«Our school became a model school in Munich. Around 90% of the 10 year olds change to Gymnasium^[1] after finishing our primary school. […] Certainly this has to do with the great genes of their parents and grandparents.»

(at a Chanukkah celebration in a Bavarian school)

Applause followed. And laughter. It was certainly meant to be a joke, but rather made me choke – excuse the pun. Sarcasm is the only way to make this bearable. – Needless to say, that no-one mentioned the class sizes of 10-15 kids (compared to 25-35 in public schools) that might help those children including my son to do well and uups! did we forget the pockets of the rather not so poor parents and grandparents, that might have helped slightly more than their genes as well??

The last person starting a discussion in Germany about groups and genetics (after WWII and the deranged doctrine of  Rassenhygiene – racial hygiene) was Thilo Sarrazin – he claimed not only that all Jews share a gene, but as well, that Easter European Jews have a “15% higher IQ than the German population” and Germans become dumber due to African, Turkish and Middle Eastern immigration – I don’t mind to be considered by some populist as maybe not so smart. Or by a guy who gives a speech in my son’s school as very smart – or at least as carrying genes for my sons smartness.

I do mind, that obviously some people think others are disadvantaged or less well-educated, because of the genetic heritage they got from their parents.

Folks! This is the 21st century! Please.

All English translations of Thilo Sarrazin‘s outrageous quotes from his book “Deutschland schafft sich ab” are taken from Der Spiegel Online International.

More on better education for everyone – not depending on pocket-size or genes of parents –  you can find on the site of a documentary I am working on: Doing nothing all day.

1.) German kids are divided in to three groups when they are 10. Belonging to a group with good school marks and results, you may attend GYMNASIUM which leads you to university study. Kids with medium school results in primary school are sent to REALSCHULE, leading them to white-collar jobs. The kids scoring the lowest are round-up in HAUPTSCHULE – originally created to be a place focussing on practical work and study, now especially in large cities a reservoir of migrants, poor and disadvantaged kids. BACK TO TOP