Abstract

This article reconstructs a conflict arising in a primary school in an inner-city district of Berlin. A pencil case of a newly enrolled girl with a migration background has been hidden. Is it a mobbing act? The teacher feels affected and reacts aggressively. In a longue monologue she collectively holds to account the children. Through her facial expressions, her gestures, her posture, and the prosody of her voice she communicates her moral point of view and her critique of the children. Emphatically she demands not to exclude but to integrate the girl. The interruption of the lesson indicates the importance of the conflict. To avoid the creation of a scapegoat the situation is taken seriously. Committed to the idea of a parenting instruction the teacher wants to secure recognition and appreciation among the children. The question arises if her strong emotional reaction is the adequate way to avoid the exclusion of the girl.