Flachsmann als Erzieher (1930)

In the German Empire at the turn of the century, schools are generally run as institutions where discipline and order are expected to reign. But things are not always as amusing as they are in *The Punch Bowl*. In the school depicted here, two utterly different worlds collide: those of the young teacher Jan Flemming and the hidebound rector, Jürgen Heinrich Flachsmann. Flachsmann represents the old and outdated—the nineteenth-century teaching establishment, built on uncompromising strictness—while Flemming is the complete opposite: the young, dynamic educator students hope for in the future, someone who adapts to his pupils and shows great understanding of them and their concerns. Their profoundly opposing views of their profession often bring Flachsmann and Flemming into conflict. Their differences come to a head one day when a senior teacher’s position at the school is to be filled. Rector Flachsmann is determined to appoint his colleague Karsten Diercks, who is extremely lazy but has compromising material on Flachsmann. To stop Flemming, who is also applying for the post, from thwarting his plans, Flachsmann launches a plot against the popular colleague: he promptly initiates disciplinary proceedings against Flemming. Only the pretty teacher Gisa Holm takes Flemming’s side; all the other teachers fear damage to their careers and remain firmly loyal to Flachsmann. The arriving school inspector, Prell, is expected to set things right. The seasoned education professional soon spots serious flaws in Flachsmann’s system, including his excessive leniency toward the incompetent candidate for senior teacher, Diercks. When it emerges that the rector never attended university and that his entire career rests on a deception—Flachsmann used the documents of his deceased brother—it also becomes clear what Diercks is using to blackmail him. School inspector Prell congratulates Gisa and Jan on their upcoming engagement and tells Jan that, as the new senior teacher, he is also to take over the running of the school.