In my previous post No A/C in German hospitals, I contemplated the lack of fans and air-conditioning in German hospitals. Additionally, most private homes are only equipped with maybe one or two fans and I have never seen one with air-conditioning.

So, once more this heatwave is affecting us all. The streets are deserted, sun blinds are drawn everywhere, no moving car in sight, and silence is draped over totally still trees. Not a breeze, not a sound, but an eerie quiescence. Occasionally, I hear an ambulance going by and it is beginning to seem a bit like the summer of 2003,  which claimed the lives of 30,000 French and German citizens.

Our local paper stated 15 – 20 hospital patients around the Hochtaunus clinics collapse in the hospital bed from the heat on a daily basis. Going in with one ailment and suffering a heat stroke causing a  Kreislaufzusammenbruch on the side does not sound like the best way to get better.

On a different note: There are different opinions on this typical German malaise of Kreislaufstörungen (circulatory problems: low blood pressure, dizziness, and feeling weak). Kreislaufstörungen might be a uniquely German obsession and seem to be at the root of many health issues. But the patients I had mentioned above actually suffered a Kreislaufkollaps when main body functions just cease to function properly for a variety of reasons  such as heat stroke, dehydration, exhaustion, etc.

Spending 10-hour days to sit with my daughter at the Unfallklinik in Frankfurt in this heat (38°C or 100F) is very hard on patients and visitors alike. Passing by the nurses’ station, we can see and hear their electric fan buzzing. But no fans are allowed for patients as electric fans and cables pose danger. A/C implementation is out of the question.

I have done my share of sending the clinic an e-mail proposing the implementation of ceiling fans when the building gets modernized in 2012.

The other day I heard a patient getting chided for using some of the crushed ice, which is usually reserved only for cooling down swollen joints, in her beverage. The nurse was even concerned that the ice might not have been made from drinkable water. Well, in this heat nobody really cares.

More and more topless men ride around the ward in a wheel chair.

This über-heat is starting to take its toll.

The other day I read the article Selbstverteidung für Senioren (self defense for senior citizens) in our local small town paper.

As I started reading it, I assumed this offer for a two-day self defense class was geared at senior citizens, this term usually defined by our current retirement age of 65, with several options for early retirement.

Then it said: Der Kurs richtet sich an Menschen ab dem Alter von 50 Jahren (this class is intended for people as of the age of 50).

This put everything in a different light for me, as I soon would be eligible for the class, with my 50th coming up in December.

To be called a senior citizen, while I am still a mother with kids in school, I would find perturbing if this were a common perception in Germany. But I hope this was just a single case of a young writer not knowing the changing demographics of society.

The Volkshochschule in Oberursel, which offers this class,  is part of the Hessischer Volkshochschulverband e.V. As this is part of a public institution, I wonder if their recognition of 50-year-olds to justify as senior citizens would earn me a senior citizen discount in a restaurant? This is one of the benefits Germany still lacks – granting children menus and entrance fees at reduced prices, but not for senior citizens.

On the other hand, I can do without the discount right now. Just don’t label me a senior citizen when I am still contributing to the Bruttosozialprodukt (gross national product).

Many Christmases ago,  while hosting a dinner party in my Franconian home town, our five-year-old was asked by a relative what future job he was dreaming of. He  had to take a few moments to think about his new ambition as he had just buried the one about becoming a surgeon.

Of course, the adults were eager to supply him with ideas, such as Möchtest du mal Rennfahrer werden?, and Möchtest Du mal Astronaut werden?. Our little one just shook his head, but when he was asked Möchtest Du mal Lehrer werden?, he replied: Nein, ich möchte mal einen richtigen Job! (No, I want to get a real job!) which left our German family hollering with laughter.

For our son, going to primary school was a lot of fun. His teachers at the private school were motivated, outgoing and cheerful. To him schooling must have seemed more like entertainment. There were days, when he was misbehaving at home, I could stop him with I won’t let you go to school tomorrow! Of course, going to a private school, while learning in small classes, was a lot of fun. In his young mind, teaching could not be a job where one has to work hard.

Anyway, there we had it – the old and negative cliché of teachers in the German school system. Even today among adults, some teachers are seen as holding an easy job, with long vacations, and good pay.

The teaching job looks easy when the neighbor spots the nice elementary school teacher walking her dog around noon. Additionally, some would assume all the work was done for the day, with government pay. Very little is known about the continuing work outside the classroom. Based on my observations in Germany, teachers are not much respected.

Among my own relatives, I got to hear this statement once from a teenager “Ach, die Lehrer sind doch alle zu faul!” (Teachers are too lazy!). I used wisdom and politeness to ignore it.

