It’s the last week before the start of the summer holidays, it’s hot in Munich, and in Corfu too – that’s where city student representative Naomi Hinkel went after passing her Abitur. 45 young people in their grade made it, one didn’t. She is satisfied, but she knows that not all students are like that. “I know from other schools that many didn’t do well this year. The final exams were almost the same as usual, only with a little more time,” says Naomi Hinkel. “It was a lot of stress for a lot of people.”
This school year was more normal than the two before: the schools remained open, final exams took place at the usual time, the Bavarian Abitur average was 2.15 at the previous year’s level. It was a school year full of corona tests, and one in which school principals, teachers and parents waited a long time for PCR test results, sometimes in vain. Above all, this year, for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, there were school summer parties, graduation ceremonies and school camps.
The children have to learn how to learn again
Much has been said about the importance of the children learning to learn again and finding their way around in a group again. And also about learning gaps: Support measures were set up, at the same time – not only, but also – because of Covid diseases and isolation periods, there were always schoolchildren and, above all, teachers. Everyone is talking about a shortage of teachers, the head of a Munich middle school is talking about an immensely high number of lessons. “It’s at the expense of the students,” he says.
City student representative Naomi Hinkel says she knows of students who voluntarily repeat the class because they are overwhelmed. A Munich pediatrician reports that this year significantly more children than usual told her that they themselves or many of their classmates were left sitting.
The testimony day can become a trauma.
(Photo: Thomas Imo/imago images)
It is unclear how many children and young people repeat the class; the Ministry of Education will only publish the figures in the spring of next year. The Department for Education and Sport reports that a large number of students at the municipal Realschulen, the orientation level and the comprehensive school, whose promotion was at risk, achieved the class goal with great effort. The head of the state school board has no knowledge that there are more repetitions at middle schools. But at the Munich adult education center they expect that the demand to catch up on school qualifications externally will increase for the coming school year – that’s why there will be an additional evening course that leads to a successful middle school certificate or qualification.
“I had expected that the final exams would be dramatic,” says Philipp Volkmer, head of the Carl von Linde secondary school. But that was not the case, more than a third of the students even had a final grade with a one before the decimal point. Three out of 130 failed. All in all, there is a graduation rate of almost 96 percent at the municipal Realschulen this year. “We had a lot of very good students, but also a lot of weak ones. And fewer young people with average performance,” says Volkmer.
The number of school dropouts and absenteeism has increased, says Volkmer. And not all who advanced on probation in the past two school years managed to fill their gaps. In most classes, there are one to three students who have to repeat. Some children have switched to middle school, a few more than usual have come from high school to secondary school – that has increased, but not to an alarming extent, says Volkmer.
Finally normal school lessons again: In the Michaeli-Gymnasium, the year was also exhausting for the teachers.
(Photo: Florian Peljak)
The situation is similar at the Michaeli-Gymnasium: Some more children than usual would repeat the class next year, says Rector Frank Jung. The certificates were similar to previous years, even if not all learning gaps have been made up. What everyone agrees on is that it has been a busy year for teachers. There were many cover hours due to high sickness rates, no teachers in the mobile reserve who could have filled in. Because students were ill, schoolwork dates had to be postponed and make-up exams had to be set up. “Almost everyone goes into the summer holidays with their tongue hanging out,” says Jung.
“The fact that many schools went well this school year was due to the great commitment of the teachers,” says Michaela Fellner, head of the elementary school on Bauhausplatz. They were happy that normal classes were possible again. But the shortage of staff goes to the substance. She notices a deep and worrying exhaustion. She sees the greatest deficits in the children in the social area, in dealing with each other. “There’s a lot to catch up on.” The performance of the children is comparable to previous years, the transfer rate is almost identical to previous years. Because the online lessons went well with them, parents and teachers were committed and because the performance surveys had been adapted. Fellner says: “We are confident that the children who have made the transition can also make their way well.”
Now the schools have to be prepared for the fall
“We’re catching up on the children’s deficits in terms of content,” says Michael Hoderlein-Rein, head of the primary school in Berg am Laim. The social deficits are more difficult to remedy. He sees that the children in particular, who are already disadvantaged, are suffering from the pandemic. “That really worries us.”
It would be important now to prepare the schools for the fall, says Martina Borgendale, Chairwoman of the Bavarian Education and Science Union. Maintaining air filters and teachers’ laptops, organizing masks and pool tests. “At the moment we are not prepared for distance or face-to-face classes,” she says. The holidays are beginning – and yet there is still a lot to do.
If you have problems with your certificates or grades, they will help number against grief11 61 11 for students or 0800-111 05 50 for parents, or the Online counseling center of the Federal Conference for Educational Counseling.