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Germany in Class
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May 2009 |
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Dear Educators, Welcome to the May edition of "Germany in Class!" Congratulations to all of the winners of the 4th Annual Essay Contest! Several hundred entries poured in from across the country- and even the world with several DoDEA schools participating in the contest. The panel of judges had a tough time deciding on the first place prizes. It took quite some time to even narrow down the selection to just the top entries because the quality of each essay was so high. In the end Emma Bright, Sarah McKeown and Katie Ferriell took home 1st place and each received an Amazon.com e-certificate. Their teachers, Art Balitz, Amelia Walton and Norman Effingham, also received Amazon.com e-certificates as the teacher of the winning students. Frau Walton is also the first teacher to have a 1st place student in 2 different years! All honorable mention students received Germany Info gift packages. How are summer plans coming along? While the German Information Center USA continues with the 20th anniversary of the fall fo the Berlin Wall and the Transatlantic Climate Bridge, this summer we will also help Katja make her Germany Info debut. Katja is the older sister of Philipp, the star of "Germany for Kids." However Katja doesn't think that American students get the whole picture from her elementary age brother, so she will be starrring in her very own "Germany for Teens." Look for Katja to debut in July's edition of Germany in Class. In the meantime, "Germany in Class" is always on the hunt for a few good educators willing to share a few tips with their peers. Are you one of those educators that has a classroom idea that begs to be shared? It can be as elaborate as a lesson plan or unit or just a simple article that provides food for thought. Send your idea to jennifer.clardy[at]germany.info and if your idea is featured in "Germany in Class," you'll receive a pacakge of Germany.info goodies to hlep make your classroom experience that much better! Sincerely, Jennifer Clardy jennifer.clardy[at]germany.info |
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In this issue
2009 German Information Center USA Annual Essay Contest
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2009 German Information Center USA Annual Essay Contest |
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| Grades 3-5 Winner: Emma Bright | |||||||||
Emma Bright is eleven years old. Her hobbies include swimming and dancing. Her favorite subjects in school are science and social studies. When she grows up, she would like to be a chef. She got the idea for her essay about the Berlin Wall by researching it online and talking with her mom and dad, who visited Berlin last year. What It Would Be Like to Have a Wall around My Town The Berlin Wall was erected during the night of August 13, 1961. At the time, the Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev told East Germany’s dictator Walter Ulbricht to stop the flow of East German citizens into West Berlin or else! I am living in the time that when this happened. I am feeling mad and frustrated because I had no say in this at all! There is a huge wall separating me from my friends and family that was put up overnight. Things are so different than they were, because we can’t even get out of our own country. There is one highway in and out of my town, so that the government can control where people go. I can’t even get to get to my church or my school! My favorite restaurant is on the other side of the wall. My best friend’s house is on the other side of the wall too, even though it is very close to my house. What really makes me mad is that if we try to climb over the wall we could get killed. That is very sad for me and a lot of other people. I want this wall to come down so we can celebrate for days and nights. Fortunately, the Berlin wall does finally come down on November 9, 1989. It led to a long and joyous celebration for people on both sides of the wall. Emma Bright, 5th Grade Teacher: Art Balitz St. Joseph Catholic School Bradenton, FL |
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| Grades 6-8 Winner: Sarah McKeown | |||||||||
Sarah McKeown is 13 years old and attends Delhi middle school. She plays club soccer, which is her biggest hobby. In her spare time she listens to music, hangs out with friends, and loves to shop. Sarah’s favorite subject in school is history, where she loves learning about the past and how America changes over the years. (Not only that but her teacher in that class is her favorite teacher). Her goal is to be a pharmaceutical researcher, and if that does not work out, she would like to be a chef because she loves to cook. Sarah came up with the idea for the essay just from reading about the Berlin Wall, and how ridiculous she thought that wall was. She really enjoyed writing this essay! The Berlin Delhi Wall As Americans, we have many rights and freedoms that we take for granted. But imagine if one day one of those freedoms were taken away from you. What would you do if a wall were built around your city? If a wall were to built around Delhi, my township, I wouldn’t be able to go on vacation, see my extended family or go to college. It would be like a dog stuck in a cage its whole life—able to see what was going on outside the cage, but unable to escape. The more I think about those freedoms, the more I think about how many we have. If you ask most Americans, they would think getting in a car and driving across town to visit your family is no big deal at all. But in 1961, in Berlin, Germany the Soviets built a wall that kept East Berliners from traveling to West Berlin, and if you were to try to cross that wall, you got shot. If there were to be a wall around Delhi, that would mean I would never be able to go see my family. Not being able to see my family would be extremely hard for me because I am very close with them. That would make holidays no fun because you couldn’t have the big