Erfurt: Students should divide the organic test according to racial characteristics – scandal | miscellany

How could the word “race” disappear from the Basic Law

show description

Already in May a biology teacher The Jenaplan school in Erfurt apparently gave his tenth-grade students a test task that even called the Thuringian Ministry of Education into action: The youngsters were to classify people of different origins according to their external characteristics such as hair texture and eye shape and different “races” and “assign habitats”.

This is reported by “MDR Thüringen”, whose editors have a test. And indeed: on photocopies you can see pictures of whites and blacks, people of Asian origin. Above it, on thin lines, there are depressions in which young people find a suitable match racial label should be inserted. These concepts have been scientifically disproved for decades.

In 2012, race studies disappeared from Thuringian classes – officially

So why does a teacher from Erfurt use it today in the school education of young people? It tries that Ministry of Education Thuringia now to find out. As it says “MDR Thuringia”, it is school supervision test brought against the teacher.

“Any appearance of racism or racial science has no place in Thuringian schools,” he said Minister of Education Helmut Holter (Left) transmitter. According to the Minister of Education, the work shows that the issue of racism in public schools should be dealt with more carefully.

The fact that there is still a need to address this issue today could be a consequence of late changes in the Thuringia curricula: by 1999, race studies theories were in biology curriculum countries, in 2012 the subject has apparently been completely removed from the classroom. This is one of the reasons why questions on the Erfurt teacher exam are raising questions at the Ministry of Education.

“This school work is not through them curricula covered in Thuringia,” explains Holter. Otherwise, the concepts of the work come from a bygone and outdated time.

Erfurt: The “race theory” scientifically refuted for decades

theories of race were popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries and divided people into different “races” based on external characteristics. These theories have spread to different disciplines, such as sociologyethnology, medicine or even biology.

However, they were always primarily a social and political argument to be different “human races” classify as superior or inferior to others. Racial theories were spread in times when they were European colonial powers go out into the world. They used theories to justify the conquest and enslavement of supposedly less developed non-Europeans.

Although categories such as “white” or “black” are still used in social contexts – for example to reflect the effects racism to illustrate – these categories and characteristics have long been refuted from a scientific point of view.

More about this: Ukrainian War – How Blacks Are Rejected at the Borders

First, “races” do not reflect the actual genetic diversity of humanity. On the other hand, the alleged characteristics are also fluid within the so-called “race”, because the shape of the nose does not match. Skin color are bound. Genetic differences within a “race” are greater than between two supposedly distinct groups.

Erfurt: Ministry rules out racism after investigation

If it goes to Thuringian State representation of parents, the topic could return to the curriculum, at least from an educational and classification perspective. In that case, even the biology teacher in question would have the opportunity to teach the correct content next time.

Because, as reported by “MDR Thuringia”, referring to the Ministry of Education, school exam decided in favor of the teacher. According to the Minister of Education Holter, there should be no official consequences: teachers and school management showed great dismay. The Ministry closes one racist backgrounds now out, but wants to continue working on the case and prosecuting racism.

Before Thuringia, the Saxon school also taught a “race theory”

A federal state could connect with neighboring Saxony: it was 2018 Teaching material from biology classes of tenth grade students also appeared, in which young people were also supposed to assign external characteristics to “racial groups”.

Saxon Minister of Education Christian Piwarz (CDU) explained in response to a small inquiry at the time that the concepts of race theory had not been part of the Saxon curriculum since 2004, and that the relevant biology assignment was an isolated case.

The current case in Thuringia shows that this explanation can obviously be used for anyone individual case lead

This article first appeared on morgenpost.de.