Forest occupation and traffic turnaround: The material is missing in the school

• OfClaudia Kabel

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For two days, students from Darmstadt devote themselves to topics that they miss in school. Some things are completely new for those taking part in the Alternative Education Day.

What are Incels, what is feminism like, and how can you protect yourself from conspiracy ideologies? At the Alternative Education Day in Darmstadt on Tuesday around 60 pupils from different schools came together when it was raining in order to deal with various topics outside of the usual learning environment and without teachers, which they think are neglected in the school.

The event is organized every year by the City School Council (SSR). A two-day program was set up in cooperation with the youth ring and “Fridays for Future”. In order to participate, students are exempted from teaching, says SSR spokeswoman Ida. Registrations from the teaching staff have also been received, but they are to be dealt with separately.

The young people met in several pavilions in the Rudolf Müller facility. During the break there was rescued food, and organizations such as DGB, Attacikka, Bündnis gegen Rechts or Seebrücke provided information about their activities. Eva Pelikan, head of the Darmstadt youth education center, told the Frankfurter Rundschau: “The young people have fought for their own space here.” The generation is very political. Politics is also one of the fields that the participants would increasingly like to see in school: “Our school system needs to be renewed,” says Anna, 16. Too many historical topics would duplicate in middle and high school. International conflicts would have to be dealt with more. Although they talk about climate change and racism, what is missing is feminism and forest occupation, say her classmates. Unfortunately, such topics would never come from the teachers.

14-year-old Mathilda thinks school should teach more about self-love and how to deal with social problems. Here the lecture about Incels was impressive: Incels are straight men who involuntarily do not have a sexual relationship and therefore develop a hatred of women. “Incels don’t feel loved and take their frustration out on women,” says Mathilda. “A totally underestimated danger, also when it comes to attacks,” says Anna. David, 14, also had “no plan” from the radical group, but finds it extremely important to educate people about it. They all agree that after the education day they want to bring their new knowledge to their schools. Meanwhile, the next workshops are calling: It’s about the traffic turnaround and why it hasn’t succeeded so far and what the Kurdish Center in Darmstadt is doing.

The education day continues today, Wednesday.

ssr-darmstadt.de

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