1. PISA results are bad – but blaming teachers is unfair
Insulting teachers is a German obsession that even the most famous German poet mastered. Goethe didn't say "fuck you teachers," but he meant something similar when he claimed: "Priests and school people torment endlessly."
The OECD education director Andreas Schleicher, who comes from Germany and works in Paris, is responsible for the Pisa studies and recently gave German teachers the unfriendly report that they had "not arrived in the 21st century." Schleicher said that the teachers' working methods and attitude were partly responsible for the poor performance of local young people in international performance comparisons. Too many teachers see themselves “primarily as recipients of orders who have to statically work through a curriculum in the classroom.”
My colleagues Silke Fokken and Swantje Unterberg and my colleague Armin Himmelrath report today that many German teachers find Schleicher's statements hurtful and unhelpful.
Teachers' associations such as the Education and Science Union sharply rejected the teacher bashing and denied Schleicher the authority to assess the matter. Among other things, they accused him of using an alleged positive example from the school system of the authoritarian People's Republic of China as a role model - in a city there, teachers see themselves as coaches, mentors or social workers.
As many German parents know, such a professional view is by no means far removed from the self-image of committed German teachers. My colleagues spoke, among others, to Susanne Lin-Klitzing, the chairwoman of the German Association of Philologists. In view of the problems with young talent in the teaching profession, she finds it irresponsible that the OECD education director is reviving old German stereotypes and prejudices against teachers.
Although the PISA results have actually gotten worse nationally and internationally, there is nothing to sugarcoat that. Chief philologist Lin-Klitzing still finds the insulting of the teachers “unfair and inappropriate.”
Read the whole story here: That's why teachers are so sensitive to the Pisa boss's criticism
2. The recognition of a Palestinian state, which Great Britain is considering, is intended to bring movement to the Middle East conflict
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British Foreign Minister Cameron: Show the Palestinians a “political horizon.”
Photo:
Tolga Akmen / EPO
At a reception for ambassadors from Arab countries in London last night, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron indicated that Britain was considering recognizing a Palestinian state. Cameron apparently sees this as a contribution to a peace solution - given the war in the Middle East, this seems like an almost desperate attempt to bring movement to the conflict.
After Hamas' terrorist attack in October, Israel is waging war in the Gaza Strip, and a solution to the conflict seems more distant than ever before. Cameron said if Britain formally recognized a Palestinian state it would help make a two-state solution an irreversible process. It is necessary to show the Palestinians a "political horizon" in order to end the conflict with Israel.
My colleague Bernhard Zand already reported yesterday in an analysis of the problems between American President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The US government wants to counter further escalation with a broad diplomatic initiative that aims at normalization between Israel and the regional superpower Saudi Arabia. The core of this initiative is the recognition of a Palestinian state by Israel - a goal that not only the USA but all Arab states, the EU, China and even Russia support. But, the colleague writes, even after a phone call between the most powerful men in Israel and the USA, which was initially interpreted hopefully by Biden, it was clear: "Netanyahu does not want a two-state solution."
Read the full story here: Britain to consider recognizing Palestinian state, says Cameron
3. Now the airports are also on strike - will the country be paralyzed?
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Ver.di members at Frankfurt Airport
Photo: Frank Rumpenhorst/dpa
What train drivers, doctors and bus drivers can do these days, German airport security people can do too: go on strike. The work stoppage is a popular mass sport in Germany, which is of course usually carried out with deadly seriousness. Today the Ver.di union's plan to have aviation security forces go on strike this Thursday became known.
Airline passengers must be prepared for flight cancellations and delays. The union has called on the approximately 25,000 employees in the aviation security industry to stop work from early Thursday morning. The strike should then last until midnight. Air traffic is likely to be paralyzed in large parts of Germany.
The strike by aviation security forces joins other collective bargaining disputes that are disrupting traffic in Germany. On Friday, employees in local public transport (ÖPNV) want to go on strike in all federal states except Bavaria. A five-day strike by the train drivers' union GDL at Deutsche Bahn only ended on Monday morning.
Is Germany gradually turning into a country of permanent paralysis, into a strike paradise? No, says my colleague Markus Dettmer. »We had the collective bargaining round in the public sector last year, then Weselsky's strike by train drivers and now public transport and the airports. All areas in which citizens notice directly when there is a strike because they are affected.
