After breakfast at the InterCity Hotel, we divided into two groups to do a school visit. One group went to the Staudinger-Gesamtschule (Composite School) while my group went to Merianschule, an integrated vocational school specializing in biotechnological education. Dr. Hubner was the teacher in the lab and the students were taking bacteria DNA and trying to cut the DNA. It was fascinating to see these students work with equipment that my school wouldn’t even dream of using. Class size for these high-tech labs is about 16 students and one class lasts for 2 hours. Most, if not all, of these students will go on to university.
We also visited an English classroom and observed students as they worked with a text “Rules for Dealing with Germans.” The students were given an opportunity to ask us questions about stereotypes either of Americans or of Germans.
We stopped for lunch and then went to an Abenteuerbaustelle e.V. This is an amazing concept of holding nursery (age 3 – 4) and kindergarten (ages 5 – 6) outdoors, spring, summer, fall, and yes, winter. Classes last for 3.5 hours either in the morning or in the afternoon. The children spend the whole time outdoors, and learn about how to live with nature. When the weather is extremely cold or if it rains, there is a trailer where they can go for refuge. Students learn how to recognize plants, make toys out of wood, and learn how to use tools that are used in nature. It was an amazing concept that I found very interesting.
Dan, Nate, Karly and I climbed up to the look-out tower of Freiburg. It was approximately 1000 feet from the base of the mountain to the top of the tower.
The view was absolutely spectacular.
We met at 7:45 and went to the oldest restaurant in Freiburg. It was very interesting going down into the cellar to see how the basement might have looked back in 1120.
No comments:
Post a Comment