Verena Hadersberger's daughters were able to improve in homeschooling, although they had not been in school since October 2020.
That was mainly due to the teachers, says the family.
Oberhausen
- Sometimes, says Laura, they fought over the best place in the apartment. The common room, stepdad Georg Hadersberger's office or the kitchen table: the 16-year-old and her sister Antonia, who is one year younger, figured out who was studying where every day. Since last autumn, the two eldest of Verena Hadersberger's four daughters have been doing what all students in Bavaria at least temporarily did: lessons at home.
Laura and Antonia Dulcis, who bear the surname of their biological father, had their last day at the Peißenberger Realschule on October 19, 2020. After Antonia's class was quarantined, the sisters stayed in distance learning - until the end of the school year.
Both have suffered from an immune defect since early childhood, which makes them susceptible to all kinds of infections. "If other children are sick for two or three days, mine will be sick for two or three weeks," says Mama Verena Hadersberger.
Exam preparation in distance learning: "Teachers have done their best"
The absenteeism already added up before Corona: In the 8th grade, Laura had more than 50 sick days.
“That was a problem at my old school,” she says.
“Some classmates thought, I'll just go blue.” Since the beginning of 2020, both girls have been attending the Peißenberg secondary school.
The 16-year-old has just graduated with an exam average of 1.75.
Her German teacher wrote her an email afterwards and congratulated her on the best result of the year.
Laura is convinced that the good grades are mainly due to the fact that she had teachers who took care of them.
"Everyone complains about the teachers, but at our school they worked hard, come up with something, asked questions."
Laura and Antonia are just a positive example that Armin Thefeld can think of.
A dozen students were repeatedly in distance lessons because of illnesses or relatives at risk, says the director of the Peißenberger Realschule.
“We tried to get what was possible for all students.” The school introduced Microsoft Office three years ago, with an account for each student.
For example, they could use the OneNote app in distance lessons, including on their smartphones.
“We made teaching material available,” explains Thefeld.
The school management made it possible for Laura to continue to be connected via team video conference after the end of the distance class at the beginning of the year with the consent of her classmates.
And also that both girls were able to write a lot of schoolwork and short-time work.
Homeschooling: Teachers at the Peißenberger Realschule did a lot of extra work
Most of what the teachers did was voluntary additional work, "we are aware of that," says Verena Hadersberger.
For example, Laura's French teacher offered video calls to practice pronunciation for the final oral exam.
Laura took the exams at school, but in a separate room.
Verena Hadersberger is convinced that the commitment of the teachers motivated her daughters. Both have improved their grades, despite Corona. “Of course, it wasn't always easy for us either. The girls weren't allowed to meet their friends for over a year, we also had camp fever. ”Nevertheless, her experience with homeschooling is positive. “We have seen how well it can work. We are very grateful to the school and the teachers for that. ”But the girls also disciplined themselves. The eldest confirms this: “You have to pull yourself together. You stare at a screen all day. "
Laura will attend technical college from September, Antonia will be in the ninth grade. Both want to attend classroom teaching. “The first weeks are the most important,” says Antonia. “I want to go to school as long as possible.” Mom wants to make that dependent on the infection.