family dinners or you wouldn’t be able to open Christmas presents, or go trick or treating. These events are important to me and would take all fun out of my life. One very big issue that a lot of people would be affected by is not being able to go to college. There aren’t any colleges around Delhi, and that would greatly effect people’s lives. A lot of people wouldn’t have a higher education. I definitely plan on attending college. I aspire to be a chef and having a wall around Delhi would affect that because I wouldn’t be able to receive training and get a good job cooking. College is very important to me, so I would be very upset if something held me back from that. Another issue that would be affected by having a wall put around Delhi would be going on vacation. I love going on vacation. Florida was my favorite place I’ve gone, and I would hate not to be able to go there in the summer. People really look forward to going on vacation, and that’s what they look forward to throughout the school year. Also people wouldn't be able to go on those special family occasions every summer. Overrall I would not like having a wall built around Delhi. It would be very inconvienent for me and everyone else in the township. It would greatly affect my and my family’s lives. I do not like the feeling of being closed in, and that would definitely make anyone feel closed in. Sarah McKeown, 8th Teacher: Amelia Walton Delhi Middle School Cincinnati, OH |
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| Grades 9-12 Winner: Katie Ferriell | |||||||||
Katie Ferriell is 18 years old and a senior at South Oldham High School. She loves soccer, art, music and is very into political science. Her favorite subjects are Studio Art, History and Government. Those subjects lead naturally to what Katie would like to do later in life: become an art historian/ professor who is also active in politics. Katie came up with the idea for the essay because she is very interested in developing environmental legislation and studying United States diplomacy. Great Result Requires Great Action With a decade of climate change negotiations resulting in little policy action on the part of the international superpowers, it is evident that both the United States and Germany must join forces to combat the ensuing and multiplying problems of climate change. While the Transatlantic Climate Bridge provides an avenue for increased policy cooperation between the two countries, the current state of the environment demands for hard-hitting action, rather than the creation of ambiguous and lax policy seeking to protect numerous detached, big business interests in Washington and abroad. Through increasing the transfer of green technologies/capabilities and pursuing stringent environmental policy to serve as a model to other nations, both Germany and the United States, in accordance with the goals set for by the Transatlantic Climate Bridge, could dramatically improve the current ailments of mother earth. The United States and Germany are particularly important players in influencing the global environment and the direction of international environment protection efforts due to their stature as regional economic leaders. Both countries, with the contribution of Japan, accounted for about half of the global Gross National Product (GNP), thus yielding monumental responsibility in the future sustainability of the planet. By encouraging interaction between both German and American policy makers, scientists, engineers, and inventors, an infusion of environmentally conscious, innovative ideas in both societies would occur. The stimulating nature of increased relations would lead to technological innovation and would forge the relationships necessary to lead both countries down similar environmental avenues. A major obstacle facing both nations to achieving synchronicity is their dramatically different approach to climate issues. Despite both countries being some of the biggest providers of overseas environmental efforts, they lack the political unanimity necessary to effectively transform the global atmosphere. By increasing the purchase and production of environmental technologies/services and ardently supporting the globalization of ICAP, Greenpeace, the Bund fur Naturschutz Deutschland, Deutsch-Amerikanische Energietage (DAE) and other environment organizations/partnerships, both countries would achieve a greater sense of harmony on pertinent environmental policy. In addition, the pursuit of stringent environmental would establish a precedent for all nations in formulating environmental policy. Many developing countries seek to integrate aspects of the German and American economic system within their own economies. The extent to which Germany and America pursue green policy directly influences the environmental outcomes elsewhere in the world. If both nations were to enact stricter product/environmental standards, their trading partners would be influenced to comply with such standards in order to maintain their trade relations. As a direct result, nations trading partners to Germany and the United States would be influenced to demand higher standards of products in a greener market. The passionate pursuit of hard-hitting policy protecting environmental interests would act as an example for many other countries that model themselves after Germany and the United States. While the Transatlantic Climate Bridge marks an important gesture to extend environmental relations, both Germany and the United States must seize the opportunity to assuage the ensuing problem of climate change through further policy action. Works Cited Kell, G (1996, Jan. 30). Public Affairs. Retrieved March 25, 2009, from Trade liberalization can improve consumer and environmental protection Web site: http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/96legacy/releases.96/14308.html Unknown, A transatlantic climate bridge: concerted action required on climate protection. Retrieved March 25, 2009, from Transatlantic Climate Bridge Web site: http://www.transatlantic-climate-bridge.org/category/kick-off-conference/ Unknown, (2008, September 29). "Who, If Not Us?" A Transatlantic Climate Bridge. Retrieved March 25, 2009, from German Missions in the United States Web site: http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/Startseite.html Katie Ferriell, 12th Grade Teacher: Norman J. Effingham South Oldham High School Crestwood, KY |
