This Jobshadowing is a part of the Erasmus+ project KA-101 of the I.E.S. Gran Vía for this year. It is called “Breaking prejudices, the way to Europe”.

The main objective of this jobshadowing is to learn how other countries and schools work in relation with the subjects of this project. The main subjects are:

- Reducing absenteeism.

- Avoiding early school dropout especially through girls.

- Controlling radicalism and verbal and non-verbal violence.

We are interested in observing and learning other educative techniques that are successful in other schools and at the same time we can explain the educative programs we are developing in our school.

Another goal is to know better the Technical Education and Vocational Training in a foreigner school as the “Regionales Berufsbildungszentrum des Kreises Steinburg” (RBZ) in Itzehoe, which has many aspects in common with the I.E.S. Gran Via. In this way, we both could share educative methods and experiences in order to improve our students’ education

DAY 0: ARRIVING AND TRIP TO HAMBURG

On Saturday 9th March, I arrived in Hamburg at 8 p.m.. I was picked up by Marie Kluthe, the International Contact and Public Relations of the RBZ Steinburg, and I was taken to the hotel in Itzehoe.

On Sunday 10th, I took the train to Hamburg, It takes one hour. It was a cold day (5ºC) but It didn’t rain. Firstly I went to the Town Hall which is impressive and then I took a walk towards the Elba River by the channels. The first view of the Elba River is awesome. It has big tides and allows big boats to navigate through.

Then, I walked around the old warehouse district, which forms part of the “Unesco World Heritage”

Then, I took a boat trip, where they showed us the harbour and a little part of the town.

Finally, a small visit to the church St. Michaelis and go back to the Central Station to take the train back to Itzehoe.

Day 1: First contact, and “Job preparation” workshops

When I woke up, it was snowing. It was a very beautiful day but cold day. Only 2 degrees Celsius.

Over 8:45 a.m, Marie Kluthe came to give me a lift to the school. It is a big school of about 3700 students and 205 teachers distributed in eight buildings.

First of all, she gave me a general overview of the school organization and the kind of studies they offer. Basically, they are orientated to vocational training and have students from fifteen years old to nineteen. Many of them are older because they have been working and now want to keep on studying. Besides, many of these students are in the “Dual” system, which means that they have to be in the school only two or three days a week, and the other days they are doing their internship in companies.

The general timetable consists in 90 minute lessons plus a 15 minutes break. So, the result is the following:

GENERAL TIMETABLE

8 – 9:30 LESSON

9:30 - 9:45 BREAK

9:45 – 11:15 LESSON

11:15 - 11:30 BREAK

11:30 – 13:00 LESSON

13:00: 13:25 BREAK

13:25 – 14:55 LESSON

At 9:45, we went to a computer lesson in the branch of Economics and Administration (kaufmännische assistant) with 18- year-old students. The students were preparing some management programs using the “Windows Office” pack.

One of the students explained me what they were doing and I suggested the teacher to use APP inventor to make these applications for the mobile phone.

At 12 p.m, we went to the carpentry and wood joining workshop, with 16 year-old-students. This course can be translated as a ”Training for the job” or “Job preparation” (Ausbildungsvorvereitung or AVSH) because the students don’t need to have any degree to get there. They stay in school only one or two days a week and the other 4 or 3 days they are in a company

Finally, at 13:25 p.m, I went to the workshop of machines for agriculture and construction, for students between 18 and 20 years old. This is also a “Training for the job” course where the students stay four days a week in a company.

In the afternoon, I went to visit the town of Glückstadt, which was designed in a polygonal and radial shape, and I took a walk by the Elba River.

DAY 2: HEADMASTER, SCHOOL SYSTEM AND ELECTRICS

I went to school on foot. It took twenty minutes. There, I had a meeting with Marie Kluthe and the Headmaster, Mr. Carlsten Jaeger, at nine o’clock.

After that, Marie tried to explain me the complicated scholar system in the federal state (land) of Schleswig-Holstein. The education is common until the age of ten (primary school). Then, the teachers recommend the kind of Secondary school to the families. It can be divided in three paths:

1) Gymnasium: It is the general education branch, which is orientated to the university. It is usually recommended to students who have a high level of knowledge in Primary school.

2) Realschule: It is a full time vocational training. It is guided to the broad field of technical studies and vocational training. It lasts 6 years until the age of sixteen. It is usually recommended for students who have a medium level in Primary school.

3) Hauptschule: It is a full time vocational training, like Realschule, but now is directed to getting a job. This way is usually recommended for students who have a low level in Primary school. It lasts only 5 years.

After this first division, there are lots of different options in the field of the vocational training. German authorities are very concerned about the usefulness of the education as a way of getting a job. For instance, they have:

• Programs of full time vocational training, which have three or four- week-practice in companies at the end of the school term
• Programs of “dual” vocational training, where students combine one or two days a week in the school and the others in a company
• A program called “Preparation for the job” (Ausbildungsvorvereitung or AVSH) that is a dual system. It is thought to integrate young people who have not got any degree.

All the educational system in the state of Schleswig-Holstein can be shown in the next scheme:

If the students want to pass to the High level education, they have to pass an exam, which is called “Abitur”, in order to be able to go to the university, or “Fachochshulereife” for polytechnic or technical college.

Regarding to the professional branches they offer, they have a lot of them, but can be organized in nine departments:

1. Administration and Economics
2. Electricity and electronics
3. Metal and mechanics
4. Construction, wood, hairdressers
5. Heath and nutrition
6. Social work
7. Farming
8. Full time vocational training
9. Educators and socio-pedagogy

At 11 p.m, I was taken to a workshop of vocational training (Dual) (Berufsfachshule III) in the branch of electricity and electronics with students of sixteen to eighteen. One student of the first year explained what they were doing, and he was very happy with the kind of studies he was doing.

