Chancellor Friedrich Merz honored the work of teachers at the German School Prize award ceremony in Berlin. “Teachers are the most important professional group in our country,” said the CDU politician. According to the 70-year-old, he speaks as a father and grandfather: "We entrust you with the most valuable thing we have. These are our children."
After the publication of the PISA results, which were weak for Germany, Merz emphasized the importance of education. For the federal government and him as Chancellor, it is “one of the most important, if not the most important, task of our society to ensure that children, teenagers and young people in this country receive a good education and are prepared for the path of their lives.”
Merz also addressed the poor results directly. The study has once again “documented the major deficits in our education system,” said Merz. "But this is not a reason to despair, this is not a reason to give up. This is a reason to do even more now to ensure that our education gets better in Germany."
The event was presented in the Berlin-Adlershof TV studio by ex-“Tagesschau” spokeswoman Linda Zervakis, who took the Chancellor aside for a short interview. Among other things, she asked him whether he, Merz, didn't feel like going to school again.
The Chancellor then confessed that as a child he “rarely felt like going” to school, but that the award ceremony motivated him to go to school more again. He also called for schools to regularly invite judges from local courts “to explain to students what our legal system actually is.” Those who dispense justice defend the most valuable thing in democracy, freedom.
When asked why he went into politics, Merz said to the students: "I'm doing this so that you have the same opportunities to live in an open, free, liberal country as my generation had." It's about living in an open country, "in a society that is at peace with itself and that gives young people all the opportunities that young people deserve."
Finally, Merz also had the task of announcing the main winner: the Bertha von Suttner School in Mörfelden-Walldorf in Hesse received the main prize worth 100,000 euros this year. In the cheers and hustle and bustle that then broke out - the award winners, including students and teachers, stormed the stage, everyone hugged each other, even the Chancellor was hugged several times - the CDU politician was visibly carried away by the good mood:
Friedrich Merz was obviously in tears, he reached for his handkerchief and took off his glasses. "Even the Chancellor has tears in his eyes. What's going on here?" commented moderator Zervakis in a good mood. Merz also promised to pay a personal visit to the school.
According to its own statements, the winning school impressed the jury with its continuous improvement in the quality of teaching. She relies on a structure that is reminiscent of a company. Our own departments specifically developed the lessons. The basis for this is systematically evaluated data. In addition, there are so-called house managers who are permanent reference people for the more than 2,000 students.
“The Bertha von Suttner School proves how well a well thought-out concept and personal support work together,” explained jury spokesman Thorsten Bohl. The school began saving its own senior class 20 years ago. Today the initiative is a nationwide model for equal opportunities.
Although only 15 percent of the children had a recommendation for high school, two thirds later achieved the Abitur. Nobody leaves the Bertha von Suttner School without prospects, explained Bohl. “This is an important message for the entire school landscape.”
Five further prizes of 30,000 euros each went to a vocational school in Baden-Württemberg, a technical high school in Bavaria, a high school in Hesse, a high school in Lower Saxony and a primary school in Thuringia.
The German School Prize has been awarded since 2006 for particularly good school quality. The organizers are the Robert Bosch Foundation and the Heidehof Foundation.
