Now there is a plan: The state of Baden-Wuerttemberg wants to reopen primary schools after the Carnival holiday on February 22 – but only gradually, and students should initially be taught by rotation. However, prior to this decision, there was longstanding uncertainty and it was not clear when schools would be able to start teaching in the classroom. Currently, primary schools are open only to emergency care – this situation poses challenges for schools and students.

Nearly a third of students are in emergency care

Sonya Hartman, headmaster of Stockach Primary School, was hoping for an opening soon. “The time has come,” she said before the federal government’s deliberations on the shutdown. Because you can actually tell the kids how to lose their pleasure in this matter and also their discipline in homeschooling and emergency care. In Stockach, about 100 students go to emergency care. There are actually 370 children enrolled in the school.

At Zizenhausen Elementary School, for which Sonja Hartmann is also responsible, the same applies: About 30 percent of students come to emergency care. These are currently within their capacity. For teachers, that means two to three days of emergency care at school per week. In addition, one tries to provide all other children with packages of work at home. There is also an online discussion group two to three times a week. Children can talk about their problems. But Sonya Hartman is sure: “This is not a substitute for reality.” Additionally, I noticed that families slowly reached the limit.

Video lessons are also included

At Wahlwies Primary School, about ten children out of 95 are in emergency care. The children would learn in the morning through course displays, and later there will also be displays of craftsmanship or something similar, according to principal Ulrika Eisbach. “We also do video lessons with the other classes a few times a week.”

Children who stay home can turn in their weekly assignments in the school hall every Friday and pick them up again on Mondays, depending on the correction. Besides their new tasks for this week. Of course, this also means more work for teachers, as Ulrika Eschbach explains: “Weekends are fully reserved for teachers. This is more work than usual, because parents keep asking questions via email.”

Families with different requirements

Duration varies between parents when it comes to the current situation. Of course, Ulrika Eschbach thinks every situation is different. Some babies have great independence, while others need more comprehensive care. But the principal of Wahlwies Primary School is also sure of one thing: “The children want their social connections again.”

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At Winterspren Primary School, about 20 percent of children are enrolled in emergency care. The principal there, Bernadette Emmler, understands that the current situation is a very challenging one for everyone involved and that it is certainly not possible to satisfy every teacher, every parent and every student.