Later school start - Glide time in schools? Teachers plead for more trials
Mornings early to school or rather sleep longer? Students of a Gymnasium in Plochingen have tested a "Gleitzeit" model for several weeks and drawn a positive balance. "The project was successful for the class and for me," says Till Richter, German teacher of the class at the school in the Landkreis Esslingen.
He advocates for the Gleitzeit to be tried again. "I could propose another test in the next school year," so Richter. This should then be scientifically accompanied and evaluated, and carried out with neutral classes and neutral teachers.
The idea for the experiment at the Plochinger Gymnasium, which ran from early April to mid-May, came from the students themselves. In German class, they had discussed what bothered them at school. "The discussion quickly turned to lesson times and the school start," says Richter.
Either complete assignments in class or at home
The seventh grade of the Gymnasium tested a Gleitzeit model for six weeks at the beginning of the school year. Twice a week, students could decide whether they wanted to come to school regularly at 7:50 am or only at 9:40 am. For this time, there was a voluntary learning time instead of the regular German and English classes on Tuesdays and Fridays. For this time, the seventh graders then received tasks that they could either complete under supervision in school or at another time at home.
The opportunity to use the flexible schedule was used differently by students. Sometimes two students were present, sometimes half the class, says Richter. The goal was not that as few students as possible came to class, but that they thought carefully about whether it made sense for them to come.
Teachers: Those who came were more motivated
The conclusion of the pedagogue: "Those who decided to come to school were much more motivated," says Richter. In addition, he had time for students who did not dare to speak to him in front of the entire class.
And the completion of tasks also worked well, only very few had not completed their tasks. "Through the Gleitzeit model, there were no more excuses. No one could say: I didn't have time," says Richter. For students who had not completed their tasks well, he also gained a new instrument through the model: "I could say: Come to the next flexible schedule time and we'll go through it again together."
Whether there will be another Gleitzeit experiment at the Plochinger Gymnasium in the coming school year, the school management will decide at the beginning of the summer holidays in a committee meeting, as Richter, who is also a member of the school management team, reports.
School community decides on school start
According to the Ministry of Culture, in Baden-Württemberg, the school start is decided by the so-called school conference in accordance with the school law. In this body, the school management, teachers, parents, and students are represented. "A scheduling of the school start is basically possible. The corresponding decision is to be made by the school conference of the individual school, taking into account the local conditions," a spokesperson of the Ministry had informed at the beginning of the Gleitzeit experiment. In this context, the organizational feasibility should be checked, for example with regard to traffic infrastructure.
In primary schools, the rules are stricter. The ministry stated that teaching should start evenly every day. "Classes 1 and 2 should start no later than the second hour, classes 3 and 4 should start at the first hour," it continued. "Exceptions from these regulations can only be made for compelling reasons."
- Till Richter, a German teacher in Esslingen, is advocating for the 'Gleitzeit' model to be tested again in the next school year at the Plochingen Gymnasium.
- In the German class, the idea for the 'Gleitzeit' experiment at the Plochinger Gymnasium came from the students themselves, as they discussed what bothered them at school, specifically lesson times and the school start.
- The teachers at Stuttgart believed that those who decided to come to school during the 'Gleitzeit' model were more motivated and it also helped in completing tasks without any excuses.
- The Gleitzeit model was first tested in the seventh grade of the Gymnasium at the beginning of the school year in Esslingen, allowing students to decide whether they wanted to come to school at 7:50 am or only at 9:40 am.
- According to the Ministry of Culture in Baden-Württemberg, the school start is decided by the school conference in accordance with the school law, and a scheduling of the school start is possible, taking into account the local conditions.
