School despite corona lockdown? CDU leader demands: "No or as little presence as possible"

Dealing with schools in Corona times is currently one of many hotly debated topics.

Many would like to see uniform rules, but so far it looks little like that.

• Shortly before the next

  Corona

  summit,

  associations are calling for clear decisions from politicians on how to proceed in schools.

• At least one

  minister of education

  can envisage school openings for certain years.

• Which concept will

  Germany

  choose?

Update from January 5, 7:25 a.m.:

CDU boss

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer

has spoken out in

favor of a cautious course in

schools

and

daycare centers

before the

corona summit

of the federal and state governments

.

"I hope that we have no or as little presence as possible in schools and daycare centers," she told dpa in Berlin.

“If the basis for all federal states is

to

avoid

face-to-face teaching

as much as possible,

that can be a good way to go.

That would be a very, very important signal, ”said

Kramp-Karrenbauer

.

It will help "if we

also minimize

social contacts

in everyday school life for a while in order to get the infections under control".

+

CDU boss Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer wants as little presence as possible in schools and daycare centers.

(Archive image)

© picture alliance / dpa |

Kay Nietfeld

School despite lockdown?

President of the teachers' association calls for improvements to the step-by-step plan

The President of the German Teachers 'Association,

Heinz-Peter Meidinger

,

criticized the education ministers'

step-by-step plan

for reopening schools and called on the

prime ministers

to improve the plan.

"The ministers of education have indeed presented a step-by-step plan - but they have failed to provide it with information on which level of incidence applies from which point," he told the

editorial network Germany

.

“I urge the

Prime Ministers

and the

Chancellor

to catch up on that.

Security for the local schools can only be created with a regular plan, ”said

Meidinger

.

Otherwise there will be a new decision for the

schools

every few weeks

.

He feared that

a resolution on the schools would come out

at the

Corona summit

, which each country would then interpret in its own way.

"From the point of view of teachers, but also of students and parents, this is anything but desirable," explained Meidinger.

Corona lockdown before extension: School opening initially only for younger children

Update from January 4, 9:55 p.m.:

How will the

students continue

after January

11

?

Politicians across

Germany

are currently concerned with this question

.

One thing is certain, however: people have to be prepared for an extension of the

corona measures

.

Exceptions should only be made for students in the lower grades.

According to the Conference of Ministers of Education, the

resumption of school operations

should be possible in stages - "should the situation in the individual countries permit".

In concrete terms, this means: First, the children in grades 1 to 6 should have

face-to-face lessons again - the remaining classes remain in

distance learning for the time being

.

In a second stage, by

halving the classes

, alternating lessons should be made possible for students in higher grades.

Face-to-face lessons for everyone are only planned for level three.

For

final year

but an exception should continue to apply the restrictions so that they adequately prepare for exams can.

Corona lockdown in Germany: Eisenmann calls for elementary schools and daycare centers to be opened

Update from January 4, 4:45 p.m.: It

is still unclear

whether schools and daycare centers in

Baden-Württemberg will

reopen after January 11.

The Baden-Württemberg minister of education,

Susanne Eisenmann

(CDU), recently called for daycare centers and elementary schools to be reopened "regardless of the incidence figures".

In a resolution by the

ministers of education

, a step-by-step plan for

resuming school operations is

provided - if the “situation” in the individual federal states allows it.

“Especially with smaller children in primary school,

digital lessons

are very difficult or even impossible.

In addition, there are many children who unfortunately do not receive any support from their parents in learning.

The

classroom

is and remains the best option for learning success, "said

Eisenmann

again on Monday.

Most recently she found support from

Friedrich Merz

(CDU).

In Germany and the southwest, the number of

corona infections

is still significantly too high.

“Susanne #Eisenmann has the courage to say something right, namely that the #schools have to be reopened as soon as possible.

And it is also the political will of all those involved to go in this direction depending on the incidence situation. ”(Tm) #Merz @FunkeBerlin

- Friedrich Merz (@_FriedrichMerz) January 1, 2021

Education ministers apparently want to rely on a phased plan: no general school opening foreseeable

Update from January 4, 3:30 p.m.:

The

ministers of education

decided on a

step-by-step plan

at their conference

.

Depending on the infection situation on site, younger students should first be allowed to return to school.

