Many German teachers teach multiple levels of German, and/or are the only German teacher at their school. Added to that, with the pressure to “advertise” their programs so that they “get the numbers” such that their programs don’t fold, German teachers take on a lot of additional roles and activities to increase their “reach” within the school community, including international travel with students, German-themed events and festivals on weekends, honors societies, outreach clubs at other schools, culturally-themed events after school hours, making t-shirts and posters…the list goes on. It can feel like the individual teacher is the reason a program lives, or dies. That is a lot of weight to bear.
Advising a German Club can feel like Just Another Thing in that list of Extras, even if the students are wonderful and it increases your “reach” at your school. (This is the case for me – my officers this past year were incredibly fun, dedicated, and enthusiastic! And I was still very tired at times in trying to help make German Club happen.) Also, ask any German teacher who has hosted a Spaghettieis-centered event how it went and you will watch their eyes unfocus as they travel to a dark, ice-cream-sticky place. If you have to do Just Another Thing alone, in addition to everything described above, it can be all the more frustrating and draining.
So, fellow German teachers, maybe you shouted “FELT THAT!” at the previous 2 paragraphs. Let’s put our heads together and make German Club easier for us all so that we can endeavor to put control over the club into students’ hands and just enjoy it with them. With some guidance, ideas, and inspiration from colleagues across the world who have already made some German Club Magic happen, we can streamline our planning, reduce our stress, and maybe even learn some new stuff about the cultures we are interested in.
In April of this year, I put together a Google Doc that listed ideas for German Clubs I had culled from various teacher groups and websites. They are categorized into “Anytime” ideas, “Month/Day-Specific” ideas, and then full curricula. (Shoutout to Amanda Beck for the excellent year-long German Club curriculum that she shared!) There are already six full pages of ideas, and I feel like we’re just getting started.
Take a look at the doc linked below, and if you have any ideas that aren’t on the list, click the link at the top of each page to submit the idea for inclusion in this master German Club idea list. I thank you, and your colleagues thank you. Here’s to a less stressful year of German Club fun! ❤️🌈🇩🇪