On the second day the whole group of eight teachers from different European countries was taken to the general Grammar school called Gymnasium Geringerstrase. We met the director of the facility, Ms. Claudia Valsky. We were shown around, met teachers and attended lessons. It is a new building but there are already some problems regarding the facility. They planned for much less students. Their English teachers were so kind and invited us to their lessons. We saw a methodologically modern lesson, where students were to practice grammar through different games (memory cards, through of dice, etc.). Students really enjoyed the lesson. The second English lesson was for older students and had to do with dictionary work. The class was divided into two groups (the rule is after 20 – 25 students classes are divided for language learning only) and one group continued their work in the school’s library where they had access to different computers. In each and every class there are students of different nationalities who can speak more than one language,
Offene Kooperative Mittleschile mit sportlichem un sprachlichem Angebot is the so called second level of the compulsory comprehension school. Some students stay in school the whole day and are helped to do their homework, practice sports and different activities. We met the director Ms. Ursula Huber who was kind enough to explain the schools policy, show us around and invite us to lunch in the schools canteen. The school poses special stress on sports activities and letting children achieve good results through sports, which can help them also academically. The helping teachers, integration teachers are important specially in classes where the percentage of immigrant students can be high. Esma is one of the teachers of the school who poses special stress on helping children to integrate as opposed to what was done before, when immigrants were expected to assimilate.
