Germany Educational Trip - Day 2

5/12/2019

At the top of the Main Tower (the boy on the right was not one of us!)

[12 May] Happy Mother's Day from Frankfurt! We were happy as well being granted a sunny day and some stunning experiences here in Germany on Day 2. The weather was still terribly cold in the morning at around 8 degrees Celsius, but it climbed up to 13 or so towards the afternoon and with the sun, I even felt a bit hot!

Our major activities today were the visit to the Main Tower , a city tour, a dinner at the farm and an evening sharing session where we listened to our tour leader's education experience in Germany. So, let's go...

What could top the bird's eye view over the central area of Frankfurt under the blue sky? Funny enough, our initial plan to visit the Sunday market was in vain as it didn't exist. And we ended up visiting the tower, which seemed to be way better! The river visible from this picture is River Main (pronounced as mine). It's like River Thames in London that runs through the city.

The city tour in the afternoon was short but highly informative. Another tour guide (lady in the middle) was invited to bring us around Bahnhofsviertel, the central business district of Frankfurt and told us funny stories of the city. The building at the background of this picture is now a restaurant but used to be a police station and a prison!

The most interesting part to me, however, was when we arrived at the entrance of the Heinrich Hoffmann museum, the guide introduced to us Dr Hoffmann's poetry work. He is one of the most influential German poets for the country. I was particularly intrigued by one of his work, “The story of little suck-a-thumb” (translated) which was about a naughty boy whose thumbs got chopped off as he sucked his thumbs too much. Imagine you learnt this poem at school!

For dinner, a special meal at a restaurant located in a farmland near our hotel impressed us all. Of course, we were glad for Mrs Lam's return from Berlin, and our mood was further boosted by the bright sky even at 8 pm! Don't mind the photo-bomber in this photo; he's a friendly local guest of the restaurant!

We ended the day with our main tour guide Tabea sharing with us her education path. It was a relaxing session at the hotel lobby. My impression was that German schools do not push students to achieve high goals but to give them space and time to explore their interests. But students were streamed into ability levels at the age of around 10 when they are allocated into secondary schools that suit their levels. It might be both a strength and weakness of the German education system. I'm looking forward to learning more as the trip unfolds.

I was very happy with this day's experience but a few questions stuck in my head that I need my students to help answer (though they are still in Beijing for an exchange tour till Monday night!). Let's see the questions:

1. We could see trees near the River Main that had a number tag attached to them. Could you guess its function?

2. An art centre we walked past this afternoon attracted us with this shiny piece of art dangling right above the entrance. How would you comment on its design and what it was trying to express? (Please be creative, there's no model answer!)

3. Remember the “thumb” poem introduced above? Tell me what you think about it. (You may even search for its English version online for your reference)!

Our main duty will start tomorrow as we will visit schools in Germany. And I'm looking forward to meeting their students and teachers and writing to you about my thoughts tomorrow night. Stay tuned!

Dr H C Lee

44 Comments

Linus Ho 6a 12

5/13/2019 11:36:57 am

actually I came back to Hong Kong early with Austin and Mr.Chan 6B because there was a competition yesterday(just a little part).
I totally agree the what the German schools did to their students,though the education system in Hong Kong is bad enough to complain.There are not much supplies to proceed the education for the future and nowadays.Hope one day in the future,it will change.Hope you have a good and sunny day in German, continue for your wonderful journey and relax!

Lincoln Leung

5/14/2019 09:58:43 pm

The trip is very exciting and I think Germany is a wonderful country that is worth for a go. I think the places that you visited today is in a beautiful city. Do you enjoy other poems written by Heinrich Hoffmann except “The story of little suck-a-thumb” ? I would like to learn the "thumb"poem as its name sounds very interesting.
For the questions, I can answer number 1: the number tags on the trees are used by the gardeners for identifying every single tree such as its species and age. Just like in Beijing's Tiantan Park, there are a lot of old tress and each of them is tagged either green label (old trees) or red label (very old trees) which represents its age. Am I correct?

