Weinheimer Bildungskette: Investing in Education for the Future

Weinheimer Bildungskette dedicated itself to important educational topics with many players of the city

“Investing in education and strengthening the education sector is the most important thing for the development of a country and its people.” This statement comes from Walter Hirche, member of the board of the German UNESCO Commission and chairman of the Education Committee. No additions were necessary, but Jürgen Ripplinger from the municipal coordination office at school/work transition and managing director of the regional youth organization Job Central, summarized: “This conviction also belong to us in Weinheim,” he said. emphasis, himself an educational scientist. He was now in charge of a seminar of the first level of the Weinheim educational series, of which he himself is one of the actors – together with Carmen Harmand, the head of the education office, and Dr. Susanne Felger and Sabine Michael from the Weinheim education office. The participants and those responsible for the education sector in the city took part in the day “Education in times of crisis – Education for the future”: educators from kindergartens, day care centers and education early childhood, in addition to school care, school social work staff, the education office, integration and Job Central, staff of non-school education providers and other representatives of politics and administration.

Mayor Manuel Just was unable to attend for a short time, but his message was: “Education has been an important issue here in Weinheim for many years, you could hardly say: the most important thing that is characterized by rapid changes New chaos and uncertainty, previous convictions and habits in thinking and acting become less important from one day to the next.” Children and young people today must be prepared for some uncertainty: for example, for an uncertain future, for social challenges that are not yet foreseen, for technologies that are not yet known in the networked world, for jobs which does not even exist today. Jürgen Ripplinger continued: “A large number of children of primary school age showed and showed abnormalities in social-emotional behavior, the fast pace and confusion of social change processes increases mental stress in adolescents and young adults therefore: “What skills do children and young people need skills and abilities so that they can accept and shape the future. And where should and can these be learned?”
The participants also heard important experiences and assessments from renowned experts.

“Growing up in times of crisis and skills for the 21st century,” explained Prof. Benno Hafeneger, who, after studying educational science, was a youth education officer at the Hessian Youth Circle, then a professor of educational sciences, a member of the German Association of Educational Science and the Association for Political Didactics, Education Youth and Adults. According to Ripplinger, day care centers and schools are places where almost every child and young person can be reached. The foundations of emotional and social skills are laid in early childhood. This is the basis for a positive life history (education) so early childhood education is very important. Bianka Pergande, managing director of the German League for Children, spoke with this in mind. “In today’s dynamic and complex times, the school must be understood more than ever as a place where a community is lived and experienced and democratic education taking place since 2015. The Reuter School in Karlsruhe, which under his leadership has grown into a nationally recognized school with an award-winning media education profile. The theme in Weinheim was: “School as a place to learn – rethinking learning spaces”. In the end, the participants thanked the speakers and the organizers for this important training in challenging times. Ripplinger summed up: “Let this afternoon inspire and motivate you in your practice and maintain your commitment to the children and our young people in Weinheim and the surrounding area.”