A Glimpse into German student life:Insights from our EPAS Team’sInterview

On January 29, students of the EPAS team interviewed the students of a Catholic School in Germany who were visiting our school.
The EPAS team asked about how daily life in Germany was for people their age.

The German students, Names, 17 years old, Eleonora, 16 years old, Laura, 18 years old and Max, were the main guests of the interview and they shared parts of their daily lives with our students. In Germany, according to the guests, school begins at 9am and ends at 4pm, which is not commonly seen in any schools in Greece. The German students manage to balance their in-school and after-school life. Most German teens tend to participate in sports like Football, Volleyball or Soccer after school, but there is a plethora of activities teens attend in their free time. School days are similar to Greece’s, if you exclude some minor differences.

The German school system is believed to be the strictest one in Europe, even though the German students do not consider
that as factual. They pointed out that their system focuses on written grades rather that their attendance and performance in class when they were asked what they would change from their school system.

They also mentioned that the most common ‘hated subject’ amongst students in Chemistry. What do German students do for fun though? What is their social life about? Listening to music is an internationally popular form of entertainment. German youth listens to a music type they call ‘Slanga’ or ‘Wolfgang’ . They usually meet with their friends to listen to music, have a drink and hang out overall. Some members of the Catholic School also attend the local Choir in the cathedral near their school. Social life in
Germany is very casual, similar to other countries. Our EPAS team asked about how German youth handles people with disabilities, or people that seem different compared to the stereotypical citizen. The German students mentioned that their school is way stricter when dealing with instances like bullying, so it’s very rare for a Catholic School to deal with
such situations.

When they spoke on a personal level though, they said that they treat people like they want themselves to be treated by others.
This interview has been a pleasure for the EPAS team, as it was such an inspiring and moving experience for every member of our team.