LLL

Today, I read an article in the Badische Zeitung titled Der Blick nach Deutschland (Looking unto Germany), referring to a blog by Richard C. Longworth called Another Way To Work. The blog published in The Midwesterner discusses a book entitled Were You Born on the Wrong Continent? by Thomas Geoghegan.

In his blog, Richard gives lots of flowers to Germany, particularly to its economy. For me, however, the article smacks of the stinking dictum: Am deutschen Wesen soll die Welt genesen. (The German spirit shall heal the world.) I instead prefer the German proverb: Not all is gold, what glitters.

Let us compare job security. Traditionally, jobs are more secure in Germany than in the United States, but one can still lay off people when they are no longer needed. Since unemployment (which comes right after inflation) is a political issue in Germany, firms asked their staff to work fewer hours during the recent economic crisis (Kurzarbeit) instead of laying off part of their workforce. 

This practice was honored by the German government, paying most of the difference between the full pay and the loss of income due to Kurzarbeit. This measure - meant to avoid social tensions and psychological traumata for unemployed workers - had an additional benefit. When China re-started ordering massively high-technology products in Germany, production could be increased without delay with the trained workforce still present. All seems to look good; however, since Germans are notorious Bedenkenträger (worry warts), they ask: What will happen in the long run if the diligent Chinese have copied Germany's high technology?


Enter education. We can only keep our export-driven economy alive if we always remain a step ahead of our competitors. This means keeping up or even increasing the standard of our educated and skilled workforce. When comparing our education system to the States, we feel humble. Most Nobel prize winners come from the US, and I am convinced that all these people practice lifelong learning (LLL).

Good old Wilhelm Busch wrote in 1856 when schooling in Germany became compulsory:
It was decided that man/woman must learn.
One can learn, thank God, also throughout one's life. (German stamp)

LLL, lebenslanges Lernen, recently became the catchword in discussing Germany's education system. As in the States, education here is not centrally organized as in France. We in Germany boast of as many and even more education systems as we have Länder (States). 

In European comparisons (PISA Studies) of schooling results, German students never even come near the top, which regularly causes a national outcry. At present, university reforms within the European Union, e.g., changing the traditional diploma degrees to bachelor and master, cause frustration among students. Will Germany meet the challenge of keeping its educational system at a necessary high standard? Will people accept LLL? Only the future will tell. Discussions about education and formation in Germany are in full swing.

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