Fewer and fewer children go to middle school after elementary school.
The problem is not just their reputation, but also the lack of teachers.
Freising
- The middle school is in a difficult position. The negative trend can also be seen in numbers in the Freising district.
Fewer and fewer children go to middle school after elementary school.
The corona pandemic has apparently exacerbated the middle school misery.
At the same time, emphasizes the director of the school authorities, Bernhard Kindler, that the middle school is much better than its reputation.
(By the way: Everything from the region is now also available in our regular Freising newsletter.)
Mr. Kindler, how are the middle school numbers currently looking?
In the current school year we have 2,660 children in the district's secondary schools.
In the previous year there were 2707, and in the school year 19/20 even 2883. At the same time, the number of primary school students rose from 6375 in the previous year to 6554 this year.
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Bernhard Kindler "Something about the salary should change."
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The middle school is therefore unattractive for many parents, the Realschule and the Gymnasium are seen as the royal road. What is it
The middle school diploma is unfortunately still viewed as inferior in our society - which is not the case.
It offers many opportunities.
But that is often not seen.
The middle school's reputation is not good, and wrongly so.
Our school families are functioning units, problems are the exception.
Or have you ever heard of a middle school rampage?
In addition, the transition to secondary school and grammar school should have been easier this year because of Corona. They did not want to obstruct the children in pandemic times. And the parents took advantage of this opportunity.
I don't want to comment on that, but I certainly don't want to rule it out either.
But there is also another aspect here.
Especially in alternating lessons it was possible to teach the children the material very intensively in the smaller groups.
In my experience, the learning deficits caused by Corona are therefore much lower than is often shown.
This intensive learning can also have been a reason for the increased switch to secondary schools.
However, a very big problem is the lack of teachers. Staff shortages do not make middle school more attractive. Again and again you hear that classes could not be filled.
In fact, the teacher shortage is particularly severe in middle school.
At least we were able to fill every class this year, but only because we were able to pull some colleagues over from elementary school.
But this is only an emergency solution.
But it won't go on like this in the long run.
The course must be set differently here.
Such as?
A primary and secondary school teacher earns around 500 euros less than a secondary school or high school teacher when they start their career.
These are worlds.
It's easy to work out what young people will choose.
So something has to change in terms of salary.
There is still an oversupply among Realschule and Gymnasium teachers. Can't you use these teachers in middle school too?
In fact, it is already being practiced.
With a second qualification, fully trained secondary school and grammar school teachers without a job can also receive a teaching permit at the middle school.
There are already young colleagues who take advantage of this opportunity.
But the market is emptying because the need for secondary and high school teachers is increasing.
So there is less and less left for us.
