As of: February 13, 2024, 12:00 p.m
By: Magdalena Höcherl
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“The majority of our students come from sheltered households, but in general, like everywhere else, psychological stress has increased at our school,” says Kerstin Liese, headmaster of the Abenstal-Realschule in Au.
© Symbolic photo: Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa
A youth social work position will also be installed at the secondary school in Au.
The headmistress explains the background that made this step necessary.
Au/Hallertau
- They already exist at the other secondary schools in the Freising district: A youth social worker will soon be employed at the Abenstal secondary school in Au.
The youth welfare committee decided this.
In an interview, school principal Kerstin Liese talks about why youth social work in schools is now essential, what effects the corona pandemic still has, and that children from sheltered families are also affected.
Ms. Liese, why did you decide to apply for a position in youth social work?
We are a small school with 384 students.
Until now, we were of the opinion that we didn't need this support - especially given the many prevention programs we have.
But mental illnesses are also increasing among children and young people, so that we as a school cannot offer the necessary structures to fully address and support psychological problems.
Unfortunately, this fails due to human resources.
Kerstin Liese is the headmistress at the Abenstal-Realschule in Au.
© School
Keyword prevention programs: What does the Abenstal-Realschule offer?
In principle, we consider ourselves to be well positioned when it comes to mental health; this topic is also very close to our hearts.
The focus is on prevention, which is why we start in the fifth grade with a program called “Learn to Learn” in which the children learn from the start how to prepare well for lessons without pressure.
For the seventh graders there is the “zammgrauft” project, a course from “anti-violence to civil courage” run by teachers trained by the police, and in collaboration with the Freising association Prop, a workshop on eating disorders and other projects.
Background information: The Abenstal-Realschule already does this
In addition to the “learn to learn”, the self-assertion course called “zammgrauft” in cooperation with the police and addiction prevention in cooperation with the Prop association, there is a tutor system at the Abenstal-Realschule in which older students support younger ones.
The school also trains dispute mediators and digital heroes who educate people about cyberbullying.
There is also a weekly class teacher lesson in which students can discuss problems with the class teacher without school pressure.
The introduction of a class council, in which topics such as social interaction in the class context are discussed, is in the works - as is a prevention program against bullying called “Being a class together”.
Nevertheless, at some point the school system reaches its limits.
Yes, because our primary job is of course to impart knowledge to children and young people.
But of course it is also our educational and pedagogical responsibility to educate the students holistically and also pay attention to their mental health.
This is the goal that we as a school have together with the students and of course the parents.
But our capacity for this is limited in everyday school life.
Therefore we need support.
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What do you notice about the behavior of children and young people?
The majority of our students come from sheltered households, but in general, like everywhere else, psychological stress has increased at our school.
This manifests itself in very different ways, but the teachers, who of course know the children and young people very well, notice abnormalities in their behavior - for example if someone becomes very isolated and no longer really wants to interact with their classmates.
This can have personal reasons, but also school reasons, sometimes there are learning problems behind it.
Parents can often provide information, but sometimes the causes lie deeper, so support is needed from the school psychologist - or a youth social worker - who can refer you to a doctor or therapist if necessary.
In addition, we teach Ukrainian children in a bridge class.
This class also shows behavioral problems that cannot be solved without external help.
The war against Ukraine, the corona pandemic, climate change and other crises: the past few years have been and continue to be challenging.
What influence do these topics have?
The pandemic has left its mark.
We bridged the times of lockdown and homeschooling in the best possible way and, I think, quite successfully.
Nevertheless, homeschooling is not comparable to face-to-face teaching.
Social contacts have suffered extremely, and young people in particular need their friends.
The fact that such a reliable cornerstone as the school that we attend every day breaks down was a challenge for us teachers - but it was even worse for the children.
And even after Corona there was no phase of security, but rather new challenges: a war in Europe, climate change, various crises that are associated with financial uncertainties.
All of these things bring with them uncertainty, which of course children and young people also feel.
This makes it even more important to make mental health a priority.
Our entire society has been becoming more sensitive to issues relating to mental health for years.
The fact that this stigma is dissolving is very welcome.
But that also means that mental illnesses are becoming more visible - which is why more support is needed, like for us schools through youth social work.