The United Nations is an international organization composed of one hundred and forty

three countries. Together, the nations work towards peace and human rights for everyone. They
argue that all humans have a set of natural rights, such as freedom from persecution. In 1948, the
UN drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a document that outlines thirty basic
rights that all humans are born with; article twenty-six states that everyone has the right to an
education. Education must be free in the fundamental stages and higher education must be
accessible to everyone; education should promote tolerance and acceptance of other nations
("The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UDHR, Declaration of Human Rights, Human
Rights Declaration, Human Rights Charter, The Un and Human Rights"). Education is,
according to the United Nations is a natural human right, but many countries arent providing the
appropriate education to their population. The United Nations has created three priorities for
education around the world: put every child in school, improve the quality of learning, and foster
global citizenship (Priorities). Fortunately, Germany follows these three priorities.
Over the years, Germany has actually created several teaching foundations that are now
taken for granted around the world. For example, kindergarten was created by the Germans and
is used in many countries. Germanys education standards are similar to those of Austria and
Switzerland; they have a primary school that begins at age six and continues for four years, a
secondary school that starts at age eleven and is divided into three schools. At age eleven the
students are separated into vocational schools, technical or business school, or an academic
school. The academic school will lead the students towards a university degree, which is now
government funded for students to attend. Schools also provide special accommodations for
those with physical or mental disabilities (Education). Ninety-nine percent of all children
between the ages of five and fourteen living in Germany attend school, provided by the

government. Ninety percent of children attend preschool, which is not paid for by the
government. Almost every child attends school in Germany; many schools even invest more
money and time in the students than other countries in Europe. On average, Germany invests
fifty-one more hours on their secondary education than the rest of Europe does ("Education at a
Glance").
There is some debate surrounding the division of the students in three different types of
schools. Following the Second World War, Germanys educational state was in ruins and needed
serious reform. The idea was to create the three different schools of Gymnasium, Realschule,
and Hauptschule. These schools were established by the Dusseldorf Agreement in 1955 in an
attempt to standardize the school systems between East and West Germany. Many people argue
that all of the students should be together and on the same track, but Germany has had this
system in place since the 1950s. Unifying the school system is more difficult in the nation
because education is decided by the state and not the centralized government ("A Country
Divided: A Study of the German Education System"). Although having different vocational jobs
is useful to people; it doesnt make a college degree as necessary as it is in America.
The second of the three priorities is to improve the quality of education. Many can argue
that by splitting the education system into three different branches of secondary school, the
quality of education is being improved. This creates more job opportunities and allows for
students to decide what they want to do with their future. One of the reasons for the large
unemployment rate in the United States is due to the large amount of students who graduate
college with degrees that have very few job openings. Germany has eliminated that problem by
creating vocational and business schools which allow for students to get ahead in their lives. The
nation is always reaching to improve the education in the stat; since the year 2000, Germany has

added longer school days, movement to remove the three pillars, and created standardized
national curriculum in an effort to improve their education in compliance with the United
Nations goal of improving education ("Germany Takes On Education Reform (Education
Everywhere Series)").
Germany also strives towards creating students that are globally educated. Like all
European nations, Germany strives towards creating students that are global citizens by
educating them on global issues. People who are aware of international events are more likely to
take actions and become involved global citizens. Germany also works towards the other two
priorities by constantly reforming education and maintaining laws that require children to be in
school. The country should stand as a model for other nations around the world for education
and educational reform.

Works Cited
About the Global Education First Initiative. (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2015, from
http://www.globaleducationfirst.org/about.html
A Country Divided: A Study of the German Education System. (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2015,
from http://web.wm.edu/so/monitor/issues/14-1/2-andell.pdf
Education. (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2015, from http://www.german-way.com/history-andculture/education/
Education at a Glance. (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2015, from
http://www.oecd.org/edu/Germany_EAG2013 Country Note.pdf
Germany Takes On Education Reform (Education Everywhere Series). (n.d.). Retrieved March
24, 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/education-everywhere-international-germanyvideo
Priorities. (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2015, from http://globaleducationfirst.org/priorities.html
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UDHR, Declaration of Human Rights, Human
Rights Declaration, Human Rights Charter, The Un and Human Rights. (n.d.). Retrieved
March 24, 2015, from http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml