The partnership
of Franz-Ludwig High School (FLG)
and Bamberg Life-Help Workshops (BLW)

A concrete example of Service Learning
in Bavaria, Germany

Class of 2005 in the BLW	Artwork from the Gallery of handicapped co-workers

1. Genesis of the Partnership

In the beginning there was the project, "promote the disadvantaged". The students of FLG, the Class of 2005, Class B, occupied themselves in 2000-2001, their 9th year, with the social situation in the city of Bamberg. A year later, in consequence of their work, there were various classes and courses in our school together with the handicapped - better said: the co-workers of the Bamberg Life-Help Workshops (BLW) in what was intended to be a long-term partnership.

Chart from a brochure for a public appearance in 2002

A long tradition of contact between FLG and BLW was germinal to the birth of the project. Our students visited exhibitions and helped arrange Christmas celebrations. Our project, formed in the fall of 2001, was to be distinguished through clearly defined fields of activity, academic tasks, through meetings with the co-workers of the workshops, through cross-departmental and cross-institutional cooperation. Both of us, FLG and BLW, have benefited from this kind of service learning and strengthened our values.

2. Contents of the Partnership

The partnership has opened for the FLG a new quality of education. A main point of interest in our cooperative activities is the Veeh Harp, a kind of zither. This instrument is of great economic and integrational importance for the BLW. Our project is intended to promote learning and human interaction. The Veeh Harp is the material core around which our project succeeds. The Veeh Harp forms the material basis upon which this human interaction of our project takes place.

Playing together on the Veeh Harp Click here to see a video clip from our Christmas concert. (.wmv file)

The Veeh Harp is distinguished because it is so easily played. Any amateur can play it. Being able to read musical notation is not necessary. We merely place a simple note sheet under the strings. The strings are plucked in a linear, connect-the-dots fashion to play each song. In music class, our students transcribe classical notation to create the simplified note sheets to make it possible to play so easily. They have also worked on arrangements of popular titles with the help of musical composition software. These were used to create a "Play-Along" CD specially for the Veeh Harp. Project members from FLG and BLW practiced and played together. They even went public. The appearance at the 2004 Spring concert was a great success.

The Veeh Harp is made in the BLW. Special emphasis is laid on using only the best materials and very careful manufacturing result in a high quality end product. To successfully sell these valuable products, students specializing in economy and law devised a comprehensive marketing concept. Together with co-workers from the BLW, they investigated the special conditions at the site and in neighboring regions, and submitted suggestions for improved sales channels. They brought in other products made by the BLW like toys, paintings and the "Play-Along" CDs.

Sales brochure for the Veeh Harp (unfolded view)

In order to increase sales and awareness of the mission and activities of the BLW, among other things, a special graduation project was issued to a student specializing in economy and law in 2003. The title was "Creation of an Internet Site for the BLW". The Internet portal from Florian Herrnleben can now be used at www.blw.complicated.de. The major local newspaper, Fränkischer Tag, wrote a detailed report over the presentation and the website's activation on March 21, 2003. The student won the € 800 first prize in the category "Internet" in the Crossmedia Competition 2003 in Munich.

BLW products at the Christmas market	Florian Herrnleben's Internet portal for the BLW
More photos of the Christmas market	Photos from the Crossmedia award presentation

Further measures included the production of professional advertising flyers for the Veeh Harp, the promotion of sales of artwork by BLW coworkers, an interview on local radio stations, completion of a sales booth for the before mentioned Christmas market. The idea for the booth came from the students specializing in economy and law. Students from other interest groups helped out with manning the booth and sales during the market. Total sales and the public relations work at the Christmas market booth were a complete success.

The project was covered journalistically by students in German language studies. Class B of 2005 worked together with the professional press. They documented project progression on their own website, www.unterrichtshomepage.de.
A questionaire was made and an opinion poll of Bamberg citizens was taken about the social situation of, among other groups, the handicapped. For the evaluation of the poll, student Jonas Hörsch programmed a databank with the questions and answers and their statisical results. This was also made open to the public on our website.

Class B of 2005 questions local citizens	Student's article in the local paper, March 11, 2003

Students wrote their own article for the local newspaper, the "Fränkischer Tag" to promote the opinion poll. Mr. Angerstein, the editor, gave the students helpful tips. The article was published in other journals and so raised regional and national awareness for our partnership.

The parntership is "up and running". It is open to other subject areas as well. In the meantime students and faculty of Art and Sports have joined the project. Art students have become involved in the design of BLW products and cooperated in building prototypes. Together with BLW coworkers, they made a billboard for the Greenpeace project "Biodiversity" that was placed near our train station in Bamberg. Sport students coordinated a basketball championship for mentally handicapped persons in our city on the 16th and 17th of November, 2002. The tournament drew a great deal of attention and was reported on in and around our region. Joint training sessions, team practices and competitions with the coworkers of the BLW will be integrated into the sports curriculum at FLG and carried out on together during freetime.

Participants of the basketball tournament	dpa-report (excerpt)

The "Partnership Team" took part on the city wide activity "Bamberg-Chances of a Region". Under coordination of the local firm Bi-Log AG, various Bamberg schools and other institutions were presented to high ranking audiences in which school leaders, managers, journalists, and politicians from Bamberg were invited.

