Higher (Mis)Education Part IV

Continued from (Mis)Eduation Part III

So, what happens at a university, in a university culture where approaching a professor is considered inappropriate, if not daring?  What happens when absolutely no textbooks are assigned to the students and students can only learn orally or in study groups with their friends from the university.  It is a very high-pressure environment.  A needlessly high-pressure environment.

 Let me tell you another story.

Once, I went to the teaching assistant's office because I wanted to say hello and talk about the topic of the course.  I love love love these topics, after all!  The attitude in the room was not exactly warm; it was like walking into an artic blizzard.  I got some blank stares and some eye-rolling. They acted like I was brown-nosing, just because I wanted to introduce myself.  Entschuldigung (excuse me) that I wanted to talk about the course topic.  Excuse me that I have a name and wanted you to know it.   

On the other hand, I can understand how this might appear inappropriate.  I understand it because I have had similar problems trying to apply for jobs in Germany.  Going in to the workplace where you  sent an application seems to offend people, from my experience.  Like, they shouldn't be able to put a face to a name, because knowing who I am might not allow them to objectively choose the best candidate.

This is a big deal for an American.  It takes some time to learn.  At risk of always seeming inappropriate, some Americans are careful not to talk to strangers (which is hard for an American to do).  Others are proud of who they are; slightly louder and more personal. 
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To be honest, I feel like the German educational system is a lie.  The system conspires in many ways to make education no fun and to make lots of people feel inferior- intellectually and socially.  I like Germans, so I don't mean that they are not nice people.  Of course they are nice people!  I am talking about the educational system.  And you have to have respect for someone who can survive this educational system in one piece.  Respect for the students, yes, but not for the system.

Why is primary school education organized in such a way, as it is, so that teachers decide whether a student is college bound or not before the age of 12 (and the system is changing so that teachers can decide even earlier!).  And then, when they do get to college, make learning so impossible, disorganized and difficult, so that they feel stupid?

I mean, the topics may not be that difficult, but learning in a big lecture hall, for every single class, without textbooks, syllabi, or meaningful lab courses just seems like a joke.  And then, the students are only tested with homework assignments a couple of times a semester (in the math course I was in) and have one big exam at the end of the semester.  So, if you are going to fail, you won't know it until it is too late.  That is a whole lot of unnecessary pressure on these young people.

Lars, my partner, studied law in Berlin and says that it was the worst time in his life.  This, in addition to the fact that after studying four years of laws (to get a bachelor of law), he had just two chances to pass the law exam for life.  Law students, of course, do have to read books, so his experience is different than the one I've experienced, but the overall message is the same: the university is hard.  I met a guy who was talking about a friend of his, who had already failed the test once.  He said, "His life will be over if he doesn't pass it this time!!" in German.  I said, "How can that be?  Life isn't over until you're dead."  He gave me a strange look.  As if I had said something unbelievable.

Time after time, I talk to people who tell me about how much they hated the university, even though they liked the student-life and their friends at the time.

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So I was taking these university classes and experiencing culture shock in a BIG way.  BIG BIG BIG.  I also hired a private tutor.....

TO BE CONTINUED in Part V of Higher (Mis)Education