Am Dienstag, dem 15. Februar, wurde um 0:18 Uhr über die E-Mail-Adresse des Schulsekretariats eine an Nachricht Schreiben eines Nonnenwerther Vaters an alle Eltern des Franziskus Gymnasiums weitergeleitet. Um Veröffentlichung seines Antwortschreibens bat uns ein anderer Nonnenwerther Vater:
Dear [XXX],
Thank you for your opinion, which I (somewhat surprisingly) received via the email distribution of the secretariat of Nonnenwerth. I trust that in the interest of openness and fairness, this reply will, likewise, also be distributed to all parents via this channel.
I hope you do not mind me writing to you in English, as I feel I can express myself better in this way.
Like you, I am a father of children at Nonnenwerth, but unlike you, I have elected to keep my children in the school and fight for its survival. This is not about choosing sides, laying blame, or determining who is right or wrong. It is about recognizing what is of value in life and standing up to defend it.
For me, the key theme in this unfortunate ‘soap opera` which we as parents and, more importantly, our children, have become involuntary actors in, is one of values (Werte). Most notably:
- a) Honesty (Ehrlichkeit)
- b) Fairness (Gerechtigkeit)
- c) Openness (Offenheit/Transparenz)
- d) Respect (Respect)
And explicitly not:
- e) Self-interest (Eigeninteresse)
These are values I hold dear and which I strive to instill in my children. Does this make me naïve? Perhaps, but these values have stood me in good stead in my personal life and especially also in a successful international professional career spanning over 20 years.
Allow me to explore these in the context of the drama around the closing of Nonnenwerth.
Regarding (a) Honesty
With the sale of the island Nonnenwerth, including the school, 2 years ago, there were strong statements from both the seller and buyer that the future of the school had been secured. As I hold honesty as a key value, I at the time chose to believe that all actors were acting in good faith and with honest intentions. Now, however, with all that has unfolded in the past months, it has come to a point where I can no longer realistically hold on to this belief. This is also not helped by actions and public statements which are, at least partly, proven to be inaccurate, misleading, or plainly untrue.
Regarding (b) Fairness
Is it fair and just that children in the 11th grade are being forced to change schools in the middle of their Abitur, with impact on their Leistungskurse? Is it fair and just that parents are not allowed to set foot in the school their children are attending and the island is turned into a guarded fortress with security personnel and guard dogs? Is it fair and just that a long-serving senior teacher is expelled from the island for encouraging children to write letters to the Schulträger asking him not to close their school? Is it fair and just that a young volunteer worker is fired and banned from the school for airing their personal views on TikTok? Is it fair and just that children are prevented from boarding a ferry to exercise their legal and democratic rights by attending a protest rally to save their school? Is it fair and just that children are subjected to stress and trauma we as responsible parents, teachers and Schulträger should be protecting them from?
Regarding (c) Openness
I am a firm believer in “all cards on the table” in both my personal and professional life. I realize that this is not always possible or even desirable to the fullest extent and there are times e.g. in negotiations, where it might not be clever or appropriate to reveal all, in an attempt to achieve the best possible outcome for one`s objectives.
This is perfectly normal and part and parcel of life and business. The problem comes, however, when everything breaks down, like it has in the case of Nonnenwerth. To then continue to cling to secrecy and unwillingness to provide insight into the terms of the sale of the island (relating to the future of the school) despite massive public pressure, including from Dr. Norbert Röttgen (previous Bundesminister and CDU Spitzenkandidat) Nicole Westig (Bundestagsabgeordnete) and Björn Ingendahl and Otto Neuhoff (Mayors of Remagen and Bad Honnef respectively) defies all belief and completely undermines the credibility of the parties involved – please refer also to point (a) above.
In your lengthy opinion piece, you refer to the topic of Brandschutz as cheap rhetoric. I am sorry, but with all due respect, I cannot bring myself to understand your position here. Brandschutz and the reported price tag of “10 to 20 million Euro” has consistently been the central argument brought by the Schulträger for closing the school. If there is really a different reason, then I, for one, would appreciate to hear it in the interest of honesty and openness. Until such time, I take the Schulträger at his word (refer to point (a) above) that his primary reason for closing the school is the Brandschutz problem and the cost associated with it.
