We don’t learn for school, for life – last week it was exactly the opposite for Minister of Education Martin Polaschek: to learn how to improve schools, he met responsible politicians, experts and students in Berlin, where even career changers are Creating school leaders .
Speaking of which, of the 700 career changers across Austria this school year, almost twenty have thrown in the towel – for various reasons: “Some see that the job is not for them – or not what they imagined,” Polaschek explains . Most of them remain teachers and that’s a good thing: “Those who change careers bring incredible diversity to our schools, a lot of life experience, a pragmatic approach and an unbiased view.”
In Berlin they are accompanied by sponsors – retired teachers who provide tips – and in Austria they have mentors – active teachers from the school staff – at their disposal. Polaschek: “A mixed form would be interesting.”
The minister was particularly impressed by the multi-professional teams in the Berlin schools – that is to say, the teaching staff consisting not only of teachers, but also of speech therapists, psychologists, educators, learning therapists, school social workers and the like,” emphasizes Christina Henke , State Secretary for Education of Berlin: “Our teachers are subject experts, but schools today are faced with challenges that also require people from completely different areas. We respond to this with multi-professional teams.”
A model for Austria?
For us, this is currently “not possible under service law,” Polaschek regrets, and is considering changing service law in this direction.
Conversely, domestic digitalization – tablets for students, digital textbooks, schools with a focus on AI, the new school subject digital primary education – is seen as a model for Germany’s neighbors. Given the rapid development of artificial intelligence, “our learning culture will have to change. Teaching needs to become more interactive and we may also have to say goodbye to traditional methods,” says Polaschek.
And by that he means bland frontal teaching: “We have to make it clear to students why certain things are learned and explain more actively what happens at school. It is clear that the AI can write a text, but does not take over the exercise of creativity and vocabulary. Students still have to learn to write by hand and do math in their heads.”
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
