“You won’t pass in the Secondary School Certificate (Abitur), anyway” this comment was told to a Syrian high school student by a teacher in the district of Tübingen. The student felt that she was subject to discrimination, yet she did not want to be discouraged.
In another case, a mother of a fifth-grader in the district of Tübingen was shocked to know that her son was excluded from the class trip. According to the teacher, his lively behavior endangered other children. The mother did not accept this reason and tried to talk to the teacher, but the teacher overreact. Therefore, the mother contacted both the school social worker and the management. Then the school administration, the school social worker, the teacher, and the mother talked to each other to solve the problem. The mother stayed “quiet and friendly” as she said. Her main goal was not to “punish the teacher” but to make “her treat my son fairly”.
How can parents respond to discrimination at school?
As in the fifth-grade student’s case, the first step is to contact “the local school administrators”. That’s what Roland Hocker, director of the school authority in Tübingen, suggests. This authority office is responsible for the elementary, intermediate, secondary, and community schools as well as the special education and counseling centers in the districts of Tübingen and Reutlingen. Parents can have contact with the school district’s central office if they are unable to find a solution with the school administration (telephone 07071 / 99902-100). Parents have then directed to the school responsible person by the central office. Also, there are specially trained guidance counselors for all types of schools; from elementary schools to high schools and vocational schools. If parents want to know which counselor is responsible for their child’s school, they should ask the school administration. Moreover, the guidance counselors help with social and emotional problems that make every day in school life difficult. If this consolation is not helpful, students and parents can contact the School Psychological Counseling Center which is located in Schaffhausenstr. 113 in Tübingen. Furthermore, this counseling center provides support for teachers in the event of difficulties and conflicts at school.
For further information please visit the website of the school district:
http://schulamt-tuebingen.de/,Lde/Startseite
The flyer of the School Psychological Counseling Center is available at the link below:
https://zsl-bw.de/site/pbs-bw-km-root/get/documents_E-763363515/KULTUS.Dachmandant/KULTUS/Dienststellen/zsl/Das%20ZSL/Regionalstellen/RS-TUE/SPBS-TUE/ZSL-Flyer-Schulpsychologische-Beratungsstelle-Tuebingen.pdf
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Gemeinschaftsschule Ammerbuch. Foto: tünews INTERNATIONAL / Mostafa Elyasian.
