Austria is known for its castles and beautiful nature and scenery. Eight Latrobians had a chance to go get a better look at how other countries are diverse and unique in culture and education.
The idea emerged from AFS (American Field Service) which runs exchange programs in the spring. They looked at Latrobe and a couple of other places to run an Austrian-American teacher exchange. Once Latrobe received the email, Mr. Brandt and seven others expressed interest in being a part of this. Around the end of November eight Austrian teachers experienced GLHS to see how the cultures differed. After ten days the other eight flew to Austria to begin their trip.
Once they arrived they went to check out some schools and get to know what the Austrian education system is like. ‘’Their school is set up differently than the ones here. They start tracking schools based on pathways and interests after elementary school. The entire school system is geared differently than others. They could be taught three languages at a time if they are interested in language.” said Brandt.
Austria has lots of talents and skills, sports being a big one. ‘’If you have a chance to become a professional athlete you go to a special school just for that. They have dorms and these kids take an extra year of school to catch up with all the time they missed from training,” said Brandt.
Another insight found during the trip includes the unique way the school system is broken down. “Their grades are also broken up differently. They restart grades so an 8th grader graduates but it’s really like a 12th grader. Coming out of elementary school they start over at grade one when in reality they are around grade 5,” said Brandt
Mr. Brandt takes away a lot from traveling, learning new cultures, and experiencing new things. “It’s hard to pick one favorite thing because there were so many interesting things. In the city of Linz, you didn’t need a car because you could simply get on a tram, or a bus, and move around easily. The pastries were also incredible and beautiful.
The eight Latrobians traveled near the holiday season from the dates of Friday, November 24- December 3. “One of my favorites would probably be their Beautiful Christmas markets because we were there around Christmastime. In the city of Linz, there were five Christmas markets and it was awesome to just walk around and be able to get hot drinks, food, and crafts. There were also a lot of people that would gather there after work, that was a cool thing to see,” said Brandt.
When exploring different places, many differences occur. “One difference that I like better is the public transit opportunities and the idea of students pursuing their passion early on. Unlike America, students can get involved with what they want to pursue. Say you want to go into a trade you can go straight into that instead of taking lots of academics,“ said Brandt.
One food favorite that was found would be a dish called knödel. Knödel is a dish that is a bread dumpling with many seasonings and spices, cooked in a roast and served with the roast broth almost like a soup. “It was incredible! I had it three times with three different meats when I was there,” said Brandt.
Mr. Brandt is a world traveler, having visited Six continents and 34 countries in his lifetime. With this experience, he has had many successful trips and many wonderful and exciting opportunities. “I would have to say seeing the diversity of people and seeing that there just as human as we are would be my favorite thing. There are also lots of beautiful views like the Northern Lights, the Great Barrier Reef, and the safari views. I would take parts of everywhere if I could.” He has traveled far and wide and hopes to continue to travel in the future, hoping to learn and experience lots of different cultures and diversity along the way.
