Schools - "Huge construction site": State parliament expands democracy education
The Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament is expanding its commitment to democracy education and intends to increase its presence in vocational schools in future. Following a pilot phase, a corresponding project will be continued in 2024, Parliament President Hendrik Hering told the German Press Agency in Mainz.
"Vocational schools rarely come to us," he said. A visit to parliament is also difficult for them with only one or two school days per week. "But we believe that it is important to involve this group of people too." Studies have shown that students at vocational schools are more critical of democracy and feel less represented by politics compared to secondary school students. "We want to counteract this with our program," said Hering.
An information stand will be set up during the visits to the vocational schools. There will also be workshops, among other things. In one, the state parliament and state politics will be explained, in another Europe, in another people can literally let off steam and in a fourth the topic will be: "Regulars' table slogans - I won't just leave them at that". "The last two are the most popular," said Hering. Together with an artist, a graffiti was created with things that the pupils wanted to communicate to politicians. "They want to be heard," said Hering. "And they are doing this with great commitment."
The conflict in the Middle East is of great concern to the pupils. "They often take a very one-sided position for the Palestinians," said Hering. Some students reported that they felt overwhelmed. "These were not people who were hostile to politics, but they described their distress," said Hering. "It has a powerful effect when young people can express their worries and needs directly and immediately to politicians."
The state parliament is also intensifying a project aimed at trainees in companies. "We say that the economy, the company too, must be a place of democracy," said Hering. After all, people spend a lot of time at work. In the project, trainees in three companies so far have been introduced to the state parliament, politics and democracy and then discussed together with the managers in the building.
"The management level was also delighted that they were able to discuss politics with their trainees, exchange ideas and create a culture for this," reported the President of the State Parliament. The trainees' inhibitions were thus removed. The Academy of Cooperatives is now to evaluate the whole thing scientifically on five further dates.
According to Hering, more than 30,000 visitors came to the state parliament in Mainz this year. According to the state parliament, around 11,600 of these were adults, the rest were children and young people. "I believe that we are leading the way nationwide. The demand is getting bigger and bigger, we are reaching the limits of our capacity," said Hering. There are special programs for many age groups, such as a role-playing game for children as part of a primary school program. For example, a child is elected president of the state parliament, controversial issues are discussed and decisions have to be made just like in a real plenary session. "We also attach great importance to special schools coming to us. We offer adapted programs for them."
The "Rhineland-Palatinate Monitor" on political culture in the state, which was launched this year together with the University of Trier, shows that such democratic education is important. There is a great lack of knowledge, including about what a parliamentary democracy is, said Hering. "We have a huge construction site here." When he became President of Parliament seven years ago, he had already made it a focus of his work to inspire enthusiasm for democracy. "You could already feel that something was changing back then," said Hering. "But seven years ago, I couldn't have imagined how important and necessary this would become."
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- Hendrik Hering, the President of the Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament, mentioned in his conversation with the German Press Agency that vocational schools seldom visit the parliament due to their limited school days.
- The Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament is planning to strengthen its role in vocational schools as part of its commitment to democracy education, as stated by Hendrik Hering.
- According to studies, students in vocational schools demonstrate a more critical view towards democracy and feel less represented by politics compared to their counterparts in secondary schools.
- In a future project, the state parliament aims to engage with more than just secondary school students by conducting workshops and setting up an information stand in vocational schools, as proposed by Hendrik Hering.
- Hendrik Hering mentioned that two popular workshops in the project involve allowing students to create graffiti with their concerns and voice them to politicians, emphasizing their desire to be heard.
- The German Press Agency reported that Rhineland-Palatinate observed over 30,000 visitors at its parliament in Mainz this year, with a large portion consisting of children and young people who have started demonstrating growing interest in democracy education.
Source: www.stern.de
