Schools in Corona times – no clear concept recognizable – SWR knowledge

As a reaction to the increasing number of infections, school closings are again being discussed. Science editor Anja Braun calls for clear conditions to be created for the students.

Saxony will close all schools and daycare centers from next week – in Bavaria all pupils from grade 8 onwards will take alternating lessons. The education ministers of the federal states are meeting in the Standing Conference of Ministers of Education (KMK) on how to proceed to contain the pandemic. It is unclear whether they will join the recommendation of the National Science Academy Leopoldina to lift compulsory schooling from December 14th until the Christmas break.

Squats to keep you warm in the classroom

Schools should stay open as long as possible, that was and is the creed of the ministers of education. But the point may soon be reached where this no longer works for reasons of infection protection. There would have to be a switch from face-to-face teaching to alternate teaching or entirely to distance teaching. And that even though there are still not enough laptops available for students and teachers in need.

Where the WiFi continues to wobble in many school buildings and teachers are more afraid of digital lessons than their pupils. For those who may be allowed to stay in class, the situation becomes more difficult with increasingly winter temperatures. Chancellor Merkel advised students to do squats to stay warm when the windows are opened wide. That’s all: After a full nine months to make school lessons “virus-safe”.

Unimagination slows down the entire generation of students

The lack of imagination of the education ministers in the pandemic threatens to slow down a whole generation of schoolchildren. They already lack the material that they missed in the first lockdown in spring and have generally not caught up since then. Now the general curriculum has been adapted so that the schools are allowed to delete the neighborhood they normally add to loosen up the material and make it more accessible.

Instead, the learning deficits of the students are pushed further and further. Nobody was allowed to sit still in the summer. Even students with no matter how big gaps were raised to the next higher grade level. Should it go on like this?

Or would it now be time to develop other ideas after nine months of Corona crisis classes? For example, clearing the curriculum, offering a voluntary additional year and not only postponing the final exams by a few weeks, but also purifying them.

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No additional year due to lack of teachers

So far it has not even been discussed. There are no cross-school concepts for what and how is taught remotely. No plans for pandemic-ready final exams. And a voluntary additional year for all students * who need and want it is not possible at the moment because of the extremely small number of teachers.

You hear about this from the ministers of education – nothing.

Time is of the essence – especially when schools are about to close again. Because it affects everyone who goes to school now. And that is around 8.3 million students.

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