Effe Symposium: postcard from an inclusive school in Munster, by Irmtraud Schnell

Postcard from an inclusive school in Münster Irmtraud Schnell, Department of Science of Education, University of Frankfurt, Germany It is a great honour for me to be invited to talk to you about Primus Münster. Primus Münster is a school which welcomes any child living in the school district, no matter what her or his family and personal situation might be.

In spite of being a school for all, this primary school is unusual, even exceptional in Germany.

The German school system usually separates children at the age of ten into two or three different kinds of school. At the same time, most children with special educational needs (physical, behavioural or learning difficulties or even language problems) are sent to special schools. Whilst separation is generally seen to be according to intellectual capacity, in reality such division often works along social backgrounds, as PISA and other international comparisons indicate. The teachers at Primus Münster regard the age of ten as too early for such an important decision, especially since many of its pupils grow up in difficult circumstances.

The school, a pressure group and friends were successful in the area of Nord Rhein Westphalia in getting agreement for pupils to be able to remain at Primus Münster until the age of sixteen. When you visit the school, you get the impression of a comfortable, friendly atmosphere, polite and helpful students and teachers and children engaged in their work – despite the surrounding problems. Which concepts and structures make this possible?

I would like to tell you about a few of the structures, accompanied by photos, as a small impression, a postcard, and then ask what the school can tell us about education and social justice in general.

The school policy 1. Pupils of all ages in all classes In every class you find children of equitable age groups from 6 to 11 years. Of course they have different work to do. But it is also possible, that a child of 6 works with one aged 10 and vice versa. This is important in implementing inclusive education. Any structure can only be effective if you make the most of the opportunities it provides and most teachers in the school do not divide children by their age. Instead they individualize their approach according to learning and behaviour. This is to guarantee that every child can experience success. When you meet the pupils, you meet young people with self confidence – which, as you know, is most important for development.

2. Working as teams All members of the staff team meet every week. All members are informed about the actual situation of every child in the class.

3. A ring of support for the classroom teacher The classroom teacher´s role as the central person depends on a circle of supporting people, for instance students, a SEN teacher, a social worker at the school.

4. No repeating a year It is quite usual in Germany for children to repeat a year, however ineffective this has been shown to be. At Primus Münster all children in a class grow up together. The teachers´ task is to identify each pupils´ starting point and the development. There are children in this school who take almost two years until they are really able to concentrate on learning. But in the context of a learning class and following their older class mates they change their behavior and develop learning abilities at their own pace.

5. Free learning activity as the central form of lessons Naturally teachers cannot teach whole class lessons if the class is set up with different age groups. Teachers therefore need to individualize the curriculum. Children sometimes work by themselves and sometimes together. Teachers thus have time to give special help to children who need it.

6. Teachers give stability – children learn to take responsibility Children who live in a family with social problems need a place where they can feel safe and trust the rules. Therefore Primus Münster has developed several structures to support this.

One is the democratic system within the class and in the school which is called the class council and school council. Every child´s voice is heard and has consequences. Adults need to take children seriously in order to achieve a corresponding attitude in the children. Children can learn to be responsible when they become a “godfather” or “godmother” for one of the younger children who have just started school.

Some structures within the classes 1. Free, but attentively accompanied learning activities, beginning every day with mathematics In the morning, when children come to school, after they are welcomed and asked how they feel, they immediately begin to work at their desk. The teacher helps to solve problems, gives encouragement in going forward and assigns further tasks and resources. New subjects are introduced for only a few or even for just one child. Children decide for themselves when they need a break from their work. Sometimes an older child gets the job of introducing a new task. Children often change their role, sometimes being the teacher instead of being a pupil. Children become increasingly responsible for their own progress.

2. Weekly hour of the writers “Schriftstellerstunde” This is my favorite lesson. All children write stories about something they want to share. If they are not yet able to write a story, they write and draw instead. Afterwards the stories are read by the writer for the whole class. It is a precious hour of fantasy received in silence.

3. Club of enquiry “Freier Forscher Club” Almost every day children have time to work on themes they are interested in. For every new theme they get a booklet in which they are encouraged to investigate using for example, mind map, research questions, research methods, results and presentation. Mostly they work in groups of two or three. Through cooperation and discussion they work together to understand their subject. When they have finished they present their topic to the class.

4. Round table learning “Lernklassenrat” Every day after the free learning activities and following a break in the playground Round table discussion takes place. Every child is asked what she or he has worked on, what she or he has learned and what she or he will work on tomorrow. The children see that the older the pupils are better able to explain what they have done and what the outcome has been for their learning.

5. Round table “living together” (Klassenrat) In every classroom there is a special big book, in which children write down if they are sad or very angry about a problem with another child or if they have an idea about something they wish to share. The problem is worked out together until all sides agree.

6. Weekly visit to the woods On one afternoon each week the class takes a walk into the nearby forest. The older children leave a little early in order to prepare a surprise for the younger children, for instance a heap of leaves to jump on. Some of the children have never been to the woods before. They are frightened and need the support of the teacher or the older pupils.

Primus Münster as a school for all is actually a work of art. The secret is obviously to trust children, to believe in their strength yet not to leave the child alone, but support his or her learning in every way possible. Yet we cannot define exactly which are the most effective components of the school. Here are some suggestions: The emotional and social power of children is well developed. Other schools and especially special schools often concentrate on the development of the teacher. The expectation that she or he is the main trigger for the development of children is shortsighted. The mutual support of a community of children can never be replaced by an adult. To take the approach of training children in order to make them fit society is far too simplistic, yet often practiced especially since PISA 2000, in Germany.

The adult is important to give the emotional, social and intellectual framework in which children can act and react. There is no simplification of the curriculum at Primus Münster. Teachers have to create a rich environment in order to inspire children to begin to work and to learn for themselves.

Children need time to develop and learn. Adults have to give support in order to ensure children’s success in learning.

The success of Primus Münster shows education as a series of actions with some inherent contradictions for example between adults´ support and the free learning activity of the children; between the framework adults give and the children’s own community; between the time for development and narrow accomplishment. What Primus Münster shows is that a school can enable children growing up in difficult circumstances to develop capabilities and self confidence.