Politics and Economics In some countries children struggling getting the education they need in order to be successful in life due to their family’s financial situation. For example, many students in America are struggling to go to college because they simply do not have enough money to afford the education. Recently the price of everything has gone up drastically and made it difficult for families who don’t make very much money to afford certain things. Students have to rely on financial aid to help get the education they need, or they just simply do not go to school. Another thing that is important is the level of schooling that each child will receive. In certain countries the level of education that each child gets can be based on how smart they are. I believe that America is the only country that doesn’t separate children in school based on what they can learn. Finally the last important thing is how long children are in school for. Some places have children in school all year round and other places give children summer breaks. It is very important to figure out how long children are in school for the day because this shows how much time they spend on learning every day. In Germany things are different. German public education allows children who qualify for the program to get the education they need up to university level no matter what their families’ financial status is (German School System, 2015).
All of the public schools are paid for and maintained by the government (Schools in Germany). As long as a good education is offered to the students everything is free of charge (Schools in Germany). Because of this you will find only very few private schools in Germany compared to other places in the world (Schools in Germany). For elementary school children there are public school districts for them, but when they get older their parents can choose where they attend school and there is no district restrictions for secondary education (which is grades nine through twelve) (Schools in Germany). There are many different types of schools to choose from in Germany that are organized by the federal states (Schools in Germany). In Germany the education system that they have going on produces students who are high-performing (German School System, 2015). Their goal is to make sure that students get the education they need in order to be successful. Therefore, they provide the children with the best education they possibly can in order to achieve the status of producing high-performing students. The only catch with providing children with good education is that all of the classes the children take must be taken in German (German School System, 2015). Once children are three years old they must attend kindergarten until they are six years old (German School System, 2015). After they finish kindergarten they are required to attend school for nine or ten more years (German School System, 2015). The same subjects are taught in grades first through fourth, but after that the students are separated on their academic ability, family’s wishes, and end up attending one of these three schools: Hauptschule, Realschule, or Gymnasium (German School System, 2015). Teachers are allowed to recommend students to schools based on academic ability but overall the parents get the final say in where their student goes after fourth grade (German School System, 2015). The three different schools that children can attend after fourth grade differ based on the child’s ability. If the child is more developed and has very good academic skills they will go to Gymnasium because this is the highest level of education the students can go to. Hauptschule teaches from fifth grade to ninth grade and the subjects that are taught are all the same as the other two schools, it is just taught at a slower pace (German School System, 2015). The students take job-related courses, which eventually lead to a part-time enrollment at a vocational school with internship training until they are eighteen years old (German School System, 2015). Realschule teaches from fifth grade to tenth grade attending part-time vocational schools and leads to higher vocational schools (German School System, 2015). On graduation from Realschule students with high academic achievement can choose to attend Gymnasium (German School System, 2015). Finally, Gymnasium teaches all the way to twelfth grade and gets students ready for a university or both a dual academic and vocational diploma (German School System, 2015). There is also another school called Gesamtschule, which combines all three of the types of schools that were talked about above (Schools in Germany). The students that attend this school are allowed to advance easier to the challenging courses based on their specific academic ability (Schools in Germany). At graduation the students can accept whichever degree they would prefer at this school (Schools in Germany). This school makes it an easier balance for families to choose which school they want their child to attend. Also it helps if the child’s academic ability is not up to the level of Gymnasium but their family wants them to attend that school, this program will allow the child to settle into the level of education at an easier rate. Most of the time school starts around the early morning hours and ends around the early afternoon hours in certain countries. In Germany, school starts at 8am and ends around 2pm (Schools in Germany). Over the recent years though schools in Germany have began to offer full time education programs that allow hours for working on homework, extracurricular activities, and a hot lunch throughout the day (Schools in Germany). Religious education is offered as well but parents can choose for their children to be opted out of attending the religious classes (Schools in Germany). Students who opt out of the religious classes must take classes on ethics or philosophy instead (Schools in Germany). Grades handed out are on a scale from 1 to 6, 1 being the best grade you can earn (Schools in Germany). If a student earns a bad grade they will either have to retake the year over again, or they will be switched to a different school level (Schools in Germany). After learning about the differences between the school systems in Germany compared to the country you live in there are many interesting things about how they are different. Looking at both of the systems you can pick out the similarities and differences between how everything is run. I think it was so interesting to learn about the different levels of schools that the students can attend based on their abilities. I also thought it was interesting how the parents chose which school their child was going to attend after they finished kindergarten. It is interesting to also see that the education in Germany only goes up through specific grades in the different schools. |
Figure 1: This image is showing the different school levels in Germany along with what grade and age corresponds to that specific school.
