Max Tischberger says goodbye: A new beginning for Hanau students!

Max Tischberger says goodbye: A new beginning for Hanau students!

With a warm farewell, Max Tischberger received his last big speech as Hanau school spokesman after almost three years. Alicia Vazquez, a committed student at St. Josef Girls' Secondary School, will now take over. Tischberger deliberately chose to resign in order to give Vazquez enough time to get used to the job, as he announced in his resignation letter. He emphasizes that his involvement in the student council was not only a formative experience for him, but also contributed to his personal development. However, Tischberger will remain on the city student council as a representative of the Karl Rehbein School until the end of the regular term of office in the coming school year and will continue to hold the office of treasurer.

The Hanau City Student Council (SSR) has the important task of representing the interests of the students in the city. The new board, which, in addition to Vazquez, also consists of Meiko Monz (18 years old) and Nouha El-Jazouli (15 years old), has set itself ambitious goals. These range from organizing a school-wide “rose campaign” for Valentine’s Day to campaigning for free menstrual products in secondary schools. Particular attention is paid to the mental health of the student body and the urgently needed expansion of the structures for the student council.

Goals and challenges of the SSR

A central concern of the new board members is to listen to the concerns of the student body. Nouha El-Jazouli, who criticizes the ignorance of many classmates about the SSR, is therefore calling for increased public relations work. The plan is to set up a website and use social media such as Instagram so that the SSR's work becomes more transparent and visible. The members experience different reactions to their commitment, which points to the tension between a school career and active commitment to fellow students.

In order to make decisions within the SSR, the members communicate via email and WhatsApp. But time is a limited resource, which makes it difficult to implement the numerous projects. Motivation is still high, because well-organized student representatives can make a decisive contribution to school development and promote important educational topics such as democracy education and digital skills. Unfortunately, for many students it often remains unclear how much influence their representation has on decisions in school life.

A look at the role of student representatives

The student representatives, which are anchored in the school laws, play a central role in co-determination and participation in schools. They offer committees such as student councils, level assemblies and class councils a platform to amplify the voice of students in everyday school life. An ideal example of successful participation is the exchange between school management and student councils, which creates the basis for positive developments.

Networking student representatives within the community can also increase their political clout and give students an insight into political events. This creates the opportunity for students to not only act as co-creators of their school environment, but also as active citizens who are interested in social issues. This not only promotes democratic exchange, but also strengthens the community among the students.

Schools benefit immensely from this, because a committed student council can not only contribute to the educational development of the school, but also promote innovative project cultures. With digitally supported tools, such as those the SSR in Hanau plans to use in the future, the organization can be further improved and the students also gain valuable digital skills for their future.