators here are all arguing about the placement of the deck chairs on the titanic.
According to many, Ms. Dumas is making unfair comparisons because income tax rates are not the same. Others criticize the streaming system that occurs in Germany. Sadly Ms. Dumas and most commentators are overlooking the most important aspect. The greatest worry I would have bringing my child to a US school would be whether she would be gunned down somewhere between homeroom and the library.
65 school shootings from Jan to Oct in 2018 in the US. From what I can find, there have been 6 school shootings in Germany since 1913.
Ostriches ?
277
@Mike Bonnell Agreed, school shootings are a big problem that deserve our attention. But for the hundreds of students wounded or killed this year in school shootings, millions are being hobbled for life by underfunded schools. They aren't competing problems: they both need our urgent attention.
8
@Mike Bonnell
When I first read the headline, I thought this was going to be the subject of the piece.
1
@Johannah
I am a parent of a 13 year old. I was also a high school teacher for 20 years. I agree that the educational system - here in Canada as well as in the US - is severely underfunded. But, as a parent, I was never overly concerned for my daughter. Although we did put her in a private school, I knew that whatever she would not get at school, we'd be able to supplement at home.
A bit sad that a public school teacher would put his child in a private school. I did it mostly for the excellent follow-up from teachers and for the extra-curricular activities. My daughter plays piano beautifully now - something she would not have picked up in a public school.
Coincidentally, I had some German exchange students in my senior English class for a year. These were students in the university stream. To my shame, they were superior to the students in my school by a long shot. What struck me most was their ability to think independently and their strengths in analysis. I realized then that the North American method of having kids memorize facts and regurgitate them for evaluation doesn't encourage much thinking. All that to say that we might have a few things to learn from the Europeans.
If I lived in the US, I would homeschool my daughter. I personally could not live with the fear of sending her off to school every day, thinking that I might not see her afterwards.
Ps. Teacher salaries in the US are an abomination. Average where I live: 49,000$ / year.
9
I had the reverse experience, growing up in Germany and now living in NYC. The urban myth that I heard was the same. European tax burdens are much higher, that is why the services are much better (and good public services are called socialism in the states). Living here I found out that the tax burden is similar and the services one gets in return terrible. I think the reason is two-fold. On the federal level there are much higher expenses for the military and some special interests. On the local level, and NYC can serve as a good example for this, the corruption in single party states is the biggest problem. The article in the NYT why a subway in NYC costs 5 times as much per mile in NYC than in Paris was eye opening in that regard.
99
I'm curious what German, and school systems in other countries spend on admin as percentages of school budgets. American school districts are crazy top-heavy. Likewise American hospitals, a very good reason why both are so expensive for what one gets in return.
40
@Cousineddie
My information is out of date by quite a few years, but the gymnasium of about 600 students that I attended had 1 director, 1 secretary, 1 janitor. All other employees were active teachers.
5
@Cousineddie doctors who are specialists in Germany make considerably less than in the US.
Reading some of these comments, I guess the other thing Ms. Dumas will have to be prepared for as she returns home is the virulence of the stateside reaction when she presumes to criticize any US institution, especially if she holds up another as superior.
Hard to believe that the "Love it or leave it" ethos can still be so strong here, but it's exactly that defensiveness that precludes any real change.
113
@KayVing Americans have never handled criticism well.
2
I agree that German education is excellent, but the USA has some wonderful school districts with caring, motivated, and highly skilled educators. In Fairfax County, VA, where I have worked for several years, students, parents, and educators appreciate the education received. It's very diverse and has excellent resources. I can't deny that we live close to Washington DC, but it's not all downhill in America. I have a German family background and can say that this school district is comparable with the secondary education I received in Europe, especially with the multitude of language, advanced courses, college partnerships, internship and job readiness programs, plus ROTC. Students leave our district very prepared for their future paths.
13
@JM the exception proves the rule. California, a high tax state, ranks 44th in education.
@JM My kids got an amazing education in the FCPS and your point about diversity is spot on. They interact easily with kids from, literally, all around the world. They did not learn any circus skills but I’m ok with that.
1
@Imperato Indeed. Thanks for sharing that perspective. The US is a big country and I've spent most of my time on the East Coast in two states. East Germany comes to mind in light of your reference. The writer doesn't mention schooling in these provinces, which she may not be familiar with. There is much more vocational tracking going on, which is not per say a bad thing, but may not offer as many opportunities to advance in other professional fields like law, science, or medicine, which require the gymnasium and university education. Education in the former eastern states also lags behind in funding and resources. I really feel for some Germans of "Migrationshintergrund" (migration or refugee background), who may be more likely to get tracked into vocational fields too early in their childhood despite their talent in primary school. On the flip side, many younger Germans from the former East come westward for higher education and job opportunities. It's very competitive, especially since we are not paying university tuition due to subsidization.Interesting to compare with some states in the US for sure.
Perhaps one reason why the Western European countries, including wealthy Germany, can afford to spend so much more on education and health care is because their military security is subsidized by American taxpayers, leaving us less to spend for our own benefit.
The truth is that by comparison to rival Russia they have a much larger military-aged population, more developed industry, and equally advanced nuclear and rocketry experts. They are more that capable of providing for their own military security.
19
@Penseur
Perhaps another reason is that they believe everyone should have access to the basic necessities like healthcare, shelter and food. Or perhaps they believe that 10 percent of the population shouldn’t hold the vast majority of the country’s wealth.
62
@Penseur - Actually, Germany spends much less than the US on education and health care, both in absolute terms and as a percentage of GDP.
8
@Penseur: Interesting to me that no one seems to agree with my belief that we are fools to provide the military defense of Western Europe (and South Korea and Japan) when they are quite capable of doing so on their own.
I served two years as a NATO soldier back in the 1950s. Our commander-in-chief at the time, Eisenhower, said that this should just be a temporary arrangement while Europe got on its feet. If US troops still were there 5 years hence, he said, NATO must be judged a failure. He also said that the US never again should place troops on the mainland of Asia. I believed him. Still do!
1
Not only illuminating, this was also very fun to read, now that I have heard of Firoozeh Dumas, I want to read more.
15
Three tracks sounds great but it'll never fly in the US. We prefer to segregate by money, then pretend we have a classless society. There is nothing wrong with tracking but the myth of all of us being born equal (sorry, it ain't so) will never die in this country, therefore we send people to college who aren't college material and let colleges that prey on the poor operate without regulation.
