1. Residential area
The public education system is inflexible. And the district in which a state school is located is just as inflexible. Even if you choose the best accessible school for your child, all other students and teachers also come from a radius that requires daily commuting. This virtually rules out the possibility that only top teachers teach at your child’s school, and your child’s school friends also have roughly the same environment as your child and almost always bring impulses only from that environment.
And at UNBRICKED?
Our students and teachers are international. This means that your child is immersed in a wide variety of life worlds every day and learns a lot about other cultures along the way. An equally important advantage is that the whole world is open to us when selecting our teachers and experts, and we can choose from the best in their field.
2. Inclusion
Inclusion is a human right that enables everyone to participate in society without exclusion or discrimination. In everyday school life, this means that every child must have access to a school and be able to attend it safely and without hurdles. So, is this really everyday life? Maybe you’ve heard of inclusion aides. It’s a good evolution that makes it possible for children to attend school who would have a hard time gaining access without inclusion aides. However, there are many other reasons why a child may not attend or be able to attend school. For example, an illness that is permanently bed-bound or makes attending school impossible, psychosomatic illnesses, bullying experiences, and students with autism spectrum disorder diagnoses, just to name a few.
And at UNBRICKED?
Because our classes take place online, no child has to travel to school. But even kids who can’t expose themselves to the normal craziness of a school for many hours a day often find that at UNBRICKED, they can still learn in a classroom setting and build social connections with other students that will last a lifetime. Whether your child needs the security of the home environment or long school days are too stressful. And bullying doesn’t exist at UNBRICKED, because we keep all of our students “on our radar” at all times 😉 .
3. Class Size
Class size is one of the most obvious weaknesses of the state’s educational system. The OECD average is 23.3 students per class. Germany is slightly above the average with a class size of 24.6. In larger cities in particular, however, class sizes are significantly higher. Depending on the state and type of school, class sizes of up to 35 students are permitted in Germany, for example. Subject teachers sometimes have more than 200 children per class per school term. It is therefore obvious that it is impossible to promote individual strengths. I once had a chemistry teacher who took little photos of us and stuck them in his grade book, because he said he couldn’t remember his students otherwise. How was he supposed to grade them then?
And at UNBRICKED?
Our class size is a maximum of 8 students per class, supervised by 2 classroom teachers. Only the development of interests and strengths is additionally supported by experts. In this way, we ensure that each individual child feels seen and that the teachers can participate in the children’s lives and thus provide individual support.
4. Resources
The financial resources of schools are tightly constrained. This can lead to limitations in the procurement of teaching materials, textbooks, technological equipment and other educational resources such as teacher training. You’ve probably experienced that the student body wanted something for recess, the cafeteria, or an extracurricular activity. It is very likely that the funds for this were raised from private funds or the booster club. But it is not only the lack of funds that stands in the way of a successful school day; the lack of flexibility and the inertia of the system have an equally crippling effect on, for example, the selection of teaching materials.
And at UNBRICKED?
UNBRICKED is able to react immediately to upcoming changes. No matter if it is about technology tools or teaching materials. We are able to correct the course whenever it makes sense. And we do it immediately.
5. Curriculum
When you were in school, did you also wonder why the curriculum is often outdated and unexciting? It’s because of the system of teacher training and continuing education. After all, teachers go to university and learn the material they are supposed to teach their future students from old professors. Depending on the subject, this is an old hat even during their studies. And after graduation? Well, nobody checks the professional competence of the individual teachers anymore. Trainee teachers are formally carried through the exam. There is a work sample in a class that has been prepared for it. And no one wants to block the career path of the prospective teacher after the long study. 93% of all student teachers pass in their traineeship. Where else is there such a high pass rate? In the further course of their work, teachers do have to attend further training courses, but this does not have to be subject-related. If the biology teacher prefers skateboarding to advanced training, then that is approved. Quality assurance looks different.
And at UNBRICKED?
Our teachers are put through their paces. Humanly and professionally. It is especially important to us that our educators have the willingness to learn and grow with our students. In addition, our teachers have access to regular supervision, where any issues that arise are discussed with professionals. UNBRICKED is like a well-functioning family with social control and support.
6. Stressed students
Many children and adolescents experience school as a burden, and almost every second student suffers from stress*1. One third of the boys and girls affected complain of symptoms such as headaches, back pain, sleep problems and panic attacks. 11% of stressed adolescents develop depression and 13.6% feel like failures. Almost 50% of all adolescents feel useless from time to time. Also, there seems to be a direct link from stress to increased addictive behavior. *2
Even fifth graders occasionally reach for cigarettes, beer or even harder drinks. These are alarming figures, given that childhood and adolescence are supposed to be the most carefree time in life.
Students feel particularly stressed by:
- getting up early
- long journeys to school
- high pressure to perform at school and from parents
- homework and studying in the afternoon
- tutoring
- appointments for extracurricular activities such as sports, music lessons, taking care of homework, watching younger siblings, etc.
And at UNBRICKED?
