Many children will start school in a few months. In times of the Corona this is an even bigger challenge, also for schools. What is important now.
Munich – The corona pandemic has fundamentally changed people’s lives, be it in terms of health, the world of work, leisure activities or social behavior. In some cases even more than adults, children are usually affected by the negative effects of the global wave of disease. You face worries, fears, and limitations from a young age.
When the second school enrollment since the beginning of Corona takes place from summer 2021, this will represent a decisive, new phase of life for almost a million children in Germany. The process will be a huge challenge for families with prospective primary school students, and the same applies to schools. “It is clear to every school director that the whole next year the first thing that is going to do with school beginners is to relieve children of their fears,” explains Mario Michel, head of a primary school in Hesse, to Businessinsider.de .
School enrollment in Corona times: “First graders have much less social experience”
After all, in view of the falling number of cases, easing is looming in Germany, so it is still open to what extent first graders in 2021 will still be confronted with restriction measures due to the risk of infection. However, there is no question that the current kindergarten and preschool children start the school adventure with different omens: Many had to stay at home due to the emergency care in the daycare centers and forego social contact with their peers.
At least there is experience with the current first graders who started school in the second half of 2020: “They often have much less social experience than those born before Corona and would first have to learn how to deal with other children,” says Konstanze von Unold, director of a Bavarian elementary school , the portal. The Rector confirms that the “pandemic life” rubs off on children – a point that educators and other experts have long warned against *.
Another observation that is made with the current “newcomers” is worrying: that current first graders would start crying much faster than they used to be. In addition to the reduced contact with other children, another essential aspect is responsible. It is therefore also about the point that many children are afraid of being infected with the virus * and simply cannot deal with it yet.
First graders despite pandemic: How parents help their children start school
The essential question for parents: How do I best prepare the child for school entry? The school principals Michel and von Unold talk to the Businessinsider portal about their findings: On the one hand, it helps if the prospective primary school students can see their new living environment before starting school. Personally, this is still difficult to implement due to the contact restrictions *, an alternative could be a video that is digitally available for parents and children. This is how the elementary school in Kirchhain in Hesse describes it. “Headmasters, caretakers, teachers and secretaries wave at the camera and introduce themselves,” he explains.
Parents are not to blame for the Corona situation, but should deal with the consequences for their children. You undoubtedly have to do most of the preparation for school enrollment: Konstanze von Unold, director of the elementary school in Baierbrunn, advises that parents should in no way scare their offspring about the new phase of their lives: “They should look forward to it and not unnecessarily burden them Carry around in advance. “
It is undisputed that the corona pandemic can have dire effects on children. The federal government has launched a package of measures to mitigate the consequences:
School enrollment: Children are more afraid because of Corona – schools are required
In addition, the schools are also responsible. You notice anxiety symptoms more often in school children: “There were already anxious children before the pandemic, but now there are no longer three, but suddenly seven or eight children in the class,” explains Michel. According to his colleague, this is getting worse because “children feel insecure or left alone because teachers cannot constantly respond to them and the familiar environment is lacking,” adds von Unold.
The primary schools want to help, for example, with as many offers as possible where social contact is the focus. In addition, it is about offering courses where elementary school students can be active and sometimes distract. In Hesse, it should first be about mutual interaction and promoting concentration.
What also helps are social pedagogues accompanying the class. But there are omissions here: As the primary school director from Kirchhain explains, only one person was assigned to his school with a total of 380 students for the 2020/21 school year. That is clearly too little and does not meet the requirements, he complains.
And the two billion euros that the federal government (see video) approved to cushion the social consequences for children and young people? In the opinion of the headmaster, this is just a hot stone, because far too little money is wasted for the individual institutions. (PF) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
