As of: March 13, 2024, 7:00 a.m
By: Lea Warmedinger
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The school parliament with (seated, from left) Ulrike Scharf and the executive committee made up of headmistress Andrea Hafner, teacher Jens Hohensee, student Simone Jell and parent Sabine Student, as well as the elected teacher, student and parent representatives behind them.
© Leah
The Korbinian-Aigner-Gymnasium (KAG) in Erding is one of only a few schools in Bavaria to have a school parliament.
The meeting now took place in the presence of Minister Ulrike Scharf.
Erding - As one of only a few schools in Bavaria, the Korbinian-Aigner-Gymnasium (KAG) in Erding introduced a school parliament last school year - a committee consisting of teacher, student and parent representatives that deals with the concerns of these three parties and discusses them democratically votes.
A real politician was also present at the last meeting: Minister of Social Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister Ulrike Scharf.
“It is an honor for me to have a school in my constituency that lives this parliament,” said the CSU politician, welcoming the members and almost 30 spectators.
“We forget far too quickly the value of democracy in our country.” According to Scharf, parliament helps to protect democracy.
“It feels like the state parliament plenary session,” she said.
A big topic in the meeting was the use of cell phones and tablets in the school cafeteria, which is not allowed between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Because the students there want to prepare for the following lessons, there has been a lot of discussion about this regulation in the past.
The teachers' concerns at the time were that the cafeteria would then be overcrowded.
However, there is little attendance in the sixth period from 12 to 1 p.m.
That's why the teachers now proposed the compromise of allowing the devices this hour for a test phase until the end of the school year.
“It’s not about the cell phones,” clarified student Kilian Herz.
“We want to learn with tablets” – after all, you can also learn with notebooks.
“It is also not planned that people learn with the booklet between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.,” said teacher Jens Hohensee.
“The cafeteria is there to eat in peace,” said Scharf, as did some parent and teacher representatives.
Nevertheless, the committee voted 13-7 in favor of the proposal.
However, the decision was unanimous to introduce a mandatory module for ten-finger typing on the keyboard.
The request for this came from the parents.
Hardly anyone would have taken part in a voluntary course in the sixth grade, said Herz, who thought the proposal was a good idea.
And parent representatives reported that even a course at home during the Corona period would not have been successful for all students.
This module should be included in the curriculum, said student Franziska Angermair, because: “We learn a lot of things that we think we won’t need in life.”
Minister Scharf also said: “I am happy every day that I learned it.” The school management and the media competence team will find a solution for a course, promised school principal Andrea Hafner.
A major concern of the teachers was the lack of space that the high school was heading towards.
Even before the pandemic, an expansion in the west was planned as part of the new cafeteria construction, which required the removal of six classrooms.
The situation has changed with the pandemic, the wave of migration and the financial situation of the district, said Hafner.
Instead of the extension, containers came, which are now too expensive for the district council.
As a result, the KAG would have to turn away students and outsource grades to other schools.
“This is not a solution for us,” said the headmistress firmly.
Scharf recommended that a student forecast and a comparison to the other two high schools in the district be included in the school parliament's application, which should then go to district administrator Martin Bayerstorfer and the parliamentary group leaders in the district council.
This gives the application with the requirement to plan an extension more strength.
There is a school needs report from the district office, said Hafner, but that is incorrect: “We currently have more students than listed in the report.” At the KAG there will be six classes in the 2025/26 school year, in which the 13th grade will also be added more than classrooms.
Even if rooms were converted into classrooms and the introductory and fifth grade classes were limited, we would be faced with the same situation again in 2027, predicted Hafner, who concluded by advising: “Formulate applications and submit them to the school parliament.”
In addition to democracy, the KAG has also made values such as respect and responsibility its theme for its 20th anniversary (we reported).
The students recently wrote their thoughts about these values on colorful sticky notes, which now decorate the glass front of the high school in the form of a large number “20”.