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The planned screening of the film “Simply Nina” caused a lot of trouble at the Lemförde elementary school. © Russ
The Lemförde elementary school planned a visit to the cinema with all students where the film “Simply Nina” was to be shown. Because some parents protested, the film screening was canceled. But the protests have nothing to do with intolerance towards transgender issues, emphasizes a parent representative.
Lemförde – It was supposed to be a nice and educational visit to the cinema for the children of the Lemförde primary school. The school management organized two free screenings of the film “Simply Nina” with the Lichtburg in Quernheim – a family story about the eight-year-old trans girl Nina. Born Niklas as a boy, it was always clear to her that she was actually a girl and wanted to live as one. One day she tells her already quarreling family this and presents them with a number of challenges. But nothing came of the ideas. A few parents protested – as the school authorities explained when asked by the district newspaper, sometimes massively – and prevented them from going to the cinema, much to the displeasure of the majority of parents.
Out of intolerance towards transgender issues? It’s not quite that simple, as parent representative Kai Wintermann explains in an interview with the district newspaper. “The protests didn’t necessarily have anything to do with intolerance, but rather with the insecurity of the parents.” They wanted to protect their children because, for example, they had already been through a lot with their parents’ separation and divorce. Because this is also addressed in “Simply Nina”. “There are many aspects,” says Wintermann, who, as a parent representative who was critical of the film screening himself, was the contact person for other critical parents.
There are also parents who see the film as a form of early sexual education and are of the opinion that it belongs in secondary schools, not primary schools. After a conversation with the school management, a mother was concerned because, in her opinion, the topic of transgender had not been sufficiently discussed in class. Kai Wintermann himself said he had concerns because of his own family background, not because of the transgender aspect. He emphasizes: “The topic is important. But it needs to be treated sensitively.”
Private film screening
Because the topic of transgender and LGBTQ is important to Frank Kalvelage and Nicole Gross and they want to support the school, in consultation with the Lichtburg operator Karl-Heinz Meier, they privately organized a free screening of the film “Simply Nina” on Thursday, November 12th. October, from 4 p.m. organized for primary school children, parents, legal guardians and other open-minded and curious people. “We don’t want to convert anyone or impose an opinion, but simply give everyone the opportunity to watch a film on a current topic,” they wrote in a message to all parents. The film can also be seen in the ARD media library.
And in his opinion, the school management lacked sensitivity and, above all, transparency. On the one hand, because she only announced which film should be shown during the cinema visit when some parents asked, and on the other hand, because she did not take the protests of critical parents seriously enough. The communication was very poor. The fact that parents have apparently initiated or at least threatened legal action against the school because of going to the cinema, as has been heard from several quarters, goes too far for Kai Wintermann.
What clearly goes too far for Frank Kalvelage as the father of a primary school child is the fact that individual parents have prevented the general screening of a film that he and his partner Nicole Gross, as well as many other parents, find good and important. “My understanding of democracy has a problem with it,” he says.
“Simply Nina” is an excellent film that is thematically “included in the curriculum,” he gives several reasons why, in his opinion, there was nothing wrong with going to the cinema as part of the lesson. “I thought it was really great that the children could finally be shown such a good film,” said Kalvelage.
If individual parents don’t want their children to see the film, he understands that. But the school offered them alternative care, even though they didn’t have to do that. For him, the fact that that wasn’t enough and they prevented the film from being shown has nothing to do with democracy and equality.
The chairman of the school parents’ council, Martin Hapke, has heard many similar opinions, as he explained when asked by the district newspaper. “It is incomprehensible for many parents because there was an alternative program,” he says about the cancellation of the cinema visit. “Ultimately, a lot of parents are very dissatisfied.”
As Kai Wintermann gathered from the feedback, some critical parents perceived the alternative care as a “punishment” for their children and that is why they reacted so strongly. “Why wasn’t another film offered for her?” he asks. He himself suggested “Weekend Rebels” – a film about a ten-year-old autistic boy. “That would have been a really good film that also deals with an important topic,” said Wintermann. However, it could not have been offered free of charge. Frank Kalvelage, on the other hand, sees no shortcomings on the part of the school management; on the contrary, he expressly defends them: “For me, the school behaved impeccably.”
Statement from the Regional State Office for Schools and Education
In consultation with the school authorities, the management of the Lemförde primary school did not want to comment on the dispute over the film “Simply Nina”. A spokeswoman for the Regional State Office for Schools and Education (RLSB) Hanover explained the background when asked: “Due to the fact that a former student of the Lemförde primary school plays the main role in the film and the film deals with a socially current and important topic The primary school teachers planned a cinema visit with all students. In order to do justice to the challenging topic of transgender children, the film should be discussed in class before and after going to the cinema.”
Both the school management and the staff acted in accordance with the Lower Saxony School Act in order to fulfill their educational mandate and, for example, to correspond to the core curriculum of the subject of subject matter teaching. Among other things, it “contributes to the personality development of the students and also takes into account the diversity of sexual identities. In addition, subject matter lessons offer special opportunities to acquire social skills and test them in everyday interactions.”
Due to individual but massive parental protests with the aim of preventing the performance, the school management decided after careful consideration to cancel the school’s cinema visit, as this might have led to an disproportionate organizational and bureaucratic effort for everyone involved. These parents did not respond to offers of alternative care. The RLSB supports the school management’s decision. “Nevertheless, we can understand the justified disappointment of the significant majority of the school community that the cancellation occurred.”
2023-10-10 10:40:22
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