There are no signs of general school opening after January 10th.

Further

exceptions to distance teaching

should also be

possible

for graduating

classes

.

The conference decision also states that

prolonged suspension of face-to-face teaching would have

negative consequences for the students.

A quick resumption of lessons is therefore desirable.

"If there is scope for relaxation in the federal states, elementary school students or the lower grades should be able to go to school again first," said the President of the Conference of Education Ministers and Education Minister of Brandenburg,

Britta Ernst

(SPD).

Level two provides

alternating lessons

in divided classes from level seven.

In level three,

face-to-face classes

would then

follow

for everyone

.

There is still a week until the end of the vacation.

But it is already becoming apparent that not all students will be going back to school from January 11th. # Piazolo #Schulenhttps: //t.co/rrxBG0oxyS

- Merkur.de (@merkur_de) January 4, 2021

Criticism from FDP: demand for new measures - lockdown is not effective

Update from January 4, 2:30 p.m .:

"The figures show that the current

lockdown is

not effective." With these words, the family policy spokesman for the

FDP parliamentary group

,

Grigorios Aggelidis

,

criticizes

the extension of the

corona lockdown

.

Better to come up with new concepts for old people and students.

In the past few months, they have failed

to organize

pandemic-proof school lessons

and provide quick

tests

and protective masks for retirement homes.

He also stressed that children have a right to education.

Schools and daycare centers could also benefit from rapid tests, air filters, additional rooms and more staff.

At the

Corona summit

on Tuesday, instead of the lockdown extension, it should be better debated how the

vaccination capacity

can be increased.

Culture minister on corona lockdown: conference in preparation for corona summit with Merkel

Update from January 4th, 12.30 p.m.:

On Monday, the

education ministers of

the federal states met for a switching conference.

The majority of the students apparently have to be prepared for not being able to return to schools for the time being.

The school lockdown is part of the measures to combat the

corona pandemic

in Germany.

The conference of education ministers served as preparation for the

Corona summit with Chancellor Angela Merkel

(CDU) on January 5th.

According to information from the

German Press Agency,

already pushed ahead.

According to the report, the education ministers have discussed a step-by-step plan.

There was also talk of a possible extension of the school closings with the exception of final classes and elementary schools.

Malu Dreyer

(SPD), Prime Minister of

Rhineland-Palatinate

, has

already

announced at

SWR Aktuell

that distance learning in her state should in any case remain until at least January 15th.

"We hope that we can then go back to school bit by bit," she said.

One possibility is

alternating lessons

.

Schools in Germany: Eisenmann also urges opening - Saskia Esken calls this "illusory"

"There are many children - especially from socially disadvantaged backgrounds - who unfortunately do not receive any support from their parents in learning," said the Baden-Württemberg Minister of Education,

Susanne Eisenmann

(CDU), who is pushing for elementary schools and daycare centers to be opened.

"In view of the incidence of infections and the uncertain data situation, I am very skeptical about school openings in face-to-face classes on January 11," said

Karin Prien

, Education Minister of

Schleswig-Holstein

in the

Bild newspaper

.

In the

Hanseatic city of Hamburg

, many students are expected to stay at home until the end of January.

Heike Schmoll in the SWR2 auditorium: "Primary school children in particular need classroom instruction, otherwise they simply learn too little or nothing at all."

Here it becomes clear how antiquated "learning" is defined and how excessively the linked content is exaggerated.

#BS https://t.co/uAhnzAC3u2

- Valentin Helling (@valentinhelling) January 1, 2021

Teachers to school lockdown: Most of the time for individual schools to decide

Update from January 4, 11:19 a.m.:

According to an online survey by the Association of

Education and Upbringing

, the majority of teaching staff is in favor of face-to-face teaching.

A clear majority would be achieved, however, if the schools were allowed to decide for themselves whether they

would switch to alternate

teaching

in the event of a high incidence value on site

.

According to the survey, 55 percent of teachers in all types of schools - more than 1,000 teachers - were in favor of

full face-to-face teaching

.

45 percent for alternating lessons.

In

contrast, a full 86 percent were in favor of

the schools making

their

own decisions

.

"The

state government

defines a state-wide limit value, above this value the schools go to alternating lessons, below this value to face-to-face teaching," said VBE state chairman Gerhard Brand.