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| Honorable Mention | |||||||||
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Cassandra Smith, 4th Grade- The Milwaukee Wall Teacher: Sigurd Piwek Milwaulkee German Immersion School Milwaukee, WI Joshua Hulka, 5th Grade- The Berlin Wall Teacher: Cheri Mascitelli Village Green Elementary School Port St. Lucie, FL Katie Castleberry, 8th Grade- REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE!!!!! Teacher: Inda Pasley Natzaberg Middle School Grafenwoher, Germany Hunter Hess, 8th Grade- Imagine Sponsor: Dinah Barron-Hess Westchester Country Day School High Point, NC Elena Thier, 8th Grade- The Delhi/Berlin Wall Teacher: Amelia Walton Delhi Middle School Cincinnati, OH Peter Ren, 10th Grade- Collaborative Ideas for the Transatlantic Climate Bridge Teacher: Ms. Donohue Smithtown High School West Smithtown, NY Jil E. Hickey, 11th Grade- The City Must Live Teacher: Norman J. Effingham South Oldham High School Crestwood, KY Aubrie Smyth, High School- A Divided Life Teacher: Christopher Bryant Lake Forest High School Lake Forest, IL Karin Eriksson, 10th Grade - Fighting Climate Change Teacher: Jayne Wheeler Athens Drive High School Raleigh, NC Caroline Williams, 11th Grade- The Bridge Over Troubled Waters Teacher: Christopher Bryant Lake Forest High School Lake Forest, IL |
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Headlines |
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| Incumbent Federal President Horst Koehler Reelected | |||||||||
He will begin the second term of what is a largely ceremonial position on July 1. The President is elected by the Federal Assembly, which includes 1,224 politicians from the federal and state level as well as prominent figures selected by each political party. This year’s state delegates included celebrities such as Olympic Champion Triathlete Jan Frodeno and national handball team trainer Heiner Brandt.
The former International Monetary Fund head Köhler, 66, received an absolute majority of 613 votes in the 1,224-member Federal Assembly. The president's main rival for the post, Gesine Schwan, 66, polled 503 votes. Köhler said, “I will do my best” and added "We've got a lot of work ahead of us, but we will manage," he said in reference to the current global economic crisis. Link: |
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| Germany's Basic Law: Celebrating Six Decades of Success | |||||||||
Ms. Zypries, in May Germany will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Basic Law. What was the greatest achievement of the Parliamentary Council that drafted the Basic Law?
The Basic Law enjoys an excellent international reputation. What makes the Basic Law so attractive compared to the constitutions of other highly developed countries? Source: Deutschland Magazine |
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German Language |
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| Golden Palm for Michael Haneke's 'The White Ribbon' | |||||||||
In another success on the German production front, the French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg also took home a Golden Palm for her role in Lars von Trier's Antichrist, a Danish-German-French-Swedish-Italian co-production. The controversial film was made with German producer Zentropa International Cologne as a co-producer. Haneke was meanwhile also awarded the International Critics' Prize of the film critics' association FIPRESCI. And two German co-productions were awarded the Special Prize in the official festival section called Un Certain Regard: No One Knows About Persian Cats by Bahman Ghobad, an Iranian-German film co-produced by Mitosfilm, Berlin, and Le Père de mes Enfants (The Father of My Children) by Mia Hansen-Løve, a Franco-German co-production by 27 Films Production, Berlin. Competing in the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs section, the German-Israeli co-production Ajami by Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani received a Special Distinction at the awards ceremony for the Camera d'Or. The film's majority German co-producer is Twenty Twenty Vision Filmproduktion, Berlin. The Camera d'Or is awarded to the first debut of a director from one of the festival's sections. The prize of the SACD, the association of French screenwriters and composers, in the Semaine de la Critique sidebar was meanwhile presented to Lost Persons Area, a Belgian-Dutch-Hungarian-German co-production by Caroline Strubbe. German public broadcaster ZDF, the Strasbourg-based, Franco-German cultural affairs broadcaster Arte and the Cologne-based Network Movie, were involved in the film from Germany. Source: Young Germany Related Link: |
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| Ambassador Scharioth Attends Opening of New Resource Center | |||||||||
The Resource Center is a center for teachers of German as a second language and is designed to be used nationwide as a source of continuing education. Karin Weise has been appointed Head of the Resource Center. Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier recently launched the initiative Schools: Partners for the Future. Its goal is to build a worldwide network of at least 1,000 partner schools through which to awaken young people's interest in and enthusiasm for modern-day Germany and German society. Additional funds totaling 54 million euros have been earmarked for the initiative in 2009. The intiative is coordinated by the Federal Foreign Office and implemented in cooperation with the Central Agency for Schools Abroad, the Goethe-Institut, the Educational Exchange Service of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the States of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the German Academic Exchange Service.
