Responsible citizenship

Year after year, students from all over the country elect their student and class representatives who will be a part of the Student Council. Both figures were created by Law 115 of 1994. Thus, besides having a say in the School Government, students get to experience democratic processes up close so that they can make decisions on their own in the future.

According to Rolando Restrepo, Chief of the Social Sciences department, “As adults, we are what they taught us to be when we were kids, and that has to do with politics and democracy too”. To him, it is important to highlight that many decisions that affect our community have to go through a democracy scenario: “We have to participate in that which concerns us”, he says. In that sense, political training at Deutsche Schule Medellín is oriented torwards critical thinking, based on integrity, the application and formation of a position with regard to what has been learned. For example, in our classrooms, some of the indicators of achievement that are evaluated by teachers, are developed democratically by the students. They can also propose different ways to assess certain topics. In other contexts, they can also choose which topics they want to look further into, or which approach they want to work with; all of this based on arguments. These processes allow us to acknowledge that not everyone learns the same way, and when making decisions, differentiation is important because it helps us understand each other's worth in the educational process.

New History FTA

“A past that does not pass” and “Let's get to know our history”, are two new Free Time Activities (FTA) coordinated by the Social Sciences department and History. Mathias Sucker, the teacher who is in charge of the first one, explains that it is a scenario in which we reflect about our violent past in Colombia and Germany. Taking into account that the development of a collective memory and its impact on current conflicts has been very important in German history. “Historic conflicts influence politics and modern life. For this reason, we invite students to think critically about the past in order to make better decisions about the future”, he adds.

Student Representative

The Student Representative, in every educational institution, is a final grade student. They are elected by voting, and they are in charge of promoting students’ duties and rights enshrined in the Political Constitution, in the laws, in the regulations and in the School Community Handbook.

Student mediation

Mediation is a peer communication exercise around a conflict. At Deutsche Schule Medellín, this program works so that, with the help of an impartial arbitrator, students reach an agreement by themselves in order to improve their relationships.

Student Council - Cecam

The purpose of this entity is to promote and guarantee student participation and representation. Its members elect a president and a secretary, as well as a student representative for the School Directive Council.

United Nations Model (MUN)

The United Nations Model aims to educate student volunteers in managing different terminologies and procedures in conflict resolution through dialogue and diplomatic discussion. MUN is a cultural and educational event that, besides favoring the student's academic education and growth, also facilitates the development of argumentative skills, public speaking skills, rhetoric and negotiation.