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I have a question about school and what grade a child might end up in.   One of my children is the youngest in his grade, just making the kindergarten cutoff date when he started school. Technically, we would have been fine to have him wait a year to begin school. We were pushed by our school district (in the US) to have him start school essentially one year early. (Long story, the details are not necessary here.) He is in second grade now. Say we move to Germany in the summer before he would start third grade in the US. Would Germany allow him to begin second grade, rather than pushing him into third grade? I see two benefits. His maturity level would match the grade he is in, he would finally be the same age as other students in his grade, and he could put more effort into language learning.    He has a minimal knowledge of German right now but is excited about learning more and we are all, as a family, learning Germany. I don't like that we were pushed to have him start kindergarten a year early because I still don't believe he was ready at the time. He would be in a public German school, not an international school.    Thanks for anything you can share!

I’m curious if anyone has experience with autism and education in Germany. In particular I am looking for POSITIVE experiences and areas of Germany where people have had positive experiences.    My son is going in to first grade now but he would be going into second grade by the time we move. It’s super important to know my son does not receive any academic support in school. He is very intelligent and is at the same level or beyond his peers in each of the core subjects.    He is learning German so this isn't really a concern. He'll likely need some time to become fluent but I have no concerns about him learning the language. He is mostly in the listening phase of learning but he has been starting to describe familiar objects with short sentences.   He does currently receive about 10 minutes per day to work on social skills that consists of him playing games and talking to another kid. This could be supplemented outside of school so we don’t require this in a German school.    He speaks VERY well with a large vocabulary and will gladly have detailed, lengthy conversations with you. This is great but also means he will attempt to persuade you out of things he does not like to do with solid reasoning. In school this mostly shows up in tasks he has already mastered and no longer wants to practice or in entirely unfamiliar tasks. He needs a teacher who doesn’t bend the rules for him. Of course, that takes a lot of patience but that is really important for him.    His biggest struggles are in the fact that he is a RULE FOLLOWER. He will hear your instructions, rules, or outline/schedule and expect that to be how things go. In this way school has been great for him because the day flows in a particular order. Lessons happen in a predictable way. The problem is more when something unexpected happens/major change in routine. This can be prevented by saying “today we have an assembly instead of our reading lesson" or whatever change it is. So he knows ahead of time. I mention this because it's a simple things that can help him in the day that doesn't technically fall under "extra support" but is something that is helpful.   The MOST important thing he needs in school is a teacher that cares about him and is strict in the sense that they won’t bend the rules (of school work and things like that) for him.   So, with this knowledge, are there areas of Germany that are maybe more suited to accepting him in schools?   Will school be a non-issue because he does not require academic support? Or will we encounter problems trying to enroll him in school?   Does the diagnosis alone cause a problem where we then need to prove his abilities?    Private schools and international schools are not an option.   I did have some recommendations to look at areas with better inclusion rates so that should the need arise for extra support this can happen within the regular school. This way we can apply for inclusion, even if that just means they help him with giving him a schedule so he knows what to expect and can tell him about any upcoming changes in routine for the week. In Google searches I found that Bremen, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein might be areas to consider? What do you think?   Thanks for any info you can provide on your experience or any advice! 