74
@Jean Campbell
Tracking was very common in U.S. and even after being condemned was, and is, still in practice.
Perhaps the salient point is that the lower-tracked kids have parents who do not recognize it as such vs. kids with parents who do see it and fight the system to "fast-track" their children.
From preschool.
6
@Jean Campbell yes, it’s pureKabuki in the US.
1
Let’s not kid ourselves. The gop is to blame for underfunding those things that are important and funding things that aren’t. They have been trying to make America a third world country for decades.
49
It is dispiriting to see what we get for our taxes in this country in comparison to others. Our taxes are only minimally lower than what Republicans would have you believe are the business and wealth killing rates of European countries. In much of Europe you get excellent transportation, education and other services. All we get is a massive defense budget.
120
@Mike M and endless wars...see Afghanistan
1
Proposition 13 - Lucky 13 - was the beginning of the New Order - Reaganomics - that worked its way up though Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, and all the other Reagan alumni to George Bush 2. Not Bush 1, who called it Voodoo Economics.
It's logical culmination is Donald Q. Trump - friend of the common man. Now, the common man can't send his kid to a decent college. He ain't got the money. And who needs college anyway, in the information age.
The Army is free and they give you job training to boot: how to pump gas into helicopters in Afghanistan, or how to run into 60 billion dollar American warships off the coast of China - high tech stuff that's going to pay off in the long run.
All we care about is those tax cuts and the deficit. Now, we take a little time off on that deficit deal, because those billionaires is having a pretty tough time getting their Lamborghinis tuned up (tight labor market, and all).
And did you ever think about homeschoolin' and raising your own goats and selling the goat cheese on the weekends at the farmers market to pay for your kid's textbooks? That might be the patriotic thing to do, when you really think about it.
23
@Midnight Scribe
All you say it's true, still there is a long line of French people, colleagues of my son in New York at a French bank who want to relocate to the US. First thing they do when here is buy the largest SUV and then rent a huge home somewhere in Long Island with a two hours commute to Manhattan. I don't get it but it's a fact.
6
@Gabi Margittai
In Manhattan, you can do anything (just ask Donald Trump and John Gotti). But it's not really attached to America. It's an island lying near the coastline of the US. Try that SUV and big-house stuff in Toledo, Ohio - in God's Country. It ain't so easy out there in the hinterlands...
@Gabi Margittai
They are the very rare exception
I admit to being completely flummoxed as to why you're returning to the US at this time. It boggles the mind.
56
@Beth B USA has many things equal and better than Germany. The article is correct however as My kids go to schools in Germany. I think I would miss being in Germany as well as being in the USA. We have always learned from each other and that should continue....
7
@Beth B “... in Munich, where we moved from California four years ago for my husband’s job. Even though his job ended a year ago, we decided to stay while he tries to start a business.” Apparently that didn’t work out.
1
Yeah - you gloss over the obvious - your child is selected into a particular stream very early in German life and for many kids - university is no longer an option - ever.
Germany's "dual stream" option would be a rude awakening for many parents here who seem to honestly believe that their academically-challenged offspring are destined for PhD's in Physics.
And just in passing - in Germany - that happens at age 10.
...and just in passing - part Deux - the US has twice as many university educated citizens compared to Germany.
...and just in passing part Drei - Germany's international performance is schooling rivals the abysmal performance of our schools
15
@SteveRR
Part quatro, Germany may not have the number of college graduates per capita that the USA does. What it does have for those that are not college material; is an excellent trade school system that provides and promotes an education in the skilled trades. Becoming a plasterer, cabinetmaker, carpenter, mason, etc. is a considered a noble endeavor. And the unions and guilds have kept it that way.
25
@SteveRR
I went to a top-20 US law school in my 30’s, with 2 pre-schoolers when I started. I once met a German attorney who wanted to know what I was doing in law school at that age. I pointed out that law school in the US is very expensive. When he asked what I had been doing since undergrad, I told him that I had been a legal Secretary. He looked utterly horrified as he replied, this would never happen in Germany.”
I’ve been wary of Germany’s tracking system ever since. On the other hand, if a German can attend law school free of charge, I can understand why she would not take years to decide to pursue the degree.
4
@SteveRR Germany's Pisa scores are quite a bit better than ours, particularly in math. They are no Singapore, but still better.
I appreciate the author's attempt at injecting levity into this piece, but it undercuts the depraved approach to education in America today, which mirrors your society as whole. Got money and lots of it? You'll be fine. Don't? Prepare for a lifetime of servitude to the robber barons who are not satisfied with a few billion when billions more can be made by skirting the societal responsibility that the act of paying taxes is - corporation and private citizen alike.
67
@Norman Dupuis
I don't think that money buys a better education. I think that at this point, money just buys more money.
Public education in America has been a complete failure and should be replaced by a for-profit system. Children should be directed to vocational programs as soon as they finish sixth grade, and only the gifted should attend university.
4
@Rolf I think the teachers generally know what to do next. Leave administration out of the equation. Maybe give teachers more $$ and have them run the administration. Might run better and react quicker to students needs.
5
I strongly disagree with every part of this comment. I’ll just leave it at that.
For profit? Profit first! Education second!
As many here have noted already, this article is full of half-truths and obfuscations. Western European schools are very class-forming, and especially in Germany from a very young age the kids are shepherded into future "high school level" segregation, from gymnasiums to trade schools and beyond. They also stifle free thinking and freedom of choice by prescribing the entire curriculum even in the upper grades, American elementary school - style. All in all, the classify kids and are called to form a perfect socialist citizen of the state (especially in Germany). Just remember the French terrorist shooting on a train a couple years back, where the three young Americans saved the day by attacking the terrorist, while the French passengers were calling the police (prepared to be slaughtered, apparently). That luck of active mentality is the direct product of the European school system, IMO.
9
@Yulia Berkovitz
While it takes nothing away from their heroism, the 3 Americans all had military experience and knew how to respond. Most of us civilians would not, and would indeed call the police.
@Yulia Berkovitz
Whoa - for real? Weren't the three young Americans soldiers on their way back to America after having served in Iraq? They were armed, were they not? And the French passengers, I would presume, were unarmed, as is the custom in Europe. Maybe they hadn't had their morning cafe au lait yet and weren't up to using their karate skills against an armed dude with a machine gun, hm?
