Pupils and teachers at secondary schools in the Free State are well prepared for the European elections on Sunday. According to the teachers’ associations, the curricula leave enough room to talk about democracy and European politics, even if the subject of politics and society is only taught from the tenth grade onwards for a maximum of two hours per week.
If the curriculum requirements are not sufficient, the teachers’ commitment acts as a compensation: “Our colleagues are used to the fact that there is not enough space for political education and they take the time,” says Hubert Loeser from the Bavarian Philologists’ Association. The subject supervisor for politics, society and history at grammar schools believes that there could be more problems at middle and secondary schools. There, the lessons are even shorter and political topics are not relevant for exams.
But the Bavarian Secondary School Teachers’ Association also believes that there are enough opportunities to talk about Europe. The curriculum allows content to be shifted over time. This way, current issues can be well integrated, says German and history teacher Kai Wörner. “Our students think it’s better if we don’t just discuss topics like an election, but if it has something to do with the lesson.”
For example, the European elections could be addressed in a discussion, as this text form will also be used in the upcoming final exams. Wörner simply thinks that teachers need to be more aware that the curriculum is more of an enabler than an impediment. “In general, however, awareness of this is very high.”
Other secondary schools are also aware of their role in educating young people about democracy. “For many, vocational school is the last school they attend. The teachers do a lot to get everything done,” says Pankraz Männlein, the regional chairman of the Association of Teachers at Vocational Schools in Bavaria. Especially today, when we hear every day how democracy is being threatened, it is particularly important to prepare students intensively for the election.
This effort is clearly being appreciated by the students. Zaradacht Gimo from the Bavarian State Student Council says: “Many teachers are trying to make up for the lack of time by incorporating current topics and talking about the constitution – even in subjects where this is not actually part of the curriculum.” The 24-year-old also says, however, that there can never be enough political education and that it needs to start earlier: “Right-wing forces take up a lot of space on social media. So young people are confronted with this kind of content at an early age,” says the student representative at the technical college in Neusäß near Augsburg. However, he believes that the 220,000 16- and 17-year-olds in Bavaria who are eligible to vote are well prepared to cast their informed vote on Sunday.