«Many topics have nothing to do with everyday life»

Tias: «School means far too much sitting for me. All my body parts always fall asleep during lessons. It's also often very restless in the classroom, which makes it really exhausting. I'd like more sports lessons and longer breaks.»

Lena: «Yes, we could always work on a lesson and then play in the corridors for ten minutes, ball or something. I could definitely concentrate better after that.»

Tias: «But then we'd also need balls that aren't constantly flat. And I wish we could play football outside all year round. But there's a ban on it at our school in winter. So what am I supposed to do in the breaks? Sit down with my colleagues and chat? We need exercise! It would also be good if we could wear sportswear, but that's also forbidden.»

I often have to study at the weekend because I can't manage everything during the week.

Lena, pupil

Sophia: «I'm often still really tired in the morning when I'm at school because I have to get up at 6.15am. Especially in winter, when it's still so dark in the morning, that's just far too early. It would be enough if school started at 8.30 a.m.»

Aurela: «I think that would be good too. I often don't manage to go to bed earlier in the evening because I still have athletics training. But that's very important for me as a balance to school.»

Lena: «We also need time for our hobbies or to meet colleagues. But we often have to do a lot of homework or study for exams. I can't always manage that during the week, so I do a lot at the weekend. But weekends should actually be free time, even for us.»

Sophia: «Teachers could talk to each other more about who gives how much homework and when. Some days there's far too much, others nothing at all.»

Lena: «It would also be good if we could find out the tasks for the whole week on Monday. Then everyone could work on it when they have time. It would also help me if we could always have a quick look at the difficult homework together with the teacher so that we know what to do at home.»

Elina: «I think that would be good too. I came here from Ukraine, so I don't understand everything so well yet. I'm often not so quick with the tasks in class, so I have to do a lot at home. But I can't do it on my own and my mum works late into the night.»

How can school be fun if you're not allowed to laugh or make nonsense?

Tias, pupil

Lena: «Teachers often lack the understanding for something like that. We sometimes have problems or there's something going on at home. If something doesn't work perfectly, there are often reasons for it.»

Tias: «But there's usually not enough time for such discussions. We teach two classes together, so many children are naturally more advanced, while others need more help. That makes it difficult to hold normal lessons. When are you supposed to deal with pupils' private problems?»

Aurela: «You would actually need two teachers in one class. Then there would be someone who could help the weaker children and someone who could continue working with the other children.»

Tias: «Then maybe the teachers wouldn't be so stressed and we could have fun more often. How can school be fun if you're not allowed to laugh or make nonsense?»

Aurela: «It often doesn't take much. We recently wrote a test that had a funny photo on the back. That immediately puts you in a better mood.»

Tias: «And just because you can have fun with a teacher, she can still be strict, I even think that's good. But please be strict with those who are being silly and not with the whole class.»

Aurela: «Exactly, if someone is loud, we are often all penalised.»

Why should I learn about the Stone Age? Something about first aid would be much more useful.

Aurela, pupil

Tias: «The same rules should apply to everyone. Of course you can't be late for lessons. But what about the teachers? They're often late too and that's perfectly okay. I think that's unfair.»

Aurela: «It bothers me that many of the topics we study at school have nothing to do with everyday life. Why should I learn about the Stone Age? It would be much more useful for me to learn how to administer first aid, for example. Teachers could also ask us more questions about what interests us.»

Anik: «I think it's important that we learn lots of different things at school, after all, we don't yet know what career we want to do later on.»

Lena: «But you could still make the lessons more practical. At the end of a topic like the Stone Age, for example, you could go on a trip to a museum. And I'd also like to see more excursions. Like going to the circus. Or we could all meet at school in the evening and have a campfire.»

Tias: «We have a big fountain on the playground where you could have great water fights in summer. Unfortunately, it's never on.»

Aurela: «And in winter, the areas where we are allowed to have snowball fights are far too small. We want to have fun with our colleagues, especially during the breaks.»

*Lena actually has a different name. The correct name is known to the editors.