Worries about the "Corona Abitur"

Erding / Dorfen - school leaving certificate in Corona times - that is a special challenge.

The graduates are afraid of the future.

And not all of the measures taken by the Ministry of Education and Culture meet with approval from parents and students.

Erding / Dorfen - school leaving certificate in Corona times - that is a special challenge.

The Ministry of Culture recently adjusted the schedule for the second half of the school year.

The carnival holidays will be canceled, the dates for the final exams will be postponed at all types of schools, and the number of exams will also be significantly reduced at the grammar school.

However, not all of the measures are popular with the school family.

Basically, the measures are "very well thought out and offer a rectification," says Werner Schüler, referring primarily to the postponement of the final exams.

The fact that there are fewer written exams, however, "is viewed very critically by parents and students," says the chairman of the parents' council at the Dorfener Gymnasium.

After all, the tests are also preparation for graduation and offer the opportunity to improve.

No carnival holidays: "Working through until Easter now is not understandable for us"

For him it is also incomprehensible that the carnival holidays are canceled.

“Some of the students sit on their assignments from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and are really busy.

Working through until Easter is not understandable for us, ”says the 51-year-old, whose younger daughter is currently attending Q11.

The man from Dorfen has no understanding for "actionism or populist rushed politics".

However, he would like to see a further improvement in the infrastructure and its on-site support in the schools.

It could not be that a teacher did this on the side - a criticism expressed by several parents' council chairmen.

And one must counteract a devaluation of the degree as a "Corona Abitur".

"Some students fear that their Abitur will not be valued as much, even though they really care," says Schüler.

"That is a certain uncertainty about the future"

Markus Herz, chairman of the parents' council at the Korbinian-Aigner-Gymnasium (KAG) Erding, also sees this danger - "even if it is always said that quality and demands are the same".

The 52-year-old Moosinninger is sure that the high school graduates will master their degree, but what happens afterwards?

"Many have long since made plans for the future and now have to reorient themselves, maybe give up their plans" - be it a year abroad or an apprenticeship in an industry that has come to a standstill due to Corona.

“That is a certain uncertainty about the future,” says Herz, whose son is attending Q12.

Thomas Kiesewetter also advocates looking to the future.

“The measures must not end with the Abitur”, warns the chairman of the parents' council at the vocational high school in Erding (FOS / BOS).

Because if material is left out in the final class, deficiencies might arise, which then become noticeable in studies or training.

"There is no way of thinking outside the box, which is what characterizes the general higher education entrance qualification"

"It is a difficult situation, also because everything around it falls away," regrets the 54-year-old from Lengdorf.

His daughter, for example, who is doing her A-levels at the FOS / BOS this year, would have liked to take part in an exchange with Spain.

“Something like that has an uncanny impact, you shouldn't neglect it,” adds Kiesewetter's deputy, Andreas Silberbauer.

“Not to mention events like the graduation ceremony.

These are unique experiences that are missing, ”says 51-year-old Erdinger, whose daughter is in 11th grade.

And Herz also complains that social skills are being lost that are trained, for example, by organizing such events.

“There is no way of thinking outside the box, which is what characterizes the general higher education entrance qualification,” he explains.

"Everything does something to the young people, they are under a lot of pressure," says Kiesewetter.

At the FOS / BOS there is a very good range of counseling with a school psychologist, school social pedagogue and counseling teacher.

"And this offer is also used, which shows that the students are enormously burdened with the situation."

"I'm afraid that the quality will suffer"

After all, the current measures taken by the Ministry of Culture would "take the pressure off", Herz thinks.

“But I wonder why you don't hire more teachers who could intensify lessons online in smaller groups or more hours,” he says, thinking of student teachers or team teachers.

Instead, it has so far only been about organizational relief, about deleting the curriculum or reducing school tasks.

“I'm afraid that the quality will suffer,” says Herz.

By the way, the parents' councils are satisfied with the homeschooling offer of their schools across the board - especially compared to the first lockdown.

“Distance teaching as such has been significantly improved thanks to the intensive work of all teachers to eliminate the weak points identified in the first lockdown.

We are of the opinion that everything is going well, ”reports Ralf Wawerla (57), Chairman of the Parents' Council at the Anne Frank Gymnasium in Erding.

“There is a very good collaborative relationship between teachers and students,” says Schüler about the Dorfen grammar school.

People at FOS / BOS are also satisfied - even if it is a great challenge for the young people to do a lot independently and to organize the time themselves, as Kiesewetter adds.

But the chairpersons of the parents' council also agree on this: “No matter how well the distance learning works, face-to-face lessons cannot be replaced,” says Kiesewetter.

And Herz explains: "The contact online is already relatively good, but nothing is more personal than that."

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