Later, I showed the teacher the kind of projects I make in my Department in Alicante which can be shown in the next link:

http:/sites.google.com/iesgranvia.es/technology

And he showed me the well-equipped department to make practices with their students.

And a bit later, at 12:30 p.m., I went to a lesson of Microtechnology, in the dual vocational training studies. There, a student explained me that, in his internship company, he was designing and testing micro-chips.

At 13:30, I was in an English lesson with the “Full time vocational training” students.

When I finished, I went to have lunch and directly to the hotel because the weather was cold and rainy.

DAY3: ORIENTATION, SOCIAL WORKER AND SOME LESSONS

It was another cold and rainy day. 5 degrees Celsius.

At 8:00 a.m., I was taken to a lesson with the 18-year-old students of the “Full time vocational training” (Beruflicher gymnasium), and I talked about the differences between the German and the Spanish school system.

At 9:45 a.m., I went to a lesson with the first year students of Spanish of the “full time vocational training” (Beruflicher Gymnasium). There, I introduced myself, Alicante, and the Erasmus project and then helped the teacher with the reading and comprehension of a text in Spanish.

At 11:30 a.m., I had a meeting with Rainer Albath, the social worker that works full time with the different institutions outside the school: families, social services for young people (Jugen amt), health services, job center, justice and police.

He told me that, nowadays, in the “job preparation” program, the school has five groups with 86 students without the first degree. The number of students per group is between fifteen and eighteen. It is a “Dual” program and this is the reason why students who do not have any degree are in the RBZ (this is the abbreviation of Regionales Berufsbildungszentrum, or in other words, our school) two days a week and three days a week in the companies. The students who already have the first degree are in the RBZ one day a week and four days in a company.

They have theoretical and practical lessons. In the first ones, they study only four subjects: Politics, Economics, Mathematics and English and they are not mixed with other students, but they work all together with others in the practical lessons, in the workshop,.

Besides, they have two coaches that help the teachers to solve the problems.

When the year finishes, if the students have got the first degree, they can go to the full time vocational training (BSF I) so as they can get the second degree. But if they do not get the first degree, they are sent to the job center so as they can look for a company for them. And then, if they go to the company, they get money and the company too, but if they do not go, they do not get the money of the social aid.

We also talked about the immigration problem. In the RBZ they also have to deal with that problem because when the young people come here from abroad, they usually can’t speak German, and sometimes they also have not gone to the school in their own countries. Nowadays, RBZ has eight groups learning German. In the ground level there are ten students per class and when they have more level there are over twenty-five. In these groups they only have to learn German and mathematics, and doing some practices. When a student gets the German level, it is sent to a normal group according to its competence level and its interests.

At 13:30 I went to a lesson of “Technique of Information” in the level of Fachoberschule, with 18-yearstudents or older ones, who were programming in C. I showed the teacher the kind of projects I make related to programming and he explained me that he uses “C” because is the programming language mostly used in industry (about 90%). He also explained me that he uses a free program called “Development C++” to debug the programs because students usually have syntax problems with it.

DAY 4: ENGLISH LESSONS AND SOCIAL WORKER

At 9:15 a.m, I was introduced to Thoralf Eppen, a teacher of English language in the program “Preparation for the job” (AVSH) who was interested in bringing students from abroad to Germany. According to him, if there is a lot of unemployment in Spain and a lot of job vacancies for skilled people in Germany, it should be a good idea to bring the Spanish students to do their internship here.

But, in my opinion, there are some problems to do that. In Europe we have school systems completely different and nobody cares about it. We have different age to enter and go outside; some are more theoretical and others are more practical; in some of them there are more social, political and economical implications and in others there are not, and finally, we have the different languages.

But there are some things we can do to solve this. If we have been capable of harmonising the university studies in the whole Europe, why are not we be able to do the same with the Secondary education systems?. And, on the other hand, we have internet and we have computers. We could make an application to connect persons, needs and offers in the different educational systems around Europe.

At 10 a.m., I had a meeting with another social worker, Mr. Urban Sehmalochs, who is more focused in the problems inside the school.

At 11:30 a.m. I was in an English lesson with the students of dual vocational training. They were eighteen- year- old and older. In the next weeks, they are trying to pass the English exam, so our conversation was a part of the listening and speaking preparation. First, I introduced myself, the IES Gran Via, the Erasmus program, and I was explaining them the projects I make in the Technology Department. Then I was answering their questions.

As a part of the dual system, there is one week left to begin the internship in the companies, so they were very interested in it. For them, it is more interesting doing something practical than stay sitting in a classroom.

DAY 5: ENGLISH LESSON AND SPECIAL PROGRAMS

At 8:00 a.m. I went with Marie Kluthe to an English lesson with students of “Job preparation” (AVSH) who are trying to get the first degree. In some weeks, they have to take their English exam, so I speak to them as a part of their listening and speaking preparation. After introducing myself, I spoke again about Alicante, the Erasmus program, the I.E.S. Gran Via and my projects in the Technology Department.

As an example of the diverse kind of students in these groups, I was talking to one of them. She was from Venezuela, and she was in the University in her country. When she came to Germany, she had not the German level, so she was settled in this group in order to get the necessary German level B1. When she gets it, she can make the high level in Secondary Eucation. But she can not go to the university until she has the C1 level in German.

At 11,00 We tried to meet a teacher of the “job preparation” level, but we could not because he had an absenteeism problem and he had to speak to the “coaches” and to do some paperwork.

Later, in the evening, I coud make a short trip to Kiel.

And the next day, before taking the plane, I could also visit the city of Lübeck.