What is this acrimony of some of the commenters here? Is American exceptionalism taking a beating? Then start voting democratic everywhere and always because the GOP is running this country into the ground.
2
@Yulia Berkovitz You make many sweeping statements here. Especially they "classify kids and are called to form a perfect socialist citizen of the state ". Please cite evidence as nothing I have read indicates that W. European schools are "class forming", stifled in their thinking or are turned into "perfect socialists".
1
The schools are great in Sweden too, and you don't get tracked as you do in Germany and the German part of Switzerland. Everybody gets a chance to attend gymnasium.
26
In Germany it's more of a WE society, we're all in this together, and in the USA, it's more of a ME society, i got mine, you get yours. Why exactly this is so, i don't know, but it is and from what i observed in Germany, true.
Perhaps it stems from their language. In the German language the I is never a capital I unless it is at the beginning of a sentence. Through the rest of the paper or the letter, email, you are writing ,You is capitalized, the I remains a small i. A small thing, perhaps, but still important as every child learns this.
33
True. Another difference: the glorification of indivualism--I'll do it my way--in America, compared with the communitarianism--we are all in this together common to European countries.
2
@EB Yes. and this may be a stretch. Does this explain why they don't have as many mass shootings carried out in their societies as we do? Maybe not. As least in Germany owning a gun is very difficult to obtain compared to this country. I suspect this is true in other countries as well.
1
Congratulations! You have figured out the benefits of higher taxes. You note that when you lived in California, before Germany, you rejected the notion of paying more in taxes, taxes that would have helped schools. ("Who wants that?" you wrote.) Then you found that for a relatively small increase in taxes for us all, the benefits are massive.
Higher taxes (on middle class and rich--never for the poor) are the answer to practically everything. Everyone benefits. Who wants that? I do. Raise my taxes, please pols.
38
We need a big military to overthrow democracies all over the world. It's good for big corporations.
19
I just listened yesterday to a US State Department official deride a country for spending so much money on wars and not investing in its own citizens...oh he was talking about Iran.
32
Regarding the economic stratification mentioned in both the article and many comments, remember that more recent data show that the US actually has less class-to-class mobility than most other developed countries.
36
Something I forgot to mention when writing about Oklahoma schools is that same high school, the one that can't afford to send novels home with the students, has a huge, new football stadium that rivals some college stadiums. If it was just a little bigger, it would rival NFL stadiums.
255
Why in the world did you come back, Ms. Dumas? In hindsight my family would have done anything to put our young people into those excellent German schools. We strongly believe that K-12 education should be good, public, and free. Accordingly, we put our young people in the public schools here. We believed the schools would provide a solid education. We trusted the schools to act in their best interests. What a mistake that was! No wonder the majority of families here now pay exorbitant fees to sent their children to private schools. Our own young people are in college now and doing well but it has taken a great amount of work on their part to remedy the shortcomings of their public schools:
Math and science teachers did not understand what they were teaching, and later admitted as much. Corrupt principles used school budgets for their own clothing and furniture. When their wrongdoing was uncovered, they were transferred to the central administration office. There was no money to buy the IB textbooks that were needed for the IB tests the students were required to take. Abusive and unfit sports coaches were kept on. Special privileges were given to the children of school staff, or the children of families who donated the most money. Whether or not there was music, art, etc. depended on whether the community could or would raise the money themselves. For an entire year, one teacher called in sick two or three times a week, but they did not replace her. The list goes on and on.
15
One aspect of European life which was touched on here but could use elucidation is that the educational system is as stratified as the culture, there are stronger class distinctions, and moving out of your 'class' can be difficult.
But there are compensations, and they too are strong. Unions are hugely important in Germany, and the life of the average German is not the treadmill existence that the American worker experiences today. A German worker gets the same five or six weeks of vacation as the Boss, the same maternity leave, and so on. And the German worker can look forward to a life of dignity, not just dreaming of hitting the jackpot on some power-ball scam so that life can begin.
It's simply more humane and more human. And if you read between the lines, you'll realize that I'm also describing the America that my German parents immigrated to in 1950, when UC Berkeley cost $30 per semester and the down payment on our comfortable home was one weeks rent on the same house today. That's right, one week. That's not inflation, and it's not nostalgia, it's the American worker in the crosshairs of the American Corporate state.
640
@Sera Social mobility is lowest in would you believe it the UK and the US compared to European rates!
17
@Sera take a look at Denmark. It does not have a stratified educational system. Don’t put all EU countries in the same bucket.
15
@Sera - That's the way it was in the 20th century, but not so much today. Both Germany and France now have many contingent, non-union workers who can be let go at the drop of a hat.
5
The condition of schools in Oklahoma has been in the news but I'll refresh your memory. Textbooks are 20 years old and held together with duct tape. There aren't enough textbooks for kids to take home since the next class has to use the same books, so schools have given up on homework. Even in the next town over, where there is a huge university, the high school can't send novels home because they can't afford copies for everyone. Several school districts went to four day schoolweeks to save money. Last year one school district made the news because they couldn't afford to turn on the heat in the winter. There are schools who can't afford new roofs so they put buckets in the classrooms to catch the leaks. Some schools have desks so broken the kids sit on the floors. Oklahoma has thousands of uncertified teachers teaching because certified teachers flee to states that pay better. Will the people of Oklahoma raise taxes to pay for schools? Are you kidding me?
206
@Linda
2016 Oklahoma Election Results
Donald J. Trump 65%
Hillary Clinton 29%
Trump loves the uneducated...and they love him and the lumps of beautiful, nutritious, delicious coal he has given them in their Christmas stockings.
The Lord and their cult leader will provide.....grinding poverty and eternal ignorance.
Let us pray...and let us prey.
Sad.
108
@Linda
Those communities that minimize the value of education ultimately pay the price in economic "non-competitiveness" resulting in companies passing them by because they don't have the properly educated and trained workforce to do the jobs the businesses demand.
According to our relatives that live in Oklahoma City, the state tried the same historically failed approach that Kansas and several other "red states" attempted providing tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations to attract jobs while because of the inevitable revenue shortfall/budget crisis that resulted, ultimately education funding was slashed in the process.
In all cases, the tax cut provided virtually ZERO increase in employment while creating the education crisis in Oklahoma has been experiencing. It is a rather sad state of affairs that many of the parents still do not seem to realize the significant economic disadvantage that has been created for their children into the future.