Figure 2: This image is another way of showing the different schools according to age and grade.
References: Text
German School System. (2015). Retrieved July 27, 2015, from http://www.howtogermany.com/pages/germanschools.html.
Schools in Germany. (n.d.). Retrieved July 27, 2015, from http://www.internations.org/germany-expats/guide/15985-family-children-education/schools-in-germany-15992.
Images:
http://coerll.utexas.edu/frames/frames/education. (Graph of different schools with ages and grade, Figure 1)
http://www.pyramidconsultants.com/country_germany.html. (Graph of school levels with students age and grade level, Figure 2)
German School System. (2015). Retrieved July 27, 2015, from http://www.howtogermany.com/pages/germanschools.html.
Schools in Germany. (n.d.). Retrieved July 27, 2015, from http://www.internations.org/germany-expats/guide/15985-family-children-education/schools-in-germany-15992.
Images:
http://coerll.utexas.edu/frames/frames/education. (Graph of different schools with ages and grade, Figure 1)
http://www.pyramidconsultants.com/country_germany.html. (Graph of school levels with students age and grade level, Figure 2)
References for Pictures and Information in Newsletter:
Political System. (2010). Retrieved July 27, 2015, from http://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/en/political-system/main-content-04/the-state-the-legal-system-and-the-citizens.html
http://federalrepublic.deviantart.com/art/Alternate-German-Political-Parties-Take-One-402182704 (political parties)
http://www.bundespraesident.de/EN/Federal-President/federal-president-node.html (federal president)
http://www.adriaticinstitute.org/?action=Open_Letter_to_German_Chancellor_Angela_Merkel_on_Croatia (Federal chancellor)
https://www.bundestag.de/htdocs_e/bundestag (bundestag)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundesrat_of_Germany (bundesrat)
Political System. (2010). Retrieved July 27, 2015, from http://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/en/political-system/main-content-04/the-state-the-legal-system-and-the-citizens.html
http://federalrepublic.deviantart.com/art/Alternate-German-Political-Parties-Take-One-402182704 (political parties)
http://www.bundespraesident.de/EN/Federal-President/federal-president-node.html (federal president)
http://www.adriaticinstitute.org/?action=Open_Letter_to_German_Chancellor_Angela_Merkel_on_Croatia (Federal chancellor)
https://www.bundestag.de/htdocs_e/bundestag (bundestag)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundesrat_of_Germany (bundesrat)
Total Oil Produced and Consumed:
![Picture](/uploads/5/5/9/2/55924483/2662568_orig.gif)
Oil - production: 169,500 barrels per day
Oil - exports: 14,260 barrels per day
Oil - imports: 1.876 million barrels per day
Oil Consumption: 2,650 barrels per day
Refined petroleum products - consumption: 2.4 million barrels per day
Image URL: http://www.marcon.com/print_index.cfm?SectionGroupsID=51&PageID=391.
Oil - exports: 14,260 barrels per day
Oil - imports: 1.876 million barrels per day
Oil Consumption: 2,650 barrels per day
Refined petroleum products - consumption: 2.4 million barrels per day
Image URL: http://www.marcon.com/print_index.cfm?SectionGroupsID=51&PageID=391.
The information I discovered shows that Germany makes about 170,000 barrels of oil per day. Then if you look at the consumption, they use about 2.4 million barrels per day, so eventually you would think they would run out at some point. The problem with the consumption was that this information is not just for oil but it is for refined petroleum products including gas and other products. Therefore this could mean that Germany altogether wastes 2.4 million barrels of all petroleum products, not just oil. I also found out that Germany exports about 14,260 barrels of oil per day, but also imports about 1.9 million barrels of oil per day. This means that they are collecting more barrels of oil per day than they are giving out. This information helps to give us a sense that people in Germany are smart about what they import and export out. They receive more oil than they give out so then they have oil on the reserve in case they run out of it. It shows that they are very resourceful with all of their resources and that they are probably the same way about everything else that they have. This country seems like it is very well developed and has a good system going on.
Economics in Germany:
What will be produced with your country’s resources?
With Germany’s resources many goods are imported and exported through the country. Most of the things produced are industrial goods or services (Germany Exports, Imports and Trade, 2013). Germany focuses on mechanical engineering products, vehicles, and chemicals (Germany Exports, Imports and Trade, 2013).
How will these goods be produced?
Most of these goods I would assume would be produced in factories or specific designated buildings where things can be monitored. Either machines or people would be working to produce these types of goods.
Who will use these goods?
People all over the world will use these products I’m sure. German vehicles, chemicals, and mechanical engineering products are highly valued by people all over the world (Germany Exports, Imports and Trade, 2013).
Will these goods be exported?
