Showing posts with label Time. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Time. Show all posts
Saturday, December 12, 2015
Angela Merkel: Time Magazine's Person of the Year
Opposition to her in Germany and throughout Europe is building, so perhaps this kind of recognition will help open some minds to the benefits of her logic. For me, just thinking about an alternate to Merkel can be a frightening thought. --rsb
["During Time‘s Person of the Year search, the magazine invited Donald Trump for a shoot with a patriotic theme." -- That was a challenge he won't soon forget. That, and probably also that he lost to Merkel. rsb]
Sunday, March 8, 2015
How to Parent Like a German
Living
Parenting
@sarazaske
“Achtung! Nein!” I cried in my bad German. Both kids and parents ignored me.
Contrary to stereotypes, most German parents I’ve met are the opposite of strict. They place a high value on independence and responsibility. Those parents at the park weren’t ignoring their children; they were trusting them. Berlin doesn’t need a “free range parenting” movement because free range is the norm.
Here are a few surprising things Berlin parents do:
Don’t push reading. Berlin’s kindergartens or “kitas” don’t emphasize academics. In fact, teachers and other parents discouraged me from teaching my children to read. I was told it was something special the kids learn together when they start grade school. Kindergarten was a time for play and social learning. But even in first grade, academics aren’t pushed very hard. Our grade school provides a half-day of instruction interrupted by two (two!) outdoor recesses. But don’t think this relaxed approach means a poor education: According to a 2012 assessment by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, German 15-year-olds perform well above the international average when it comes to reading, math and science while their more pressured American counterparts lag behind.
Encourage kids to play with fire. A note came home from school along with my excited second grader. They were doing a project on fire. Would I let her light candles and perform experiments with matches? Together we lit candles and burned things, safely. It was brilliant. Still, she was the only kid whose parent didn’t allow her to shoot off heavy duty fireworks on New Year’s Eve.
Let children go almost everywhere alone. Most grade school kids walk without their parents to school and around their neighborhoods. Some even take the subway alone. German parents are concerned about safety, of course, but they usually focus on traffic, not abductions.
The facts seem to be on the Germans’ side. Stranger abductions are extremely rare; there were only 115 a year in all of America, according to the most recent U.S. Department of Justice study. And walking around without parental supervision, or “independent mobility” as the researchers call it, is good for kids.
Party when school starts. One of my Berlin friends once told me that the three biggest life events are Einschulung (starting first grade), Jugendweihe (becoming a young adult) and getting married.
In Berlin, Einschulung is a huge celebration at the school—on a Saturday!—that includes getting a Schultüte (or Zuckertüte)—a giant child-sized cone filled with everything from pencils to watches to candy. Then there’s another party afterwards with your family and friends.
Einschulung is something children look forward to for years. It signals a major life change, and hopefully, an enthusiasm for learning.
Jugendweihe happens when a child turns 14. It involves a similar ceremony, party, and gifts, marking the next stage of growing up. With all the negativity heaped on adolescents, there’s something to be said for this way of celebrating young adulthood.
Take the kids outside everyday. According to a German saying “there is no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing.” The value of outside time is promoted in the schools, hence the “garten” in Kindergarten. It’s also obvious on Berlin’s numerous playgrounds. No matter how cold and grey it gets, and in Berlin it gets pretty cold, parents still bundle their kids up and take them to the park, or send them out on their own.
Which brings me back to that dragon—since moving here, I’ve tried to adopt some of the Berlin attitude, and my 8-year-old has climbed all over the dragon. But I still hesitate to let her walk alone in our very urban neighborhood.
I’ve taken one small step. I let her go to the bakery by herself. It’s just down the stairs and one door over. The first time she did this, she came back beaming, proudly handing me the rolls she bought herself.
I figured there was no need to tell her that her American mother was out on the balcony, watching her the whole time.
An American mom finds some surprising habits
The first time I went to a playground in Berlin, I freaked. All the German parents were huddled together, drinking coffee, not paying attention to their children who were hanging off a wooden dragon 20 feet above a sand pit. Where were the piles of soft padded foam? The liability notices? The personal injury lawyers?“Achtung! Nein!” I cried in my bad German. Both kids and parents ignored me.
Contrary to stereotypes, most German parents I’ve met are the opposite of strict. They place a high value on independence and responsibility. Those parents at the park weren’t ignoring their children; they were trusting them. Berlin doesn’t need a “free range parenting” movement because free range is the norm.
Here are a few surprising things Berlin parents do:
Don’t push reading. Berlin’s kindergartens or “kitas” don’t emphasize academics. In fact, teachers and other parents discouraged me from teaching my children to read. I was told it was something special the kids learn together when they start grade school. Kindergarten was a time for play and social learning. But even in first grade, academics aren’t pushed very hard. Our grade school provides a half-day of instruction interrupted by two (two!) outdoor recesses. But don’t think this relaxed approach means a poor education: According to a 2012 assessment by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, German 15-year-olds perform well above the international average when it comes to reading, math and science while their more pressured American counterparts lag behind.