The association suggested an

incidence value of 50

as a limit.

If schools remain closed due to the pandemic, digital teaching must be mandatory.

All over.

Posting work orders on platforms is not a lesson.

#DigitalEducation #kultusministerkonferenz # 2021 pic.twitter.com/bd8Bj7NJCa

- Janina Kugel (@janinakugel) January 4, 2021

Education Ministers' Conference on Schools: Thuringia wants to bring holidays forward - Brinkhaus against classroom teaching

Update from January 4, 10:45 a.m.:

Due to the

corona pandemic

, the state of

Thuringia

wants to bring the

winter holidays forward.

Education Minister

Helmut Holter

(left) announced this on Monday on

Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk

.

According to him, the holidays should be brought forward to the last week of January.

Until then, there should be lessons at home.

The only exceptions are final classes if the students undergo a quick test.

Normally, the

winter holidays

in Thuringia would

start in the second week of February.

Update from January 4th, 10.15 am:

For Union parliamentary group chairman

Ralph Brinkhaus

, a resumption of full face-to-face teaching in all years is “unimaginable these days”.

He said that to newspapers of the

Funke media group

.

He told rbb that he saw it like Education Minister

Anja Karliczek

(CDU)

(see update from January 4, 7.14 a.m.) -

even if the measure was tough for children and parents.

+

Ralph Brinkhaus, chairman of the CDU / CSU parliamentary group, in the German Bundestag.

© Bernd von Jutrczenka / dpa

On Monday, the

Conference of Ministers of Education will

discuss how the schools should proceed.

That will also be

a central point

on Tuesday at the

Corona summit

by

Merkel

and the country leaders.

"

Alternating lessons

are the maximum that is possible" for elementary schools and final classes, said the President of the German Teachers' Association, Heinz-Peter Meidinger.

A complete opening is "not responsible".

"With older students it will remain with distance teaching."

School openings are discussed - Federal Schoolchildren Conference calls for announcements - Karin Prien is skeptical

The

federal student conference

calls during which a recording of teaching after January 10, the

exchange model

.

"I expect clear announcements from the

Conference of Ministers of Education

today,

" said Dario Schramm, General Secretary of the Federal Schoolchildren

Conference

.

"It's frustrating because you get the impression again that politicians only act a few days in advance without finally solving long-term problems," says Schramm.

Our general secretary (@darioschramm) gave some interviews today on the subject of “starting school after the holidays” 🎤

His demands are in the attached tweet ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/xaFsbd8Yax

- Bundesschülerkonferenz (@BSK_aktuell) December 28, 2020

Update from January 4, 8:20 a.m.:

Schleswig-Holstein's Minister of Education

Karin Prien

(CDU) wants to

initially keep

the

schools

in her state

closed

.

"In view of the incidence of infection and the uncertain data situation, I am very skeptical about school openings in face-to-face classes on January 11," she told the

Bild newspaper

.

“Now it is important to

fully

exploit

the

advances in digital learning

.” It is correct that schools must also make a contribution if the

lockdown is

extended.

This opens up the possibility “that our schools will soon be

offering

face-

to-

face teaching

again

”.

School opening despite corona lockdown?

Return to regular operation for Esken "illusory"

SPD leader

Saskia Esken

described a quick return of the schools to regular operations after January 10th as "

illusory

".

In a conversation with the

Rheinische Post

, she said: "The secondary schools should continue to teach their students at a distance in the next few weeks." Even if the number of infections at the end of January made the

first easing

possible,

full presence will only be possible in primary schools

.

+

SPD leader Saskia Esken describes a return of the schools to regular operations as "illusory".

© picture alliance / dpa |

Jörg Carstensen

The President of the German Teachers' Association,

Heinz-Peter Meidinger

, pleaded in the

Passauer Neue Presse

for an extension of the

restricted presence operation

by three more weeks until the

end of January

.

Primarily, primary school children, lower school pupils and pupils in the final grades should be

brought back to

the

alternating

operation.

The chairman of the Education and Science Union (GEW),

Marlis Tepe

, told the

editorial network Germany

: "There is a lot to suggest that

alternating and distance teaching

will

remain the order of the day

in the coming weeks with a view to the

corona pandemic

."

School opening despite corona lockdown?

