|
A look back at 60 years of the Association of New Education e.V. 1946 - Working Committee for New Education against Dictatorship and War 
In 1946, parents and school reformers begin mobilizing in Berlin. They want to counterbalance the educational legacy left behind by the dictatorship using a strategy of partnership in coexistence with children and young people. The formation of the Working Committee was an attempt to make this idea a reality and contribute to developing democratic conditions in Germany. As early as 1945, one of the later founders, Albert Gosse, made the first contacts to old friends from the federation of school reformers, the Montessori organization, Kinderfreunde (a children’s organization) and the young workers’ movement. The first event takes place on October 14, 1946 in the housing development of the “Freie Scholle” housing association. The topic is "How much did the old school of learning contribute to the rise of dictatorship and war?" On October 23, 1946, the Working Committee for New Education was founded with the goal of transforming the old authoritarian school of learning into a democratic one with the active involvement of parents. After 12 years of fascist rule, the indoctrination of children and young people, national megalomania and self-induced isolation, it was an basic need of the surviving democrats to work to set up a democratic society and make contact to democrats throughout the world. The first PR work begins under arduous conditions with lack of food, a shortage of coal and electricity blackouts. Events and groups are organized, some with young people, about the need for a new kind of education in the family and school. And, the first flyers are created after the law is passed establishing the "Einheitsschule", a kind of comprehensive school, on the occasion of the elections of the parent associations.
1951 - Association founded and first ANE office opens in the Reinickendorf district In 1951, it becomes legally possible to become an association. The "Working Committee" becomes the "Association of New Education e.V.", member of the German section of the New Education Fellowship – an international organization of school reformers from around the world. From the articles of association: In 1951, the first small office is also set up in "Fuchsbau" (a youth center) in the Reinickendorf district. The first government funding is also received for the purchase of a typewriter, a copy machine and materials. From the very outset, it is stipulated that the work of the Association for New Education e.V. and the involvement of the parents must be organized to be independent of political agendas. The primary goal during this time is to provide information about the latest findings in educational science to those involved in education to make up for time lost under the National Socialists and contribute to reforms. The demands of the ANE e.V. at this time are:
In the early years, the Association of New Education is geared almost exclusively to the parents of school children. The preferred event format is a talk held by a renowned speaker followed by discussion. It was common for there to be between 80 and 150 participants but audience numbers could also reach 200 or 250 in a single evening. There were two distinct main topic areas: representing the problems of schools and dealing with educational problems from a psychological point of view. "50 years ago, it was still very difficult for children of parents with no means to get a "secondary" or "trade school” education. A “caste system” and high costs kept talented students from poorer classes from being offered opportunities to study later on at universities. And even when students did get the chance to study, the feeling of having received charity stayed with them their whole lives. The last few decades have significantly shaken up these biases. "We will hunt out injustice and ignorance and eliminate them! This is the new tenor of the times that the Association of New Education wants to be involved in." Demands of the ANE during these years are:
The idea of letters for parents originates in the US. Starting in 1960, the Association of New Education sends out Peter Pelican letters with the following goals:
The Association's work thus expands. The educational issues young parents have are added to the issues about school. The numbers of events and discussion rounds for parents jump drastically: Smaller groups of parents meet regularly. Some of the topics from 1966:
In 1971, the Association of New Education changes its name to the "Association of New Education e.V. for Family, School and Society". It is a time of drastic social change and conflict: "Educational crisis - terror in our pre-schools – equal educational opportunities for all – ban on radical teachers – collective housing for young people - emancipated education" are some of the catchphrases of this time. New political activities are developed which allow the ANE to directly influence school policy in Berlin in cooperation with other organizations and interest groups. Together with the GEW (national teachers' trade union), the Berlin parents’ association and other parent initiatives, elementary school conferences (1973), for example, are held, positions published on the law on the constitution of schools (1974), and a campaign initiated against the breakup of classes. In the "Tips for parent representatives" series, parent representatives are encouraged and strengthened in their work in pre-schools and schools. "The social model of the Association is that of the social democrat (…). Social democracy is a society that is associated with a high degree of social equality, social justice and social tolerance. Social cohesion has priority over exploiting individual opportunities for development. The conflict that exists between individual development and social equality in a social democracy cannot be eliminated. Many of the activities and discussions that take place in the Association aim to encourage parents and children to make use of their democratic rights. Democracy has to be learned. Changing hierarchical relationships as they exist today primarily in bureaucratic structures in cooperation with one another, maybe even sometimes in opposition with one another, has proved to be a difficult learning process for everyone (Erich Frister, 1st Director of the ANE 1972) The office, now at Kurfürstendamm 67, also grows during these years. A family counseling center is set up and more letters are sent to parents. In Berlin alone, 2.4 million LETTERS TO PARENTS are sent between 1974 and 1981 and more than 20 million throughout Germany.
