Today was a busy, engaging, and informative day--we traveled by train to Potsdam to visit two schools (Kindergarten and elementary) as well as an after-school program operating at two separate sites. It was compelling to think that just twenty years ago the area we visited was in East Berlin. In fact, all the school buildings and nearby apartments were constructed in the past 15 years, so they don't have the industrial cinderblock look of older structures that were built before the fall of the Berlin wall.
At each of the facilities we visited classrooms, met with teachers and staff, and ate our fill of cookies and bratwurst and drank plenty of coffee. We also had an opportunity to offer our impressions of what we saw...more on this in a later post.
Following are various photos from the past two days:
A wooden castle for students to play in during their after-school experience. Many of the toys and classroom items we saw were made of natural, sustainable materials.
The elementary school had fewer than 20 computers in their technology lab; we didn't see any classroom computers for student use.
Elementary school gymnasium. This was a dance class in progress, taught by an outside contractor.
We stumbled upon a skit in the first/second grade English class. The student on the left repeated the refrain, "I am an earthworm" while a succession of animals questioned his importance because he simply lived underground.
Elementary school entrance foyer.
Front of the elementary school.
Wooden toys in Kindergarten classes.
Bundestag seen from the top level. Note the class encasement.
Brandenburg gate.
Thanks for your interest in my Berlin experiences. Check back frequently for more posts.
DS
