Over the summer, I opened my email to find out that my German teacher had retired a few weeks before the start of school. My first emotions were confusion and shock, and then understanding when I realized my plans for studying German had to change.
After receiving the short notice of German teacher Ms. Judy Graunke’s retirement, German students had to either conform to a new program or figure out how to continue learning German on their own. For those willing to conform, the school administration introduced online programs Apex Learning and LanguageBird.
German 2 students now learn through Apex Learning, an online program with virtual tools for teaching and testing. German 3 and 4 students learn through LanguageBird, which uses the online video chatting software Zoom. Both classes get a video calling session with a teacher twice a week, so the schedule limits direct interactions with the teacher. Additionally, the program mainly focuses on oral fluency since the technology restricts the teacher to only speak with the student. As a result, the system rarely tests writing fluency.
In past years, students would learn German every day in Ms. Graunke’s class and form a connection with her. Ms. Graunke was able to learn about students and individualize their learning, whereas in a virtual classroom setting, the teacher treats everyone equally. Ms. Graunke was also able to provide physical homework assignments, physical tests and physical handouts, which the current programs cannot recreate. In any case, the online LanguageBird program will end in December, meaning a plan for the second semester is currently unknown. However, this opens the door to better solutions, such as an in-person teacher.
Temple City High School has made arrangements with Pasadena City College in the past for afterschool classes, and a call to organize an after school program for the remaining German students was a possibility. However, the administration advised students to figure out their own arrangement if they weren’t continuing German with the school. Staff including computer science teacher Mr. Brian Chou and Assistant Principals Ms. Elena Li and Mr. Richard Lohman have advised entire periods of German for the sole reason that the law requires someone with a valid teaching or administrative credential to be present while students learn online.
There is currently no conclusive plan for German 3 or 4’s second semester, and it is unknown if the current German program will prepare currently enrolled students for the AP German exam or award them the High School State Seal of Biliteracy, which past students could earn.
As a student, I’d prefer a real German teacher, whether they are found through communication with PCC, the American Association of Teachers of German or First Lutheran Church and School in Temple City, which has German classes from kindergarten to students aged 18. A lot of options are on the table, but when it comes to education, computers can’t connect with students as well as a real person can.