Report
from Lübeck
by Mara Cambiaghi
From March 3 to March 7,
2009 I participated in a teacher exchange in the Friedrich-List-Schule in
Lübeck, Germany. The exchange was part of an ongoing programme of
cooperation among the Istituto d’Istruzione Superiore J.C. Maxwell
and its affiliate Istituto Professionale Settembrini in Milan and
the Friedrich-List-Schule in Lübeck, as well as other schools from
countries such as Sweden and Finland which have also been involved. The
overall framework of the programme falls within the COMENIUS project
titled ‘OCCUSA investigating and developing the teaching of occupational
safety in European countries’. Thanks to the excellent liaison existing
between the two schools and the kind effort of Maria Grazia Cupini and
Gudrun Möllnitz, who have coordinated and made my stay in Lübeck possible,
I received an all-round introduction into the workings of the
Friedrich-List Schule, a technical secondary school offering pupils three
different types of courses and qualifications, i.e. part-time vocational
training with an emphasis on business and trade (Fachschule für
Betriebswirtschaft), full-time vocational training for business
assistants (Berufsfachschule für Kaufmännische Assistenten) and an
advanced secondary course specializing in economics, leading to the final
college entrance qualification or else to the Abitur (Berufliche
Gymnasium – Wirtschaft).
Pupils of the
Friedrich-List-Schule opting for part-time vocational training receive
specific instructions for their job in companies and also take regular
class lessons according to their chosen course of study. The specific
school programme matches the requirements of the German dual
system, which allows trainees to combine theoretical and practical
training within their overall course.
Notwithstanding the
excellent introduction and very warm welcome I received from all the
teachers of the Friedrich-List-Schule led by the enthusiastic effort of
Gudrun Möllnitz (PHOTO 1), whom I wish to thank especially, I was also
allowed to indulge one of my literary passions of long ago, when I was a
part-time student and an employee in the Faculty of Humanities of
University College London. Lübeck was indeed home to one of the most
literary German families of the twentieth-century and since it was a
Welshman who first led me through the intricacies of Thomas Mann’s work, I
was touched when I found that the teachers of the Friedrich-List-Schule in
Lübeck had inserted a double German session on Buddenbrooks into
my schedule. The class was held by Bettina Dudek for her final year pupils
of the Gymnasium. Hearing young Germans discuss the pros and
cons of the latest film version of Thomas Mann’s novel as against the
intrinsic literary merit of the original, stirred a feeling of déjà vu
in my youthful memories and I was moved, all the more so as all this was
happening in the very heart of Lübeck. As well as Maria Grazia Cupini, who
initiated my exchange programme in Milan, I wish to thank Colleagues at
the Friedrich-List-Schule especially for adding this very personal touch
to my programme. Yet, this is not all, since Rudi Laake, who also teaches
German in the local Fachgymnasium, literally changed the content of
his lesson on Lessing’s drama Nathan der Weise in order to
accommodate part of an equally famous Italian classic, i.e. Boccaccio’s
novella on Melchisedec the Jew and Saladin contained in the
Decameron. Both texts focus on the parable of the three rings and the
underlying plea for religious tolerance and wisdom. The need to evaluate
human worth well beyond any preconceptions caused by ideological
fanaticism became the message derived from this German class in its
comparative encounter with Italian culture. Again, I was grateful for this
subtle acknowledgment of my presence in the Friedrich-List Schule.
Let me offer you here a
detailed description of my exchange programme in Lübeck. On March 3, I was
escorted from the airport (Ryan-Air Hamburg/Lübeck) into town by Gudrun
Möllnitz who guarded over my well-being, was an exquisite host and treated
me to lunch in the characteristic Heinrich Böll restaurant in down-town
Lübeck. She also provided my first introduction to the Friedrich-List-Schule
and to the teaching staff led by school director Stephan Cosmus. We then
made our way into the city centre and took a stroll among the main
cultural highlights (PHOTO 2) to meet in the late afternoon with colleague
Regina Gabriel. Regina was very kind in taking a break from her duty as a
mother of three small children in order to accompany me to the cinema and
see a film based on a nineteenth-century literary masterpiece, Effi
Briest by Theodor Fontane. Needless to say, I was thrilled since the
film version of the novel is excellent, albeit different from the earlier
Fassbinder version which I also remember. Eventually, we were joined by
Roland Portz for dinner in an interesting local restaurant.