During the ceremony, Ambassador Scharioth also presented a check for $7,400 to the Friends of the German School, a charitable organization founded in 1969 with the aim to promote the German School and its students. The donation was funded by the proceeds from two concerts that were hosted by the German Embassy. Congratulations to the German School in Washington!
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Social Studies |
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| 100th Anniversary of the Youth Hostel | |||||||||
This year the youth hostel celebrates its 100th year anniversary. In the summer of 1909 a teacher named Richard Schirrmann organized an eight-day hiking tour from Altena in the rolling Sauerland region of western Germany to the historic city of Aachen near the Belgian border. During the first night the school group found a barn and a friendly farmer who gave them blankets and food. But on the second night, the farmer they asked was not so forthcoming. He did, however, give them straw, so that they could sleep in the local school. While a storm raged outside and the boys were asleep, Schirrmann lay wide awake and was struck by an idea: To have places to sleep on all important hiking routes, no more than a day's walk apart from each other. That night, on August 26, 1909, the idea of the youth hostel was born. In 1910 Schirrmann wrote an article that was published in the "Kölnische Zeitung" Cologne-based newspaper outlining his idea of using empty schools to create places for youths to stay while they went on hiking tours during the summer holidays. Following the article's publication, he received offers of support and financial assistance from all over Germany.
And so he set about opening the first Jugendherberge (Youth Hostel) in his own school, in the western German town of Altena. Soon after, in 1912, it was replaced by the first permanent youth hostel in the world, in Altena Castle. That first ever youth hostel still exists to this day. After his idea was applauded and spread like wildfire throughout Germany, he founded the nationwide German Youth Hostel Association in 1919. His concept rapidly spread overseas and in 1932 the International Youth Hotel Federation was founded, which included many countries in Europe. Its successor, Hostelling International (HI), is a non-profit organization composed of more than 90 different Youth Hostel associations representing more than 4,500 Youth Hostels in over 80 countries today. Currently there are more than 550 youth hostels organized under the umbrella of the German Youth Hostel Association (DJH). In Germany, some four million guests spend the night in the hostel beds annually. And in 2007, more than 10 million overnight stays were registered by the DJH. It's small wonder the numbers are increasing. Long gone are the clichéd days of 20 people packed in a room snoring. Now guests can often even get double rooms and many of the hostels have high quality kitchens, bars, pool and foosball and wireless Internet access. At present, on average an overnight stay in a hostel in Germany with breakfast costs about 16 euros ($22). Ah to be forever young! Source: Young Germany |
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| Fossil Found in Germany Hailed as a “Missing Link” | |||||||||
Researchers are calling Ida the most complete and well-preserved primate fossil ever found. The remains were discovered in the UNESCO world heritage site known as the Messel Pit near Darmstadt, where other preserved animal remains from the Eocene, between 57 million and 36 million years ago, have been discovered. What is especially unique about Ida is that she is nearly completely preserved, allowing scientists to analyze her in comparison with other mammals living at the time. They were able to study her bone and muscle structure, hair and organs and even uncover her final meal. Ida’s preservation is thanks to the sub-tropical conditions that prevailed in the Messel Pit 47 million years ago which boasted a volcanic lake and steamy forest. There have also been discoveries of immaculately preserved bats, crocodiles and insects in the fossil rich area. Ida was found in 1983 by a fossil hunter who kept her for 20 years before selling her to Thomas Perner, a German fossil dealer. It was Perner who introduced Ida to Oslo University’s National History Museum paleontologist Jorn Hurum two years ago. Hurum knew immediately what Ida’s discovery meant. He rushed to gather an international research team, which has studied her in secret over the past two years.