Yes these goods will be exported especially if they are in high demand all around the world. Germany is the third largest exporter and importer in the world according to Germany Exports, Imports and Trade (2013).
Write a brief summary of the economic system of the country: Identify and explain the type of economic system.
The German economy is now known as a social market economy (Germany Market Economy, 2010). There are three main principals that make up this economy. First, individual freedom rested on the open-minded model of originality, the individual is part of a larger society that has shared needs, and whatever needs to be done should be done by the individual and not taken care of by the state (Germany Market Economy, 2010).
Select three key economic indicators such as poverty rates, labor distribution, use of resources, etc. and analyze what this information says about the country, how does it compare to other countries, change over time, etc.
The population of Germany that is below the poverty line is about 15.5% from 2010 (Germany, 2015). The labor force in Germany is focused on agriculture: 1.6%, industry: 24.6%, and services: 73.8% since 2011 (Germany, 2015). Finally the industrial production growth rate is -0.3% since 2013 (Germany, 2015). Looking through all of these facts shows us that every country struggles with something. It shows us that not one country is perfect and we all have things that we struggle with, there is no way to escape any of it. For example, the population of the United States that is below the poverty line is about 15.1%; therefore Germany is a little bit higher than the United States is (Germany, 2015). Also Germany is lacking a little bit in the industrial production growth rate because the United States is at 2.5% while Germany is at -0.3% (Germany, 2015).
Identify the GDP - per capita for the country.
The GDP per capita in 2013 was $39,500 (Germany, 2015).
The GDP per capita in 2012 was $39,200 (Germany, 2015).
The GDP per capita in 2011 was $38,900 (Germany, 2015).
With Germany’s resources many goods are imported and exported through the country. Most of the things produced are industrial goods or services (Germany Exports, Imports and Trade, 2013). Germany focuses on mechanical engineering products, vehicles, and chemicals (Germany Exports, Imports and Trade, 2013).
How will these goods be produced?
Most of these goods I would assume would be produced in factories or specific designated buildings where things can be monitored. Either machines or people would be working to produce these types of goods.
Who will use these goods?
People all over the world will use these products I’m sure. German vehicles, chemicals, and mechanical engineering products are highly valued by people all over the world (Germany Exports, Imports and Trade, 2013).
Will these goods be exported?
Yes these goods will be exported especially if they are in high demand all around the world. Germany is the third largest exporter and importer in the world according to Germany Exports, Imports and Trade (2013).
Write a brief summary of the economic system of the country: Identify and explain the type of economic system.
The German economy is now known as a social market economy (Germany Market Economy, 2010). There are three main principals that make up this economy. First, individual freedom rested on the open-minded model of originality, the individual is part of a larger society that has shared needs, and whatever needs to be done should be done by the individual and not taken care of by the state (Germany Market Economy, 2010).
Select three key economic indicators such as poverty rates, labor distribution, use of resources, etc. and analyze what this information says about the country, how does it compare to other countries, change over time, etc.
The population of Germany that is below the poverty line is about 15.5% from 2010 (Germany, 2015). The labor force in Germany is focused on agriculture: 1.6%, industry: 24.6%, and services: 73.8% since 2011 (Germany, 2015). Finally the industrial production growth rate is -0.3% since 2013 (Germany, 2015). Looking through all of these facts shows us that every country struggles with something. It shows us that not one country is perfect and we all have things that we struggle with, there is no way to escape any of it. For example, the population of the United States that is below the poverty line is about 15.1%; therefore Germany is a little bit higher than the United States is (Germany, 2015). Also Germany is lacking a little bit in the industrial production growth rate because the United States is at 2.5% while Germany is at -0.3% (Germany, 2015).
Identify the GDP - per capita for the country.
The GDP per capita in 2013 was $39,500 (Germany, 2015).
The GDP per capita in 2012 was $39,200 (Germany, 2015).
The GDP per capita in 2011 was $38,900 (Germany, 2015).
References:
Germany Exports, Imports and Trade. (2013, June 9). Retrieved July 30, 2015, from http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/germany/export-import.html.
Germany. (2015, June 30). Retrieved July 30, 2015, from http://www.indexmundi.com/germany/#Economy.
Germany Market Economy. (2010, October 13). Retrieved July 30, 2015, from http://www.economywatch.com/market-economy/germany-market-economy.html
Germany Exports, Imports and Trade. (2013, June 9). Retrieved July 30, 2015, from http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/germany/export-import.html.
Germany. (2015, June 30). Retrieved July 30, 2015, from http://www.indexmundi.com/germany/#Economy.
Germany Market Economy. (2010, October 13). Retrieved July 30, 2015, from http://www.economywatch.com/market-economy/germany-market-economy.html