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Contribution short abstract:

The crises of the pandemic and the war in Ukrainia challenged the German school system in multiple ways. Based on recent experiences as a teacher for young Ukrainian High School students, I argue for an open mind among anthropologists to share our knowledge in education beyond the academic field.

Contribution long abstract:

Social and cultural anthropologists have a number of skills in communication based on their field work studies and experiences outside their homely environment. I believe that we can therefore contribute to a number of social tasks and issues outside our academic field – such as media, education or cultural events. Yet, anthropologists often feel ashamed when they quit university and later on work in "social" jobs, though we are somehow predestined to do so.

In the light of the general lack of teachers in Germany, I was employed in November 2022 within days to take over a so-called "Welcome-Class" in a High School in Berlin. Since then I am charged with the mission to teach German to 15 Ukrainians aged 16-18 years. We do have fun, yet we cannot avoid that the situation in their home country is floating through the classroom. It seems that my anthropological background is of help in managing the situation, when it comes to tensions, displacement activities, restlessness and disturbances.

In the presentation at SIEF I will sketch our setting and give some thoughts to the usefulness of anthropological knowledge in a conventional school system.