It seems many still think they can get "something for nothing". It just doesn't work that way.
40
@Deus
And Trump's 2017 Republican Tax Obscenity punished blue staters and blue communities that voter to pay taxes for public services including education by taking away SALT deductions, not from corporations, some which pay no income tax because of absurd loopholes, but from individuals.
9
Your comment on the negative aspects of proposition 13 was one-sided. Every citizen benefits from better schools and every citizen should pay for it--in proportion to their income. Schools should not be funded on the backs of property owners.
9
@Frank Boaudino
And every citizen lives in a house (rent/own).
So every citizen used to pay his share.
I’m simplifying, but renters pay their share too.
18
@gct When single family homes became one-family-per -bedroom or basement homes, the tax didn't go up enough to support the increased amount of children. And there is no school tax on the barns and campgrounds housing so many families .
1
@ARL
I am a little confused. I didn't know that we had barns and campgrounds "housing so many families" here in NYC. Where are they hiding?
1
NATO member countries are mandated to spend 2% of GDP on its own defense. The USA spends about 4%. Does anyone think that if it were less , our politicians would direct it to education? The republicans just gave another $1.7 trillion tax cut to the wealthy( my Trump tax cut cost me $3000). That is on top of the $5.6 trillion that that the republicans and Bush administration gave away. According to the Guardian UK , billionaires in the US are donating huge sums of money to candidates who will cut social programs.
48
@Mark There's no such mandate. Its a goal to spend 2% of GDP. Countries may agree to meet that goal, with some exceptions, but its just a goal which is still several years off for some countries.
5
@Mark
Peter,
Correct. Sorry my mistake.
@Peter S. But if the Us spent less on defense it would not go to education...just more tax cuts.
6
I would think among the hardest things for schools in the U.S. is explaining to kids what « mass shootings » are. That is, why they happen in the nation where they live much more often than elsewhere.
29
@David Martin Some American schools now have "active shooter drills."
17
@David Martin: Teachers and other faculty and staff have to tread very carefully when discussing such politically fraught subjects. Parents can get irate when a) the subject is broached by teachers-it's not on the curriculum, and teachers are expected to carefully facilitate a discussion that may pop up and then quickly navigate back to the prescribed subject, and b) parents can be quite protective of the emotional state of their child-they don't come to school for distressing topics not on the curriculum. We do have the shooter drills, and now an armed cop, and none of the above makes me feel better, much less like I'm doing something constructive.
As both a teacher and a citizen, I'm firmly in the Democratic Socialism camp. Higher taxes are fine, if we get a significant bump in health, education and infrastructure. Much less spending on the military and no guns where people congregate.
8
@Linda My son's high school does, and it breaks my heart. No child should have to fear being murdered at school.
1
I lived in Schwabing, one of the wealthiest parts of central Munich, for three years. The high school or gymnasium was a neoclassical white limestone building with state of the facilities. The schools are even better in rich suburbs like Starnberg. In less wealthy places like Unterhaching, the gymnasium buildings are not as nice as those in Schwabing but the curriculum is strong. But imagine if your kid’s future was decided in 4th; that’s when tests are administered to determine who goes to gymnasium or trade schools. The author of the article didn’t discuss the three categories into which students are sorted and what are the future employment prospects of students in each of those categories. But when you work at corporation like Siemens, you quickly realize that the best engineers went to the gymnasium and they tend to be the children of people who have college degrees. And you can surmise that there is a huge income inequality in Germany as result of that early classification. Yes, higher education is free in Germany but your kid could be excluded from it as early 4th grade. That’s unfair! In the US, the quality of K-12 education, and hence future income, depends on your zip code. That’s also unfair! Every country has problems with its educational system. Germany’s is not a model to follow. The US has the financial and technical means to standardize K-12. But the political is lacking. Who needs F-35, F-22, F-16, F?
26
@AMK Thank you for pointing this out. US education has multiple problems. But it offers second chances; most other systems don't.
19
@AMK That's only half the story. The german education system does offer second chances. While there is an early sorting of students, an apprenticeship is not looked at as inferior. Rather, some students have a preference for a more applied track, while other students prefer the academic path with a different later job profile (the same applies to Switzerland and Austria). Still, after the apprenticeship students can still choose to do a degree from a university of applied sciences, with equal income prospects as university graduates. Your comment is misleading, and does not fully account for this fact that even students who have chosen the applied track can successfully get a degree at a later stage in the professional lifes. Both Germany, Austria and Switzerland who adopted this system have the lowest youth unemployment rates, are highly innovative, have low income inequality and provide high social mobility. When I read all those stories about the US education system, I actually do think that the US more and more resembles a third world country, while only a very small fraction of the population (the infamous 1%), enjoy the top universities.
68
@AMK it is possible to move from Realschule to Gymnasium, if the parents and the child are willing to do the work at the end of 10th grade. And students attending Gesamptschule can also continue to gymnasium after 10th grade. The big difference is really Hauptschule where the pace is slower and it would be difficult to catch up. Also, Germany's GIni index is better than the U.S.
21
So much for high schools in Germany. Now for the universities: underfunded, overcrowded to the point that popular classes mean standing room only out into the hallway, inaccessible Herr Doktor-Profesors for undergraduates, and only one German university anywhere near world-class rankings (LM Munich, #32 in one ranking and 62 in another major ranking). Overall, I would suggest that if you're in the United States, take that extra income tax (and it's WAY more than a few points) you don't have to pay and use it for a private school.
16
@globalnomad, that doesn't answer the question of what parents do when they can't afford private schools. You're not proposing a solution.
8
@globalnomad, some German universities rank highly in research. I'm not contradicting your comment about teaching, but your ranking statement is too broad.
5
@globalnomad real tax rates of Germany to US (not just income, but US payroll tax as well) is 36% to 32%.
2
We hosted a German 11th grader who spent a year at a local public high school just outside Philadelphia. Her assessment of her US school reflects quite a different situation as the one described in this article.
She was amazed at the breadth of the courses she could take here, the high standard of the arts and music and science programs which she said were light years ahead of what she could get in Germany.
She also loved the fact that American education invited the students to participate and express themselves far more than her schools in Germany; the fact that in Germany teachers were "Beampten" (civil servants - basically unfireable) and there was little incentive for them to do much more than simply follow a curriculum.
