Day 9 - Munich

We started off this morning at a high school, which is called a gymnasium here. We met with a university supervisor for the University of Munich that deals with the teacher training program and four teachers doing their internships at the Oskar van Miller Gymnasium. Apparently, you have to know what you want to do for your life when you enroll in college because it's a difficult task to change your focus or area of specialty. If you want to teach gymnasium (the high school leading to university), then you will not be able to teach in the other high schools that lead to vocational schools.

We sat in on a social science lesson dealing with globalization and the G-8. It was interesting to see that the students stay in the class and the teachers move from room to room. We had a chance to visit with some students following the class and they seemed just like our kids.

Next up was the University of Munich. The university was the site where the White Rose Society circulated pamphlets critical of the Nazis in 1944, which got seven students and a professor executed for it. There's a very tasteful memorial to the members of the society. We were given a tour of the main university and an in-depth analysis of the teacher training provided by the university. It was very impressive.

Lastly, we toured the Nymphenburg castle that was built by Ludwig I and given to his wife for providing him a male heir. It is modeled on the Palace of Versailles in Paris that was built by Louis the XIV, also known as the Sun King. The size and opulence of it all shows a person why the public might get tired of monarchs and monarchy. The grounds and the gardens were beautiful and huge, it even had a hunting lodge on the grounds complete with live, wild deer, swans and foxes. It's off to a grundeschule or primary school tomorrow!