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1 The practice
2 Hints for an evaluation
2.1 Strenghts
The serious problems of many students from migrant families in the German education system tended to be overseen for a long time. One fact that supported this development has been the increasing concentration of these students in schools located in typical migrant neighbourhoods. Both a cause and a consequence of lacking integration, the insufficient knowledge of the German language is one of the factors that impede integration. In the opinion of some commentators, the integration problem has been further accelerated by the tendency within parts of the German public to rather not publicly address some of these problems to avoid stirring negative stereotypes on migrants. In the perspective of the author of this study, the Herbert Hoover School should be praised for its attempt to tackle a problem that seems to be sometimes conceived as being insolvable.
2.2 Critical Points
Unlike some of the school´s critics, we do not see this measurement as an example of cultural repression yet rather as an attempt to agree in a participatory way on a common rule. It is, however, clear that the chosen practice concerns the sensitive issue of cultural identity. The policy is therefore prone to cause misunderstandings with minority representatives, which might conceive the practice as a danger towards their right to preserve their cultural identity. This perception might be supported by the fact that language policies in educational facilities were in the past often used in assimilatory language schemes. Therefore it is important to stress that the policy was jointly developed and accepted by teachers, parents and students. Hence maybe less the ban itself, but the participatory process which led to its issuing, seems exportable.
2.3 Lessons Learnt
There have been many discussions, to what extend the policy of the school could be an example for other schools in Germany. From our perspective, the ban of other languages can only be seen as a positive example, if it is based on a participatory procedure, which expresses the will of the students and their parents.
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