On Wednesday, March 4th
I visited classes in English on Safety at work held by Anke von
Ivernois for part-time pupils of the vocational school (Berufschule)
(PHOTO 3). The pupils were very well-behaved, raised their hands in order
to answer questions and learnt vocabulary with technical content
concerning the failed dispatch of ordered material (PHOTO 4). I then
joined an English class in the technical secondary school (Fachgymnasium)
held by Stefan Bürger. Here, pupils were involved in a written test and in
an oral presentation (PHOTO 5). I saw an engaged and well-behaved
first-year class, involved in three hours of English lessons per week.
Regina Gabriel’s class on
storage and staging addressed a group of fourteen part-time pupils from
the Berufschule training to become warehouse assistants. Regina
succeeded in making her class even more lively by distributing samples of
colourful pasta letters to illustrate her teaching and elicit basic
concepts on the logistics of goods.
My afternoon programme
took me all the way to Travenmünde, a charming village on the Baltic
coast. It took me only a twenty-minute ride by train to reach this small
seaside resort, already celebrated by Thomas Mann in one of the chapters
in Buddenbrooks, where the young Toni experiences a happy though
short-lived romance without the blessing of her family. The local small
museum, small fish restaurants and the long coast line offered me
sufficient appeal for the entire afternoon and early evening. On the
train, I exchanged a few words with an unknown and amicable local
passenger who kindly showed me the way into the village when we left the
small train station together. Only later, did I recognize her face in the
photo shown on the leaflet which was handed out to me at the local museum.
I then learnt that she is a cultural historian from Lübeck specializing in
the history of German post-unification and the experience of
bordercrossing within Germany. Without knowing it, I had accidentally met
Karen Meyer-Rebentisch, the author of Grenzenerfahrungen and I was
left wandering for the rest of the evening about this uncanny if pleasant
encounter.
On Thursday March 5th, I
recouped my working schedule. Gudrun escorted me again from my hotel to
school where I met with Roland Portz and his pupils learning economic
geography (PHOTO 6). His session addressed a group of about twenty-six
pupils from the twelfth class of the technical Gymnasium and
focussed on the causes of poverty and famines. The class was motivated and
spurred on further by an additional trainee teacher who took over the
teaching from Roland Portz.
My morning session
continued with Anja Gribisch’s class on economics focussing on juridical
aspects concerning business contracts. This was a class of about twenty
pupils which also included a so-called Mentorübung for a trainee
teacher in business management. All material handed out to this class was
also kindly handed out to me and Anja made sure I
received a copy of Martin Wendt’s teaching plan, as well as a copy of the
evaluation form she would complete while supervising Martin’s class. This
kind of Mentorübung takes place twice a year for trainee teachers.
I noted the careful preparation during the various stages of Martin’s
class, as well pupils’ active participation throughout.
My last session on Thursday took me to Stefanie
Sengenc’s class on economics for trainees as logistics managers. This was
a lively class of about 23 pupils who normally spend two days a week at
school and three days at work in a company. Here (PHOTO 8), they are
involved in learning various concepts of management referring to the
social theories of Max Weber and Kurt Lewin, entailing different notions
of authority which occasionally overlap: autocratic and patriarchal,
charismatic, bureaucratic, authoritarian, cooperative as well as
laissez-faire…. (PHOTO 7: The Teachers’ Room). There was enough food for
thought to keep everybody musing on the basic notions of social
organization, but time stopped and the class was soon over. My day ended
with an ‘exquisite’ visit to Lübeck’s famous Niederegger café opposite the
town hall, offering the most delicious cakes and marzipan. I then made my
way towards the illustrious Buddenbrookhaus (PHOTO 9) for a much
agonized and nostalgic look into the world of Thomas and Heinrich Mann.
My final day at the school was a treat for my literary
interests. As I have already mentioned, the experience touched my soul on
Friday. Yet, more was still to come, since Gudrun Möllnitz promptly picked
me up from school in the late morning and took me all the way to....
Hamburg! Here, the highlights of the newly re-designed harbour, with its
modern buildings protruding out of or in front of refurbished warehouses,
provided a fascinating view of this modern North German city and an added
picture to that of the city centre.
On returning to Lübeck, very warm hospitality was
extended to me at both Gudrun’s home and Regina Gabriel’s, where we were
joined by Roland Portz and Regina’s lovely family over a delightful
dinner, for which I was truly grateful.
To all of you at the Friedrich-List-Schule I wish to
extend therefore my sincere thanks for a most enjoyable and fascinating
stay in Lübeck and for your very warm hospitality under the auspices of
COMENIUS!
