Should I forbid my son from going on a school trip?
"I'm a proud mom of a boy, but my 16-year-old has been worrying me lately. I've noticed that he's been consuming right-wing content online, and I fear that he supports it. I'm convinced this is primarily due to his circle of friends, who are having a strong negative influence on him. Now everyone is supposed to go on a graduation trip to Amsterdam, and one part of the trip will include a visit to the Anne Frank House. I'm very worried that he and his friends will behave inappropriately there (anti-Semitic jokes or something similar). I've already tried to talk to him about it, but he's completely blocked it. Should I forbid him from going on the class trip?" Corinna S., Siegen
I'm trying to understand your logic: You think it would be better if your son didn't visit the Anne Frank House so as not to attract unwanted attention. That's very prudent, but it reveals a purely external perspective on your son. How will he behave, what will other visitors or the museum guards think if he and his friends misbehave there? You know your son and you will have reasons to worry. But isn't there another perspective on this museum visit conceivable? It could be that the history of the house is touching to your son. That's why these places exist, that's why they are preserved and opened to visitors: so that the Holocaust isn't an abstract narrative, but becomes comprehensible. So that people understand: people did this to other people, and it wasn't all that long ago.
I asked the press officer of the Anne Frank House how they respond to disruptive visitors. Annemarie Bekker emailed from Amsterdam that the museum is prepared for young visitors with varying levels of awareness, maturity, and sometimes problematic views. "Our staff is trained to create a respectful environment for all visitors," she wrote. "Should a visitor, regardless of age, exhibit anti-Semitic, offensive, or disruptive behavior, our staff will address it immediately." Depending on the nature of the behavior, this could lead to a warning, termination of the visit, or involvement of school supervisors. However, serious offenses are rare.
Let your son go to Amsterdam. The chances of him taking something back with him for life are greater than the problems it would pose for the museum if he misbehaved there.
süeddeutsche
