THE GERMAN EDUCATION SYSTEM: AN IMPEDIMENT TO INTEGRATION OF TURKISH YOUTHS INTO SOCIETY A MODEST PROPOSAL A thesis submitted to the Kent State University Honors College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for University Honors by Jennifer Marie Maas May, 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEGDGMENTS .............................................................................................. vi PREFACE ......................................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER I. GERMAN SOCIETY IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY .............................. 1 The Population of Twenty-first Century Germany ................................................. 1 The Population of 1961 Germany in a Journey back to Divided Times .............. 10 The 1961 Population of the Federal Republic of Germany .................................. 11 The 1961 Population of the German Democratic Republic .................................. 14 A Changed Nation: the Fifty Years That Led to a Multicultural Society ............. 16 II. MINORITIES IN TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY GERMANY ........................... 20 A Changing and Diverse Society .......................................................................... 20 The National Minorities Residing in Twenty-first Century Germany .................. 20 Velkommen, or Did You Mean Wilkommen ............................................ 21 Esmeralda Danced her Way to Germany .................................................. 23 The Sorbs, a Minority That Prides Itself on Tradition .............................. 25 The Ethnic Minorities Residing in Twenty-first Century Germany ..................... 26 The Crescent Moon has Risen ................................................................... 27 The Maestro Has Arrived Bearing Gifts - Pizza Fungi, per favore! ......... 28 Polonaise or Polka ..................................................................................... 30 Seeking Asylum .................................................................................................... 32 III. TURKS RESIDING IN TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY GERMANY .................. 35 Hoşgeldiniz,Welcome! .......................................................................................... 35 Can One Define a Turk?........................................................................................ 35 Turkish Population over Time............................................................................... 37 The Urban Minority .............................................................................................. 39 The Turkish Population in Germany: A Reflection on the Past ............................ 40 Turks’ Role in Society: From Necessary Workers to a Nuisance and Unwelcome Guest .......................................................................................... 41 An Economic Disadvantage .................................................................................. 41 A Religious Debate ............................................................................................... 43 Merhaba ≠ Guten Tag ........................................................................................... 46 iii The Cultural Impact of the Turks on German Society .......................................... 47 A Unique and Unfitting Piece of the Puzzle ......................................................... 49 IV. THE DIVIDE BETWEEN ETHNIC GERMANS AND TURKS IN TWENTY- FIRST CENTURY GERMANY ........................................................................... 51 A Square Peg in a Round Hole.............................................................................. 51 Turk = Foreigner ................................................................................................... 52 A Negative Disposition ......................................................................................... 53 A Frightened Population ....................................................................................... 57 The Ignorant Majority ........................................................................................... 58 V. INTEGRATION IN TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY GERMANY ....................... 60 A Call for Assimilation ......................................................................................... 60 Integrate: To Bring Together or Incorporate Parts into a Whole, or: Ethnic Germans + Turks = Heterogeneous Society .............................................. 60 Integration, a Fundamental Responsibility and Necessity .................................... 63 The Integrator vs. the Integratee ........................................................................... 63 The Importance of Language and Education ........................................................ 64 The Extreme Push towards Integration ................................................................. 65 Attempts at Integration .......................................................................................... 66 Has Integration Failed, and Was it even a Possibility? ........................................ 66 VI. YOUTHS IN TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY GERMANY .................................. 69 Germany’s Diverse Youth Population .................................................................. 69 Part I: The Ethnic German Youths ........................................................................ 72 Part II: The Turkish Youths .................................................................................. 73 An Identity Crisis .................................................................................................. 74 Living Like a Turk ................................................................................................ 74 The Great Divide ................................................................................................... 76 VII. THE CONTEMPORARY GERMAN SCHOOL SYSTEM ................................. 79 Intellectual Forefathers .......................................................................................... 79 Part I: The Institutions of the Contemporary German School System .................. 80 Kindergarten ............................................................................................. 81 Grundschule .............................................................................................. 82 Gymnasium ................................................................................................ 83 Realschule ................................................................................................. 84 Hauptschule ............................................................................................... 86 Germany’s School System is Embracing Change ................................................. 87 Part II: Placement in German Schools .................................................................. 88 A Complex Formula: A + B + C = Success .......................................................... 88 The Teacher, the Ruler of Children’s Futures ....................................................... 89 Placement: A Controversial Procedure ................................................................. 90 A Lack of Control ................................................................................................. 91 Corrupting Dreams ................................................................................................ 92 Does the Process of Placement need to be Challenged? ...................................... 94 iv VIII. INTEGRATION HAS FAILED: GERMANY’S EDUCATION SYSTEM IS TO BLAME ................................................................................................................. 96 Part I: Integration Has Failed ................................................................................ 96 An Unwelcome Population and its Unfriendly Host ............................................. 96 The Economic Divide............................................................................................ 98 Part II: Germany’s Contemporary Education System Prevents Turkish Youths from Successfully Integrating into German Society ........................................... 100 Placement: Separating the Foreigners from the Natives ..................................... 100 The Turks’ Lack of Education ............................................................................ 103 Hidden Identity .................................................................................................... 105 Change is the Only Solution ............................................................................... 105 IX. FORM MUST FOLLOW FUNCTION: REFORMS TO THE GERMAN EDUCATION SYSTEM THAT WILL ENABLE THE TURKS’ TO SUCCEED .................................................................................................... 107 Change is a Requirement..................................................................................... 107 Hauptschule , the Pink Slip for a Student ............................................................ 109 Solution I: Placing a Makeover on Line One ...................................................... 111 Solution II: Abolish Hauptschulen and Replace Them with Integrated Secondary Schools ...................................... 115 X. MERHABA! LESS CONFUSION, MORE UNDERSTANDING: INTROCDUCING TURKISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN GERMAN SCHOOLS TO PROMOTE INTEGRATION AMONG TURKISH AND GERMAN YOUTHS .........................................................................................