At the moment, the schools in the district almost only offer distance learning.
It is not always easy to follow the material.
Verena Cavalier, who was born in Weilheim, wants to remedy the situation: The teacher gives tuition in English - via livestream from Great Britain.
County - Verena Cavalier has lived in England for 13 years.
To the southeast in a small town called Rayleigh, near Southend-on-Sea, to be precise.
This is where the Thames and the English Channel meet.
It is around 50 minutes by train to London.
“That's the perfect mix - it's very scenic.
With a lot of forest and not far from the sea, but if I want to enjoy life in the big city, I can easily do it by train, ”says Verena Cavalier.
Weilheim remains Verena Cavalier's home
The 38-year-old was born and raised in Weilheim.
And even after 13 years in Great Britain, still connected to her home country.
“Weilheim is still my home for me.
I love my life in England and have built a really nice one here with my three children and many friends, ”says Verena Cavalier.
But she always stays at home in Weilheim.
Mainly because her parents and many friends live in the county seat.
She comes to visit every year during the summer holidays so that her children can see grandma and grandpa - and bathing in Lake Dietlhof is of course part of it.
“Unfortunately the visits are not possible at the moment.” Because her children grow up bilingually, they also understand and speak German and have friends in Weilheim with whom they can play.
The fact that Verena Cavalier moved to Great Britain was not actually planned.
She wanted to become an English and religion teacher in Germany and stay in Bavaria.
“But part of my studies was a year abroad in England.” During that time, she worked for a year at an English school as a foreign language assistant, which she really liked.
“Then there was the fact that I fell in love with an Englishman.
That led to the decision to move to England after my first state examination, which I took in Germany, ”explains the 38-year-old.
During her legal clerkship at the University of Lancaster, Verena Cavalier was at two so-called comprehensive schools.
These are comparable to comprehensive schools in Germany.
After her legal traineeship, the teacher did a Masters in Education from the University of Cumbria.
Although she was offered a doctorate, she decided against an academic career and applied for a position at Westcliff High School for Boys - a kind of high school.
In 2019 it was named "German Teacher of the Year"
Verena Cavalier worked there for seven years until she got a job offer from her current school, the Southend High School for Boys.
Among other things, the specialist management for German was offered to her.
“I couldn't refuse,” says Verena Cavalier.
In Great Britain teachers are not civil servants.
“This makes it much easier to change teaching positions than in Germany,” she explains.
The disadvantage, however, is that it is easier to be terminated.
Verena Cavalier doesn't need to be afraid of that: In 2019 she received the “German Teacher of the Year” award.
This is an award for the best German teacher in the whole of Great Britain, given by the German, Austrian and Swiss embassies in London.
"My school nominated me because I had managed to 'revive' German as a school subject after it was threatened with extinction at my school," says Verena Cavalier.
Because in England there are fewer and fewer schools that teach German.
It is difficult to estimate how long German will still exist as a school subject.
“That is also the reason why I started to build up a second mainstay as an online teacher,” explains the teacher.
She gives freelance tutoring in German for English students and English tutoring for German students.
“I also work with students at the university who want to improve their German or English skills.” Thanks to the Internet, she has students from all over the world - even from Namibia, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur.
Students from Weilheim and the surrounding area can register for tutoring
And the students from Weilheim can also turn to Verena Cavalier.
Because it is not always easy to follow the material.
The 38-year-old started an appeal in the Facebook group “You come from Weilheim, if ...”.
Anyone who wants to will be taught about Zoom.
The respective hour is always tailored to the student.
“Some need more grammar practice, others more reading or listening comprehension,” she explains.
She herself works at her school until 4 p.m.
"According to German time, I offer tutoring from 5 pm during the week." She currently also has an adult student with whom she works at 9 pm.
“I am very flexible.” Even on Sundays or intensive courses during the holidays, they are not a problem.
Interested
of all ages can contact Verena Cavalier for tutoring.
Either on Facebook or by email to cavaliertuition@gmail.com.