If there is a strike in the steel industry or at car factories, it has no immediate impact on most Germans. Except that maybe a new car will be delivered a little later. »You also didn't feel the strikes in local transport to this extent before, because negotiations are now taking place in several federal states at the same time. That wasn't the case in the past, it has to do with the termination dates of the collective agreements," says my colleague. The subjective feeling of general paralysis is reinforced by the farmers' protests, which were not strikes. »This is the only way to create the perception of a permanent strike in the country. The perception is also very much influenced by one’s own concern.”
Read more here: Ver.di is planning a nationwide strike by security forces at airports
What else is important today?
German economy shrank at the end of the year:
purchasing reluctance, increased building interest rates and a sluggish global economy: economic output in Germany fell by 0.3 percent at the end of 2023. Things are likely to remain difficult in 2024.
Star lawyer sentenced to long prison sentence for aiding and abetting tax fraud:
His clients included the Maple Bank, which defrauded the state of 389 million euros: A notorious cum-ex lawyer has now been found guilty in Frankfurt.
Fire letter to Chancellor Scholz - Business associations are pushing for reforms:
"We urgently appeal to you and the entire federal government": The German economy is warning Chancellor Scholz of a permanent crisis. Bureaucracy must be eliminated, tax incentives must be reformed, and pensions must be made future-proof.
My favorite interview today: Rich in retirement
Stephan Rittweger is the presiding judge at the Bavarian State Social Court and explains to my colleague Florian Gontek how older people can now legally collect pension and wages at the same time. Rittweger's "dual-earner model" is due to the fact that older employees have been able to earn unlimited amounts of money in addition to their pension since January 1, 2023. And that without their retirement pension being reduced. "The whole thing is neither a trick nor a flaw in the law," says Rittweger - and calculates, for example: "Let's take an employee, he has worked for 45 years, fulfilled his professional years until retirement. He can retire two years before the standard retirement pension without any losses. Two years before the date that is typically stated in the employment contract - and determines the end of one's working life. In these two years between the special pension after a waiting period of 45 years and the standard retirement age of 67, he can receive both: wages and a pension from the German pension insurance. Very few people today have 45 years of work. But Rittweger says: “The model works even with a 35-year wait.” There are just a few disadvantages you have to take into account here.
Read the whole story here: How to get thousands of euros as a gift before you retire
What we recommend today at SPIEGEL+
Putin's campaign against gender and LGBTQ:
The Kremlin says: Gay and lesbian activists are part of an international conspiracy to prevent Russian population growth. Now gendering is also banned.
“Without immigration, the German labor market would simply be flat”:
Is migration a huge loss for the state? A study suggests this - but this view is shortened, says Vanessa Ahuja. The head of the employment agency on the connection between immigration and prosperity.
If enemies of the constitution come to power – how does democracy defend itself?
In Thuringia, the AfD could become the strongest party and possibly even govern. Lawyer and author Bijan Moini explains what such a scenario would look like. And who would matter then?
Which is less important today
Approaching through adulation
:
Kim Kardashian, 43,
US actress who has become known in reality formats, wants to make a documentary series for the BBC from the life of actress Elizabeth Taylor, who has become famous for comparatively important roles. Kardashian acts as a producer of the documentary, is also said to have a say in it and allegedly conducted the last interview with Taylor before her death in 2011. According to her, Taylor is proof that “you can develop and change and have different chapters in your life.”
Mini concave mirror
You can find the entire concave mirror here.
Cartoon of the day
And tonight?
Could you dream a little about spring in Paris and watch the really beautiful film “Full Moon Nights” by Éric Rohmer in the Arte media library.
It was filmed 40 years ago and is about a young woman named Louise who is dating a nice man but longs for a bit of adventure and wants the freedom to achieve it. My colleague (and former boss) Hellmuth Karasek called the film the “odyssey of a girl through her young life” and praised the actress Pascale Ogier, who died early, in the lead role as a “touching contemporary type” and “a commuter between the big city and the suburbs, constantly on the move "Journey between strong ties and your longing to be free and alone."
I wish you a nice evening.
Heartfelt
Yours, Wolfgang Höbel, author in the culture department