Schoolchildren in the hallway of a school in Munster
Photo:Guido Kirchner / dpa
After more than six weeks of summer vacation, the new school year has started in North Rhine-Westphalia. In the most populous federal state, a mask is compulsory - not only in the school corridors or on the playground as in some other federal states, but during lessons. In no other federal state are the requirements so strict.
Due to the high temperatures, the Education and Science Union (GEW) had previously called for more breaks in schools. Parents' associations had spoken out in favor of schools giving as heat-free as possible. The Ministry of Education partially complied with the request and extended the heat-free regulations to include secondary school students in view of the high temperatures and the mask requirement, as reported by the "Rheinische Post".
The measure is initially limited to the end of August. NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU) defends the mask requirement in class. "We have to be particularly careful these days," said the CDU politician. What are the consequences of the measure? What challenges do teachers and students have to face in class? Assessments by speech scientist Clara Luise Finke.
SPIEGEL: The new school year in North Rhine-Westphalia began on Wednesday. Teachers and students must wear mouth and nose protection in the classroom and even in sweltering heat. How could that change the teaching?
To person
Christian Hüller / University of Leipzig
Dr. Clara Luise Finke heads the Speech Science department at the Center for Teacher Education and School Research. She is responsible for the "body-voice-communication" module.
Clara Louise Finke: That will be extremely debilitating - especially in the heat. With a lack of fresh air and with a mask in front of the face, neither teachers nor students will be able to concentrate well. It is therefore very important to take a lot of breaks.
SPIEGEL: To what extent is a mask still exhausting?
Finke : School children and teachers have to use the mask to speak more clearly and louder than they already have. And if you do this with the wrong technique, you can damage your voice. That's why it's more important than ever to warm up your voice before class - just like you do before singing.
SPIEGEL: In which subjects is it particularly problematic when teachers and students have to wear a mask?
Finke : It starts with German lessons in elementary school. When teachers teach children to spell, they often show them what happens in the mouth when they combine the letters and sounds. You can't do that with a mask. Learning a foreign language is also becoming more difficult. But communication is also severely restricted by the mask at special schools and inclusion classes.
SPIEGEL: How can teachers ensure that students follow them despite the mask?
Finke : The facial expressions are partially covered, which is why it is all the more important to maintain eye contact and to attract attention through physical presence. Teachers need to straighten their bodies. The moment they slump in front of the blackboard, the students lose the incentive to look.
SPIEGEL: Teachers have to stand at attention all the time and speak louder than usual. How are they supposed to stand it in the heat?
Finke : Ideally, teachers could teach in a team, colleagues could absorb the extra work. However, teachers could also use more media in classroom teaching. Of course, the teachers need the appropriate technology and methodological skills for this.
SPIEGEL: And there should be enough teachers. But isn't that completely unrealistic in view of the shortage of teachers?
Finke: Exactly. There is a shortage of teachers and it will probably be difficult to teach in a team.
SPIEGEL: Which students are most disadvantaged by the mask requirement?
Finke : It could be difficult, especially for shy students. You could work less in class, become quieter. The shy ones will go away.
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SPIEGEL: How could teachers counter this?
Finke : Teachers have to keep an eye on these students and keep asking themselves how they can get them to take part. You have to listen actively and keep asking the children whether they have understood the content. You could also make the masks the topic and discuss them in class. And to relieve everyone, the teachers could also arrange hand signals with the children or work with pictures of emojis that the students could hold up.
SPIEGEL: North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister of Education, Yvonne Gebauer, has made it clear that teachers are only allowed to wear plexiglass visors in exceptional cases because they offer less protection than masks. But wouldn't the visors be better suited for teaching?
Finke: If the teachers could work with visors, the children would at least have a chance to perceive more. Good teaching means building trust with students. And that's a huge challenge when the face is covered.