School
GEW head for critical handling of AfD in teaching
Maike Finnern reports that many teachers are afraid that they could get into trouble if they go to demonstrations against the right. photo
© Sebastian Willnow/dpa
Should teachers make the AfD an issue and warn of dangers? The head of the country’s largest education union thinks yes. Others warn that this could have an undesirable side effect.
The Education and Science Union (GEW) has called on teachers in Germany to think critically about the issue in their lessons AfD to deal with. “The AfD is a party with anti-constitutional tendencies. Teachers can and should say that in the classroom,” said GEW boss Maike Finnern to the “Stuttgarter Zeitung” and the “Stuttgarter Nachrichten”.
There was partial approval from the German Teachers’ Association. But he advocated a “broader view”: “We have enemies of the constitution on the left, we have them on the right, we have them in the religious area. This must also be discussed openly with the students,” said association president Stefan Düll on Friday to the German Press Association. Agency. He called it normal for the teaching context if certain groups were mentioned if, like parts of the AfD, they were classified as definitely extremist by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. The CDU education politician Thomas Jarzombek made similar statements, but he also made concerns clear. The AfD education politician Götz Frömming warned against using teachers for political debate.
Finnern advocated analyzing specific statements and events in connection with the AfD and discussing them with the students. “I not only encourage teachers to engage with the AfD in the classroom as well. I also expressly call on them to do so,” emphasized Finnern. “Teachers swear by the constitution – and by defending it,” said the GEW boss.
AfD politician Frömming criticized the trade unionist’s move: “There is nothing wrong with a critical discussion of the AfD as part of politics lessons,” he told the dpa. The problem, however, is that the GEW boss does not consider it necessary to engage critically with other parties such as the Greens or the SPD. “Anyone who wants to use teachers, who are part of the executive branch as civil servants, for political debate with the opposition has not understood our constitution.”
CDU education experts: Don’t buy into the victim narrative
According to the CDU education expert Jarzombek, dealing with current issues in class is part of teaching the basics of democracy and, in this context, also the question of why the AfD is judged by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution to be partially extremist. “But it must always be about extremism in all forms and must not lead to a “Lex AfD” that ultimately feeds into the victim narrative of this party,” he warned.
Finnern also called on teachers to take part in demonstrations against right-wing extremism and reported that many were afraid that they could get into trouble with their employers because of it. But they have the right to do this like other citizens. “In our view, they have a duty even more than others to stand up for democracy and diversity and to raise their voices against right-wing extremism and anti-constitutional activities,” she added. Düll said that teachers do not have to be afraid if they go to demonstrations as private individuals, as long as these are covered by the Basic Law. “But you don’t need to be asked to do this. Because this is a private matter.”