At a regional conference in Hof, participants of our partnership displayed our accomplishments to date. This was housed in a stand made in yet more BLW-FLG cooperative effort. The hands-on construction and BLW co-worker presence at the conference was an important integrational experience for all involved.

Stand at the school conference in Hof	Visit from the Minister of Culture, Monika Hohlmeier

Musical performances on the Veeh Harp were a special high point. The forum posed an excellent opportunity for the BLW to advertise their mission and products, as well as the idea of our partnership to a large public effectively. Monika Hohlmeier, the Bavarian Minister of Culture, visited our stand with great interest and even played BLW instruments.

3. Difficulties and Chances

Looking back at the project's progress, it is clear that high school students and mentally challenged community members can cooperate in a sustained and richly complex manner, to their mutual benefit. This kind of learning helped students recognise and accept the strengths of both groups of people and to value social responsibility.

In the meantime, the partnership project has been recognised by various organisations and competitions. In the competition, "Youth assumes Responsibility", sponsored by the Brandenburg Gate Foundation of the Bank Association of Berlin, in the Max-Liebermann House there, we were awarded a certificate of recognition on June 13th, 2003.

The first lady, Christina Rau, and Dr. Florian Langenscheidt at our stand	Our delegation in front of our stand on the grounds of the Presidential Office
Click here for more photos from Berlin.

We were one of 25 national winners in the competition "Youth Helps", sponsored by the club "Children for a better World". We were again invited to Berlin on the 29th of June, 2003, to Bellevue Manor, where we were received by German president and first lady Johannes and Christina Rau. We were awarded the €1000 fourth prize in the category "Handicaps are no Barrier". With great interest, the hostess, Mrs. Rau, and publisher, Dr. Florian Langenscheidt, initiator of the competition, informed themselves at our stand about our work.

In a competition of regional public and private charity organizations, titled (translated) "More living and experiencing with each other", our partnership won the €4000 first prize! The November 11, 2003 awarded prize was open to groups throughout the state and sponsored by the Bavarian Ministry of Culture.

Among others: Upper Franconian Regional president Hans Angerer, Pastor Dr. Frierich Sticht, FLG school regent Hans Göldel, and BLW business leader Günter Hofmann	BLW co-worker Uwe Buchtler, and BLW group leader Franz Uttenreuther ia the community House in Bayreuth. The hall is decorated with works created by artists from BLW.
Click here for more pictures from Bayreuth.

The future poses the question, how to hold on to the momentum of the first few years, when not accelerate it? Regular organisational meetings are held between leaders in the BLW and participating teachers from FLG with this purpose in mind. The public recognition, and the financial rewards that accompanied it, fill our sails and give us new responsibilities. In addition to the subject matter projects that are currently active, we are planning even more activities in public and private institutions.

The first concrete steps in this direction were already taken in July 2003: In the Bamberger Justice Building we had the oppotunity to present our project. Our Art department, with members of the BLW, made a billboard for the Greenpeace project "Biodiversity" that was placed near our train station in Bamberg. At the BLW Summer Festival, our FLG Big Band entertained the public with accompaniment from BLW musicians playing their Veeh Harps. At our FLG school festival ran an information stand and held a basket shooting competition from a wheelchair! This activitiy was a great financial and integrative success. In a natural, unforced way, the entire student body came in contact with the theme of handicapped citizens.

	left above. FLG Big Band at the BLW Summer Festival left below: group picture of the campout participants right: Info/wheelchair basket shoot-out stand at the FLG School Festival
Click here for more photos from the Campout

Our most intense form of contact to date must have been the Campout from July 21-23, sponsored by the Bi-Log AG. Students and co-workers got to know each other well. We hiked, rockclimbed with guides, practiced basketball, and finally competed against a handicapped team from a visiting organisation. We had so much fun and success, we are planning to do it again next year.

Visit of our Hungarian and Romanian exchange students at the BLW (Click here for more photos.)

We risk new kinds of encounters. We deconstruct fear of contact, anxiety, mistrust and other such reservations we might have for each other. In the third year of our partnership, we will again try to strengthen the number of work positions at the Life-Help Workshops. We want to develop learning material for the subject German language, and later other subjects, that the BLW can produce and sell.

The special value of this innovative, long-term cooperation lies in the interpersonal encounters and in the efficient public relations work, beyond the financial goals. It has helped to raise the acceptance of the physically and mentally challenged in our community. The co-workers of the BLW and our students work with each other. They learn from each other. They have taken responsibility for each other.

Project leaders: Bamberger Lebenshilfe-Werkstätten: Dipl.-Soz.päd (FH) Kuno Eichner, Zweigwerkstattleiter Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Harald Waldhäuser Franz-Ludwig-Gymnasium: OStD Hans Göldel (Schulleiter), OStR Herbert Schanz (Schulleitung), OStR Ulrich Koch (Deutsch), StR Johannes Klehr (Musik), OStR Ambros Neundörfer (Wirtschafts- und Rechtslehre), OStR Kleuderlein und StRin z.A. Frey (Kunst), StRin Harth (Sport)