Hurum’s team gave her the scientific name Darwinius masillae in honor of the father of the theory of human evolution, Charles Darwin, who would have celebrated his 200th birthday this year. He called her Ida after his 6-year-old daughter. Researchers say that the 23-inch long Ida was only around six to nine months old when she died and had just weaned from her mother. The team used detective work to determine her death. They found that she had a broken wrist that likely impaired her climbing abilities and led her down to the Messel pit lake to drink The lake would have spewed bursts of poisonous volcanic gasses, suffocating Ida and causing her to fall into the sea, where she was preserved all this time in the lake bottom’s sediment. Because Ida was found with her fur and flesh intact, the researchers have been able to uniquely link the mammalian kingdom, connecting apes and monkeys with humans. Ida is already garnering star power following her New York press conference with Mayor Bloomberg. Search engine Google made her the subject of its logo on May 20. She is set to run on the cover of People magazine and will then travel to London for another press conference on May 26 at the Natural History Museum and finally onward to Oslo, where she will serve as the star attraction. Source: Young Germany |
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| Celebrating 90 Years of Excellent Design | |||||||||
The school was founded in Weimar in 1919, the year after World War I ended. The founder of Bauhaus, architect Walter Gropius, had a grand vision to rejuvenate the country through artistic production. As a result, the Bauhaus revolutionized art education and created a collaboration between artists, artisans, and industry that made the manufacture of well-designed products for everyday living possible.
Many of the designs and the works of art and architecture they created are truly remarkable. Some of the mass-produced objects – for example, the table lamp by Wilhelm Wagenfeld or the Wassily Chair by Marcel Breuer – are still in production today, which attests not only to their continued popularity but also to the innovative yet functional design that has become synonymous with the Bauhaus name. The school came into existence during a period of tenuous peace and radical change, and its history is intricately intertwined with that of Germany. Beginning in the mid-1920s, the Bauhaus was targeted first by the right-wing conservatives and later by the Nazi party for purportedly having communist or Bolshevist tendencies. It was forced to relocate three times and eventually to close its doors for good in 1933. The Nazis had, by that point in time, taken control of the government, and by 1934 their reactionary attitude toward Modernism was firmly established.
Many Bauhaus teachers, artists, and architects emigrated to the United States, where they helped transform the art and architectural landscape. Former director Walter Gropius taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Design while the Bauhaus’ second director, Mies van der Rohe, served as head of the architecture school at Chicago's Armour Institute of Technology, which is now known as the Illinois Institute of Technology. László Moholy-Nagy established the New Bauhaus in Chicago and later the School of Design, which is now known as the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Well-known American architects I.M. Pei, Philip Johnson, and Paul Rudolph all studied under Marcel Breuer, while Josef Albers’ students at the Black Mountain College included artist Robert Rauschenberg and composer John Cage. Even though we may now view some of the Bauhaus projects with a more critical eye than in the recent past, the enormous impact of the legendary Bauhaus helps define how we view the world, and its extensive influence is still visible in a broad range of the arts on an international scale. In 1996, the historic sites of the Bauhaus in both Weimar and Dessau were selected as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These buildings exemplify the characteristics of Bauhaus architecture that have created such a lasting impression on modern architecture. Major exhibitions in Germany will be held to celebrate the Bauhaus Year 2009. In addition to the main events in Weimar and Berlin, a number of exhibitions will be held in several cities. One exhibition, Modell Bauhaus, will also be shown in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City this fall. Related Link: |
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Announcements |
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| Katja kommt! | |||||||||
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Did you know that Philipp, the star of "Germany for Kids," has an older sister? Her name is Katja and she decided that Philipp can't have all the fun. Besides, Americans need to know what life beyond elementary school is like in Germany, right? Katja's internet debut will come with the July edition of "Germany in Class" and she can hardly wait! |
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| International Parliamentary Scholarships (IPS) | |||||||||
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IPS offers recent graduates an internship in the office of a Member of the Bundestag, the German parliament. Combined with a supplementary academic program organized by Berlin’s three universities and the fun of being together with people from other nations, a unique experience awaits you in the German capital. What the Bundestag expects of you:
What you can expect:
Find out more on the Bundestag’s homepage: IPS Information
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