Susanne Dorner-Ramlow uses the metaphor that is so often used to illustrate the effects of the pandemic on school students: the burning glass. The magnifying glass reveals what is hidden, in this case those existing inequalities that the crisis has brought to light.
Dorner-Ramlow has been a school psychologist at the Vaterstetten elementary and middle school for 16 years now. She experienced first-hand how the pandemic is exacerbating these inequalities in her class: “At the beginning of the pandemic, many students and their families were able to see something positive in her: You had free time and time to reflect on each other in the family.”
Social inequalities and psychological vulnerabilities are exacerbated by the pandemic
But the hype quickly dissipated. “During the lockdown, many families were not able to work from home, the children were then alone and unattended at home for a large part of the day,” explains the psychologist. The professions of these families are usually less well paid, which is why they were less able to come to terms with the pandemic than wealthier families. They have less living space available, the parents often had to work short-time, which led to existential worries.
Marianne Lichnowsky, deputy headmistress and school psychologist at the Franz-Marc-Gymnasium in Grafing, confirms this assessment. When asked how bad things are for the students, she says: “It’s bad.” She also emphasizes that existing vulnerabilities would be exacerbated by the crisis. In addition to socio-economic factors, the individual psychological condition of the students also plays a role. “Those who weren’t doing well are worse off now. But the students’ overall psychological state is weakened. Above all, the level of fear has grown.” This applies to both learning and everyday situations.
“The level of fear has grown,” says Marianne Lichnovsky, school psychologist at the Franz-Marc-Gymnasium in Markt Schwaben.
(Photo: private)
The so-called “Copsy” studies – Corona and Psychology – carried out by the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) point in a similar direction. The latest of the large-scale survey studies was published in February of this year, showing that eight out of ten children and young people feel burdened by the pandemic – even if the trend is slightly downward thanks to the opening of schools. Depressive symptoms, anxiety disorders, irritability, problems falling asleep and depression are still at a high level.
The long social isolation has brought with it a variety of problems
Both psychologists see the reasons for the problems primarily in the long lockdown phases and the associated social isolation. “Many of my students are going through puberty, it’s a sensitive phase. You need a lot of feedback from others there to be able to develop your personality,” explains Lichnovsky. But younger generations have also suffered from the pandemic and are often no longer able to concentrate properly after the long lockdown, “even for an hour at a time”.
At the same time, the deputy headmistress assumes that many gaps can be closed again. If you can unlearn how to learn, you can learn it again. The authors of the UKE study also assume that most children and young people will get through the pandemic well, with stable family relationships as the decisive factor.
Susanne Dorner-Ramlow, on the other hand, fears that the isolation has already caused irreparable damage to the mental development of many students: “Learning social behavior through play has been replaced by sitting in the room at home and gambling, sometimes until three or four in the morning.” In many cases, the limit to addiction to online games has already been crossed.
In any case, computer games and social media only led to “sterile” online social contacts. They don’t offer enough opportunity to get involved with your counterpart. She also sees parents as having a responsibility to set limits for their children when it comes to media consumption. “At the same time, the school should also communicate clearly: Such behavior is harmful.” There is a need to catch up on all sides here.
The situation is less dramatic in the special education center in Grafing
The situation is different at the Johann Comenius School in Grafing, a special education center. Angela Paulini has been working there as a school psychologist for about two years. “Our teachers are very close to the students anyway, we also have individual learning plans and the parents are used to helping their children with their homework,” says Paulini. Accordingly, the school and the students coped relatively well with the pandemic and the lockdown.
The only problems were things like the obligation to wear masks, since deaf children found it difficult to decipher the facial expressions of the teachers or their classmates. The fine motor skills and social interaction of her kindergarten children are also less practiced. However, she is not worried about long-term consequences. “It is particularly important to me to emphasize that the people in the pandemic – students, teachers and parents – have achieved a lot through their solidarity.”
Strengthening the social contacts among the students is now the most important task
Of course, all three schools and their psychologists didn’t just stand by and watch what happened to their wards. Lichnovsky admits that “in the beginning everyone was rolled over”. But we tried to make the best of the situation. In addition to psychological care – which is mainly used by girls – funding is now available for extracurricular activities and various forms of elective teaching. This is intended to strengthen the social integration of the students in particular. Lichnovsky is confident that this will get the situation under control again.
Susanne Dorner-Ramlow also sees relationship work as the most important part of dealing with the consequences of the pandemic, for example by groups affected. “It is important to be gentle, to exhaust all possibilities so that the students realize that someone is interested in them.” This also includes being careful when grading and not giving bad grades. Fear of failure and the pressure to perform are closely linked to this.
“Often the students are more afraid of the reaction of the parents than the teacher”
So is the school system itself partly to blame for the severity of the pandemic’s impact on the students’ psyche? Should we even think about banning grades from schools and bringing the social aspect of the institution to the fore? Marianne Lichnovsky is skeptical. “Certainly it’s now very clear to all of us that school means more than just learning and grades,” she says. “But often the students are not so afraid of the teachers’ reaction to a bad grade, but of the parents’ reaction.” Abolishing grades would not go far enough. Lichnowsky is convinced that a return to normal is possible and desirable.
Susanne Dorner-Ramlow sees it differently. She doesn’t want to go back to the previous status quo. Instead, she hopes that in the future, learning could be more about feeling good, that attachment could be given as important a place as knowledge acquisition. “The teachers’ association has been demanding two teachers per class for a long time, but that needs money. We as a society must now be measured by what we loosen up for school and education. It’s no longer just about teaching math or languages, but also how I can bear to be human.”
School is just as much a place of social interaction as it is of acquiring knowledge
The burning glass as a magnifying glass has the potential to make things visible that are right in front of your nose – even if you’ve seen them a thousand times. It is old hat to point out that there are only limited equal opportunities between students from different backgrounds and that the associated psychological vulnerabilities are particularly noticeable in times of crisis. The degree of burn depends on the available shade. Money, space, and a lack of mental health issues in the family donate a lot of that.
There has also long been a struggle with unlimited media consumption, as well as with the question of proof of achievement in school. What lessons should ultimately be learned from the pandemic will be just as hotly debated in science as at the kitchen table. Only one thing has become clear to everyone over the past few years: school is just as much a place for social interaction as it is for imparting knowledge. Sometimes the most banal statements are the most powerful.