Hi all, I've got Business/Communication degree but I'm thinking about a career change in a healthcare-related field. My other option is becoming a college prof but I'm disillusioned with Business and things like that. I'm not sure a German university OK, so let me get this straight. As far as I understand, one needs German to really make it in Germany.  Sure, many English natives could get by on doing EN-only businesses or teaching English (or working in/around the US Army), but I am not a native speaker so that's out. I don't want to do a menial job as it won't leave me enough time to learn the language with 10-12 hr shifts, weird hours, employee abuse and stuff.   I would like to train for a degree in healthcare (as a physical therapist, dietician, osteopath, or dental technologist) but all the Ausbildung/study offers require good German and mine's like A1 (My English is about B2/C1 and French B1). What would you do in my case? Get a job like washing dishes or rather get a degree somewhere else where the language is easier or offers education in EN (like Pilsen, Czech Republic)?   I'm not a Czech speaker but it's easier for me than German being Bulgarian. Also we share many common or similar words for body parts and bones etc. which would be helpful for a healthcare-related degree. Do Czech degrees even qualify for working in Germany though? I've heard nurses for ex. need to get a German re-training one on top of their original foreign one. Is it the same for dental techs/dieticians/nutritionists/osteopaths/physical therapists?   Also, in your opinion, what degree could give me a better salary/more demand? I've heard dental technicians make quite good money. Are Germans big on Osteopathy and Homeopathy like the French (worked in French health insurance)? What about the demand/pay of physical therapist, dieticians & nutritionists? Then again, all those require quite good German, while dental technicians only talk to doctors and work in lab, so no direct communication with clients directly usually. Of course maybe I could just do a PhD in a German uni but very few interesting options exist in English (things like Business Management or Cultural Studies which I don't think are viable). I would also like to have a job which I can practice in a smaller city like Fuerth, Amberg, etc. I'm also open to commuting to larger communities like Nuremberg or Regensburg. would accept me in some more interesting scholar field without a prior degree in it (History, etc.). Not sure if an academic career is stable at all in Deutschland. As far as I understand one needs German to really make it in Germany. Many English natives get by on doing EN-only businesses targeting expats or teaching English (or working in/around the US Army), but I am not a native speaker and I prefer cities smaller than 500k so that's out. I don't want to do a menial job as it won't leave me enough time to learn the language with 10-12 hr shifts, nor any time to get a degree with their weird hours, employee abuse and stuff. I could do a part-time option if I study so 20 hrs per week.   I would like to train for a degree in healthcare (as a physical therapist, dietician, osteopath, or dental technologist) but all the Ausbildung/study offers require good German and mine's like A1. My English is about B2/C1 and French B1. What would you do in my case? Try Germany or get a degree somewhere else where the language is easier or offers education in EN (like Pilsen, Czech Republic)?   I'm not a Czech speaker but it's easier for me than German being Bulgarian. Do Czech degrees even qualify for working in Germany though? I've heard nurses for ex. need to get a German re-training one on top of their original foreign one. Is it the same for dental techs/dieticians/nutritionists/osteopaths/physical therapists?   Also, in your opinion, what degree could give me a better salary/more demand? I've heard dental technicians make quite good money. What about Osteopathy and Homeopathy? Physical therapists, clinical dieticians/nutritionists? Those require good German, while dental technicians only talk to doctors and work in lab, so no direct communication with clients directly usually.   Of course I could just do a PhD in a German uni but very few interesting options exist in English, that set you on the path to always work in a college/uni as they're not very viable outside of academia. I don't want to give money to get yet another useless degree like my foreign Business and Communication degrees! I only get 600 Euro in my country.  On the other hand were it not for call centres and so-called Business Process Outsourcing by multinationals, it would be hard for foreigners to find jobs in Greece, Portugal, all of ex-socialist Central and Eastern Europe. There doesn't seem to be such possibilities in Germany, even in the less wealthy ex-GDR places. Those jobs aren't that great but at least you could travel around Europe as an EU expat discovering different cultures. I'd prefer a job which I can practice in a smaller city like Fuerth, Amberg, etc. but I'm also open to commuting to larger communities like Nuremberg or Regensburg.

https://www.spiegel.de/start/abi-in-nrw-junge-benutz-doch-woerter-die-es-im-woertbuch-gibt-du-h0nd-a-8fd4ac23-a3bf-4423-a640-a3737d06b763 https://twitter.com/fmanjoo/status/1385626083488239618   Apparently, one of his columns was one of three texts to choose from in NRW's abitur exam. Author befuddled as students take over his twitter page. Funny.