It didn’t take long before the minister began to bob his right foot. No wonder, because Fabian Ernstberger is in attack mode and does not leave a good hair on school policy. Bavaria boasted as the Land of education, says the 19-year-old vocational school student from Weiden, “although this has not been the case for a long time”. While Bavaria is resting on its standard, appointments with schoolchildren are mainly used for beautiful photos instead of developing new concepts with them. “Where’s the courage?”
Friday afternoon, shortly after 4 p.m. in the Munich press club. Instead of disappearing into the autumn vacation, seven schoolchildren from all over Bavaria came to speak to Minister of Education Michael Piazolo (FW). They are all winners of the writing competition of the “Value Preservation and Transfer Initiative” and have written down their thoughts on future topics such as climate and digitization. Now they are sitting in the school group with the patron, who, even with teachers and parents with a rather short fuse, usually manages not to be disturbed.
Everything for the beautiful pictures? The minister happily passes the criticism on
It is the same this afternoon. Outside on Marienplatz activists are noisy, inside seven pairs of eyes look at him expectantly. Piazolo weighs his head. He is not exactly known for being above average in seeking contact with the outside world; the opposition likes to characterize him as a cerebral academic with average courage. But he’s quick-witted. He passes the swipe on for now. “There should be one or two photo-loving politicians,” he says. Then he lists projects of the ministry: environmental school, school with courage, insect hotels, tablet classes.
Politicians like to raise the latter to the top of the list. But the students are quite critical of them. Every second person in her class has a tablet, says Tutzing secondary school student Greta Weber. “They always play games of some kind in class,” says the 16-year-old. Maria Schilcher is sitting near her, and the 18-year-old high school student from Murnau also has concerns. She doesn’t want to know how many more secret pictures of teachers exist because of the tablets, she says. The topic of media literacy is urgent, however: In the past few weeks, schoolchildren have also fought real battles in Bavaria’s schoolyards, modeled on a Netflix series.
There are also violent disputes in Piazolo’s party, only about the sense and nonsense of the digital classroom. He himself is also torn. After all, tablets are not climate-neutral. “If we order millions now, how will they be disposed of?” A thought that seems a long way off: According to a Forsa survey, only one in four schoolchildren in Bavaria has been equipped with a device.
When it comes to the mask requirement, the students are cooperative
The fact that in the end it depends on how things are implemented is also shown by the many school awards such as “environmental school” or “school with courage”. For the “school without racism” the demands are far too low, complains Laura Gießl from the Pullacher Gymnasium. “They are not exactly the ones who show the least racism,” says the 17-year-old. Why not raise the bar? “Let’s check that out,” promises the minister of education.
These days, he is less likely to be concerned with label criteria than with the fundamental question of how one can maintain face-to-face lessons in winter despite the increasing number of infections among children and adolescents. It has been agreed that the mask requirement will come back after a month. But can you tighten the rules for the youngest, while the older ones are allowed to party in the clubs?
Absolutely, say the students – at least as long as it stays with the surgical mask. Weber had to write her exams with an FFP2 mask last year, “really exhausting”, she says. It just has to be balanced, says Piazolo. This week will show what this compensation could look like: The ministers will meet for a special cabinet meeting on Wednesday.