Last year alderman for education, Wiederkehr, wanted to force all bad students into summer courses. Now he comes up with a new idea: Anyone who attends it voluntarily can move on to the next class, even if they aren’t good enough.
Corona and the associated school lockdowns have thrown many students back en masse. However, voluntary offers such as summer school are largely not accepted by children and young people. That is why deputy mayor and alderman for education Christoph Wiederkehr (Neos) now proposes a general obligation. But last year he presented this idea to the “Krone” in an interview.
“Can it not”
Even then, he had referred to the federal government as standing in the way. “It is true that the deputy mayor started this debate as early as February 2021. But the federal government, which should introduce a mandatory offer, has so far done nothing. We cannot do that.”
An alternative, however, would be to link the visit to a summer offer with the right to move on to the next class. Students with a five on their report card, but who are rejected by the class conference, can get positive points for the summer school. This would mean that participation makes it possible to move on to the next school level.
“I think that makes sense. This gives the children two weeks to catch up on the material. And above all, this often affects those children who come from socially disadvantaged families who do not provide learning support themselves,” says Anna S., teacher at a primary school in Favoriten.
ÖVP wants mandatory for extraordinary students
The ÖVP wants to adjust the proposal and bind young people with language problems to summer courses. Mandatory German courses for undergraduate students have long since become obsolete. “Linking these compulsory subjects to the summer school can be a first step,” says education spokesman Harald Zierfuss. But more is needed. For example, parents of children with language difficulties should be involved in compulsory German courses from kindergarten.
“Teachers need summer vacation”
Of course, teaching staff would also be needed for the compulsory summer school. But even during the school year, there are not enough educators to take care of all the classes. So how’s it going during the holidays?
“This is a political thought that has little to do with reality. I can’t imagine how you want to implement that,” says Thomas Krebs (FCG), the top representative of the staff of the Vienna Compulsory School. He also doesn’t think much about the summer school proposal. during the year “The children have the right to a holiday!” emphasizes Krebs. In addition, there is already learning support in the Summer City Camps, so a summer school as a parallel offer would be superfluous.
In addition, the teachers do not have time to teach in the summer. “The teachers are so busy during the school year that they desperately need the summer holidays,” says the staff representative. In addition, the teachers should draw up the annual plan during the holidays. Moreover, according to Krebs, there would be 15 mandatory hours of additional training – not two (!) days with nine weeks of vacation.
But it gets even better: according to the education department, educators currently do not have to follow compulsory additional training hours during the holidays, according to the applicable service law.
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.