Roy Chan 6E04

5/14/2019 10:21:42 pm

Question 1 answer: I think the tags are for the government, or even organizations, to keep track of the different trees. This may be useful when a specific tree is needed to be recognized.
Question 2 answer: I think this art piece is very unique. It is placed right above the entrance, which most art centres wouldn't even think of. Although this shiny art piece is very eye-catching, I might worry about it's safety. Putting a art piece the size of it right above an entrance is definitely a bit worrying, as who knows if it might loosen and fall down? I'm highly impressed by the artist's imagination, but i think the art centre might have to consider about the art piece's safety.
Question 3 answer: Regarding the 'thumb' story, i think it is educational, but too gruesome. I think the child shouldn't be punished so badly, but instead maybe have a lighter punishment. Although the way this this story is told may have a better effect on children, I think that changing the ending of the story will be more appropriate for children.
Thoughts: Wow, a bird's eye view of Frankfurt is really breath-taking! I hope to go to Germany one day too! I highly agree with the way German schools let students to have space and time to explore their own interests, as this will very beneficial to them in the future.

Alfred Tsang 6B

5/14/2019 10:54:24 pm

I think the labels are for the people to remember the plants. I think the shiny thing is quit weird, but it definitely does attract people. I also think the poem is too bloody for children, to chop the boy's thump because of a bad habit.

kieron sun

5/15/2019 04:23:34 pm

I think that tag is for reconising the tree in Frankfurt.The poem you saw about the boy who suck his thumb was very cruel.Do that poet have a son?He must be dead by now.Have you see soccer races there?There is a team there called Frankfurt.They were really amazing.

Wan ho

5/15/2019 06:20:54 pm

Are the people there polite

Dr H C Lee

5/16/2019 06:59:01 am

Yes, they are. I think on the whole, German people are very polite and helpful. I like their young students in particular. Read on to find out more!

Max Ma 6A20

5/15/2019 07:23:41 pm

That photo bomber is a madlad, a high level one, in fact, he is so mad that he decided to photo bomb a photo taken for high ranking educators, press F to pay respects,

Kingsley Li 6B

5/15/2019 07:56:28 pm

I think that is use to label that this tree’s species is a protected species or this tree is over 200 years old.Also, I think that shiny thing is to show the people’s creativity and artistic.Last,I think that poem is so cruel and bloody for children to read.

Jonathan Law 6D 12

5/15/2019 08:42:11 pm

Are you scared when you are on the Bird’s eye cause is kind of high up there!

Ian Chong 6A10

5/15/2019 09:36:05 pm

Question 1: I think the number tag is used to protect the tree and keep track of it.
Question 2: It should be used for attracting people to go inside
Question 3:I think that the poem is not suitable for children to read.
I think that the education path for Germans are not really that good, because the children there have to be spilt into different groups at 10 already. However, it is also good as the teachers can teach them more easily.

Holman Chan 6A (3)

5/15/2019 10:28:48 pm

I am very glad that it’s a sunny day,but I think it is a little bit cold .First question,I think it is a name tag for the tree.When the tree was broken the gardener will know it.Second question,I think it is a silver toothpaste ,it will sprinkle some water out to attract people come inside the mall.Last question,I think it is a violent story.

Daniel Cheng

5/15/2019 11:57:12 pm

Answer for question number one:
It was a tag tree, it shows it ages by putting different colours on the tag.

Joshua Lam

5/16/2019 07:15:46 pm

1) The tag is for calculating the trees age, or for keeping track on how many tree their are.
2) It is just to stand out from other buildings to attract tourist, like you were. I think the other meaning is that the museum wanted to say that art don't need to be shown inside the exhibition hall, it can be just put in public.
3) I think it is too violent, although it is not good to suck your thumb but you don't to teach the children like this.

Jaydon Wu

5/16/2019 09:31:06 pm

Question 1: in Beijing, there are tags on trees, too. Green tags mean they are 100-300 years, and red tags mean 300-500 years, so I think that it could be the same in Germany!
Question 2:Hmm...you said that it attracted you guys, so I think that it is used to attract people, it is kind of interesting
Question 3:this poem is so funny and humorous
Was the dinner in the farm fresh? I would really want to try to have food in the farm!!!

Chester Wai 6A 25

5/16/2019 09:31:15 pm

Question 1: The tag is to recognize a tree or identify what sort of tree is that.
Question 2: I think the design is unique but also disgusting as it seems that it is a pack of toothpaste that is hanging on the edge of the building and maybe just a few seconds, the toothpaste will all fall down to the entrance. Although it is weird, I still like it! I think it is trying to express that there is a lot of other strange things in it, it is just to attract people.
Question 3: This is too violent for children, and I think it will make children terrified or having nightmares.

