Bildungslücke

When a tooth falls out we're usually left with an ugly black gap. Holes in the fence allow is to see what's going on behind. A space between parked cars can be passed through. But when there's a Lücke - or space - in a person's education, something quite basic is missing from their breadth of knowledge. So when a person in the port city of Hamburg can't distinguish a herring from a salmon, or someone from Cologne has no idea about beer, or a person in Berlin has never heard about the Wall, then they have what is described as a Bildungslücke, literally "education gap." But lucky for some, unlike a missing tooth, a Bildungslücke is far easier to hide and can be filled with the help of a few good books.