As she prepared to return to Germany to complete her "Abitur" she told us she was not looking forward to it - she had had such a positive and exciting year educationally here in the US.
56
@Bernie. Wait, and the American teachers are not civil servants? What are they then?! How many teachers, exactly, have been fired from the NYC schools last year for nonperformance? I tell you how many - exactly ZERO. This is what the Republicans have been demanding and the Dems (bought by the teachers unions) rejected for decades.
5
@Bernie
One reason European exchange students like school in the US is that there is no accountability. our kids are spoiltto believe they are superstars and they don't realize that they are not being prepared for life. US schools are designed to prepare students for college, not life. By contrast, Eurpean students are treated as audults as soon as they leave mandaory school, and they have apprentiships as a valuable alternatives to college. US students continue to be pampered in college because they are paying customers. They are served with remedial classes, designed to make up what should have been learned in middle school. Worse, they now have to pay for it, take on dept to earn a degree they often won't be able to use, and much less will help them pay their debt.
13
@Bernie and where was this deprived German student attending gymnasium in Germany? My daughter had precisely the opposite experience.
8
How about donating two grand to help build a new gym for my kid’s highschool on top of the taxes we pay to the school district. We got out of it easy...many parents more wealthy than us donated much more. The other public high schools in our city go without. The alternative is private schooling...
7
@Lee Hill
Unless the school already has state of the art labs and fully equipped classrooms, I don’t understand why parents would pay for a gym.
You mentioned “higher education is free” but it isn’t. Someone pays. And the implications of the German gymnasium system and its equivalents all over Europe are that access to higher education is controlled to an extent that is not politically possible in the United States. My daughters got an excellent education K-12 in England and the eldest went to Oxford. I advised her against it but she went anyway. Her sisters saw what her experience there was like and took my advice. We have a totally different type of country here than any European country. I’ve read that there are over 50 languages spoken in the homes of students attending Los Angeles schools. I’ll bet the public school system in Munich doesn’t have that situation. And they probably don’t have thousands of independent school districts in Germany either.
10
@Jim Johnson
Give me a break with the patronizing "somebody pays." You are pretending she didn't clearly lay it out: paying a few percentage points more for vastly more.
In fact, they probably paid kept more of each paycheck than in the states: that couple percent more covers full health care and all host of other benefits.
Instead, here we get lectures about responsibility while billionaires, scions, and hedge fund managers, an dcorporations get billions in breaks.
283
@GenXBK293 Vastly more???
2
@Jim Johnson
Actually many many German schools have students whose mother tongue is not German. There have been non-German peoples moving into & settling in Germany since the 1960s.Turkish Greek, Arabic and Spanish can easily be heard on the streets. it's the 21s century there as well.
12
It seems the US is so far behind in so many areas. I am planning a trip to Russia and found out they have bullet trains, all we have is a little bit of Amtrak which occasionally reaches speeds of 70-80 mph but not often. And in the cities in Russia I read there is public internet access at stoplights. And we are told how much better off the US is. Off all things why are we so behind on universal health care of some sort and education where our public schools are awful and our Universities are institutions to enrich the bankers? My friends who are ex-pats say the thing they hate the most about coming to the US is that the US airlines are among the worst.
85
@wayne griswald
FWIW, while Amtrak's running on the freight railroads it uses is limited to 79 mph, on the Northeast Corridor, which they own, they actually do get up to 150 mph in parts of MD and NJ. That said, I recall riding a
TGV in France, cruising smoothly at 176 mph, as cars speeding on an adjacent major hiway disappeared behind us.
16
@wayne griswald
The train part is definitely an embarrassment. It takes almost as long to cross the US by train now as it did a century ago. A European bullet train could leave NY at 9am and get to LA at 6pm local time, I am told, but it currently takes three or four days on Amtrak.
19
@Tom, I recall the same on the TGV.
1
At first I thought that this exemplified how Germany- and most of Europe- values children and education. But as I kept reading, I realized it is the valuing of people, of creating a social fabric that supports the well-being, dignity and development of human beings.
Here we value the almighty dollar. If you ain't got the dough-re-me, as Woody Guthrie put it, tough, not my problem. Our rhetoric about freedom often translates into "your on your own."
Human beings are social animals. Sometimes we take care of each other, as your article describes. Sometimes we identify with a big, bad bully (do I have to name him) and that becomes our link to others. The U.S. has gotten far with its "greed is good," with Ayn Rand's (and Paul Ryan's) elevation of selfishness. But like the Soviet system, which collapsed because it took away individual autonomy, we are collapsing (since around 1980) because of removing all limits on selfishness, denying the need for a social contract for the common good.
The irony is that when things fall apart, we turn to those threatening to take away that freedom- whether it is the right to vote, freedom of the press, freedom to criticize without being threatened, etc. We turn to a strong man, big daddy, to take over. (See Poland, Hungary, Turkey, now Brazil, and the U.S.A.)
390
Once of the differences you discuss is between America today versus Germany today and both countries in my youth. Back in 1959 as a sixth grader in a grade 1-6 elementary school in Alexandria, Virginia, I and some of my class mates manned the nearby intersections before and after school to help the younger students cross the street safely. When cub scouts sold fund raising stuff they went door to door by themselves; they didn't sit at a table with some adults in front of a supermarket entrance. Can you imagine an American elementary school field trip where students take walks at night by themselves?
Why America today gives its elementary age children so much less responsibility and freedom than Germany is a complex issue--perhaps, a political Rorschach test. And this an entirely different issue than how Germany and America fund educations in their different neighborhoods.
39
I am currently in my 45th year of teaching. I find much of what the writer tells very interesting. I do wonder about the school her daughter attended. What is its poverty rate and how diverse is it? I work in a building with a poverty rate of about 95%. It is a very diverse school, with only 38% of the students being white. We don't have time for circus lessons or taking a week to go to Austria--we are trying to teach them how to read. We don't have time to give up instruction for a week for the Circus to come to school. My first response to this letter is to feel a bit of elitism coming through.(I hate the word 'graduation' applied to leaving elementary school!) Are all of the schools in Germany the same? Finally, I am not a fan of our president, but has Germany given their share to NATO for defense?
23
@neach52 Perhaps you are spending your time with remedial reading because American schools haven't figured out how to provide quality education, or are starved for the funds to do so.
