Erl
Riedenburg
However, all of this is no longer possible since it is mandatory to wear masks all day in class. Recognizing the facial expressions of your counterpart and drawing conclusions from them together with the spoken word is only possible to a very limited extent at these times. Our newspaper asked the schools in Riedenburg how the relationship between teachers and students and also among the students in dealing with one another is developing under these conditions.
Surprisingly, so the common tenor, the students get along well with it. “In the first two weeks at the beginning of school there was no mask requirement for the primary school classes and so teachers and children could face each other without a mask during the introductory phase. Most of the children in the first grade already knew each other from kindergarten”, says Norbert Nadler as head of elementary and middle school. Thus, he can hardly determine any change in the development of a class dynamic compared to previous years.
However, the classes in the playground no longer mix as they used to, as the break times are staggered and each class has its own area in the schoolyard. According to the concept of his school, there is no mixing even in the corridors. “I would like to say a big compliment to the students and the teachers, they support everything,” emphasizes Nadler.
Christian Fackler from the girls’ secondary school in St. Anna also reports something similar. Even in the three entry-level classes with a total of 73 students who come from large parts of the region and first have to get to know each other in the fifth grade and form a class community, this process ran smoothly. “In the beginning it is about bringing the girls together and reducing their fear of contact. That was done in the first few weeks when there was no full mask requirement,” explains the headmaster.
His teachers had a little more difficulty there. “It actually takes longer to memorize the faces,” he knows from his own experience. The masks also change the acoustics and the students ask more often because the teacher’s sentences are more difficult to understand. “As a teacher, however, it is also more difficult to localize disturbances caused by students in the classroom,” was the winking experience of one of his teacher colleagues.
Fackler asked his students how they experience this restriction of facial expressions in social interaction. “You only see the eyes and you have to listen carefully to recognize the nuances and feelings of the classmates,” was one of the answers. There is also uncertainty because faces can no longer be “read”. “Can I hug a classmate or do I have to be afraid of being wrong in assessing her emotional state?” Was the concern of one of the girls.
This year, director Thomas Dachs welcomed 130 new students in five entry-level classes to the state Johann-Simon-Mayr-Realschule. “We always try to put students from the same places as possible in the classes and they already know each other,” is his principle. Therefore, he does not have to worry that the children in the fifth grade will soon find a community despite being required to wear a mask. “The teachers tell me that they are very well accepted by the students, they behave in a very disciplined manner. It is just a shame that they do not have to stay in the school camp,” says Dachs.
Pupils report that the additional distance regulation means that making new friends is not easy either. “Students react better when I wear a clear mask,” said one of the teachers. Overall, Dachs does not have the impression that social life in everyday school life is particularly impaired by the mask requirement.
16-year-old Selina Ferstl from Deising is also new to a class community. She has been attending the eleventh grade of the technical college in Kelheim with students from all over the district since September. At the beginning she only saw her teacher’s face for a few seconds when he briefly removed the mask during the introductory round. “We wear the mask all the time and that’s not great because you can’t see the facial expressions of classmates and teachers and because you have to talk louder,” is her spontaneous conclusion.
The sense of community has developed well in her class, “but I also know classes where it was not so easy to grow together,” she explains. With a mask it is harder for young people to build bonds and relationships anyway. “Even during the break we stay seated, so we can take off the mask to eat. Those are the moments when we can chat unhindered from a distance.” is
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