28.02.2014 Teaching about Rroma: Promotion of critical thinking or confirmation of stereotypes?

Koepping (2014) reports on special lessons that were designed to teach primary students of Höhenschönhausen on the culture and history of the Rroma. The teacher for humanities and environment, Susanne Meier, was the project’s initiator. The goal of wanting to provide students with information about the lives of Rroma is laudable. Unfortunately, when reading the text one gets the impression that students were taught in positive stereotypes, rather than ask to think about issues such as stereotypes and exclusion: “Within their classes they travelled to the memorial at the Otto-Rosenberg-Platz in Marzahn, where a Nazi labour camp for Roma and Sinti was located during 1936-43. The musicians Janko Lauenberger and Wilfried Ansin came to visit and told the students of the world of gypsy-swing, and together with Susanne Meier they sang Roma songs.” Prejudice against an ethnic group are one thing, but one should be very careful what and how to teach about an ethnic minority. With the replacement of negative stereotypes with positive ones, one doesn’t help Rroma in their integration efforts. That the lessons described confirmed misconceptions of patriarchal structures and entrenched traditions can be seen in the response of an eleven year old student: “I don’t like that the boys have more rights and that the girls and women always have to wear skirts.”