Norbert Berens

Norbert Mario Berens (born May 29, 1948 in Luxembourg , Grand Duchy of Luxembourg ) is a Luxembourgish teacher, educational officer and author.

Norbert Berens, 2012

Life

After primary school in Limpertsberg and the Abitur at the Lycée de garçons de Luxembourg, he completed his studies at the Pedagogical Institute in Walferdingen . He then worked as a teacher in elementary schools in Luxembourg City and, in his free time, volunteered to support the young people imprisoned in the Dreiborn Education Center in their school and professional training. He was delegated to the youth protection department, which was subordinate to the youth judge, and worked as a probation officer .

From the mid-1970s he offered in his primary school class as an alternative to religious education a religiously neutral ethics classes at. In Luxembourg at that time 98% of the population were baptized Catholics. This innovation was made possible by Article 23 of the Education Act of August 10, 1912, which gave the municipal authorities the opportunity, in agreement with the government, to introduce an additional school subject if local conditions required this.

Services

The political leaders of the municipality of Luxembourg decided to offer this new subject throughout the city. Thereafter, religiously neutral ethics lessons gradually spread across the country. In 1998, religion-neutral ethics, moral and social classes were officially introduced as a regular subject and as an alternative to religious education in Luxembourg primary schools (then 1st to 9th grade) through a law.

From the 1981/1982 school year to 1992/1993, Norbert Berens worked for the school service in Luxembourg City. His area of ​​responsibility included:

• the introduction of computer science and the development of computer-aided teaching in primary schools, which also took place on a large scale from 1982/1983;
• the expansion of teacher training;
• the further development of the cultural offer in schools;
• the establishment of a centrally organized, religion-neutral ethics lesson, which after some confusion was called moral and social lessons - Éducation morale et sociale .

In 1988 Norbert Berens was a founding member of the Institut européen de développement des potentialités de tous les enfants (IEDPE) - European institute for the promotion of the potentialities of all children - based in Paris, an international institute that carries out its work with the support of the European Commission and many European countries performed. From 1988 to 1994 he was a member of the board of directors and made his contribution in the areas of research, innovation and further education and training of the IEDPE.

From 1989 he headed a national working group in Luxembourg that was tasked with developing didactic material for religion-neutral ethics teaching. In 1992 he quit his job with the Luxembourg City School Service and moved to the Ministry of Education.

From 1991 to 2006 he offered courses on the pedagogy of ethics; he got a call to the University of Education and then to Faculty III of the University of Luxembourg , where the pedagogy of religion-neutral ethics lessons had become a compulsory subject.

In addition to regular articles in the daily newspaper Lëtzebuerger Journal and spoken comments on RTL Radio Lëtzebuerg , he also moderated the weekly children's program Diabolo on the same broadcaster for several years .

Works

novel

• The affair , novel. 1982. Editions John Schmit, L-Capellen
• The Curse of the Barraneans , political thriller , 2015, e-book, Kindle edition
• The Curse of the Barraneans , Political Thriller , 2015, Amazon CreateSpace Edition, ISBN 1512315583

fairy tale

• The teacher who lived in a book . Fairy Tales, 2012, E-Book, Kindle Edition

School materials, factual texts

• The Protestant Churches and Other Religions and Views , 1989, Mémorial 1989, Éditions mosellanes, Luxembourg.
• Fascinum et terrificium, Sects and Religions , 1990, Luxemburger Revue (L)
• Me , moral and social classes, in collaboration with Gaby Feiereisen-May, Michel Grevis, Marguerite Koob, Madeleine Weisgerber, Nathalie Zahles, 1994, Ministry of Education, Luxembourg
• You , moral and social classes, idem, 1997
• Friendship - Enmity , Moral and Social Lessons, idem, 1997
• Sexuality , Moral and Social Education, idem, 1997
• Family , moral and social classes, idem, 1998
• The world as living space , moral and social lessons, idem, 1998
• Environment: leisure time - school , moral and social classes, idem, 1998
• Laws - Rules of the Game , Moral and Social Education, idem, 1998
• Mass media , moral and social education, idem, 2000
• So I am , in collaboration with Marguerite Koob, 2000, Ludwig Auer Verlag, Donauwörth, ISBN 3-403-03169-1
• That's you , in collaboration with Marguerite Koob, 2000, Ludwig Auer Verlag, Donauwörth, ISBN 3-403-03170-5
• Girls and Boys , in collaboration with Marguerite Koob, 2001, Ludwig Auer Verlag, Donauwörth, ISBN 3-403-03171-3
• Friends - opponents - enemies , in collaboration with Marguerite Koob, 2000, Ludwig Auer Verlag, Donauwörth, ISBN 3-403-03172-1
• Little philosophers - great thinkers . Philosophizing with children in primary school, in collaboration with Marguerite Koob, 2006, Ludwig Auer Verlag, Donauwörth, ISBN 3-403-041255
• The small lexicon of values , 2011, Brigg Pädagogik Verlag, Augsburg, ISBN 3-871-016373
• The ethics class , 2011, Brigg Pädagogik Verlag, Augsburg, ISBN 3-871-012823
• Text collection ethics , anthology with short story for secondary education, 2011, Brigg Pädagogik Verlag, Augsburg, ISBN 3-871-017299
• Finding each other - working together , in collaboration with Marguerite Koob, 2012, Ludwig Auer Verlag, Donauwörth, ISBN 3-403-068242
• Dealing with conflicts , in collaboration with Marguerite Koob, 2012, Ludwig Auer Verlag, Donauwörth, ISBN 3-403-068307
• Appreciating rhythms, rituals and orders , in collaboration with Marguerite Koob, 2012, Ludwig Auer Verlag, Donauwörth, ISBN 3-403-068226
• Discover and respect culture in all its diversity , in collaboration with Marguerite Koob, 2012, Ludwig Auer Verlag, Donauwörth, ISBN 3-403-068250
• Being free and taking responsibility , in collaboration with Marguerite Koob, 2012, Ludwig Auer Verlag, Donauwörth, ISBN 3-403-068285
• Living with one another - dealing with feelings , in collaboration with Marguerite Koob, 2012, Ludwig Auer Verlag, Donauwörth, ISBN 3-403-068218
• Dealing with success and failure - having wishes , in collaboration with Marguerite Koob, 2013, Ludwig Auer Verlag, Donauwörth, ISBN 3-403-068293
• Protecting the environment , in collaboration with Marguerite Koob, 2013, Ludwig Auer Verlag, Donauwörth, ISBN 3-403-068269
• Learn to be amazed and feel respect , in collaboration with Marguerite Koob, 2013, Ludwig Auer Verlag, Donauwörth, ISBN 3-403-068234
• Thinking about life and death , in collaboration with Marguerite Koob, 2013, Ludwig Auer Verlag, Donauwörth, ISBN 3-403-068277

Web links

• Luxembourg Authors' Lexicon
• Conter, Claude: Berens, Norbert M. In: Luxembourg authors' lexicon online version . As of September 19, 2012
• Conter, Claude: Berens, Norbert M. In: Dictionnaire des auteurs luxembourgeois online version . Status: September 19, 2012 (French)
• bibnet.lu