I (USian) went to Gymnasium in Berlin for a few months and was totally amazed by how much agency the kids there had. The feeling was kind of like, “if you don’t want to be here, don’t.”
I wonder how much of that has to do with the different pathways for kids. In the US, if an authority figure sees a school aged kid out and about, they pretty much know they’re skipping school. But in Germany, they might be going to their trade/internship type thing, right? It’s nice that there are (or we’re, I’m not up to date) other educational tracks for kids who weren’t interested in the Uni track.
I also wonder about teacher compensation comparisons btwn US high school and German Gymnasium, but am too lazy to look it up just now.
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