Swiss educator returns to Spencer

Michele (Keller) Rogger

A former German teacher visited with Spencer High School (SHS) students this week, minimizing the distance between northwest Iowa and Switzerland.

Michele (Keller) Rogger, a former flight attendant and teacher, is a stay-at-home mother today to her 4-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter. The 40-year-old woman's husband, Alain, works for the Social Security system in Switzerland. The Rogger family lives in the central Switzerland town of Lucerne, which is situated on Lake Lucerne and embedded within an impressive mountainous panorama.

During the 1992-93 school year, Rogger helped Spencer preschool and high school students to learn the German language.

"When she came from Switzerland originally, she tried to get into the United States, and couldn't get in," recalled Ken Bress of Spencer. "At that time, we had law (which required) people who came into the United States to be sponsored by somebody who would be responsible for them for at least one year. ... My wife, (Evelyn Bress), happened to be in Switzerland. She went because our government didn't know anything about the Swiss school system. So, they sent Evelyn over there for three weeks one summer. When she was there, she met Michele's mother, who had been one of the first exchange students ever part of a group. She told Evelyn she had a daughter that wanted to come to the United States to improve her English, but they wouldn't let her in."

In response, the Bress family hosted Rogger in its home during the 1992-93 school year.

The mother of two, who had hoped to return to Spencer for Ken Bress' 80th birthday on June 25, finally found her way back to Clay County Sunday night. Staying with Mel and Jan Myers of Spencer, she's scheduled to leave for the Twin Cities today, in order to visit former SHS Spanish teacher Julie Bronson before departing for home on Sunday.

As she received a tour of the local high school building Wednesday, Rogger was impressed with the new Smart Boards located in classrooms, the science wing addition and the new gym equipment she saw.

As she answered questions posed by SHS students during their lunch hours, Rogger explained several differences between Switzerland and the United States. One example is Switzerland's 120 kmh speed limit, which translates to 75 mph.

On the topic of patriotism, Rogger told SHS students, "You have more patriotism here than we do." For example, when the Swiss national anthem is played, nobody sings along, she reported. The country's flag is rarely ever displayed publicly, she added. Although she did note that Aug. 1, National Day in Switzerland, is one holiday it is flown. A celebration similar to our Fourth of July, this date marks a time in which the country gathers in public places around bonfires and listens to speeches about the independence of the country from its former Austrian rulers, which started with the Grutli Pact of 1291.

She described the federal republic's form of government as being similar to the United States' president and Congress. Of the seven men and women who serve on her country's Swiss Federal Council, the executive council which constitutes the federal government of Switzerland and serves as the Swiss collective head of state, Rogger explained, "They reign the country."

While Rogger also informed students that Switzerland is a neutral country, in regard to the approaching U.S. general election, she stated, "I know that it's important for me because you're such a big country."

On the eve of the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11 attack, the Swiss woman told the 17 youth gathered in a SHS classroom that she vividly remembers hearing news reports about the attack while in her car and of being "really shaken."

"There are things that happen in the world that touch me, but they don't shake me. This 9/11 really (shook) me," Rogger said. "That's because I'd been in the (World Trade Center's) twin towers several times when I was a flight attendant. I think the whole of Switzerland, in a way, was probably shaken. Me, maybe more than others. ... But I'd like to forget about it. I don't like to follow programs about it anymore on TV because I hope to forget. It still hurts."

When asked by a Spencer student if residents of Switzerland had Internet access, Rogger politely answered, "Yes, we are as modern as you are."

Another teenager questioned whether drugs were a problem in her country. The teacher-turned-mother explained there was a "big problem" with "druggies" when she lived in the city of Zurich. To address this, Rogger said the state pays for methadone shots, in an attempt to keep users away from "dirty" drugs.

Rogger also told SHS students that the two countries' educational systems differ. While all Swiss youth are required to enroll in nine years of school -- six at the "primary" and three at the "secondary" level -- they are separated according to their capabilities at the beginning of secondary school. The best are taught advanced classes to be prepared for further studies and the matura, which is recognized internationally and is used to fulfill university entrance requirements by providing a broad general education.

"We have more hard stuff to do than they (students) do here," Rogger said. "I have never been an exchange student, but I know from the exchange students in our schools that they would say they had a very nice time in a high school in America. They attended the lessons, but they didn't really have to work hard. But probably also it was the good students coming over here; that has to be said too."

She also noted that 16 year olds may "decide what they want to do in life" in her country. This, she explained, generally involves entering one of the country's 12 universities or completing an apprenticeship. Rogger noted she passed the matura, which she described as her "ticket to enter university," and then enrolled in two more years of "teacher training."

Of the Spencer school district reducing its German program this year to an ICN course offered at the high school, Rogger said, "I thought (think) it's better than not having anything. If I really wanted to do (learn) German, I probably would say, 'OK, let's do that if that's the only way to get German.'

"It's interesting and fascinating, but I would(n't) like to sit in a classroom where you can hardly hear what the other students are saying. (That's) not for me. I like the contact with people. But, in honor of Frau (teacher) Bress, I have to say it's a pity they skipped the German program."