How do I talk about the war?
War is an attempt by many states to resolve their differences by force. A conflict that is fought with the use of considerable means with weapons and violence. As a result, the people living in the war zones suffer massively. People are displaced, captured, injured and killed. Is there a political or religious goal that justifies such violence? How can this question be appropriately addressed in the classroom? What is important when talking to students about war?
On social media, many involuntarily come across sources of information and facts about the war. This content is mostly unfiltered or lacks contextual information. Sometimes even closeness is created through a personal approach, which can exacerbate existing fears.
In any case, it is important to meet children and young people where they are. Ask what you want to talk about, what questions are on the students' minds, and what you heard. The worries, thoughts and fears should be addressed and classified. Let's go in search of answers together!
In order to overcome any obstacles and to keep you well informed, we have compiled further links.
The portal ufuq.de https://www.ufuq.de/aktuelles/israel-gaza-schule/ works on pedagogy, political education and prevention in the migration society and is aimed at professionals in school and extracurricular education and youth work. The link leads to a working aid "Talking about Israel and Palestine. The Middle East Conflict in Education". This is not about imparting detailed knowledge or resolving the conflict itself, but about a short-term intervention in the face of boiling emotions.
On the homepage of the Federal Agency for Civic Education , "frequently asked questions" about talking about assassinations and attacks in the educational space are discussed. Here you will find suggestions on how to deal with different problems in the classroom. Check it out here.
The article "Introduction: Paradigm Shift in Dealing with Violent Conflicts?" of the Federal Agency for Civic Education focuses on the history, forms and ways of dealing with domestic and regional wars and conflicts since the end of the 1980s. Check it out here.
The Robert Bosch Stiftung's online platform German School Portal gave teachers the opportunity to ask questions about the war in Ukraine to experts from various fields with the live panel "Talking about war." The link leads to the recording of this 90 min. event and also lists all questions and answers asked. Here is the link.
The School Pastoral Portal is a network and service of the Catholic Church in the field of schooling. "Talking About War" is a collection of various materials for religious education. Here you will find explanations, instructions and links for conversations on how to deal with the topic of fear. Click here for more information.
On the homepage of the North German Broadcasting Corporation, the book "Talking about Israel" is published in the culture section.
www.ndr.de/kultur/buch/sachbuecher/ by Meron Mendel. Mendel is an educator, historian and director of the Anne Frank Educational Center. His book addresses the heated debates on the Middle East in Germany.
War in Ukraine: The death of a student's father. For this special problem, here is a first orientation aid from the religious educator Jürgen Karasch (school pastoral): Check it out here.
Low-threshold offers on the topic
Behind MrWissen2Go is the journalist Mirko Drotschmann. He is an influencer who deals almost exclusively with politics and contemporary history topics. The 33-year-old previously worked for ZDF's children's news program "Logo", and his YouTube videos are designed in a similar style. The video attack against Israel! And now? is an analysis and classification of the facts in order to clarify the questions: What is going on and what should you know about the background?
The video How does Israel fight back? is the follow-up video and update on the dynamic development in the Middle East conflict.
The video The Middle East Conflict Explained Simply, tries to explain the core of the conflict.
