A coach in a German sports club can earn a license under the guidelines of the German Olympic Sports Confederation. The first level requires 120 teaching units of training. The license is valid for four years. To renew it, the holder must complete at least 15 teaching units of further training. In the Rhine-Berg district, for example, a holder whose license has lapsed for more than five years must normally take the full course again.
The Master Craftsman Goes to University
Since a resolution of the Conference of Education Ministers in March 2009, a master craftsman in Germany may study at a university without the Abitur, the high-school diploma. The Meister title opens den allgemeinen Hochschulzugang, general access to higher education. Holders of similar advanced vocational qualifications, such as technicians, have the same right. Others with vocational qualifications get access to subjects related to their field.
A Protected Title
In Germany the title Psychotherapeut, psychotherapist, is protected by law. Under the Psychotherapists Act of November 15, 2019, in force since September 1, 2020, anyone who wants to practice psychotherapy under that title needs the Approbation, the state license to practice. Apart from licensed psychotherapists and a few other authorized groups, only physicians may use the title.
The Jury’s Word Is Final
Since 1964, young musicians in Germany have competed in Jugend musiziert, youth makes music. They play first at regional level, then at state level, then in the federal competition. More than three quarters of a million young people took part in the first 56 years. At every level the juries are made up of qualifizierte Fachleute, qualified specialists. They award up to 25 points. A soloist goes on from the state to the federal competition only with 25 points. The rules say: Die Entscheidungen der Jurygremien sind unanfechtbar. The juries’ decisions cannot be challenged.
An Exam Before You Fish
Anyone who wants to fish in Bavaria needs a Fischereischein, a fishing license. To get one, the angler must pass the state Fischerprüfung, the fishing exam. The preparatory course lasts at least 30 hours. The exam takes 60 minutes and has 60 questions. A candidate who gets more than a quarter of them wrong fails. In Lower Saxony, anyone who takes on a first dog after July 1, 2013, needs a Sachkundenachweis, proof of expert knowledge. The owner passes a theory test before getting the dog and a practical test within the first year. Only recognized examiners may hold the tests. The hunting exam is popularly called the grünes Abitur, the green high-school diploma.
A License to Train
Anyone in Germany who wants to train apprentices must first prove the necessary teaching aptitude. The Ausbilder-Eignungsverordnung, the ordinance on trainer aptitude of January 21, 2009, sets the exam. It has a written part, which should last three hours, and a practical part of at most 30 minutes in most trades. It covers four fields, from checking the conditions for training and planning it to concluding it. Germans call the certificate the Ausbilderschein, the trainer’s license.
The Good Form
The German cabinetmakers’ trade holds a federal design competition for young journeymen called Die Gute Form, the good form. Each entry is a Gesellenstück, the piece a cabinetmaker builds for the journeyman’s exam. In 2009, for example, every piece in the federal final had already won a prize at state level. The jury looked for ein zeitgemäßer Entwurf, die eigenständige Idee, gutes Design, a contemporary design, an original idea, good design. The 2021 winner, Beatrice Borggreve from North Rhine-Westphalia, built a side table of maple. The jury praised it as a moderne Interpretation eines klassischen Gesellenstücks, a modern interpretation of a classic journeyman’s piece.
Words for the Impostor
der Hochstapler — the impostor. Duden: a person who pretends to a high social position in betrügerischer Absicht, with intent to deceive. The word comes from thieves’ cant, from hoch, genteel, and stapeln, to beg.
tiefstapeln — to stack low. To understate one’s own abilities.
der Scheinriese — the apparent giant. Duden: an overrated person or thing deren Bedeutung bei näherer Betrachtung geringer erscheint, whose importance seems smaller on closer inspection. The word comes from a figure in Michael Ende’s children’s book Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer. Herr Tur Tur looks huge from far away and smaller the closer one comes.
gefährliches Halbwissen — dangerous half-knowledge. Said with irony of a little knowledge presented with confidence.
Sayings About Mastery
Übung macht den Meister. — Practice makes the master.
Es ist noch kein Meister vom Himmel gefallen. — No master has yet fallen from the sky. Said to comfort a beginner.
Handwerk hat goldenen Boden. — A craft has a golden floor. A trade gives a secure living.
Disproved in Two Weeks
On April 25, 1983, the magazine Stern presented what it said were Hitler’s diaries. Its editor-in-chief Peter Koch declared: Ab sofort muß die Geschichte des Dritten Reiches in weiten Teilen neu geschrieben werden. From now on, the history of the Third Reich must be rewritten in large parts. The publisher Gruner + Jahr had paid 9.3 million marks in cash. The Federal Institute for Materials Research, the Federal Criminal Police Office and the Federal Archives examined the volumes. On May 6, 1983, the Archives announced that they were forged. The paper could not date from the Nazi period. In 1985 the forger Konrad Kujau and the reporter Gerd Heidemann were sentenced to prison. The affair is remembered as the biggest media flop in the history of the Federal Republic. In 1992 Helmut Dietl turned it into the film Schtonk!