I have been told that students in the German system cannot contact the teacher at home. There is neither e-mail nor telephone connection. When a student misses a school day, no assignments are sent out. There seems to be a strong division between work and free time.

Das Schicksal einer Gesellschaft wird dadurch bestimmt, wie sie ihre Lehrer achtet.

The fate of a society is determined by how it respects its teachers.

- Karl Jaspers -

When I listened to Jeff Jarvis’s talk on Schlossblog- ein Geburtstag (a blog written by a non-conformist German who dares to blog!), I had to think back of all the encounters I had when I started blogging.

There were questions such as Why would you do that? and What do you get out of it? Forget the monetary aspect, I am in for the show. I like to report good things in town such as the Irish Pub in Oberursel as well as negative experiences such as Doctors’ Discontent in Medical Fees in Bad Homburg.

It was funny to hear Jeff talk about how Germans publicly exhibit their private parts, such as in a sauna or on the balcony, but strongly refuse the openness of the internet. He also pointed out that there are relatively few German bloggers.

Why would Germans be so open about showing off their private body parts but not their mindset? Jarvis believes it has nothing to do with the Stasi Zeit, but with the German culture. Keeping things to yourself is not about privacy, but a matter of control.

Personally, I have always wondered why the newly built townhouses in our neighborhood have such high fences for a relatively tiny yard. Well, without such a high fence, we passerby could be looking in and see what they are doing while they are striving for Ruhe und Ordnung. On the other hand, I have seen many homes in the U.S. where you would not want to block the view so as NOT to miss who is passing by.

Germans ask for transparency from firms, conglomerates (and the Vatican), but privately this is a different matter. Sharing knowledge via internet and helping others is uncool. They know knowledge has value and are therefore reluctant to share it on the net as writers could: lose face, cause envy, and seem pretentious.

I know many elderly Germans who go out of their way to help me get some information, but to do so via the net is unusual, especially by Germans in my age group, the baby boomers.

Just ask any of your German friends to leave a comment on your blog – this seems worse than going for a job interview.

I am glad somebody like Jeff Jarvis has finally put this whole enigma into words and ideas.

In the beginning, Jeff Jarvis apologized for not giving this talk in German (bear with the German introduction…) Nevertheless,  it will still take another generation of young Germans to adjust to the modern world. I have stated this before in my lectures I gave about reunification in Germany while living in Japan.

Germans are slow to change, and very habitual. Their way of going public might be word of mouth, gossip, and … showing private parts.

Listen to Jeff Jarvis’s talk on A German Paradox (scroll down a bit).

I just wish Germany would legalize homeschooling. Then Germans, like the Romeike family, would not have to live as asylum seekers in the United States.

From Time magazine:

In Spain and the Netherlands, homeschooling is allowed only under exceptional circumstances, such as when a child is extremely ill. In Germany, parents can be fined and lose custody of their children for homeschooling them. In Sweden, parents have to get permission to teach at home. In Austria, homeschooled kids have to take annual tests. France regularly monitors homeschooling families, and Britain may adopt a similar system.

Read Time magazine’s full article Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Huddled Masses Yearning to Homeschool.

And now the story continues on our side of the ocean. Political pressure in parts of Germany has tightened regulations even more to keep German students in public school. Not only does it take a special permission to attend a private school (thus saving the German government 8000 euro per student on average), but one also has to give specific reasons in addition now.

Message received from our school on 09 March 2010:

Political Developments Affecting New Students Holding German Passports Entering Grades 1-9

In January, the Ministry of Culture and Education in Wiesbaden issued a new decree that amended guidelines for German students applying to the school in Grades 1-9. Due to the school’s status as a supplementary school (Ergänzungschule) with an international curriculum, new students not only have to apply for a special permit to attend (name of school) as in the past, but must also give specific reasons for doing so. The new guidelines are seen as a reaction by the educational authorities to recent developments at other area supplementary schools. At present we are discussing the implications for (name of school) with educational officials and will keep you abreast of any news from this sector.
Please note that this does not affect current (name of school) students. We will be sending out a separate letter to those Primary School families who could be affected by the decree.

This political development is beginning to look more like a case of shutting doors instead of opening gates to higher education.

A little spark on the horizon – one of my friends is in the midst of writing a Homeschooling Program for Sailing Families. Available for purchase on the internet later on. Obviously, this program is not intended for German students.

Most Germans could not fathom the idea of packing up their kids, selling their beloved home, giving up job security, sailing around the world, and homeschooling the children at the same time. I have to admit, the first time I heard of such endeavor, I was taken aback too. One of my son’s classmates, his sister, and his parents went sailing on a yacht around the world for two years. Between ports, the children were homeschooled via internet and other material. While in port, the children were taught by private teachers on board.

And yes, it was feasible and legal, because one parent was non-German.