I've been fascinated by the French social system about which I know a bit more than that of Germany. Imagine what American life would be life if none of us had to spare a thought for the cost of education, health care or retirement. Yes, taxes would be higher, but still... I can't help but wonder if we've forgotten that the purpose of our social system is to make life better for our citizens, not corporations.
As for defense costs, Germany is near, and on track to fully comply with NATO funding. But in any event, by funding NATO, we are funding our own defense.
145
@neach52, perhaps one should mention the crazily repeated testing regimen imposed by Bush and Obama's governments, which profits private companies and burns up teaching time.
Perhaps also the faddism in teaching methods, such as devotion to one method of teaching reading.
Perhaps also the top-down control that leaves teachers in many systems here with little power or time to adjust their teaching to suit their pupils.
14
Good for you, neach52! I'm in my 21st year of teaching. I just wanted to ask how it is relevant to this discussion to mention federal outlays for weapons systems when in the US, education spending is based on local property taxes, not federal funds.
2
I lived in a small village a few miles outside Zurich, Switzerland for two years in the mid-2000s. At the beginning of the school year the youngest children were trained by local police officers on how to cross streets in a group and how to get from their neighborhoods to their schools by foot each morning. At noon, I would see groups of kindergarten age children walking to their neighborhood, where a “house mother” would provide them with lunch. These children were significantly more independent than their American counterparts.
259
No mass shooting in Switzerland since 2001. 47 gun homicides last year.
4
The point that was glanced over is that children are evaluated and educated in accordance with their capabilities and I hope, their interests. Many is spent efficiently, even if some parents demand that their kids be put on a pedestal, costing taxpayers billions of wasted money, while the child victims don't graduate or "graduate" in name only, totally unprepared for life as an adult. Need proof, look at our prisons, then look at German prisons.
17
Schools should get all the money they need for a first class education in the US, and we should run bake sales for all the excess defense spending that is spent.
474
@jas2200
Half of the world defense budget is spent by the US DoD.
It allows the development of many cutting edge technologies, but also welfare to the defense companies. If we were able to reduce that corporate welfare to the level of social welfare, we would have enough money for the schools.
It is unfortunate that we see corporations as a mean to redistribute wealth rather than create wealth.
15
@gct Clever! I guess you want to speak Russian or Chinese as a FIRST language!!!
As a U.S.ican who grew up in western Nebraska, lived in Europe for 2 years, and has lived in Costa Rica for 6 years, I have often been frustrated in conversations with family and friends who have never traveled outside the U.S., let alone lived anywhere else, yet insist they "know" that everything in the U.S. is better. With that kind of a closed mind, there is little chance of examining good ideas for ways to implement them in the U.S.
889
@Unlocked "I have often been frustrated in conversations with family and friends who have never traveled outside the U.S., let alone lived anywhere else, yet insist they 'know' that everything in the U.S. is better."
Interesting comment. Immediately reminds me of how elites in China thought of their own country 200 years ago. They thought the Europeans were uncivilized barbarians, and the Japanese were inferior inhabitants of a lowly Chinese vassal state. The Chinese felt they had nothing of value to learn from any of them. What followed in China was a "century of humiliation" at the hands of Europeans, Americans, and most devastatingly the Japanese that culminated in civil war and a victory by communist insurgents in 1949.
24
@AR
So you think Arkansas, Oklahoma and West Virginia are going to Make America Great Again ?
Interesting delusion.
29
You can have free education from pre-school all the way through graduate school with world-class healthcare OR you can have 11 battle carrier groups and military bases in 70 different countries.
Germany has education and healthcare. We have a global network of extremely expensive ships and military bases.
I wish we'd gone the German route, but that's not in our culture. Going bankrupt for over-priced healthcare is as American as a mass shooting.
1281
@Sean Although I agree the military needs to be downsized that isn't the major problem, the problems is the US is run of, by and for the rich people.
205
@Sean
Along with those military bases AND expensive ships, spending BILLIONS annually on fighting never ending senseless wars around the world doesn't help either.
97
@Sean, we could have both (not that we should, but that's a different question). If the funds could be found for a federal $1.5 trillion tax cut for billionaire "persons" (of both kinds), they could have been found for something beneficial. There was one benefit to the tax cut: it showed in plain sight who controls the federal government
123
...sigh! Sounds amazing and it could be done here. Plus, nice writing!
18
All one must do is look up the US Federal Budget to see exactly where federal tax dollars are spent, and no it is not on ensuring our next generations are highly educated, able to compete in today's world-economy, nor on providing healthcare services to its people, nor on providing resources to its most struggling or vulnerable. Instead, we are a money-hungry capitalist culture with CEOs making tens of billions, and more tens and hundreds of billions spent on guns, tanks, weapons of mass destruction, all in the name of showing our mighty muscles and killing others who we feel don't provide us with oil, economic gain, or some other gainful means. We are a dreadful society, but here were are ranting on the NY Times, for goodness sake. If we want change, we must raise our voices and SHOUT for it. As a worldly, educated mother who is currently in the 40%+ tax bracket (so yes, gainfully employed) and educating my two young children in the incredibly disparate US public school system, I say you must join this fight to stand up for those who have no others to stand up for them. Stand for your children and others, and let's demand better! We are the wealthiest country in the world- this should NOT be the state of education.
229
@Jennifer - our primary/secondary education is basically locally funded. So you won't see a lot in the Fed budget.
In Germany, public employees enjoy a far greater degree of public respect, in part due to the cultural bias toward a strong work-ethic.
Here in the United States, it isn't hard to find examples that disprove a general correlation, between taxation levels and quality of the schools. One can find high tax states where the schools operate and look like prisons, and dropout rates are too high. New Jersey comes to mind.
A documentary, "Kids for Cash," profiled two Pennsylvania judges who sent juveniles to lockup, for kickbacks from for-profit Juvie lockups. The source of many of their victims was the Pennsylvania public schools. Some of the bogus "offenses" that earned kids lockup time included "mocking an assistant principal." When the director interviewed a superintendent of schools in the county, his office looked like the control room of a prison, complete with video monitors and security apparatus. How many of the kids got admitted to college must have been the furthest thing from his mind.
Public officials who are corrupt are dealt with harshly in Germany, and a "school" is a school, not a putative prison as it is in the United States. The problem in the US is not a lack of taxes. Rather, it is a level of hubris and stupidity of the government that is abided by the complete indifference of too many voters.
