Posted on 01/25/2006 6:11:48 PM PST by blam
German language rule upsets Turks
By Kate Connolly in Berlin
(Filed: 26/01/2006)
Schools in Berlin with a "German-only" language rule and large numbers of foreign pupils have been accused of discrimination.
Six secondary schools have banned all languages except German in the classroom, playground and on school trips to speed integration.
The Union of Teachers voted this week to expand the policy nationally. In some schools up to 90 per cent of the pupils are non-German.
The rule has been criticised by some politicians and Turkish groups who say it discriminates against the pupils and violates the constitution.
The Turkish Union, which represents Germany's largest ethnic minority, said the policy would create resentment and should be scrapped.
"The learning and use of German is very important but by forbidding something you only achieve the opposite effect to the one you wanted," said Eren Ünsal, its spokesman. "Children should not be forbidden from talking in their mother tongue."
Claudia Roth, the leader of the Green Party, said the policy would hamper integration. "Integration is not going to happen if you impose such rules on people's break-times," she said.
But the headmistress of the Herbert Hoover school, in Wedding, north Berlin, which was the first to adopt the rule, said her school attracted Turkish parents precisely because of the policy.
"Those who want jobs need to be able to speak German well," Jutta Steinkamp said.
Those pupils heard speaking their own language were "politely reprimanded", she said. But no one was punished unless they used their mother tongues to "aggressively attack pupils or teachers".
The pupils defended the German-only policy yesterday. "We need German," said a 16-year-old Turkish girl. "We all come from a variety of different countries, and we speak German when we're all together, even if your own language slips out from time to time."
The Turks can complain to me about violated rights when the start respecting freedom of religion and return Hagia Sophia the the church.
""Schools in Berlin with a "German-only" language rule and large numbers of foreign pupils have been accused of discrimination.""
Speaking German in Germany!
Just one rule? Lots of German language rules upset me.
Mark Twain had German grammar pegged just about right...
I had a German Aupair when I was younger. She told me about the "turks." The Turish men will date a German woman, they'll move in together, then one day he'll up and leave to go marry a virgin, a Muslim Turkish virgin.
The irony of the Herbert Hoover school requiring this is lost on some.
Deutsche Sprache ist, vom amerikanischen Einfluß korrekt.
'In some schools up to 90 per cent of the pupils are non-German'
What are they doing in Germany then?
Wow. The Krauts get it.
They were brought in as "Gastarbeiter". Guestworkers. Sound familiar? They worked for lower wages, live in insular communities, and established a seperate underground economy. Nobody really complained much, as they were only doing the jobs that other Germans did not want to do. When the screeches of the muezzein overcame the churchbells, some of the town elders took notice.
It doesn't have a thing to do with this thread but I thought you might be interested to know that they are building a ten foot high wall around the TI property in Stafford. So far only wrought iron looking posts.
Nichts! :)
Been years since I've been by there. Why the fence? Terrorism? I was there for the first Gulf war and we had some pretty severe security routines, TI builds the Hellfire Missiles and others...just not at Stafford.
Uh, so why do these people have to learn German? Every demographic study shows the German population is declining and will continue to decline into extinction if they don't start forming families and producing and raising children.
The natural pessimism and lack of purpose that accompanies socialism has led millions of Germans to shun child-bearing and rearing. And they want to make the immigrants taking their place learn German? Nice try.
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