For Education Minister Karliczek "unimaginable"

Update from January 4th, 7.14 a.m.:

Are

schools allowed

to reopen from January 11th?

This is one of the most important open questions before the next

Corona summit

between the federal and state governments on January 5th.

Today the education ministers of the federal states discuss the situation.

A return to full

face-to-face teaching

in all age groups is “unimaginable” these days due to the current infection

situation

, said Education Minister

Anja Karliczek

(CDU) to the newspapers of the

Funke media group

.

The

infection numbers

are still high.

In addition, it is still unclear what effects the meetings on Christmas days and over the turn of the year would have.

"We have to adjust to the fact that the situation at the schools and the situation as a whole will remain difficult over the next few weeks."

+

For Education Minister Anja Karliczek, a return to full face-to-face teaching is currently “unimaginable”.

© picture alliance / dpa |

Michael Kappeler

The question of how

daycare centers

and

primary schools are

dealt

with

cannot be decided purely on the basis of infection protection

aspects

, said

Karliczek

.

Careful political weighing is necessary here.

Face-to-face lessons can only take place with the wearing of

masks

and strict adherence to

hygiene regulations

.

"For the older age groups,

alternating lessons

would

then be indicated at the moment," said the Minister of Education.

School opening despite corona lockdown?

Söder for longer closure

Update from January 3, 7.47 p.m.:

While on the first weekend of January there was already a broad consensus among the state leaders for the

extension of

the hard

lockdown

, one thing remains unclear: How are the decisions of the

Prime Minister

and

Chancellor Angela Merkel made

regarding the opening from schools and daycare centers?

While teacher associations and medical professionals are calling for the most extensive opening possible,

Federal Health

Minister

Jens Spahn (CDU)

and

Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) have

already spoken out in favor of a longer closure.

According to

Söder

, "in view of the high number of infections, it is irresponsible to simply send teachers and students back to schools completely," as it has been shown that the virus is also spreading there.

In

Thuringia,

too

,

limited regular operation of schools and kindergartens is not planned

until

February 1st

, said

Bodo Ramelow

, who is taking

Saxony

as an example.

Extended Christmas holidays?

- Proposal is rejected

The criticism of the education ministers, who are planning in many places

to keep

schools

and

daycare centers closed

for another three weeks, is steadily increasing.

The

German Teachers' Association (DL)

and the

German Academy for Child and Adolescent Medicine

reject the proposal to extend the Christmas holidays and to shorten the summer holidays.

This is

"nothing more than a further phase of the school closure, in which we children and young people leave to their own devices and do not fulfill our educational mission," explained

DL President Heinz-Peter Meidinger

.

According to

Meidinger

,

face-to-face teaching is

the best both for fulfilling the educational mandate and from a psychosocial point of view.

Instead of keeping education and training institutions closed, he called for “a nationwide

hygiene level plan

for schools to be put into effect”.

He accuses the ministries of major omissions: "The

education ministers

simply did not do their homework properly in summer and autumn," as the schools were not adequately

prepared

for

digital lessons

and

distance learning

during this time

.

Controversial topic of school and Corona: Complete insecurity for students and parents

First report from January 2nd:

Berlin -

Hardly any child likes to think about school

during the

holidays

.

But the uncertainty could be even less popular.

Because so far neither students nor parents know what happens on

January 11th

.

Then the previous Corona decision by the federal and state governments ends - a new one is expected on January 5th.

The

lockdown

will be extended, but what will happen to the

schools

?

According to

information from the

Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung

, the states disagree on how educational institutions should be dealt with.

In the last

decision

it was

already

stated very generally: “In the period from December 16, 2020 to January 10, 2021, contacts are to be significantly restricted in schools.

During this time, children should be cared for at home whenever possible.

Therefore, during this period the schools are generally closed or the compulsory attendance is suspended. "

On the basis of these three sentences, each country could then find its own way.

Education

has long been a federal

controversial issue

, as it is one of the last political fields that the countries with determining sovereignty have left.

In Bavaria and Saxony the schools were closed before Christmas.

In Bremen, on the other hand, no more children had to appear, but the schools remained open anyway.

Schools in Corona times: Educational institutions should stay open for a long time - associations appeal

“Face-to-face teaching”

is the word that many have held up for so long.