In other words, we consider this normal and the students are conscripted, at gunpoint if necessary, as a prop to obtain paychecks.
106
Welcome back to the right-wing, Randian American nightmare, where a higher quality of life, a longer life, and a more dignified life is considered to be evil, despicable 'socialism'.
And don't forget to tell your daughter to pack some heat when she returns to class...and pack some heat when you go to the store, the restaurant or a concert, Ms. Dumas.....the country has turned into a national shooting gallery since you left.
But don't worry, "we're #1" in in guns, science denialism, cultured stupidity, healthcare rip-offs, and fake democracies.
"Free-DUMB !"
928
@Socrates
I often agree with your insight, but I have to say that the funding of schools, infrastructure, and an overall higher "quality of life" is a bipartisan problem. We did not get here as a country in two years, nor will we get out of it with the change of any administration.
9
@M
There is a clear correlation between progressive, Democratic states with higher tax rates and better public education....and regressive, Republican states and weak public education.
Overall Rank
(1 = Best) State Total Score
1 Massachusetts 74.16
2 New Jersey 67.09
3 Connecticut 66.93
4 New Hampshire 65.11
5 Vermont 63.18
6 Virginia 63.03
7 Minnesota 60.34
8 Maryland 57.82
9 Wisconsin 57.59
10 Colorado 57.45
https://www.forbes.com/sites/reneemorad/2018/07/31/states-with-the-best-public-school-systems/#8ca3ace38972
60
@Socrates
I'm surprised to see New Hampshire is number 4 on this list. We have abysmal school funding, and we rank number one in the highest student loan debt upon graduation from college. Our state politicians often take what we call "the pledge" to not raise taxes in order to get elected. We have no state income tax or sales tax. Property taxes are high.
I take your point that we need to spend more on education, but the correlation you point out does not hold for New Hampshire.
9
My two grandchildren, born and raised in Stuttgart also attended both German "state" (read public) schools and in their high school years went to Waldorf (Steiner) Schools. I visited both those schools and was impressed not only with the curriculum, but the wide variety of language, art, design and sport programs. Over the years in school, they studied English, French, Portugese and Russian language. One of my grandchildren has some learning difficulties and yet was accepted in the highly selective Design Academy in Eindhoven, Netherlands. This is just a snap shot, not meant to denigrate US schools, just to show what is possible overseas.
220
Bottom line, people, you need to send people to Washington to who will make our taxes go to the people: that’s what is making the recreational marijuana law pass so quickly in more and more states. It’s the people deciding what to tax and where the tax goes— to things that can benefit everyone. You make sure you elect representatives that will make sure it’s non partisan distribution. Roads, bridges, education, job training-stuff that is in the interest of the greatest good.
42
I don't think most American parents would be in favor of a system that divides children into academic tracks in the fourth grade, with only the highest-performing being placed on the college track. And of course it's much easier to make higher education free if you reserve it for a select few.
16
German universities also largely free for international students, including Americans.
60
@IrisMypublic elementary school did that in California, in the 1970's. we were all in the same school, but those of us who were higher performing were in separate classrooms than the other students in our grade for most subjects.
15
@Iris I agree, as does the author, that this system does not seem fair from our American viewpoint. It's too early to know a kid's potential. However, in Germany (where I have been living for 3+ years), there is also a highly developed system of apprenticeship so that young adults who aren't cut out for or don't aspire to university education can complete an "Ausbilding" of usually 3 years, after which they have skills and work experience in any number of trades - mechanic, carpenter, electrician, etc. Salaries are decent, trades are respected and more importantly, healthcare and education are affordable so it's a good living. Probably a better option than coming out with a mediocre college degree and a pile of debt... (and I say that as a fan of university education in general).
201
The local tax cut should not have ruined the school in California. We pay a fortune in fexeral taxes for all we need. The problem is it all goes to the military. Europe doesn't do that.
104
@jenniferrose, No, they don't have to pay for their defense, we the US tax payer has that covered for them.
13
@MS
Maybe it it has more to do with the BILLIONS spent on the US military every year fighting endless senseless wars around the world. Maybe you think they don't spend enough on the military BUT, because of geography, they have to ultimately spend a lot more dealing with the MILLIONS of refugees fleeing the war torn areas in which the American military is either directly involved OR supplying the weapons to countries like Saudi Arabia who are causing a catastrophe in countries like Yemen.
23
@MS - But did you ask all those countries whether the wanted all the beautiful military over-protection before you "gave" it to them?
11
The US is behind so many other developed nations in regard to education, health care and more because 'taxes' are, unfortunately, a four letter word here.
259
@NM We are not behind other nations in "health care." We are behind in health *insurance*. There's a difference, and you should know that. This is why VIPs from other countries, including heads of state such as the late Sheikh Zayed of the UAE, seek treatment at the Mayo and Cleveland Clinics, Johns Hopkins, Sloan Kettering, etc.
21
@globalnomad We are indeed unfortunately behind other nations in care, particularly if you are low income or minority. Our maternal and infant death rates are far higher than those of comparable developed countries, and our life expectancy becoming shorter.
60
@Karen. The rates are a bit higher (anything between 3 to 11%); I would not however call it "far higher". What is far higher for sure is the percentage of ungrateful Americans disrespecting their own country, its people, it heritage, and its political system.
2
Yes, yes, yes... I've heard variations on this story so many times I don't know where to start. I suspect that you don't know much about the US.
Yes, you're probably American and grew up in America (California maybe?) but that only means you have knowledge of a part of California and maybe some nearby state. Arizona. Nevada. Maybe Oregon. Other than that you probably don't have a valid image of what life is like in another state. You might even believe that Americans don't eat boiled potatoes...
The condition of being overwhelmed by the awesomeness of a new culture is fairly established. There are stages. Right now you're in the "Germany is way better than home" stage. Which is fine as long as you recognize that all of Germany's schools are not like the school your children attend. Do you attend a local public school? A private school? The English School, perhaps? Not all schools are equal. It's the same in Germany as it is in the US.
The public schools I went to outside of Boston in the 80's (and I went to some mediocre ones) still offer a better education than the ones my children get at public schools in Stockholm. Of course, my children get "free" after school daycare (until 7 pm if need be), "free" lunches... even "free" swimming lessons. Someone who went to an inner city public school in Chicago might think that these schools are heaven. Not me.
