Kim Witt

When I ask myself today why education matters so much to me, there is no single answer. Many experiences, encounters and detours have shaped my outlook. I am not a conventional teacher — and I see that as my strength.

My journey began early: I started karate at six and later taught children and young people across Germany. In competitive sport, I experienced how differently people learn, face challenges and exceed their own expectations. I soon realised: Every child brings their own story — education cannot follow a single template.

In human resources, I also supported apprentices and their trainers, mediating between different needs and perspectives. This broadened my view of education: school should prepare young people academically and help them find their own path, take responsibility and shape their place in life and the working world.

As a volunteer school inspector in Hamburg, I gained another perspective on teaching, educational approaches, structures and school development. My later educational journey through Asia showed me how differently schools can be organised and how similar children’s needs are everywhere: Connection, safety, trust, challenges and room to discover their own strengths.

As educational director at Wüssenswerk, I bring these varied experiences together. I believe in continually asking why we do something and whether there might be a better way. That includes self-criticism: a school that teaches children that mistakes are part of learning must live by that attitude itself.

For me, education is not simply something we give children. It is something we shape together, anew, every day.