The political demands of the ANE e.V. in the 1970s are:
The Association of New Education has always been particularly dedicated to peace and intercultural understanding in its work. This stands to reason on the basis of its tradition. Parents are made aware of the problems associated with toy guns, books are recommended and they are urged to educate their children for peace. The 80s - The ANE opens to migrants
In the 80s, there is a wide range of issues: education for peace, environmental education, school reform debates, issues of coeducation, the integration of disabled children and the integration of parents of non-German origin into the ANE’s work, but also the day-to-day educational experience with children. During this time, in addition to the regular events for German parents, there are more frequent meetings among Greek, Spanish, Yugoslavian and later Turkish parents in the ANE. The ANE acts as a first point of contact for migrant parents and supports their work with events, expertise and concrete project work. An audio cassette program is developed for Turkish parents and the Turkish Parents’ Association in Berlin is supported in its formation phase.
In 1980, the development work on the new school letters is completed. Each Berlin elementary school can order free copies depending on the number of students. This is still the case today. More than 90% of all Berlin elementary schools make use of this regularly. The education of small children is also an important issue in this decade.
The archive material at the upper part of this page was prepared by the company BQ – Nord (www.bqnord.de). The 90s - The ANE in upheavalIn the 90s, the Association of New Education e.V. prepared for turbulent times. The upheavals taking place in Germany, Europe and the whole world are seen critically as well as both an opportunity and challenge. It is the "decade of money and the market" in both a positive and negative sense. Funding is no longer provided as a matter of course, however, the need for educational measures for parents increases. For many years, the ANE works on how to stay true to its motto "educating for democracy" and, at the same time, reinvent itself as a socially-oriented "company" on the market that has to compete against others for project funding. Parents and sponsors become "customers", PR work becomes "acquisition and marketing". Despite cuts, the ANE expands, primarily in the new German states, in the area of new media and with its range of services for the parents of non-German origin. The ANE takes advantage of the coalescence in Europe to establish contacts and partnerships with other European countries and develop projects that span countries. The first computer workstations are created in the ANE in 1996. In 1999, the ANE web site is completed with the far-reaching goal of becoming a guiding force and market leader for parent education in this field. The goals of the ANE are represented on the first web site: Social participation. We see one focus of our work as providing support for all those who are hindered from participating in society, whether children, young people or parents, who, for example, are in a difficult social situation or belong to one of many minorities living in Germany. In the future, we will work in particular to make children's rights a reality: children’s and young people’s democratic participation should not just be limited to the family and school but should have a place in society as a whole. Intercultural education. Democratic education includes intercultural education. For many years now, and in the future as well, we will work to foster intercultural skills. One of the most important tasks that we are excited about working on over the next period of time is finding ways for children and parents in Europe to coexist in peace and with mutual respect and how they can learn from one another. Mouthpiece and democratic forum for parents. The ANE offers parents a forum to participate actively in social processes and articulate and represent parent interests either individually or collectively. Parent interests have up to now usually been represented as special interests by initiative groups that have not often been in existence long or are widely fragmented. Services and the market. The Association of New Education e.V. primarily offers services that are supported by public funding. Public funding, however, has become less and less reliable. We are working to improve our range of services and make them more independent. Because our services are unique. They have the "With parents - for parents" seal of approval. New media. The rapid development of telecommunications changes the media landscape that the ANE is also a provider in in a fundamental way. The needs and forms of communication are changing. Communicating in data networks has become as common as making phone calls. The ANE will adapt its range of services to these changed needs and conditions.
The term "LETTERS TO PARENTS" has become a trademark. Many people are not familiar with the ANE e.V. but they do know the "letters to parents association". Many parents are our already seeing these letters for the third generation, primarily in the western districts of Berlin where it all began with the formation of the association by the "remaining democrats" and their dedicated volunteer work. Many parents are thus not members of the association in the traditional sense but are committed to the values of educating for democracy and the "letters to parents association". The democratic understanding of the founders - mutual respect and tolerance, a balance of interests and conflict regulation - continue to characterize the work of the ANE today: the ANE supports parents in educating their children to become confident and aware members of a democratic society that respects others and are willing to accept responsibility for themselves and others. The target group is all parents, regardless of their social or ethnic origins.
"With parents - For parents" - The services of the ANE are geared towards dialogue: parents and all those who work for children and parents come together for discussion.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 
|
