Excitement about letter from parents: Students are said to have been forced by their teacher to participate in a climate demonstration

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Last Friday there was a project day on the subject of sustainability at the Gerda-Taro-Gymnasium in Leipzig (D). The fact that the students also had to participate in the ‘Global Climate Strike’ demonstration caused outrage. A letter to parents circulating on social media gave this impression.

The letter indicated that the class would need to address current issues such as “the climate crisis and its consequences.” The students were asked to “commit to a future worth living in a sustainable way.” This also included mandatory participation in a climate demonstration organized by Fridays for Future.

The class voted on whether to participate in the demo

The letter sparked heated discussions online. But some passages were blacked out before publication, causing the loss of important information. News portal T-online was now able to view the entire letter – and discovered something astonishing.

The letter was therefore not addressed to the entire secondary school, as initially assumed, but only to the parents of one class. Moreover, participation in the demonstration was preceded by a vote in the class. The students could vote in advance which sustainability campaign they wanted to participate in: the majority chose the climate strike.

As school director Uwe Schmidt told the German news portal, the students were informed about the rules of conduct before the demonstration. This included not challenging other participants. The students were also told that they did not have to sing.

Lessons in another class as an alternative

“Maintain a critical distance!” the presentation continued. After the event, the teacher responsible planned a critical reflection from the start, the director reports.

According to Schmidt, there would have been additional solutions if demarcation had been desired. The presentation pointed out: “Anyone who feels uncomfortable participating in the demonstration can contact one of the two teachers guiding them.” Another option would have been to participate in the eighth grade class instead of the demonstration. However, no one has chosen this alternative. (gs)

Source: Blick