The feeling about education in Germany is definitely more "standardized" than in the States. There are no charter schools, private schools are rare and a lot of people are uncomfortable with them, and homeschooling is illegal. The only choice is between different types of high schools: Hauptschules (the least academic), Intermediate Schools (does just what it says on the tin), and Gymnasiums (means nothing like the English word - they're the top schools, preparing students for university). Gymnasiums don't really provide for gifted students; some aren't competitive at all and those that are take a lot of people who aren't gifted (and turn away plenty of gifted underachievers). So in general, there isn't much for a gifted child in Germany. All this suggests to me that culturally, it might be considered a bad thing for a child to be singled out as gifted, even though it's a source of pride for a child to be a high achiever and be accepted to a gymnasium.
My school, which is a very small international school (a very new concept in Germany), would basically have the opportunity to provide whatever we thought was necessary to a gifted pupil (as long as it didn't mean spending too much money). Since I'm the only person on staff with any experience or knowledge in working with gifted children I offered to take several hours of my non-teaching time every week to work with her should she be identified. Wasn't expecting it all to be moot, I guess.
