A good 20 years ago, the Ministry of Education wanted to forcibly relocate the school principal, Friedrich Schiefle, to the other end of Bavaria because he had criticized the eight-year high school that had been introduced in a hurry. He was fully rehabilitated in court. Now, Gradient has died in his hometown of Laufen.
The headmaster, Friedrich Schiele, experienced intensely how much resistance and plague the life of a civil servant can bring. Up until 2004, his professional life ran rather smoothly. At that time he was in charge of the Rottmayr Gymnasium in Laufen, Upper Bavaria. Before that he had been in charge of the Berchtesgaden Gymnasium for ten years. But then, from one day to the next, he was caught up in severe turbulence.
In July 2004, a stern letter from the Ministry of Education landed on Schleigle’s desk. He was to be transferred to Alzenau, i.e. to a place at the other end of Bavaria. This smelled suspiciously of punishment, because Schiele had distinguished himself as a critic of the eight-year high school that had been introduced in a hurry. The Minister of Education at the time, Monika Hohlmeier, threatened critical headmasters, and crackdowns were taken on Schiele. His transfer triggered political upheavals.
When the case was clarified in court, he was fully rehabilitated. His forced transfer was judged to be unlawful and annulled. The investigative committee of the state parliament found that the Ministry of Education apparently wanted to make an example of him.
Although Schiele was popular, he cultivated a democratic leadership style that was not appreciated by everyone, which ultimately led to intrigues and denunciations. The fact that he “was replaced in a defamatory way as head of the Laufen high school,” as he himself said, hurt him greatly. His satisfaction was all the greater when he returned to high school in Laufen in December 2006.
In retirement, he once said, “Now I’m glad I’m far from school.” Nevertheless, he followed school politics with a keen eye. He warned that the students would only spit out what they had learned: “It must not be the case that thinking for the solution of a high school exam is not intended, or even a hindrance.” He was passionate about his subject, mathematics, to the end. He liked to refer to the cellist Pablo Casals, who said at the age of 90: “I think I’m making progress.”
The old age of Casals did not reach Schiele. He recently died in Laufen at the age of 75.