Another One from Brigitte:
Report Card Day
zeigt (shows)
findet es lustig (finds it funny)
das Zeugnis (the report card)
Zeugnistag
Es ist mitten im Februar und heute ist Zeugnistag. Wolfgang hat sein Zeugnis bekommen. Sein Zeugnis ist sehr schlecht, er hat eine „5“ in einhundertein Fächern und eine „6“ in Diskotanzen. Wolfgang findet das sehr lustig. Auf dem Weg nach Hause trifft er die Erdbeerkuh. Er zeigt der Erdbeerkuh sein Zeugnis. Sie findet seine schlechten Noten auch sehr lustig. Die Erbeerkuh sagt: „Muuuhhhhh!“ (Das ist Erdbeerkuhsprache für „Ich finde das sehr lustig!“)
Wolfgang geht nach Hause. Seine Mutter will sein Zeugnis sehen. Wolfgang zeigt seiner Mutter das Zeugnis.
Mutter: Was? Du hast eine „5“ in einhundertein Fächern und eine „6“ in Diskotanzen! Das ist furchtbar!!!
Wolfgang: Ich finde das lustig!
Mutter: Nein, ich finde das absolut nicht lustig. Ich bin die Königin der Diskotänzer und du musst jetzt 100
Stunden Unterricht im Diskotanzen nehmen.
Wolfgang findet es lustig, dass er Unterricht im Diskotanzen nehmen muss. Er geht zum Diskotanzlehrer und zeigt ihm sein Zeugnis. Der Diskotanzlehrer findet es auch nicht lustig, dass Wolfgang so viele schlechte Noten hat und Wolfgang muss 100 Stunden Diskotanzen.
Nach 100 Stunden geht Wolfgang nach Hause und zeigt seinem Vater sein Zeugnis. Sein Vater findet es auch sehr lustig, dass Wolfgang eine schlechte Note in Diskotanzen hat. Wolfgang und sein Vater halten sich den Bauch vor Lachen.
Die Mutter kommt in das Zimmer und sieht, dass Wolfgang und sein Vater sich vor Lachen den Bauch halten. Die Mutter findet das absolut nicht lustig. Sie sagt zu Wolfgang’s Vater: „Du bist auch ein furchtbarer Diskotänzer, du musst auch 100 Stunden Unterricht im Diskotanzen nehmen!“
Wolfgang und sein Vater finden das sehr, sehr lustig. Sie lachen und lachen auf dem ganzen Weg zum Diskotanzlehrer. Die Mutter findet das nicht lustig , sie findet Wolfgang’s Zeugnis nicht lustig, sie findet Wolfgang nicht lustig und sie findet Wolfgang’s Vater nicht lustig. Sie findet ihre ganze Familie nicht lustig!!!
9 thoughts on “Report Card Day (Matava) – German – Brigitte Kahn”
I did this story with my level 1s when the first progress report came out in September. It was a homerun script.
Ich finde es lusting, dieselbe Geschichte auf Deutsch zu lesen.
Drew, how come your German is perfect, yet you teach Spanish? Or is it both and I’m just not aware of it? I wish I could read your stories – need to brush up on my – as yet non-existent – Spanish.
I studied both in high school in college.
I teach at the same high school I attended.
Every year we try to get enough students to take German. For the past five years it was 100 students, then 110 students, then 130 students, then 140 students. They kept raising the number to something they thought was unattainable. Last year I hit their target and recruited enough students, my department chair ordered 50 more Komm Mit level 1 books, the kids all got it on their schedules and my Principal pulls me into her office and says we are changing your 2 sections of German 1 to Spanish 1. We had 3 full sections of German–full as in 38 each.
I protested, I got angry, but she never gave me any good reason. I said YOU helped me get a grant to study in Germany and you are taking away a program that you know I can make strong.
I’m absolutely pissed off that our schools are letting German die. French is next to die at our school. We have 1 teacher with 5 sections of French I-AP and they force kids into French 1. We are going strong with some 30 sections of Spanish 1 though (but barely 2 of AP–hmm, problem?).
The principal did say that if she took me out of Spanish the “Accelerated Spanish Program” that I created would suffer. The funny thing is is that class seems accelerated because we don’t use a text book like the other classes do. Its a pure CI class and they end up rocking at the end of the year.
Bah! I’ll just continue reading your stories Birgitte und tue als ob ich Deutsch doch lehre.
So they took kids who wanted to be in your German program and stuck them into a French class that they didn’t want?
Most of them are in my 5th period Spanish class. My original schedule had me teaching 4th and 5th period German I. I always wonder what would happen if I just told them they were learning Spanish, taught them German and then told the Admin at the end of the year, I taught them German, looks like they need German 2 now.
Like you’re talking about in your What to look for in a teacher post, If the French teacher weren’t so old-school and on an “exacting pursuit of excellence” the numbers wouldn’t be as low as they are. I’m pretty sure that CI could make Economics fun.
This is so sad, Drew, but it’s probably going to happen to our program, too. We’re going to lose to Mandarin. Last year, we also were given the “scheduling” excuse – we had enough kids signed up for two very full sections of German (over 40 kids). This might not seem like a lot, but we’re a rather small district. Over the summer, they miraculously shrunk to 20 – however, they still kept the two sections. So there were only 6 kids in one class. Can’t wait to find out what will happen next year. Unfortunately, there is still that myth that German is not very “useful”.
Drew, I will keep those stories coming – who knows, maybe one day they might come in handy for you after all. Obviously, the interest among your students is there. The only reason I have a job in our district is that we had one father who was very adamant at the various Board Meetings about needing an additional German teacher. Maybe you need to rally some parental units to voice their opinions with the powers that be. Nach dem Motto: “Steter Tropfen höhlt den Stein”. Viel Glück!!
Mandarin is a great culture and language. So is Arabic. However, Annick Chen tells me that for every two years of CI required to learn a Latin based language, Mandarin requires four. They learn twice as slowly, in other words, because it is so hard. I predict that when the new economic changes happen and we are less interdependent with the Chinese, we will return to study the great languages of Europe while keeping our link with China. It could be a century or more away, but some day people will realize how important Latin and Greek and the languages they gave birth to really are in the lives of Westerners. The voices of parents that now cause principals to cow tow to their demands in terms of language selection will be quieted. Principals will no longer cave and do things like eliminate Japonese in favor of Chinese when those parents howl, as happened in one DPS high school last year. Can you imagine, choosing a language because it might help a bank account one day? We should study Mandarin and Arabic and Japanese and German and French and Spanish and Italian because they are doorways to the greatest cultures of the world, and for no other reason. Just ranting here a bit. I LOVE the idea, Drew, of teaching the German and telling the boss that that’s what you did, but only at the end of the year. That’s a seventh degree ninja move right there.
30 sections of Spanish? Big school!
Brigitte, I swear I saw somewhere that German is one of the top 5, maybe top 3, languages spoken in the business world, because of Germany’s exporting prowess. You might want to look into that stat (if you don’t already know it) and bring it up, especially if they’re always thinking of their “bank account”.
Thanks Jim, for thinking out loud for me. Believe me, that’s one of the top reasons I bring up when talking to parents at the various introductory meetings, etc. Not so much when we go to the elementary schools to talk to the kids about their choices for language studies (all they care about is whether the class is “fun” and I can assure them that German is da bomb!!!).