Course Program

Distance Learner Cyrus: Hello, I'm Cyrus, and this is my body exhibition. This is a cone, these are cuboids, this here is a cube, this here is a cylinder, and this is a pyramid, and this is a sphere. I just learned all these shapes in math in third grade. Narrator: Cyrus and his younger brother Ellis live with their parents on the East Coast of the USA. Their schooling takes place at home. The two boys work through the content of the German curricula in German, Mathematics, General Studies, and Art using the courses from the German Distance School. Distance Learner Ellis: In General Studies today, I built a glider. I'm painting it now. Narrator: Experimenting and crafting are as much a part of the lessons in all subjects as working at a desk. This allows children to "grasp" concepts with both their minds and hands. On-site, Ellis and Cyrus are supported in their learning by their mother, Annett Küster. She reports: Mother: Approximately every two weeks, we email all tests and assignments from the previous two weeks to the Distance School in Germany. And within about a week, we receive the corrected test feedback from the Distance School. The letters are addressed to the children, are very detailed, and go into great detail about each test submission. Communication is very frequent, and I have the impression that the teacher in Germany has a very good overview of my children's learning progress and status. When the test feedback arrives, I print it out and let the children read it themselves. Of course, I tell them that I am available for questions and comments. But it is important to me that this reading of the test feedback, the evaluation, takes place between the children and the teacher, and that I stay out of it as much as possible – unless there are questions, of course. It is important to me that they build a kind of relationship with the supervising teacher in this way, even over a distance. My sons have, of course, never met the supervising teacher in person. But because we are regularly in contact via test feedback, and the supervising teacher's letters to my sons are very personal and she regularly reports on her life in Germany, I have the impression that they have gotten to know her well. For me, it is very important to have an external person who addresses specific comments or suggestions or even admonitions regarding learning methods or handwriting directly to them, so that not all comments come only from me. Narrator: Cyrus and Ellis work on the distance learning courses five days a week; a school day lasts between two and three hours. The two boys can decide with their mother when the lessons should take place. Mrs. Küster emphasizes: Mother: With the flexibility of distance learning, we naturally have much more time for other leisure activities, such as making music.