Comments on: Doors (and Windows) to Culture

By: It’s Time for Office Hours, Again.

It’s Time for Office Hours, Again. — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 02:34:29 +0000

[...] This is in contrast with the office door of a U.S. teacher, which is ALWAYS open, especially during office hours. Remember our post on doors and windows? [...]

By: cxdswovq

cxdswovq — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:33:33 +0000

cxdswovq…

cxdswovq…

By: “Checking” Assumptions in the Classroom

“Checking” Assumptions in the Classroom — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:03:09 +0000

[...] my German teacher. Who was from Austria. (Who closed doors and left the classroom windows wide open in the middle of [...]

By: Tracie

Tracie — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:48:39 +0000

I also spend time in Germany when I was younger, and loved the open window habit. I loved getting that fresh air in the house, but remember thinking it was odd that there were no screens to keep the bugs out.

For our household, though, the idea of closed doors was more so that they didn’t slam shut from the drafts.

By: Cate

Cate — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 03:27:10 +0000

I had the same experience as you, Glenn, when I lived in Germany. I remember standing outside a professor’s office once waiting (and waiting…) for him to arrive for office hours, not realizing he was inside his office behind a closed door, waiting for students to knock and go in.

By: Anamaria

Anamaria — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 00:43:40 +0000

Glenn, it was interesting to read your comment. It sounds like the closed doors in Germany made you feel like you were not welcome somewhere, like you needed to keep out (just like my students at Indiana University).

I first came to the US as an exchange high school student, and I lived with a wonderful American family for 5 months. Their son was convinced that I was doing something very suspicious in my room, since I always had the door closed.

I am curious about the newsletter that you started. Did the Germans understand where the name came from, or did you have to explain it?

By: Glenn Wiebe

Glenn Wiebe — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:44:57 +0000

I spent a year in Germany and France on a work exchange program while in college and noticed the same thing in reverse. It was an adjustment for me and other North Americans in the program, much like it was for you.

In fact, the newsletter we started was titled “The Open Door” in a very conscious attempt to keep open lines of communication. But ever since then, I have enjoyed keeping windows open and much cooler indoor temps. If it was up to me, I would keep our windows open much more often!

Thanks for the providing a reason to take a trip down memory lane!