"Keep schools open as long as possible" was the mantra.

Too great the damage to the children seen in closings.

And yet it turned out differently in the end - to the chagrin of some associations.

The

German Academy for Child and Adolescent Medicine

(DAKJ) and the

German Teachers' Association are

now appealing to politicians to make “schools safe places for students and teachers” and to take clear decisions.

Because: "School and education are among the basic needs of children", writes Secretary General of the DAKJ, Hans-Iko Huppertz in the declaration.

Among other things

, the

associations are calling for a

nationwide hygiene level

plan

that clearly defines what happens when, depending on the infection rate and age.

In this way, complete school closings should be avoided in the future.

In addition, infection protection in schools must be improved, for example through distance regulations, masks for teachers and rapid tests.

Fast school

openings

with concepts are also a challenge for psychologists, especially in view of the growing number of

“school refusers”

.

"After the first shutdown, we noticed a dramatic increase in the number of cases of refusal to attend school," said the chairwoman of the Association of School Psychologists Baden-Württemberg (LSBW), Nina Grossmann of the German Press Agency.

Students of any age get used to doing nothing, neglect their tasks and then feel overwhelmed when they return to school.

Schools / Corona: will the federal states find a common path?

So far there has been more of a disagreement

So far, politicians have been rather divided on how to proceed.

Most recently in the headlines, for example, the statement by the Baden-Württemberg Minister of Education,

Susanne Eisenmann

(CDU), daycare centers and elementary schools should definitely be open from January 11th.

Friedrich Merz

, who soon wants to prove himself at the CDU party convention,

rushed to her side

.

"Susanne Eisenmann has the courage to say something right, namely that the schools have to be reopened as soon as possible," he told the newspapers of the

Funke media group

.

"And it is also the political will of all those involved to go in this direction depending on the incidence situation."

Eisenmann's colleague from Bavaria is not yet so sure what will happen in the near future due to the high number of infections.

“ 

I think that

face-to-face lessons 

for everyone on January 11th are unlikely,”

Michael Piazolo

(FW) recently told

Münchner Merkur

.

Then it's more of a hybrid between alternating and distance learning.

Because he also rules out an extension of the vacation.

Spahn, Lauterbach and Drosten: Better to keep schools closed a little longer

Health Minister

Jens Spahn

(CDU), who is currently receiving a lot of criticism about the corona vaccinations, has found an extension to be good.

"I think it is easier for everyone to have the schools a week longer than to open them and then be faced with debates again at some point in a few weeks," said Spahn on "RTL-Aktuell".

SPD health expert

Karl Lauterbach

also rules out normality in schools

.

A few days ago he told the

Rheinische Post:

“After the

lockdown

, there must be no return to regular classroom teaching.

Mask, airing plus 30 children are not possible, otherwise there is a risk of exponential growth in the number of infections. "

Virologist

Christian Drosten

repeatedly

emphasizes that there are also infections in schools

.

In mid-December, he shared a study from Oxford on Twitter that found the strong effects of school closings in the fight against the corona pandemic.

Chancellor

Angela Merkel

(CDU) said repeatedly that more should be listened to science.

But here lies the problem for politics at the same time: The school studies are still too different for clear guidelines to be discernible.

Modeling study on measures taken during the first wave.

Strong effect of school closings.

Mentioned as preprint in June podcast, now in Science @sciencemagazine.

https://t.co/PwxGWjVp2x And of course: there are other studies that do not find any effects of school closings.

- Christian Drosten (@c_drosten) December 15, 2020

Studies on corona in schools provide different results - what does politics decide?

A study director from Dresden, Reinhard Berner, Clinic Director of the Clinic and Polyclinic for Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine at the University Clinic, saw no evidence after a second study phase “that schools have developed into 'silent hotspots' of this

pandemic

. “He regards school closure as a last resort at best.

Complete school closings, hygiene measures, the suspension of compulsory attendance, extended holidays, digital lessons, alternating lessons, hybrid lessons or a mixture of these: All routes have advantages and disadvantages.

The weighing up could therefore take place at the

Corona summit on January 5th

.

Or there is again no uniform federal regulation and each federal state decides again what it thinks is right.

(cibo)

List of rubric lists: © picture alliance / dpa |

Kay Nietfeld