Dr Lee, I think the second day is more interesting than the first day! Do you feel tired after the second day? What's your breakfast? Hope you can keep enjoying your wonderful trip!

Lo Yik Ming 6C (14)

5/16/2019 09:46:21 pm

Q1) I think the number tag is used to represent the tree and help the government or some organisations to do the environment protection.
Q2) It is just to attract people to go in and visit the art centre by its special shape. I think the art is also breaking new ground, as it is put outside, but not in the centre.
Q3) It may be a meaningful story with a moral: it is not good to suck your thumbs, but the author can choose another way to teach the children, not using this bloody way which will probably give readers nightmares.😅

Fu Yat Yuet 6B08

5/16/2019 09:53:53 pm

The story really said that the boy got his finger chopped off? That's horrible!
Question 1
I think they are used to keep track of the tree's growth for the departments.
Question 2:
I don't really get what the artist wants to express but i still think that it was a very creative and special piece of art!
Question 3:
I think that it was too cruel to have the kid's finger chopped of just because he always suck his thumb! Maybe the teachers or his parents can teach him?

Charlie Lui 6A

5/17/2019 12:37:58 am

question number 2 is a piece of "modern art".I put the quote because the phrase"modern art" has a whole lat of meanings.I can't even judge which piece is"modern art" and which piece is trash.Also, question 1's answer is that number catalogs the tree's age and number.It is a bit like the student's ID card.By the way,does the author of the book in number three has some problems about the word meaning of inappropriate?

Derrick Chung

5/17/2019 04:56:13 pm

when you were on top of the main tower were you scared?
and i can’t guess what the number tag does

Adrian You 6D29 link

5/17/2019 06:13:21 pm

Question1.I think the tag on the tree is for identifying and being recognized by the government and environmental-friendly organizations.The number represents the 'name' or ,in other words,an unique code(all trees have different codes).The colour probably represents the age of the tree,just like Beijing.Overall,the tag is for the government or environmental-friendly organizations to track the status of the tree.
Question2. Well,I think that this is very attractive.Nobody could have thought of this brilliant idea,not even art centres,right?But this one did.I hope they can sell many tickets.Anyway,back to business.I think it has 2 meanings.From the blue,you can say the artist is trying to draw the sky on a sunny day,or the ocean on normal days.Maybe even the planet Neptune.I'm not sure.Or he's trying to send us the message of everyone can be an artist.Probably because of the blank blue 'paper'.Also,it gives us the idea of more creativity,as you can draw anything on the paper.Just like the artist.Yeah,right.I guess the texture is made of nylon,judging from how it reflects the sunlight.It could be silk,but I don't think so.In rain,the silk would get wet,and it won't be as good as before,until it dries completely.It's very annoying to do that ,so ,as I said,they WON'T DO IT.However,I'm worried about the art's safety from heavy rain and winds.They may damage the piece of art or even blow it away.They should protect it with a thin layer of strong plastic.That should be safer for the piece of art.
Question3.The tailor who chopped off the suck-a-thumb's thumb is really,too cruel.I agree sucking a thumb is a bad habit,and those who do it deserve a real good spanking,but doing the chop-a-thumb thing is OVER THE LINE.Yeah,maybe it does have some educational value of teaching people not to suck their thumb,but it's too bloody for children.The punishment part should be that the child gets very sick.That's more realistic and not so bloody.Or maybe the teachers and parents could teach him.

Oliver Ng 6E 21

5/18/2019 10:15:18 am

Q1: It's for marking the trees that are healthy, for future reference.
Q2: I think it's design is like a flow of water gushing down the art musuem, like a waterfall. I think it expresses that water is important and we need to be more environmentally friendly.
Q3: The poem tells us to quit having bad habits or do misbehaving actions, or you will receive a punishment. However, I think this particular punish is too cruel, as the boy's thumb was chopped of just because he was sucking his thumb. This could inject fear in kids, making them think that you will receive bodily harm when you misbehave, which is not the correct was of teaching.

Henry Choi 6A

5/18/2019 10:40:36 am

Q1 :I think it is to recognize the tree's details ,like what it is called and what is its kind and something like that .The tree you showed looked creepy though ,I think it looked like a tree with a human face on it .
Q2 :I think it express nothing .
Just kidding ,I think it looks like a tongue and want to get visitor's attention .
Maybe it really doesn't express anything!
Q3 :I checked it online and it was a bedtime story! I wouldn't sleep well if I heard this kind of bedtime story. I don't agree his mother to chop his fingers off ,though .
Did you humiliated the boy in the first top picture ?He seems kind of disappointed .

