Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 28, 1994 TAG: 9410280074
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But Pockel has been impressed with the friendly teachers in this country and the system of guidance counselors to advise students on academics and other issues.
In the former East Germany where Pockel teaches, there are no guidance counselors and many teachers tend to be distant from students, he said.
"Some students go to their teachers if they have problems, but others have no one they can talk to," he said.
The German schools also are organized differently - with kindergarten through the fourth grade in primary schools, and grades five through 12 in high schools. Germany has no middle or junior high schools.
"We can't say who is best," said Pockel, who teaches at a high school in Erfurt, a city of 200,000 in what was East Germany before the Berlin Wall was torn down.
Pockel, 34, is among a group of 10 teachers from Germany who are spending this week studying schools in Roanoke County.
David Wymer, supervisor of social studies for the county, said the visit by the German teachers will benefit the county teachers and students as well as their guests.
"It is an opportunity for our teachers to learn how they do it in Germany," said Wymer. "It's also another opportunity for our students to learn about other cultures."
Pockel said the reunification of Germany has brought dramatic improvements to schools, particularly in East Germany where there were few computers and other forms of instructional technology.
Unlike the United States, Germany has a national school curriculum that ensures that all children are taught the same subjects. Germany also uses a flexible schedule so students do not have to attend the same classes at the same time every day.
Pockel said the length of the school day in Germany varies, with classes lasting until 5 p.m. on some days.
All teachers are required to teach at least two subjects and two or more grade levels. Pockel teaches four subjects in four grades: seventh grade, physics and English; 10th grade, astronomy; and math in 11th and 12th grades.
Pockel said he was surprised to learn that some mentally and physically disabled students are being taught in regular classes.
Germany has special schools for disabled students, similar to the system that was used in the United States for many years.
Pockel said he has found that there are many similarities in lifestyles between the two countries, even though movies and television portray them as different.
It is his first trip to the United States. Before the Berlin Wall was removed, East Germans were not allowed to travel to this country.
by CNB