The Austrian School System

How good is the Austrian school system?

There is a great number of people who think, that the school system in Austria is very bad, but also a lot of people who think the opposite. In this essay I will try to find the most important advantages and disadvantages of the school system in Austria.

A lot of pupils are very unhappy, because in Austria the school starts at 8 o’clock. Most of the pupils think that that’s too early. The other side is that the school finishes at one or two pm. So they have a lot of free time in the afternoon.

Another point, which a huge number of students don’t like, is the fact that you can choose only very few subjects. So you can’t specialise on the things you like or you are very good at. An argument for that system is that you first get a general knowledge and you can specialise on one subject when you are in university.

Also a very huge contentious issue is the manner of examination. In Austria, every teacher can choose how the exams should be and so he can do it more difficult or easier. On the one hand it has to be said that lots of people think that’s not fair, but on the other hand with it the teacher can respond on his class. So he can treat a topic, which the students are interested in, longer, and one which is maybe boring for them, shorter.

Another advantage is that he can arrange his lessons more up-to-date. For example in biology, he can show the newest serendipities from the scientists or an English teacher can read a book with the class which they are interested in.

So I think the school system here in Austria is not so bad. It would be better, if we could choose more, but it’s good that we don’t have general exams. Maybe general exams are fairer, but the disadvantage is that then every teacher has to teach exactly the same and he can’t concentrate on the things his class likes.

Word Count: 350

About A Boy

Overview

The novel “About a Boy “, has two main characters which are acted by Hugh Grant and Toni Collette in the homonymous movie.

The first one is Will Freeman, a 36 year- old bachelor who has never had to work because his father wrote a famous Christmas song. He thinks that everybody is an island and you can only live on your own. In the beginning of the story he is sure that he’ll never marry, because of the responsibilities. He has had a lot of girlfriends but he has had each one only till there is a little problem which he doesn't want to deal with, but then he meets a single mother and she becomes his girlfriend. First he thinks that a single mother would have a lot of problems and that he can’t be nice to children, but it isn’t such a problem as he first thought. After a time he wants to leave the woman, but then she leaves him first and Will is very happy that he doesn’t have to feel guilty. The man realises that it’s very good to have a single mum as a girlfriend and so he attends a single parent group. For that he invents a 2 year-old son, called Ned. At one meeting he meets a girl named Susie and with her, he goes to a picnic, which is organised by the single parent group but Susie has to look after Marcus the son of a friend of hers.

Marcus, the other main character is 12 years old, very eccentric and introverted. He has a lot of problems in school, because he wears different clothes and listens to different music than the others. That’s why many boys in his class make jokes about him. At home Marcus is also unhappy, because of his mother. She cries very much but Marcus doesn’t know why.

First Will and Marcus don’t like each other but after some time they become friends and Will helps Marcus to become a normal kid and Marcus helps Will to become an adult.

Verdict

I read that novel in a very short time, because it was very funny and I couldn’t stop reading. You can read it fluently and the speech is not very difficult. When you read the book it is quite easy to follow the story.

Word count: 400

I would advise the book to people who like funny and realistic novels. You can read it with every age and you will like it. I also watched the movie and I can highly recommend it.

Visiting My Very Own Dream Land

Since I was little I really love travelling and visiting other countries. In the last 16 years I have seen around 20 different countries and I liked all of them because even if all the countries in Europe are quite similar each one of them has his local peculiarities. Each country has his own language, his own society and his own culture.

