First more money for elementary and middle school teachers, now more flexibility for all teachers, and that even during their studies: Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) is doing exactly what some in Bavaria’s educational landscape have been hoping for for years and what others fear just as much: he does the schools to the boss. One could also say that he talked his minister of the Free Voters into it a year before the state elections. Of course, Minister of Education Michael Piazolo would never put it that way. As always, he seems very relaxed. Unlike the Prime Minister, he sees no reason to turn the big wheel. And uses Bavaria’s top positions in the relevant rankings as proof of this.
“Never change a running system”, as the saying goes. It just doesn’t work anymore in Bavaria’s schools. The shortage of teachers is having a greater impact this year than ever before, and it is already foreseeable that things will not get any better in the coming years. It is therefore good that Söder is demonstrating a desire for reform. Flexibility in teacher training doesn’t hurt, a breath of fresh air can bring benefits. Especially since the CSU faction in the state parliament has fended off reforms for years.
The question is who Söder is driving more: Piazolo or the CSU faction? Of course, for the last major reform, the introduction of the eight-year high school, the deputies received a beating for years. They only returned to the G 9 when the mood in the schools could no longer be ignored – and Horst Seehofer bought the parliamentary group’s approval before the 2018 state elections with gifts for all types of schools. Reforms in the school system take a long time. But it will take even longer for the schools to calm down again. That should be the true goal of Söder’s reform efforts: the schools should be running, and there should be a teacher in front of each class so that parents no longer have a reason to complain. Especially not before the state election.
Until then, Söder demonstrates actionism. And that’s a problem. Placing ideas with fanfare is part of the agenda at Söder: Others then have to take care of the implementation, the main thing is that it bangs first. Except that in the end, as with the much-heralded university reform, for example, a minimum consensus comes out – with maximum excitement before that. But the school system is too fragile for such an action. Hundreds of thousands of children are directly affected, they are shaped for their lives at school. However, the quality of the schools must not suffer from hasty decisions or efforts to reach a minimum consensus. Does it mean that the children will then have poorly trained teachers? It is correct that Söder now wants to call in an expert council and that there should be no bans on thinking. But he should also give this body time to think and avoid the mistakes of other countries. And while the experts are debating, don’t interfere or make loud statements.