The article on Germany’s “Aged-Students” I found very interesting, and I think it reveals some fundamental differences between American and German culture. While a student working towards a medical degree or a Ph.d may spend an equivalent amount of time obtaining their education, the vast majority of students are done with school before 25. It may be claimed that the shocking discrepancy in cost of tuition is the cause of the different approaches, yet it seems to me that the high costs of American tuition are another parallel product of a distinct mindset. Secondly, the “Mysterious Illnesses in Germany” was also interesting and quite amusing. When faced with the choice to ‘artificially overcome an obstacle” or ‘naturally adjust, rendering yourself stronger in the process’ Germans will pick the latter. I was initially shocked at the final Brennpunkt Kultur article, specifically PISA’s finding that “German secondary schools were in the bottom 3rd internationally”. Looking into these findings, however, reveals two things: 1) that the term “internationally” actually just means those countries that are roughly in the top 15% in development; and 2) that Germany is just above average out of those countries, whereas America is in the bottom 3rd. I would look to see a breakdown of the origin of the money that helps keep tuition costs low in Germany, however, that would probably require extensive research. Sam Engel