In this context, it is very difficult to understand why all efforts to find solutions to the Brandschutz problem appear to be consistently blocked by the Schulträger. This includes the very easy application for an extended Duldung from the responsible authorities, which they are willing to give, but for which the Schulträger needs to apply. This alone would be enough to keep the school open. Also, all efforts to have an independent inspection (Brandschutzgutachtung) have been actively blocked. This behaviour makes it almost impossible to believe that the Schulträger has any interest whatsoever in keeping the school open. It rather points to the contrary. This is truly disappointing. Please refer also to point (a) Honesty above.
Regarding d) Respect
I believe that there have been errors made on all sides regarding respect. From the beginning there were skeptics and doubters about the intentions of the new Schulträger. I can speak only for myself and my wife when saying that we have always been respectful in communication with the Schulträger, both in personal conversation and in correspondence, including thanking him for taking over the Trägerschaft and his promises to retain the school when he bought it. We chose to believe the statements and promises made at the time. I now have to seriously doubt whether this was wise, but that takes nothing away from my desire to uphold the value of respect.
I have concerns regarding the lack of respect shown in the rhetoric lately. As a parent, I can imagine that the Schulträger could feel that he is not always shown due respect – he is, after all, the rightful owner of the island and everything on it – including the school. I as a parent, however, also do not feel respected by a Schulträger who is apparently not interested or willing to save the school and who (it would appear – and I seriously hope I am wrong) is doing everything possible to ensure that the school closes at the end of the current school year, or even earlier, if at all possible.
I feel that public statements discrediting parents, parent representatives and even the teachers show an alarming level of disrespect and is not fair (refer to point (b) above). Lastly, publicly claiming that children are being instrumentalized in the dispute clearly disrespects the abilities, intentions and efforts of the young leaders of tomorrow doing everything they can to save their school.
Regarding e) Self-interest
Everyone has the right to try to optimize their own interests, be it in business or life in general. Where this right stops, however, is when it is exercised at the expense of others. Unfortunately, I have to ascertain that at the moment, the self-interest of the Schulträger appears to be exercised at the expense of the children in the school and I find this deeply disturbing. It is horrifying to think of the emotional and practical damage being done to so many young lives in apparent self-interest.
I am very sorry to learn about the problems your daughter experienced in her class at school. As a parent, I can deeply sympathize with you. Unfortunately, schools are not immune to social structures – especially relating to teenage girls. Please understand, I am not trivializing this. I understand and have experienced just how deeply traumatic it can be for children when they feel left out or pushed out. I merely think that it is first and foremost a parent responsibility, not a school responsibility. Speaking for ourselves, we try to strengthen our children – partly by installing the values I have been discussing. We cannot expect the school or someone else to solve these problems for us. Our children need to stand up for themselves. We can coach them, re-enforce them and help them – and if all else fails, we as parents can address the problem head-on with the parents on the other side of the problem. I truly wish your daughter all the best and I hope that she is happy in her new school.
I hope that my letter might help you to understand why so many parents feel so frustrated and angry at the moment. It is not about discussing and analyzing the matter at an academic level in a Rotary meeting, where I understand the Schulträger is also a member, or at least have strong ties to. It is about understanding what the impact of all this is and upholding the values in society – not least as an example to our children.
In your letter, you set out your opinion on who was to blame for the mess we are in (the parents and the Bundesland Rheinland-Pfalz, not the Schulträger). I fear this is a bit too simplistic and dare I say, apparently lacking in depth of understanding.
The underlying previous reasons for the situation the school finances was in at the time of sale and the regulations for private schools in Rheinland-Pfalz must have been known to the Schulträger when he bought the school. He is, after all, an experienced businessman.
Furthermore, the mere fact that according to the SEB report of October 2020, 85% of parents accepted the voluntary increase in contributions and some were even paying a bit more, illustrates that this is addressable. Unfortunately, as deducted from your text, you were apparently not part of the 85%, thereby in my humble opinion making you part of the problem you yourself defined, rather than part of a potential solution.
I would gladly discuss all of these topics with you in and honest, open, fair and respectful manner, should you be interested – and I wish that the key stakeholders (and especially also the Schulträger) would do the same: Put the children’s interests first and contribute to, or at least allow, a solution to save Nonnenwerth.
Kind regards
Kobus Smit
Parent
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