Unwilling to integrate

Klar: “We have system disruptors at school”

(Bild: krone.tv)

Christian Klar, principal of a new secondary school in Vienna-Floridsdorf for twelve years, speaks plainly in a krone.tv interview about the current situation in everyday school life in Austria. He talks about pupils' unwillingness to integrate, violence in everyday school life and the rise of Islamism.

One thing is clear: "We have troublemakers in schools. These are children and young people who can't be integrated. For example, I had a child with autism in one class. He had a Stanley knife in his hand, waved it around and kept shouting 'leave me alone'."

Another problem is the increasing Islamization of schools. Kraft: "It's often about despising other religions. And in contrast, it's about emphasizing Islam. For example, we distributed the current timetable for this year. There was a child in one class who had lessons until 2 p.m. on Friday. He then said, I'm not going to school that late on Friday, I'm going to the mosque. You can see that Allah is above the school." Children and young people would base their views on Islamic scripture and doctrine.

Propensity for violence on the rise
In the principal's view, the school shows the society of tomorrow. Kraft: "Our former values can still be saved, but we must now press a clear stop button." Problem areas are the massive Islamization and the pupils' lack of German language skills. It's clear: "In practice, German is only the language of school. But the children and young people speak to each other in the park and at home in their mother tongue. So they only speak German for five hours a day and the rest of the day in their mother tongue. You even have to think in one language to really master it."

In terms of glorifying violence, the cell phone has become a kind of weapon, and the threshold for violence has also been pushed down. In general, the frustration among teachers would be great. Kraft: "I know many colleagues who say that as soon as I get the chance, I'll retire immediately."