Es geht unter die Haut

Perspektivübergreifender Sachunterricht am Beispiel des Projekts „Haut-Sache“

Abstract

The resolution of the one-sidedness of general science teaching has already been discussed theoretically and the experts agree that the subject should be conceptualized in a multi-perspectivist manner (Hartinger & Lange-Schubert, 2016). Nevertheless, the subject is often taught along topics that can be clearly assigned to one, in the best case, two areas of learning and experience. This article presents a project that took place partly (due to Covid-19) as part of the cooperation with the Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft. The focus of the activities is the human skin as a learning object. Following on from the topic of pigmentation, a transition to the social sciences area of science teaching is initiated in which the students discuss the history of slavery and the dynamics of racism. The children’s book “Steck mal in meiner Haut”, which deals with topics such as one’s own identity, origin, culture and standing up together against racism, is used to accompany guided discussions in the classroom. Finally, the contents of the project are also transferred to other subjects, such as art education. 

Since general education is closely linked to language education, terms such as race and ethnicity should be discussed on the one hand, and the students should be accompanied in a language-sensitive manner on the other. Well-defined goals allow you to successfully evaluate your own teaching, which is why the focus in the natural sciences is on a value-free, investigative attitude and in the social sciences on raising awareness and internalizing certain values or attitudes. Topics like these have to get under the skin of the teachers and the students – this is the only way that general education can have a lasting impact on the realities of the children’s lives.