[Culturechat] schools

[Vance Roy]

I think one of Idyll's original hopes was for you to learn about 
different country's cultural ideas as a whole. I hope this helps with 
questions about the educational system here.

Regarding schooling (and most everything else), the kanton has a great 
deal of say so. I happen to have a good Swiss friend who is the 
equivalent in CH of the head of vocational training in a school system 
in the USA. He is a teacher of course, and we have had discussions on 
some of your points.

The school on the Hasliberg is a private affair. I had heard that it was 
largely for "problem" children, but I am ignorant of it except for its 
existence. Maybe the problems aren't with the kids but the parents.


Normally in Kanton Obwalden, the children may go to so called play 
groups for 2-3 days per week at about 4-5 years. These aren't structured 
schools with a curriculum but are valuable in teaching social skills, I 
expect. At age 5, the child goes to kindergarten. I think this is 
compulsory, but I won't swear to that. At age 6, the first grade begins 
with half days as a rule. Although the curriculum in this part of CH is 
supposed to be German, it is a mixture as time goes by.

School schedules remind me of something made out by a maddened 
dogcatcher. Sort of like the street plan for Boston. Most every home has 
schedules for each child on the refrigerator door, so mom can keep up 
with where the kids are on a given day. Some of the more radical 
feminists have accused the system of doing this so the mother of the 
house always has some child at home and can't venture into the business 
world. If that is true, it hasn't worked. Until the higher grades are 
reached, school times are a jumble to me. I think they vary in each 
community in a kanton. Schooling is compulsory! I have heard of cases 
where a parent was punished for even a few days off to take the child to 
grandparents. One must have a valid excuse with documentation. Good 
thing that CH doesn't have a capital punishment law.

Some children in the "slow" group may have the parents advised to keep 
them in sort of a super kindergarten for an extra year. there appears to 
be very close communication between parents and teachers. teachers are 
also always smarter than the students. Otherwise, the curriculum remains 
the same for a given area until the ninth grade. Earlier election to go 
on a course for a Matura can be done, I think in the seventh grade, but 
this is voluntary. During the ninth class year, a student elects to go 
one of two courses. To pursue a trade or vocational education, or to go 
for a Matura. What is a Matura? It is certificate of expertise gained 
after at least four years of study along the lines of math and science, 
language, economics, or other courses as offered by the kanton's 
educational system. Sometimes a student will travel some distance from 
home to study at a given area because that school offers a good 
education toward a specific Matura. The school in Sarnen sometimes 
graduates student who are from Ticino. These students literally move to 
the area for the school weeks. At the completion of the Matura study, 
after 13 years in school, one takes an exam, and if passed, then is able 
to pursue university study along the lines of his or her Matura.

All students who are not handicapped in some way, are required to 
complete the ninth class. Those who opt out of a Matura then go through 
a period of 2-4 years training for a vocation. If, for instance, a boy 
wants to stay at home to learn the farming business, he may not have a 
lot of study. Few kids want to stay on the farm these days. If a student 
is uncertain, there are a large number of assessments that he or she can 
undergo to see what their aptitudes are. There are also "mini 
apprenticeships" available so that a student can get a taste of what 
they may think they wish to do. After a decision is made, the student 
begins a course of training with class work and on the job experience 
for the prescribed period. This used to be called Distributive Education 
when I was in high school in the USA. From this group comes the CH 
salespeople, the bakers, the butchers, the carpenters, etc. These 
students, called Lerhlings, are paid a salary and get benefits like any 
worker. At the completion of their training, they take an exam to show 
their expertise. Sometimes, a Lehrling may continue as a long time 
employee. I know one man who did his training and now still works for 
the same company over twenty years later. This isn't compulsory though. 
You can imagine that some companies have great reputations for training, 
and that they are sought as places to get one's education.

If a student, either early or much later, decides a given occupation is 
not for him, there are paths open now that allow for retraining. This 
did not used to be the case twenty or so years ago.

As far as school's extra activities, one does not see school band, 
soccer teams, and the like. Every community has music clubs, chorus, 
sporting teams, etc. in which nearly all kids participate from an early 
age. School is pretty much for learning academic subjects, but nearly 
all children play a musical instrument and some sort of sport.

Now, lastly, a disclaimer. I wrote the above from memory. Herr Britschgi 
often lurks on the chats, so when I next meet him, I may have some 
corrections/additions to the above.

Vance Roy
gigli.saw@dplanet.ch.