Hermann Oberth German School prides itself with the high academic standards set for its students and teachers, as well as with its reliance on morals and ethical practices. This translates both in the equal, though differentiated in the name of integration, treatment of all students, as well as in the promotion of fairness and ethics in all aspects of student life, including academic integrity. As such, though not necessarily explicitly or in the same terms, HOS has been promoting principled actions and views from its very inception.
In alignment with IB views, HOS mission statement aims to nurture creativity, innovation, critical thinking in all students, able to express their ideas originally, transparently acknowledging the relation between their products (visual, written, audio-visual, etc.) and the elements that have shaped their working process and outcome, sources used, the ideas embraced, and those they have come across but rejected.
In order to raise lifelong learners, in a (post)modern society where education often meets training, as students are expected not only to have theoretical knowledge, but skills to both acquire the information independently and produce expected results/products that go beyond traditional learning outputs (standardized tests/ learning by rote, etc.), HOS sees the value in promoting learning through inquiry, guided/independent research and reflection on outcome, in addition to growth of study and soft skills, in students driven to shape their own learning experiences and construct meaning.
Additionally, the interconnectedness of the globalized worlds, demands extensive collaborative, social and interpersonal skills, to which reflection and intrapersonal skills are added, to ensure a learner (and later on, a citizen) of the world, able to manage a variety on socio-cultural, academic, work relations and challenges, able to remain self-motivated, and achieve self-actualization.
Postmodern/ postcolonial deconstruction of grand narratives gave not only a voice to the silenced, and an abundance of micronarratives, but also brought about change in all layers of society, in the way knowledge is viewed, in the manner of acquisition and its sources. Under the pressure of this paradigm shift, education was morphed into student driven inquiry.
