Unusual times call for unusual measures. And they sometimes ask for the standards to be adjusted. In times of a pandemic, this had to happen in many areas. A successful evening with friends was no longer a cozy get-together in a pub, but concentrated gathering in front of the digital windows for an online chat. One no longer looked forward to the next flight to the Caribbean, but was happy if one could go on vacation in the Bavarian Forest. And as far as the students are concerned, the requirements were reduced, high school graduates, for example, were able to enjoy a smaller selection of material – even, hear, hear, Bavarian high school graduates! Suddenly it worked, you could assume that everything would go back to normal at some point.
And now, with the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the next challenge has arrived. For the foreseeable future, thousands of children will have to be integrated into the classroom or placed in day-care centers so that their parents, often just the mothers, can work here. Hopefully they can go back to their homeland.
Employing Ukrainian educational staff would help municipalities and counties
And so unusual measures are required again. One such measure would be to employ Ukrainian educators who are among the refugees. It would make the task of the municipalities and districts easier, as the complaints about a lack of childcare staff are loud and have become even louder since Corona, because many kindergarten teachers have turned their backs on their jobs under the special stress caused by the pandemic. However, anyone who wants to take care of children in a Bavarian kindergarten should have completed at least the B2 language course, according to the responsible Bavarian Ministry of Social Affairs. Which means an effort of 600 hours of learning and about 30 weeks. And as a result, probably that there are not enough people who can take care of the children.
Ukrainian educators who take care of Ukrainian children in German kindergartens for a limited time – that actually sounds quite logical. “Hello”, “my name is” or “thank you”, children learn that very quickly and in social interaction, you don’t need a teacher trained in German grammar for that. However, if the Bavarian Ministry of Social Affairs insists on standards that are too high for this transitional period, it may cause more damage than it would like to prevent. A little more pragmatism couldn’t hurt.