Matthew Leong 6B15

5/18/2019 11:43:15 am

I think the boy on the right hand side is cute , he looks afraid and lovely! Let me answer the questions too!
Q1:I think the number tag is used for letting people know the age of the tree.
Q2:I think the piece of art is dangerous as it may fall down and hurt people.i think the piece of art tells us to be creative.
Q3:I think the poem is too violent for chopping off the boy’s fingers just for healing his bad habit.

Keith 6A17

5/18/2019 02:56:41 pm

Question1:I think the number tag shows that how many years the tree has lived.
Question2:I think the shiny thing is a building failed piece and people think it is special so the art center kept it.(I did't search for that!)
Question3:Oh my god!The person who cuts of the boys thumb is very violent!But a looked at the pictures,the boy looks like the age as us,why is he still sucking his own thumb?Are there any taste of his thumb?

The food there looks healthy,there are cucumbers,carrots and healthy food!

Justin yip

5/18/2019 02:59:47 pm

Question 1. I think the labels are used to keep track of trees.
Question 2. The piece of art isn’t quite special, but I think it may be used to attract customers to the museum as it reflects sunlight and is quite eye-catching.
Question 3. It does have a good moral, but it’s a bit too violent and horrible to be a poem for children. What was the poet thinking about when he wrote this poem?

QQ 6B

5/18/2019 03:49:53 pm

Q1: the number is use for when some thing happen, the one who call the police can tell the police the number and the police can find it him or her easily

Colin Tong 6C 20

5/18/2019 09:09:26 pm

Question 1 answer: I think the tags are for the government, or even organizations, to keep track of the different trees. This may be useful when a specific tree is needed to be recognized. It may also keep track of the tree's health, age, and other details. These may also warn visitors not to destroy or to scribble on those trees as they are a sign of the nation's history and culture. The tree itself looks creepy though. They give me goose bumps as they seem like a human's face. Was that a purposely-made artistic work? But for all I can say, it seems that Germany isn't such a 'cultural desert' ; it seems to be blooming with magnificent colors. What a kaleidoscope!
Question 2 answer: I think it's design is like a flow of water gushing down the art museum, like a waterfall. I think it expresses that water is important and we need to be more environmentally friendly. It may also mean 'dreams' ( this is NOT any 'philosophical' answers searched from the internet). The blue cerulean sky reflecting at such a 'creative' angle, it's hard not to admire it closely and to behold it like a gem. I'd like one dangling on my bedroom ceiling!
Question 3 answer: Gruesome...I'm starting to think that readers should have 'parental guidance' when getting their hands on such bloody books. A simple moral and all, but this is one that can give me nightmares. The tailor who chopped off the suck-a-thumb's thumb is really, too cruel. I agree sucking a thumb is a bad habit, and those who do it deserve a real good spanking, but doing the chop-a-thumb thing is OVER THE LINE. The punishment part should be that the child gets very sick. That's more realistic and not so bloody. Or maybe the teachers and parents could teach him.
I say, to experience the food, culture, heritage, history of this wonderful, dreamily place let yourself sink into it slowly. Penetrate it over and over. that makes you enjoy. Another thing; Germany's education is much more relaxed, unlike Hong Kong's flawed, erroneous education. Do we need to learn from them? Let's think.

Bryan Choy 6C 5

5/19/2019 12:54:49 am

No.1 The tags on the trees are for easier protection of the trees and easier to tell which tree is which.
No.2 I think that it is a tube of half-squeezed toothpaste, telling people not to waste every small thing in life.
No.3 I think that it is too bloody for children to read and should bring out a better moral.

Austin Chan

5/19/2019 08:51:38 am

I think the view from the top of the tower was astonishing! The city doesn't have a lot of tall skyscrapers, but with a lot of small houses. It is a big difference with Hong Kong, where you cant breath with the towers surrounding the streets. The air must be very fresh there! Also
the restaurant that was a prison and a police station, it was very blend in to the city that i didn't know it was one before I read to the part you'd said so! Here are the answers to the questions:
No.1,The tags are for checking the trees, like if the tree is going to collapse, they can find the history of the tree to see why.
No.2, The design was very interseting, because it's a mirror reflecting the sky, also it attracts tourists. This can make the building stand out and to easily remember the building's look.
No.3, About the poem, I think it is a good story and poem to read to small children that always suck their thumbs to say that we should not suck our thumbs or else they will fall off, but this only works for very small children!
I also have a question for you, why did the tour guide wore a scarf around her head? This doesn't fit into the other. Please give me an answer if you know!

