The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

“No normal lessons” in schools: BLLV Miesbach calls for measures to be facilitated

2021-11-18T09:10:39.430Z


BLLV district chairman Markus Schäffner calls for schoolchildren to take the burden of the measures off the shelf in the long term. There are currently no normal classes. Schools would be left alone.


BLLV district chairman Markus Schäffner calls for schoolchildren to take the burden of the measures off the shelf in the long term.

There are currently no normal classes.

Schools would be left alone.

District schools are in the focus of the pandemic.

The district incidence among five- to 14-year-olds is currently 1712. The concerns of many teachers, students and parents are correspondingly great.

How big and how justified are the fears?

Markus Schäffner (50) classifies this in an interview with our newspaper.

The district chairman of the Bavarian Teachers' Association (BLLV) struggles for perspectives, warns of dangers and sees himself as an advocate for children.

He seeks the big picture - but feels left alone by those who should have the foresight.

Mr. Schäffner, teachers are compared to the group with the highest incidence.

Are you worried about that?

Schäffner:

Of course there are worries.

One worries about the incidence, also has family members at home who should not be infected.

Most teachers ignore this in the classroom itself.

Thanks to the general hygiene plans, masks, disinfectants and tests, schools are not a source of infection.

Most infections are brought from home - and filtered out at school.

A positive side effect that the open schools bring.

Nevertheless, there are also infected teachers.

Schäffner:

Yes, there are teachers in the Miesbach district who have become infected.

And that even though those affected are usually double vaccinated.

In primary and secondary schools, I estimate the vaccination rate to be over 90 percent - so most cases of infection are breakthroughs.

But: Most of them got infected outside of school.

Booster vaccination: Asked about teachers - but communicated late

Are booster vaccinations in demand with teachers because of breakthroughs?

Schäffner:

Many think about a refresher.

Personal protection is a big issue because elementary school teachers, for example, received vaccinations as early as March.

The six months are already up for some.

But if the recommendation of the politicians does not agree with that of the vaccination center, then that unsettles the people.

The health department warned of breakthroughs back in September, but booster recommendations were not communicated early.

Doctors and politicians advised against refreshment requests after just five months.

And for some teachers the six months were up before refresher was even discussed.

These uncertainties do not make the decision any easier.

Does the teacher shortage worsen against this background?

Schäffner:

In the district's primary and secondary schools, around 50 teachers are currently unfit for duty.

That is around ten percent.

Some because of quarantine, some because of other illnesses or pregnancies.

The mobile reserves are practically empty.

Teachers ride the last wave.

And where classes used to be grouped together, there are now supervision problems.

Is teaching also getting harder?

Schäffner:

We don't need to fool ourselves: there are currently no normal classes.

Everyday school life is extremely characterized by Corona measures and also by the shortage of teachers.

For example, if a positive case comes up, classes must be tested daily.

That is an insane effort - in terms of organization and time.

There is also a lot of educational work.

We need to convey to students and parents what has been decreed from above.

And the number of letters and conversations with parents has increased.

Teachers and school principals have a great job to do.

For decades we have tried to strengthen the relationship between schools and parents.

It has become more difficult.

And the tone for society as a whole is rougher.

Rougher with mask and test refusers?

Schäffner:

If I call someone a “refuser”, that doesn't get us any further.

The big goal must be not to carry the pandemic out on the back of children.

We need understanding, dialogue and we have to take everyone with us with all their fears and worries.

Whether someone is completely against masks or tests - and why - is secondary.

It is important to focus on the development of the students.

This includes content as well as social interaction.

The long-term consequences of lack of exercise, isolation and exclusion will be with us for a long time.

There are clear studies and statements from paediatricians on this.

So you would like to exclude children from the measures?

Schäffner:

There is a consensus that we have to protect vulnerable groups.

But: the school cannot do this in the long term.

Children cannot bear all the burden.

Solutions must be found for this.

Children cannot bear all the burden.

Markus Schäffner, district chairman of the BLLV

What do you suggest?

Schäffner:

An inventory.

We have been looking at Scandinavian countries for decades.

Perhaps there is a best practice example there.

Sweden, for example, has the goal that children should hear as little as possible of the pandemic.

It would be exciting to know which measures could perhaps be removed without the numbers increasing.

But with the lack of staff and all the measures, schools have never been left so alone as they are now.

Sounds like the desire for a radical change.

Schäffner:

It is not possible to continue as before.

We cannot use the same measures again next winter.

In the long run, this is not very beneficial for students.

The interview was conducted by Jonas Napiletzki.

You will receive a selection of all relevant news and stories in our free newsletter regularly and directly by email.

Register here for Tegernsee, here for Miesbach and here for Holzkirchen.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-11-18

You may like

News/Politics 2024-03-14T08:12:49.160Z

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.