“Berliner Morgenpost”: The system makes you sick Editorial by Jens Anker on the reform backlog in education
The education system is suffering on many levels. There is a shortage of teachers and space, timetables are overloaded, training is outdated and cumbersome. The list is long and most of the problems have been known for a long time. Some attempts have been made to attract more people to the teaching profession. Beginners in Berlin start at 5,000 euros gross per month. There are more study places. But the result was mediocre. On the one hand, because there were not enough study places, and on the other hand, because many young people from Germany come to Berlin to study – and then turn their backs on the city to work.
The approach of the last few years follows a pattern that is applied to the entire public service: the respective state governments want to solve the problems with more staff alone. But that doesn’t usually work, neither in schools nor in administration. Putting more staff into a sick system does not solve the structural problems. On the contrary: more and more people in education are frustrated because they have to work within rigid structures. There is hardly any room to implement your own ideas or solve problems on your own. So it’s no wonder that more and more teachers are leaving school in frustration. The number is increasing rapidly, In the past five years, 4,500 teachers in Berlin terminated their employment contracts, because their own health was more important to them than a secure job with good pay.
In administration, the numbers will hardly be different. But the backlog of reforms is most visible in schools, namely when classes are regularly canceled. However, it is not so noticeable that many young people throw in the towel while still studying.
Berlin is not alone in this lethargy of reform. The last major reform project at the federal level was more than 20 years ago: the Hartz reforms fundamentally reregulated the social system and unemployment. Since then there has been a lot of talk about health, pension, administrative and even education reforms, without fundamentally changing anything.
Instead, the problems are being crushed behind political showpieces. For the education system in Berlin, this means: One side is fighting to strengthen high schools, the other is fighting to expand community schools. Elsewhere people are tinkering with symptoms. It’s all about things that don’t cost anything. For example, the intermediate school leaving certificate (MSA) exam, which has just been abolished in high schools. Overall, one’s own political beliefs are sold as pragmatism, while all other beliefs are denigrated as ideology. This saves you having to argue about content.
The fundamental need for reform is pushed into the background. For example, teacher training with more practical relevance, so that graduates do not only come into contact with everyday school life after their studies. Or a fundamental reorganization of the canon of subjects, which is still more oriented towards the 19th than the 21st century.
Berlin could send a signal of willingness to reform. Education Senator Katharina Günther-Wünsch (CDU) has set out to implement fundamental improvements. As the current chairwoman of the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs, she can also initiate necessary steps at the federal level. Here we go – if your ambitions are serious.
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BERLIN MORNING POST
Original content from: BERLINER MORGENPOST, transmitted by news aktuell
Fotocredit: AdobeStock 624906623 / Brisystem
2023-09-18 01:00:15
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