Encourage kids to play with fire. A note came home from school along with my excited second grader. They were doing a project on fire. Would I let her light candles and perform experiments with matches? Together we lit candles and burned things, safely. It was brilliant. Still, she was the only kid whose parent didn’t allow her to shoot off heavy duty fireworks on New Year’s Eve.
Let children go almost everywhere alone. Most grade school kids walk without their parents to school and around their neighborhoods. Some even take the subway alone. German parents are concerned about safety, of course, but they usually focus on traffic, not abductions.
The facts seem to be on the Germans’ side. Stranger abductions are extremely rare; there were only 115 a year in all of America, according to the most recent U.S. Department of Justice study. And walking around without parental supervision, or “independent mobility” as the researchers call it, is good for kids.
Party when school starts. One of my Berlin friends once told me that the three biggest life events are Einschulung (starting first grade), Jugendweihe (becoming a young adult) and getting married.
In Berlin, Einschulung is a huge celebration at the school—on a Saturday!—that includes getting a Schultüte (or Zuckertüte)—a giant child-sized cone filled with everything from pencils to watches to candy. Then there’s another party afterwards with your family and friends.
Einschulung is something children look forward to for years. It signals a major life change, and hopefully, an enthusiasm for learning.
Jugendweihe happens when a child turns 14. It involves a similar ceremony, party, and gifts, marking the next stage of growing up. With all the negativity heaped on adolescents, there’s something to be said for this way of celebrating young adulthood.
Take the kids outside everyday. According to a German saying “there is no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing.” The value of outside time is promoted in the schools, hence the “garten” in Kindergarten. It’s also obvious on Berlin’s numerous playgrounds. No matter how cold and grey it gets, and in Berlin it gets pretty cold, parents still bundle their kids up and take them to the park, or send them out on their own.
Which brings me back to that dragon—since moving here, I’ve tried to adopt some of the Berlin attitude, and my 8-year-old has climbed all over the dragon. But I still hesitate to let her walk alone in our very urban neighborhood.
I’ve taken one small step. I let her go to the bakery by herself. It’s just down the stairs and one door over. The first time she did this, she came back beaming, proudly handing me the rolls she bought herself.
I figured there was no need to tell her that her American mother was out on the balcony, watching her the whole time.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Time Mag: Learn a Language and Earn MORE
Want to Boost Your Salary? Try Learning German
From TIME Magazine; section: MONEY
Fluency in foreign tongues may increase your job options — and your pay. Interpreters and translators are among the top five fastest growing occupations
The rewards of learning other tongues are many: more potential friends, easier travel, and even, some studies suggest, better decision-making. But what about greater earnings potential?
Research from Wharton and LECG Europe found that studying a second language is correlated with about 2% more in annual income.
That’s a pretty low return, on the face of it—and probably not even as good as the minuscule raise your boss gave you this year. As study author Albert Saiz points out in a recent Freakonomics podcast, for someone making $30,000 annually, 2% amounts to only about $600 more per year. But Robert Lane Greene at The Economist shows that once you factor in compounding, a foreign language could mean nearly $70,000 more in savings by retirement. Put that way, it’s not too shabby.
Of course, broad correlations aren’t so helpful if you’re looking for a concrete pay bump in the real world. But there are many specific cases where a second (or third) language could increase your job opportunities and income.
For example, interpreters and translators are among the top five fastest growing occupations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with opportunities expected to increase by 46% between 2012 and 2022. And for those who dream of being a real-life Jason Bourne, the C.I.A. loves polyglots.
When it comes to money, members of the U.S. military can earn up to $1,000 more per month if they are proficient in multiple languages.
A foreign language can also amp up your desirability—and therefore your pay—in business or law, particularly if you speak Chinese or Japanese, says Charles Volkert, executive director of the legal department of staffing agency Robert Half. Recently, 42% of employers at top law firms surveyed by Volkert’s team saw an increase in legal jobs requiring a second language.
“With so few qualified candidates, there’s a huge demand for professionals who can speak Asian languages, particularly at globalized auto and tech companies,” says Volkert.
If learning a whole new alphabet sounds intimidating, there is good news: Saiz’s study found that the pay premium for learning German was higher than the average, at 4%. And if you, say, want to test drive Deutsch before committing to a costly class—some top programs charge thousands of dollars to get you proficient—there are plenty of ways to learn beginner language skills for free.
Duolingo, for example, starts off by teaching you to read, write, and speak basic phrases like “Ich bin ein Junge,” then ramps up difficulty—while giving you opportunities to compete with Facebook friends who are also learning languages. Next stop might be one of the BBC’s well-reviewed free online courses. After that, you might want to shell out—either for Berlitz or plane tickets. ---KOMM MIT UNS, mit GAPP! -- rsb
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Die Uhrzeit -- mit drei Kumpeln
Genau!
IN OESTERREICH IST NUR DIE GENAUSTE ZEIT GUT GENUG!
Auch wir koennen jetzt mit der genauen Zeit diesen drei Kumpeln mit berechnen.
IN OESTERREICH IST NUR DIE GENAUSTE ZEIT GUT GENUG!
Auch wir koennen jetzt mit der genauen Zeit diesen drei Kumpeln mit berechnen.
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