Again and again there are debates about gender and the right way to address fellow human beings. In Berlin, too, the topic is now up to date again: there, children will soon no longer be addressed with gender-related pronouns on certificates, as the RBB reports.
Previously, certificates in Berlin were formulated in such a way that they contained a reference to the gender of the student. According to RBB, for example, it said, “In the coming school year, she/he will be a student in grade ..” According to a letter from the education administration to the school management, this should no longer be the case. Instead, the schools should now use gender-neutral formulations – for example, the first name can be used instead of the pronoun. The designations student would also be omitted in this example: .. will move up to grade .. in the coming school year.
The ulterior motive behind these fundamental changes is obviously to listen as much as possible to the wishes of the children themselves. Accordingly teachers should always take the wishes of the students into account when addressing them according to the letter.
According to RBB, the education administration writes: “Whenever there is a desire to be addressed in a neutral manner or by name in relation to gender identity, gender-related personal pronouns and formulations should be avoided.”
In response to a question from stern about the costs associated with the measure, whether the change was made at the suggestion of the students and whether all schools are obliged to use the new formulations, the education administration initially did not comment.
Sources: RBB, request for education administration