UNBRICKED students are not exposed to many of the stressors in the first place. They don’t have to get up early and travel long distances to school. Our students can sit in front of their laptops with cocoa and breakfast at 9:30 in the morning or later in their pajamas. Showering, brushing teeth during the lunch break? No problem. There is no useless homework and the feedback sessions in the afternoon are voluntary. And since the lessons at UNBRICKED are structured so efficiently that the students only have 3 hours of lessons a day (plus feedback opportunities in the afternoon), there is enough time for friends, hobbies or just puberty.
7. Ill teachers
Every third teacher feels overworked, and not just since the pandemic. Above all, mental illnesses, including burnout, dominate teachers’ sick days. Many report symptoms of exhaustion. *3
Research has shown that the highest stress factor is dealing with students. Compared to other professions, the high work and noise stress is considered the reason for mental exhaustion. In this regard, the mental exhaustion symptoms are increasing every year and the teachers who suffer from mental illness see themselves as lone warriors. *4
This is highly explosive, because sick teachers not only mean many absentee hours and thus lost education and lower grades, but the teachers who stand in front of the class, according to their own way of looking at things, go to war day after day.
It is particularly interesting that according to a comparative study, the burden does not increase due to a difficult school environment or a lack of support from the school management, but rather the personal characteristics are decisive for the sick teachers, i.e. they are rooted in their own person and their own experience of the environment*5.
And at UNBRICKED?
UNBRICKED teachers are part of the UNBRICKED family and see colleagues as well as students as part of this family. Of course, there are bumps in the family, but no one stands alone in front of or in the classroom. Our teachers have a regular supervision program that they can take advantage of. UNBRICKED has the world at its fingertips to hire the best teachers. Of course, it is desirable for classroom teachers to see the class through to graduation, but should there ever be a rotten teacher apple in our teacher fruit basket, that apple does not infect other apples, but is sorted out to protect students and colleagues.
8. Teacher shortage
In the school year 2035/36, there could be up to 85,000 vacant teaching positions in Germany (11% of all positions) that cannot be filled by regular professionals. *6 At best, this means your child will receive instruction from non-specialist non-teachers, and at worst, many lessons will be cancelled. The reasons may be heavy workload*7 and low pay.
What about UNBRICKED?
Why we pay our teachers a principal’s salary for only 30 hours per week? UNBRICKED can choose from the best teachers. Not only do we provide the perfect learning environment for our students, but also for our teachers. Relaxed working from anywhere in the world, an appreciative environment, in-service training, free choice of teaching materials, these are all great aspects of teaching at UNBRICKED. But that’s not all. We believe that real professionals should be compensated like professionals, right?
9. Illiterates
School teaches your child everything they need? Is that really the case?
12.1 percent of the working-age population in Germany cannot read or write well enough. Another 10.6 million people, or 20.5 percent of adults, experience deficient writing even for common words. That’s nearly one in three adults. And every one of these people is subject to compulsory education until at least age 18. We’ve already touched on teacher shortages and limited resources, but how can it be that a child’s failure to master something as basic as fluency in writing and reading goes unnoticed? Or that no action is taken? That raises many more questions.
What about UNBRICKED?
UNBRICKED teachers and students form a team. In classes of no more than eight children, no one hides. And everyone is important. As an independent personality and for the group. UNBRICKED students are proud of their classmates’ successes and cheer each other on. Success is achieved in and with the group, so no child is left behind.
10. Class times and free periods
The school day begins in the middle of the night. Getting up at six o’clock is not uncommon. Often the school day lasts until 3 p.m. or longer. When you get home, you still have to cram for the next exam or do homework. So a school day often consists of 10 or more hours. But does a lot help a lot? The school bell rings for the lesson. 10 minutes late, the teacher traipses into the class, needs another 5 minutes until the crowd is quiet. Some teachers have little interest in their subject and tell one private anecdote after another. The students love this. Or he checks homework for 15 minutes. Well, there are still 15 minutes left for the actual lesson until it gongs again. The next subject lesson doesn’t take place again until three days later: “What did we do again?” And anyway: many lessons, especially in high school, when students are preparing for their final exams, are canceled without replacement.
And at UNBRICKED?
UNBRICKED teaches according to the latest scientific findings, interdisciplinary, project-based, without a recess bell and with direct feedback. This allows us to achieve an efficiency that enables us to give students the day off for all the things that are important in adolescence: sleep, meeting friends, sports, music, social engagement after only 3 hours of instruction and the opportunity for feedback.
Conclusion
There are many good reasons not to entrust your child to a public school if you really want the best education for your child and at the same time you care about your child developing into a happy and successful adult.
*1https://www.aerzteblatt.de/nachrichten/77981/Fast-jeder-zweite-Schueler-leidet-unter-Stress
*3https://diediagnostikzentren.de/2022/06/18/wie-steht-es-um-die-gesundheit-unserer-lehrer/
*5https://www.aktionsrat-bildung.de/fileadmin/Dokumente/ARB_Gutachten_Burnout.pdf (S.109ff)
*6https://de.statista.com/themen/10477/lehrermangel-in-deutschland/
*7https://www.aktionsrat-bildung.de/fileadmin/Dokumente/ARB_Gutachten_Burnout.pdf (S56ff)