Anyway, remember that your experiences are local and don't represent all of the US.
Plus only tuition is "free"...
19
@Equality Means Equal
Maybe you need to take your own advice and remember that your experience is "local" as well and don't represent all of the US or Sweden. And exactly why do you think your "local" experience is any more valid than that of Ms. Dumas? Of course it's hard to know what to make of your comment since you don't mention which public schools you attended outside of Boston. That could mean anything. There are some poor, struggling communities in this area. There are also some of the wealthiest communities in the US surrounding Boston. If you grew up in Milton or Weston your experience would likely be quite different than if you grew up in Chelsea or Malden (and I mean no disrespect to either of those communities).
Oh by the way, since you questioned whether her child was attending public or private school - she says in the column that she lives in a part of Munich with top-notch public schools similar to where she lived in America.
130
@Equality Means Equal
It's interesting that you don't like Swedish schools which, compared to their neigbhors, don't rank all that highly. Why? An official of the OECD explains:
"If you compare Sweden with Denmark and Norway there are some differences, but the real difference is with Finland,” he explained.
“What does Finland do that others don’t? One thing that stands out is that they’re able to recruit the best into teaching. It’s very attractive to become a teacher there compared to many other countries, including the Nordics.”
“They also target their resources at schools and students who are struggling, as opposed to Sweden, where if we ask principals whether they lack resources, we see that the schools in less advantaged areas are more likely to say they don’t have resources than those in richer areas,” he added.
Sound familiar?
38
@Equality Means Equal: "Interestingly, Sweden hs a school choice arrangements where you are able to choose any other state school or a private school at no cost to yourself. If your child doesn’t like their school, it can easily be changed. Reports from the Swedish National Agency for Education have warned that it is mostly better-educated, middle-class parents who take advantage of the right to choose schools." https://www.simplylearningtuition.co.uk/advice-for-parents/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-swedish-education-system/
Maybe you should take a look at this.
4
I once saw a documentary about Chinese history in which that nation's fall from being the most advanced civilization in the world to being a sitting duck for the European powers was described.
The makers of the documentary ascribed China's weakness to its arrogance. The rulers began to believe that, since they were the greatest country in the world, nobody had anything to teach them. They were fine just as they were.
I see a lot of that same attitude in the U.S., and as anyone who has traveled to Western Europe or East Asia recently knows, America is falling behind in education, health care, environmental concerns, transportation, and other factors that make up one's quality of life.
But any suggestion that America might not be "the greatest country in the world" in all respects, is met with hostility from Mr. and Ms. Middle Amerca: "Why don't you move to another country then?" "We're not like other countries. We're special."
1054
@Pdxtran Here I am wondering why they would move back to the US. But I interview for MIT and I see children sent here from perfectly good places (for education) like South Korea and China, far from their families, to go to American high schools in the vain hope that that will increase their child's chances of getting into MIT, Stanford and the Ivies. So you may have to do bake sales or send your kids to private schools, but the universities here are still in high demand.
18
@Chip
Not that many years ago, America was Number One on the list of students attending College. Just a few years ago, America had dropped out of the top ten and was plummeting down the list of American students that were capable of attending college in America.
South Korean and Chinese students may be able to attend MIT but, because of a significant increase in tuition and backbreaking student loans as a result, clearly fewer and fewer American students still have that opportunity.
51
@Pdxtran China has reached that level of arrogance, and many mainland Chinese citizens believe everything their government tells them. They will fall, eventually. It reminds me of Japan in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a time when I lived there. The Japanese people believed they would "take over" the world economically because they were superior in every endeavor (especially racially). but soon, even the smart phone and tablet revolution completely passed them buy. Even today, does anyone want a SONY phone?
20
Read this and weep. From the DoD two and a half years ago:
"Today President Barack Obama sent Congress a proposed budget request of $582.7 billion in discretionary budget authority to fund the Department of Defense in Fiscal Year 2017 (FY 2017)."
That, ladies and gentlemen, if where all the money goes. Not to health care. Not to education. To the military. Imagine if we could claw back a mere two or three of those billions?
But we will not.
579
@Clyde
You are absolutely right, Clyde. Americans spend way too much on defense and no where near enough on education. It is a shame that we harness our college graduates with a lifetime of debt rather than pay for their education.
There is a price to pay for this. Our younger generation is about to find out what that price is.
303
@Clyde That same statistic could be shared for the last many years. Sad priorities
51
@Clyde
And yet today Trump tried to demonize Obama for underfunding the military. When it comes to military funding there is no winning.
121
What's to write? Examine Times comments and almost always, if you find an American citizen who is either living in the best of the European countries or has moved to one that citizen will do as I often do, do as Firoozeh Dumas does, present the differences.
There is even Anu Partanen's "The Nordic Theory of Everything" in which she devotes an entire book to reporting with better documentation on what we report here.
She is now an American citizen living in the USA. If that sounds contradictory it isn't. She writes systematically about the endless misrepresentations of such important elements of life in Nordic countries as Universal Health Care.
Read her book. It won't do any good, I am afraid, but at least you will learn that even in the USA things could be better - things being health care, infrastructure, public transportation, renewable energy, termination of fossil fuel use for heating, and much more. Could be?
Writing from Apelgatan, a street in Linköping: All roads with perfect surfaces, all utility lines underground, all homes heated by the world's most advanced system of incineration and conversion of food and human waste to bio fuel used in city buses instead of fossil fuel. Solar sprouting on the rooftops of apartment buildings on the other side of the main street into the city. Wind turbines at the big farms to the north. All my renters have had a free ride at medical school.
Will be in my America? Not a chance.
Sorry.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
314
@Larry Lundgren, Anu Partanen recently returned to Finland. After giving birth, she decided raising a child in Finland made much more sense.
5
@SEA - Thanks very much SEA. I have two anecdotes of that kind.
1) The interventionist who put a stent in my circumflex here at Linköping University Hospital 10 years ago told me his story while he worked. He had left Sweden for California maybe to get further training and then to work there. But then he learned what was missing in CA and returned to marry and have his children here for all the positive reasons presented here by many.
2) Within my own family we have earlier faced the question, would it better to go back and more recently another who faces that decision. The number of factors arguing for staying here is large and perhaps getting larger.
Larry L.
5