In the last year or so.....RTL (commercial network) has started to run more public forum shows. I won't go and say it's a positive....just that they want some of the 'action' that ZDF/ARD (public TV) have.
So last night, RTL ran 'Stern TV am Sonntag'. Topic? Are teachers primarily figures of authority or figures of trust?
Yeah, it was an odd piece.
For decades....the 'rule' is that you address a school teacher as 'Herr' or 'Frau'. There's some discussion about the use of du (formal) or sie (informal) when using the term 'you'.
My son (German in nature) would offer the insider view that you always had nicknames for various teachers (not ones you'd want to state in a public situation).....but when talking to them.....you went to Herr or Frau so-and-so.
In a college setting....they even reach to the level of Herr-Doctor.
So there is a political agenda underway, where the discussion is....can we dispense with the formal business and just allow first-name basis for teachers?
Which party pushes this? Mostly the SPD.
Trying to sell this? The idea is planted that you'd have more of a positive influence on kids....if this were first-name chatter.
The real question here? More or less....where do you start lose respect for the person or the authority?
If this sounds good in a class....could we start to distance ourselves from respectful positions like judges, doctors, police, or any number of things in society. Toward the end of this 'forum'.....this got dropped into the middle of things, and made the discussion worthless.
On public forum value? One to ten.....I'd give a '3' at best. If people did watch the discussion.....they were probably shaking their heads a good bit.
If you asked for the state of education today.....most would agree there's a lot disrespect going on, and this first-name chatter is the least of your priorities.
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