When it comes to education, emulate success

WASILLA — America is ranked No. 20 of 25 countries for rates of graduation.

What nation topped the list? Germany. What does Germany have that America doesn’t? The Germans have a completely different way of testing and teaching students.

In America, all students are taught the same basic information in the hopes that the majority of them pass the standardized tests given each year. In Germany, students are tested at the start of middle school, and parents and students are interviewed. The results of the tests, combined with the wishes of the parents and students, determine what form of schooling the child will receive.

Students are split into three schools and three different ways of teaching. The lowest performing students are sent to Hauptschule, which has the same basic curriculum as the other two schools, but is taught at a slower pace, with smaller class sizes and one-on-one attention when needed. To supplement the basic courses, this school offers vocational courses to prepare students for possible future careers. These students generally go to trade schools and apprenticeships upon graduation and make up the blue-collar sector of the German workforce.

Students who have average scores and as a whole display interest and competency in a wide range of subjects attend Realschule, the largest group in the German education system. This school is a step up from Hauptschule in that it leads to higher vocational schools. Select students who attend this school who score above their classmates are given the option to switch to Gymnasium, the third and highest-performing group of students, upon graduation.

Gymnasium is for students who performed above average in elementary school and who display interest in education beyond high school. This school prepares students for universities as well as academic/vocational credentials. It offers different vocational tracks based on students’ interests and talents, and leads to a diploma called the Arbitur.

Why can’t we Americans follow a similar model?

There would be fewer dropouts, as each school is tailored to the students’ individual needs and competencies. Parents would have a say in what their children are taught and students would be prepared for their future careers. The United States has a heavy emphasis on the importance of college education for success. Why? Many students are very talented in areas not suited to the likes of Cornell or Berkeley, like auto shop. Many students who are passionate about mechanics are left behind in the rush for universities. Instead of urging them to pass Spanish, why not prepare them for a career in mechanics? This is also true for AP and honors students, as well as those involved in the arts. Why not challenge them with classes designed to prepare them for a specific course of action (college, art schools)?

With the notion of No Child Left Behind, above-average-performing students are really the ones left in the dust. When students who love to learn aren’t challenged to continue asking questions, they become complacent and school becomes monotonous. In a society that pushes individuality and self-esteem on its students, why is it that the education system treats us as if we are all the same? We aren’t living, breathing citizens of the country to administration; we are merely numbers, desk-fillers and test-taking automatons.

How do we change this? By changing the way kids are taught. This can only be done if we modernize the way we grade and sort students. With some tweaking and updating, the German model could very well save the next generation of Americans from being the dropout failures the media is predicting. Let’s break the mold and cast a new one.

Rachel J. Clark is a senior at Wasilla High School.