Herbert Spencer (1820 - 1903), English philosopher and sociologist
Adam-Josef-Cüppers Vocational College is situated in a prospering place. Ratingen´s closeness to Duesseldorf and to what is known as the Ruhrgebiet makes it an interesting location even by international standards. Many significant companies and global players not only of the IT industry have chosen Ratingen as their location, using the excellent connections to the world (see The Region for more). As a vocational college we see our task in qualifying young people for work and providing qualified potential employees for our business partners.
Society, economy and technical standards are subject to fast change. What students as well as teachers need today in order to face the challenges which lie ahead of us is the ability of lifelong learning. This requires everybody involved in the process to become active and to act with a sense of responsibility. Our partners in business expect us as a vocational college not only to provide the kind of knowledge which their apprentices and trainees need in their jobs; what is even more significant is that they obtain skills such as organizing learning processes by themselves, working together in a team, handling multimedia equipment etc. Our college is up to meet this challenge of training young people in competences they will need not only for school but in their daily life.
Our aim is clearly defined: to give students a successful and promising start into their vocational life. This is the way our college can contribute to the prosperity and development of our city.
Since we consider our school a house of learning we define our task in the different programs accordingly:
- to include the various experiences of our students into daily school life
- to cooperate with business partners for internships, apprenticeships and traineeships
- to give our students individual support
- to develop a team spirit and team structures
- to focus on active learning and learning on projects
- to integrate modern communication technologies in all fields of our college
- to create a social learning environment in our classrooms
- to develop a relationship of trust between teachers and students
We believe that the basis for successful team work and a high standard of education is to enjoy learning and working together. Our school can only be successful as a system if all persons included in the process are helpful to each other, open-minded, honest, trusting, cooperative and self-reflecting. This requires a respectful way of working together. It means to support each other and to give or seek advice when necessary. Decision making processes always have to be transparent and comprehensible on all levels. This refers especially to assessments which have to be transparent and fair.
Working in education means we can only be successful if we practice regular and honest communication. It also requires permanent reflection and training. Continuing evaluation is the basis for the perpetual improvement of training. Therefore the feedback of our students is of vital importance to us.
For us, a high quality standard of education means: successful graduation of our students as a well as a successful start into their vocational lives. This is what we work for.