My name is Teresa Bönsch and I teach Mathematics in Tallinna Saksa Gümnaasium (German Gymnasium in Tallinn). From April 15th to April 19th, 2024 I had the opportunity to visit the Wilhelm-Gymnasium in Hamburg for a week as part of Erasmus+. The high school focuses on an ancient language branch (Latin and Greek are taught), a music branch (music classes) and on sustainability (many sustainable projects).

The last point was particularly interesting for me. The school has already been named “European Environmental School” three times because of its projects. There is an environmental education curriculum that is integrated into various subjects.

Projects here include uncluttering in Wittmoor (8th grade biology), a clean-up day (5th grade) and an annual “fast fashion” campaign (e.g. a clothing exchange).

Naturgarten-AG makes a very visible contribution. Naturgarten-AG tries to create green islands wherever possible. They use natural wood from dead/cut down trees as well as stones from an old river bed. Many shrubs and perennials were also planted. I was also allowed to take part in the working group and actively helped put up a picket fence. These are intended to protect the green areas so that the new plants can grow well.

As part of sustainability, containers for returnable bottles have been set up in the school. This means they don’t end up in the trash and can be recycled. The proceeds from the deposit bottles go to a good cause or the school community.

During the week I took part in many lessons in mathematics and geography in different grades. It was very exciting for me to see which “methods” are integrated into the school. Below this is a sign to report so that the teachers can immediately see that the student needs to go to the toilet.

Digital boards are installed in all classes at school. The teachers use these both with drawing programs and in connection with their own devices. A WiFi network can also be made available to students if they need to research using their cell phones or laptops. Some students from grade 9 onwards use tablets instead of notebooks to document the lesson content.

It was interesting to find out the differences to the Estonian education system. The teachers were also very interested in learning about the Estonian system from me. In some classes, the students asked a lot about Estonia. Only a few students/teachers had already visited Estonia. The stay was also a cultural exchange for both sides.

What I will also take away for myself are consultation hours in mathematics, for which the topics will be announced in advance. This way, students can decide in advance whether the topic is important to them to repeat.

A meeting with the sustainability group at the school was particularly interesting and hopefully lasting. Here we considered together whether an Erasmus+ project with students could be possible in the future. We discussed a lot about possible topics and ways in which the project can be implemented in the coming school year. In the end, we all parted ways optimistically and look forward to working together on an environmental project in the future.

I am very happy that I had the opportunity to get to know another school system and would like to thank all my colleagues for the warm welcome and good cooperation at Wilhelm-Gymnasium. I would especially like to thank Asa Vogl, who was responsible for the organization at the school, but also looked after me and was my mentor.

I am particularly looking forward to an upcoming environmental project in exchange with the group mobility of students next school year.