Letter:Answering German question
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir: Andrew Marr's article on Germany and Europe and Bryan Appleyard's concerning anti-educational cultures in Britain, point to a common truth. For politicians and others of Eurosceptic views, the German question is one of envy rather than fear of war. How has it come about that the defeated Germans in 1945 have shown such economic, social and democratic progress when we British have fallen behind?
Many thousands of Brits, like me, have lived and worked in Germany since 1945. Most will agree that the UK and German ways of life have a great deal in common. Many also agree that the German democratic form of government is better than ours, with its regionalism and discussions prior to passing new laws.
The class system still unfortunately surviving in Britain is not replicated in Germany, and there are only a handful of private schools, mainly boarding. Germany's success has to a large extent depended on the excellence of its state education system, administered by the different Lander (regions).
Grammar, technical and secondary modern schools are the norm, and parents and pupils have absolute choice as to which type of school they attend. However, there is no automatic right to promotion according to age; pupils failing two subjects by the end of the school year have to repeat that year. Thus both parents and pupils have a much greater interest in education, especially as if, at age 16, not having a good school leaving certificate means they cannot get an apprenticeship, applicable to all jobs.
The German question is really how can Europeans of other states match their achievements? Certainly not by being envious or pretending we do things better.
Mrs P Ward
Huddersfield
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments