Suhl celebrates: Caroline Arnold is Thuringia's best social studies teacher!

Suhl celebrates: Caroline Arnold is Thuringia's best social studies teacher!

Suhl, Deutschland - in the heart of Thuringia, more precisely in Suhl, a teacher was recently awarded for her extraordinary commitment. Caroline Arnold, who teaches at the Friedrich-König-Gymnasium, received the Thuringian Teachers' Prize for Social History 2025. This honor took place in the festive setting in the state parliament of Thuringia shortly before the summer vacation. The nomination was no coincidence, but by students, students and their colleagues who wanted to honor their services in political education and their special commitment in social studies. As Tagesschau reports that this prize was awarded in Berlin, whereby the focus was on the categories "exemplary school management", "lessons innovative" and "excellent teachers". The first place went to the Willy-Brandt School in Berlin in the “exemplary school management” category, followed by the Maria Gress School in Iffezheim and the Rahel Hirsch School in Berlin. The category "Lessons Innovative" was listed by Tina Bergen and Marc Brückner from the Christian-Ernestinum high school in Bayreuth.

challenges in education

A central point that was addressed at the award ceremony is the current situation in the education system. Jotam Felmy, a Berlin teacher, addressed warning words to educational policy and spoke about the pressing topics such as the mental health of the students and the high workload of the teachers. The frustration of the students about politics was also discussed. This problem was also taken up in the last rounds of competition in the German Teachers' Prize. Together with other participants, it was thought about ways how education policy can react more flexibly to social developments in order to take the challenges into account.

Not only single fighters are awarded in these competitions. Whole teams and innovative projects have also received great attention in the past and have created added value for many schools. At the end of March 2025 there was again a large award ceremony for the German Teachers' Prize - lessons innovative. Here, among other things, ten teachers, five teaching projects and three school management were honored, which shows that engagement in education in Germany is very popular. The winners come from a total of seven federal states and a German school abroad, which underlines the diversity and the common search for new ways in class. Lehrkraeftepreis.de illuminates the special moments of these honors and the inspiring stories behind the projects.