“Students”, “students”, pupils” – should such forms, which according to the proponents make all people more visible, be used by teachers in the classroom or not? A case in Berlin draws attention back to the topic The education trade unions and the teachers’ association have different views on this.
The German Teachers’ Association rejects so-called gendering by teachers. Teachers should “adhere to the official set of rules and refrain from writing that is not intended,” said the President of the German Teachers’ Association, Heinz-Peter Meidinger, to the German Press Agency. With students, however, they should be “tolerant and reserved” when they use “unofficial gender spelling” in essays and exams, he added.
The Education and Science Union (GEW) is also open to gender issues through teachers: “Language is constantly changing. This must also be reflected in school lessons,” said Chairwoman Maike Finnern.
Father goes to court for pauses in speaking
The current background is a case in Berlin: A father had failed with an urgent application before the administrative court and now, according to the German language association, which supports him, wants to take a higher instance to the higher administrative court. However, the case was not yet before the court on Thursday, as a spokeswoman said on request. The father objects to the fact that teachers at his daughters’ school sometimes leave pauses when speaking – for example with the word “female teachers”. Sometimes asterisks or a so-called Binnen-I are used in emails to parents or in school assignments.
The GEW welcomed the court decision. The administrative court “made it clear that the use of gender-sensitive language by teachers does not indicate that parental rights are being violated. We agree with this reasoning,” said Finnern. The GEW itself uses the so-called gender asterisk in communication with its members.
Gender asterisk, underscore, colon
The Council for German Orthography is responsible for the official orthography. It has members from seven countries and regions. According to its statute, the body has the task of “maintaining the uniformity of spelling in the German-speaking area and further developing spelling on the basis of the orthographic set of rules (…)”.
In its last two-year-old opinion, the Council did not recommend the inclusion of gender asterisks, underscores, colons “or other abbreviated forms for identifying multi-gender designations in the middle of the word in the official set of rules”. Some federal states refer to this when it comes to the topic of gender in their schools.
Others go further:
– Saxony had instructed around 2021 not to use corresponding signs in schools and in official letters from schools.
– Schleswig-Holstein had decreed that asterisks, Binnen-I or similar spellings in exams should be considered errors.
– In Baden-Württemberg, according to the Ministry of Education, there are no guidelines on the subject in the assessment and correction guidelines for final examinations. Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) and also the regional association of the education union VBE are against gender in the classroom.
– In Lower Saxony, the state government is of the opinion that different spellings should not be counted as errors in exams, but should not be prescribed either.
– Bavaria refers to the official spelling and the possible use of “pair forms” such as “pupils” for the lessons. In public correspondence, for example with parents, the schools are “responsible within the scope of their own responsibility (…) for complying with language norms”.
Addressing gender-appropriate language in the classroom
The German Language Association criticized “wild growth”. If a child moves from one federal state to another, it must be able to rely on binding spelling. Teacher President Meidinger demanded that school should be a neutral place. It cannot be ruled out that the demonstrative use of non-official gender spellings will put students under pressure to conform. However, Meidinger spoke out in favor of addressing “what gender-appropriate language can and should look like” in the classroom.
