Suppose you received 20 billion euros from me and an order: You should use it to substantially improve the education system in Germany. What would you do? Where would you invest? Where should all this money go – a 2 with ten zeros! – flow? Who should get it?
The federal and state governments negotiated (others would say argued) about these and a few other questions for months. But now the knot has been broken: the starting opportunities program is actually scheduled to begin in the summer. It is the largest educational investment package in the history of the Federal Republic. The federal and state governments each give one billion euros annually – for ten years.
That sounds huge. But experts doubt that the sum will actually have the desired effect. Can the money give children in Germany the necessary tools for a successful start in life, regardless of their origin and parental home?
I'm interested in how local people at schools and in parents view the issue. How would you use this huge sum? I look forward to receiving mail to bildung@spiegel.de
In this issue we also look at refugee children from Ukraine and discuss the question: Do teachers work too much?
Best regards
for the SPIEGEL education team
Miriam Olbrisch
Feedback & suggestions?
That's going on
1. Starting chances at the start
The wait is over: the federal and state governments agree. The starting opportunities program can start in the summer. Up to 4,000 schools in problem areas are expected to benefit. Two billion euros per year will be spent on renovating buildings and hiring additional skilled workers. You can read exactly what is planned here.
Will this really help to create the “turnaround in education” as Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) announced? Olaf Köller, renowned educational researcher and chairman of the Standing Scientific Commission (SWK), is skeptical. "It won't do any harm, but it won't do any good either," he said in an interview with SPIEGEL on the occasion of the Pisa study in December. "If we renovate buildings, send another social worker to the school and give the school a little more money that it can spend according to its own standards - then that's definitely not wrong," Köller continued. "But I can't imagine that disadvantaged young people will learn arithmetic better because of this."
2. Criticism of criticism
In an interview with the Stuttgarter Zeitung, PISA boss Andreas Schleicher certified that German teachers had “not arrived in the 21st century.” The reactions are violent, but some education experts share the diagnosis. My colleagues from the education team analyzed the criticism of the criticism.
Our columnist and high school teacher Bob Blume thinks: Schleicher is not entirely wrong in his criticism - and is surprised at the way the debate went.
3. Wait and learn
Two years ago, Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. Around 1.1 million people fled to Germany, including many children and young people. According to the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs, around 220,000 Ukrainian children are currently attending German schools. In some places, however, the system reaches its limits and there are a lack of school places.
My colleague Silke Fokken visited an initiative in Berlin that offers language lessons to children while they wait for an official school place. She came across impressive self-painted pictures of Ukrainian children. Do you have contact with Ukrainian children who have painted pictures since arriving in Germany? We would be pleased if you send us your artwork for publication to bildung@spiegel.de; please include the child's first name and age as well as a short description of what can be seen in the picture.
And more
Bye, Ties! Hamburg bid farewell to the long-time education senator Ties Rabe with a celebratory Senate reception. In the 13 years that Rabe was responsible for Hamburg's school policy, he initiated numerous reforms. The 63-year-old Rabe unexpectedly resigned from his position in January for health reasons. He is followed by deputy SPD parliamentary group leader Ksenija Bekeris.
Streets without parent taxis? In North Rhine-Westphalia, more and more cities are closing access roads to schools on an hourly basis - so that parents don't block the paths with their cars in the morning. Does this work? Deutschlandfunk Kultur looked at the situation at two schools in Essen and Cologne.
How do teachers cope with lateral entry? Time followed a new teacher at a high school in Saxony-Anhalt for months and traced an astonishing development.
And for the half-year report, my colleague Swantje Unterberg has put together ten tips on how parents could deal with their offspring's poor grades.
Number of the week
78 percent
of schools in Germany say they have received money from the School Digital Pact. This emerges from a survey by the Association for Education and Upbringing (VBE) among around 1,300 school management. At the same time, three quarters of those surveyed said that the funds received were not yet sufficient. The Digital Pact for Schools is a 6.5 billion euro funding program for digital equipment in schools. It expires this summer. It is currently questionable whether there will be follow-up funding.
Debate of the week
How much do teachers really work?
Two teachers at high schools in Baden-Württemberg have sued the Stuttgart administrative court - with the aim of enforcing working time recording. For a year, the two of them wrote down how much time they needed for lessons, their preparation and follow-up, corrections and administrative tasks. Both of them worked more than 2,000 hours a year. The working hours for civil servants in the southwest are around 1,800 hours per year.
The Baden-Württemberg Philology Association supports the lawsuit. Chairman Ralf Scholl explains why.
SPIEGEL:
According to the Ministry of Culture's requirements, teachers at high schools in Baden-Württemberg must complete 25 teaching hours of 45 minutes each per week. Do teachers really work too much?
Scholl:
Studies show that teaching hours only make up around a third of teachers' working time. Actually, the 25 hours of teaching, together with desk work at home, should roughly correspond to the 41 hours per week that other state civil servants work. This is how it is regulated in the so-called deputation model. However, the notes from the two teachers now show that this doesn't work. Around 200 hours of overtime per year correspond to several weeks of unpaid overtime - that's not fair.
SPIEGEL:
How does this amount of overtime come about?
Scholl:
Working hours have increased in recent years. The student body has become more heterogeneous - especially at high school, because the recommendation for the transition from elementary school is no longer binding. Teachers have to do justice to each child through “internal differentiation,” and there are also social difficulties and an increase in administrative tasks. The corrections have also become more tedious - because the classes have become larger on average. None of this is reflected in the deputation model.
SPIEGEL:
Would you like to abolish the deputation model - like Hamburg did around 20 years ago?
Scholl:
No, such a complex system change is not necessary.
We would like to ensure that the workload model is adjusted – and better reflects the actual workload.
In order to determine this, we need a uniform recording of working hours, as has long been common practice in other state authorities. The European Court of Justice also demands this, but Germany has not yet implemented it.
SPIEGEL:
If you reduce the weekly load, you would need more teachers. They are scarce anyway.
Scholl:
First of all: The shortage of teachers is very unevenly distributed - there are hardly any vacancies at high schools and in large cities in general. At the same time, it is not the responsibility of today's teachers that the country has not trained enough specialists. The burnout rate in school work is comparatively high anyway. We cannot afford to have more people lost due to overload.
What do you think about it? Do you share this opinion? We look forward to receiving letters to bildung@spiegel.de.
On your own behalf
Competition: The children's news magazine "Dein SPIEGEL" and the drugstore chain Rossmann are looking for the best poster ideas on the question: What will we eat in the future? The prize will be awarded to images with an understandable, powerful message that “makes you want to think about nutrition,” as the organizers write. The main prize is a trip to Hamburg including a cooking class in the SPIEGEL canteen and a visit to Miniatur Wunderland.
Children and young people in the age groups 8 – 11 years and 12 – 16 years can take part. The deadline for entries is May 20, 2024. All information about the competition and the participation form can be found here: www.deinspiegel.de/vergleich
That's it for this time. Do you have a topic on your mind that we should take a closer look at? Then please write to bildung@spiegel.de – the “Little Pause” team thanks you for your interest!