Willi Witzemann spoke in “Vorarlberg LIVE” about the challenges that the transition to high school brings and how dramatic the shortage of teachers is.
“Being a teacher is nice.” This basic description of the teaching profession finally flowed into compulsory school teacher representative Willi Witzemann (63) towards the end of the VorarlbergLIVE conversation with Pascal Pletsch.
Above all, however, Witzemann spoke about the high level of stress on his colleagues and the pressure situation at the end of the semester, which the teachers in the fourth grade of elementary school in particular are exposed to.
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“The teachers all try to give balanced and fair grades. But the parents often put a lot of pressure on them and in personal conversations come up to the teachers with statements like ‘That must be an A’.”
Once again the staff representative broke a lance for the Common School. “The governor said eight years ago that we would be ready in ten years. But we are far from it,” said Witzemann. In Vienna he usually falls on deaf ears when he urges about the common school.
“Don’t judge performance with grades”
Witzemann also sharply criticized the return to numerical grades in elementary schools. “You can’t judge a child’s development and performance with a number,” he said. One must give the children a chance, Witzemann believes, and spoke out against a too early demand for performance from elementary school students.
“Teachers are facing major challenges. There is a great deal of stress due to overtime and excessive bureaucracy. A major problem, however, are some parents who overshoot the mark with their behavior,” the former elementary school teacher emphasized a few points.
Witzemann mentioned the school at the lake in Hard as a model for an ideal school.
The broadcast “Vorarlberg LIVE” is a cooperation between VOL.AT, VN.at, Ländle TV and VOL.AT TV and is broadcast from Monday to Friday from 5 p.m. There’s more here.
