EDUCATION FOR A MULTICULTURAL WORLD
GERMAN AMERICANA SEGMENT

German-American Studies in the Classroom

Now that it is O.K. to be ethnic in America, German teachers and students across America have a prime opportunity to ride the wave of excitement in search of their ethnic idenity. Teachers have not only an opporunity, but also a responsibility to help their students discover the rich heritage and impact German immigrants have had on the development, history, and culture of our country. German-american studies and language learning complement and reinforce one another and should not be viewed as naturally exclusive courses in the curriculum.

Realizing that the majority of those students who enroll in a German language class do so because of family heritage, and also with the realization that most will never travel to a German-speaking country, it behooves us as teachers to facilitate this learning process in a manner that will lend substance and quality to their brief encounter with the German language in our classrooms. Capitalizing on the basic reason most enrolled in the first place seems to be a natural phenomenon.

The students at Columbus North High School in Columbus, Indiana, have the opportunity for a five year study of German, French, or Spanish, two years of Russian or Japanese, and one semester of Chinese. The retention rate for those students studying German for five years has been consistently greater than the retention rate for those in the other languages.

At the third and fourth levels, students have been exposed to a program focusing on German-American studies along with their language study. Students have been exposed to a variety of culturally and historically significant events, personalities, and places dealing with local and regional history with a German connection. The students are introduced to broad topics such as:

The list is endless. If time allows, field trips to local museums, cemeteries, state memorials, art exhibits, churches, etc. are suggested. Speakers from these places may also be brought into the classroom.

The students are taught to read passages written in Fraktur and "alte Deutsche Schrift" which was commonly used prior to the introduction of the Su"tterlin-Schrift in 1917.

The above merely sets the stage for the real thrust of the program. Armed with the tools of language, historic reading and writing skills most students never get, and with a clearer definition of local history, our students are ale to launch their own research projects with a German emphasis. Some choose to focus on personalities, some on genealogy, some on community development, church history, tools, dress, folklore, oral history, traditions, old immigration, recent immigration, etc. The resources are limitless. The greatest inhibitor is time. Many students begin for the first time to talk with senior members in their families and in the community. They develop a sense of pride because they are able to use their language skills in a relevant manner outsides the classroom.

Once this student program is in place, the momentum generated by their contacts permeates their families, friends, neighbors, and the total fabric of the community. The students then have become catalyst for family and community involvement in rediscovering and passing on to future generations their German culture, hsitory and heritage. That which happens, evolves in unusual, unexpected, and sometimes serendipitious ways, and all are exciting. Some representative things which have evolved locally since the initiation of these student projects are:

The sphere of influence and interest has evolved to the world outside the classroom, because of what happened in the classroom. The crescendo of excitement generated by the students using their language and investigative skills has not yet peaked.

In a relay race, the race is won on the skill of the passing of the baton, not necessarily on the speed of the runners. The same is true for language study. Those students who are able to use their skills to transfer a body of knowledge on to future generations are the ones who will succeed. Columbus North High School is running a good race.

This article was presented at a teacher workshop in Ferdinand, Indiana Mar 17-18, 1991 by Arthur Schwenk, German Teacher, Columbus North High School, 1400 25th Street, Columbus, Indiana 47201


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