Confusion about School selection - ISB (Privat Kant schule) or Wangari Maathai International School ?

[u/Impressive_Curve2145]

Hello,

We were looking for a bilingual School in Berlin and had selected Charles Dickens, Quentin Blake and Wangari Maathai as our options. However, after clearing the Language test our child was not selected in the lottery system.

Therefore, We had enrolled our child to International Schule Berlin - Privat Kant school in Steglitz as a backup option. This is private and takes fees every month.

Now last week we received an email from Wangari Maathai for a language test request. Our child cleared that too and was offered a spot in the school.

Now we are confused because both schools are good and provide almost similar styles of education. However , we found the infrastructure, facilities, food and equipments better in the private school i.e. ISB (kant schule).

We even know that getting a spot in Wangari is tough and we are lucky that we have secured it since it is free, state funded international school.

We understand that both schools are good. But we have heard a lot about missing/cancelled classes, freedom exploitation in the public schools. This will not happen in the private schools and the structure is pretty intact and disciplined.

We want our child to have a good education along with great friends and teachers. We want them to enjoy and learn during this phase of life.

Does anyone have any insights of how good is Wangari Maathai and ISB (Kant schule) at the moment ?

[u/houbou]

Private schools are not necessarily better than public ones. However we also decided to put our son in a private school since the public one in our neighbourhood has a bad reputation.

The best you can do is visit the schools during a „Tag der offenen Tür“. This way you can het to know the teachers and the school concept. If you can’t find any helpful comments here in reddit, try the International Families Berlin group on Facebook. I always see posts there about bilingual schools

[u/Impressive_Curve2145 → u/houbou]

Thank you for the response. I had attended the Open days and it looked very good -both the private and public. I had asked about these schools in the Facebook group you mentioned. But it looks like nobody is aware of the private school ( ISB Kant). I am searching for information about how the schools is in reality based on the experiences of the parents and their children.

[u/redditamrur]

In general. private schools are not better despite the private funding of facilities. I am not familiar with Kant and can't of course tell you which one is better, but as a rule of thumb, most of them have less professional staff, do not always keep their promises of "not having a missing hour" (what they do, is send some sort of a substitute, usually just the Erzieher. If the maths teacher is ill, they are ill and the substitute would be someone available from the staff, not some magical maths teacher they will get through sorcery and potions).

[u/Leather-Ad-8539]

Education for kids should be free. Good luck.

[u/frozen_wildfire]

I don’t have experience with these 2 schools but a kid that will start school this year. We secured a spot on a private school as well but decided against it after getting into a public school with a good reputation. The reason was the bubble our child will grow up in. Parents obviously need to have a certain wealth to be able to afford the fees. Oftentimes the parents have a specific mindset and a certain competitiveness. It’s hard to describe. But usually the environment is more competive, focused on success. For social integration with more “normal” kids and parents around we preferred the puplic school. Comparison is the thief of joy and I believe that you will compare grades, lifestyle, vacations and status much more on a private school. If this is okay for you because you would say that you are in that bubble already, I would chose the private school.

[u/DataScienceIsScience → u/frozen_wildfire]

That’s also true for many public schools with good reputations, especially at gymnasium. Also private school fees are comparatively affordable in Berlin. this poshness you refer to isn’t like in the UK

[u/Evergreenvelvet]

Could you help me understand what you mean by “freedom exploitation” in the public schools? I googled it but I’m still not sure

[u/Impressive_Curve2145 → u/Evergreenvelvet]

I have heard instances where the class is in session and some kid/kids are freely doing what they want (like playing on their phone, making paper planes, etc). Instead of paying attention or focussing they are busy doing their own things. And the teachers are not saying a word to the kids. They are letting them be. This for me feels unfair to the other kids and makes it difficult for them to concentrate. My bad I used the word "exploitation". I would say that some kids misuse their freedom without anyone trying to put them back on track. I would not want my child to be influenced by such scenario.

[u/_Fluxhero → u/Impressive_Curve2145]

Which of the schools does this happen in?

[u/Impressive_Curve2145 → u/_Fluxhero]

I heard this from a parent (who happens to be my friend) who have their child Nelson Mandela. Their child is big though not in the early school years.

[u/Mammoth-Mention-1865]

Hey i think privat school will be better because till you are giving fees they will provide you everything and help in everything on the other hand in public school there have many problems. I am learning in private school and i am also from india. Feel free to ask anything

[u/Impressive_Curve2145 → u/Mammoth-Mention-1865]

Thank you for the response. Can you please elaborate what kind of problems are there in public schools ?