5/19/2019 10:23:10 am

Good question about the scarf. I'm not sure exactly but probably it's for religious reasons.

Jayden Ku6B12

5/19/2019 12:23:20 pm

1.I think the sign is the 'ID Card' of the tree.To let the people know what kind of tree is it or how old is that tree etc.
2.I have no idea what the artist wants to express.
3.I think it is too violent and cruel as the reader of the poem are children

Morris

5/19/2019 03:24:02 pm

No.1 I think it can help us to recognise the trees.
No.2 I think that it want to call us stop throwing cans.
No.3 It wants to tell us not to suck thumbs.

Lawrence Ma 6C16

5/19/2019 07:07:37 pm

Q1: I think those numbers are helping people keep track of how many trees there are in this area.
Q2: Maybe a waterfall or a used up thing or a deflated item.
Q3: I think it's a poem that is made for kids and is supposed to tell them not to suck their fingers.

Michael

5/19/2019 09:12:20 pm

The first one is for the government to track and identify tree easily. For the second one doesnt mean anything and its just a way to attract people. The thumb peom in my opinion is kind of disgusting, it does teach a good moral to never suck your fingers though.

Joshua Kwok 6B13

5/19/2019 09:28:14 pm

Q1 I think the little tag is for identification, that means it is to let us know the tree's number.
Q2 It looks like that the metal thing is to attract tourists to go into the art centre.
Q3 I think it teaches us a wrong message, and the wrong message is to forcefully and brutally stop or break other's bad habit. We should not learn from this poem.

Sky Wong 6A 27

5/19/2019 10:32:37 pm

Q1: I think the little tag is for telling us that the tree's age
Q2: I have no idea what the artist wants to express.
Q3: I think that it tells us to not learn at it, cus it's not good for children.

Adrian 6B

5/19/2019 11:10:59 pm

For question 1 I think the tags are used to tell the tree’s species

For question 2 I do think that the design of the piece of art is very creative because most of the art pieces will not be dangling on a building. I think it is here to tell us to be creative

For question 3 I think although the thumb poem was creative, it might be too bloody for children I think it wants to tell the children not to have bad habits

Anson Cho 6B 02

5/19/2019 11:33:31 pm

Question 1: I think the function of the tags are to convenient the people to call the police for the fireman. It can give a clear location.
Question 2: I think that shiny piece of art is so special, but I think it is too dangerous. It is because if it fell down accidently, it may cause injuries.
Question 3: I think this book is too bloody for children to read. Also, I am afraid that after the children read the book, they will chop their thumbs themselves!

Ethan Lam

5/20/2019 04:31:10 pm

Frankfurt is a very good place. I hope I can come.

Jason Fok 6E 08

5/20/2019 06:25:33 pm

1.I think it is an IDcard for trees.
2.I think the design is good because it is so shiny that everyone can easily spot it.
3.I think it is too violent because it is horrible if you suck your thumb in your mouth and it will be cut of.

Samuel ng 6B

5/20/2019 06:52:09 pm

Q1. I think it is some thing to register the trees health
Q2. I think that's a bit crazy but i think that's the style of modern arts
Q3. I think we shouldn't teach kids like this

Haydon Sun(6E23)

5/20/2019 08:27:57 pm

Q1: i think it is for the department of trees can know which specific tree needs help and care.
Q2: the desigh i think is to attract people to come by reflect the sunlight.
Q3;i think it is really cruel ,and it just like the wiches act in the fairy storys.

Jonathan Ford link

5/21/2019 05:33:57 pm

Q1) I think it is for the government to be able to identify every tree so that the government can follow up on its health and wellbeing.
Q2) I think it is trying to express the simpleness of German design and engineering, but also the glitz and glamorous aspect of it.
Q3) I think that the 'thumb' poem is avery interesting way to try and make children stop sucking their thumbs, however, I think it would be too bloody and scary for young children, and would be too silly and childish for older children.

Germany Educational Trip - Day 2

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