However the country which I really dream of visiting is Japan because until now I have hardly seen any countries outside Europe and so I want to see a country which is really different from Austria. But this is not the only reason why I want to go to Japan. I always loved Asiatic food and I am very interested in this culture and the country but since I know Mizuki and she told me so much about her home country I want to go to Japan even more. If I go there, I would try out and improve my Japanese (which is by the way not very good and limited to some easy phrases), and I would get to know the people. I would visit and see as much as I can of this beautiful country which I just know from pictures, movies and Mizuki's stories. What I know by now is that Japan , with its temples, the big and colourful new-year parties and the cities like Tokyo which are much bigger than I can imagine, has much going for me. Furthermore I will be able to eat real Japanese rice what I am really looking forward to do because I love rice in all it's forms and varieties and additionally I would have the possibility to train my chopstick-eating skills which are normally quite good for a European but suffered a bit because I don’t eat a lot of Asiatic food here in Quebec.

As you can see on the pictures, Japan also has a unique mixture of old traditions, beautiful nature and the biggest and most modern cities in the world.

So in the next few years I am surely going to visit Japan not only because it is a beautiful country, but also because I will get the possibility to see Mizuki again after this year.
Word count: 300 words

Advent and Christmas in Austria

Christmas is coming soon and so I decided to tell you how we celebrate christmas in my home country, Austria. Some things are quite similar but there are many things we have in Austria which you don't have here.
First of all, christmas in Austria is much more traditional. In December we go to church every weekend and for the day of St.-Nicolas we always visit my relatives and sing old traditional christmas songs. We eat duck and "Lebkuchen" which are traditional Austrian cookies and I really love them but just if my aunt makes them because when you just buy them in the supermarket they are often too dry and taste boring.
In the weeks before christmas we also have many little christmas markets where you can buy little selfmade things for christmas, like little figures of wood, christmas cribs, candels and decoration for the christmas tree. Traditionally when we go there we eat "gebrannte mandeln" ( grilled almonds), sweet chestnuts and we drink "Punsch" ( a kind of tea mixed with juice for the kids and alcohol for the adults) and "gluehwein" ( glowing wine).
The real reason why all the Austrians love these markets is not just because of the things you can buy or because of the food but also to put us in the mood for christmas. It is just very nice to go there with your friends and family, look around and afterwards you are really looking forward to christmas.
Christmas in Austria is also not as commercial as it is here. We don't have so many flashing and blinking decorations and it is more like a celebration for the family. This is for me the real meaning of christmas. Not the presents and the food are important but to remind yourself of the worth of your family and to say thank you for all we have which is also one of the reasons why we go to church that day. The mass is not an old boring event but a celebration to be happy.
So even if I like Quebec a lot I will miss the Austrian christmas a lot because we have many rites in advent and for christmas and we have a real tree with real burning candels on it which makes a big difference.
word count: 400

Essay practise 2

Integrate A New Sport In Physical Education

In all these years since I started school we have always done the same old sports like soccer, volleyball and basketball. For me it seems to be quite boring always to practise the same kinds of sport all the time so I would like to suggest to integrate a new kind of sport in Phical Education: Karate.

One of the most obvious reasons why practising karate is good is that it is much more usefully in the daily life than all the other sports, which you normally practise in school.The reason for this is that one learn how to defend oneself. This is a very inportant skills for young people, and especially for girls, when they go out at night.

But this is not the only thing one learn when by practisin karate, because karate is an all-round sport. Practising it trains all parts of the body and develops strength and balance.
Additionally it also trains ones perserverance and it is a easy way to get know a bit about the Japanese culture.
So from my point of view integrating karate in school has insofar lots of benefits as it is not only very different from all the other "normal" sports but also because it is usefully and believe me, very enjoyable to practise too. I hope I could take you to integrate karate in school in this essay and maybe in some years it will be normal to practise it in school. I for my part would be really delighted about this.
250 words

Sport Riddle

You can practise this sport the whole year.
You can practise it inside and outside.
This sport develops body strength and balance.
There are people who start practising this sport when they are very young but you can practise this sport at any age.
For this sport you need to concentrate a lot and you practise your mental strenght.
In many action movies they practise this sport.
This sport is a material art.
This sport comes originally from Japan.
When you practise this sport you wear a kimono.
The name of this sport has 6 letters.