Auf der Suche nach den »tollen Menschen«

Abstract In Search of the »Great People«. The Importance of Role Models in Pedagogy In this article, I trace the current debate on role models by examining central reflections from the recent past and asking what impulses emanate from these reflections and how they can be made fruitful again in the present. I refer to the modern concept of the role model in pedagogy and trace its development from Nietszche’s idea of the »great man« to Kurt Haase’s pedagogical reading of the concept of the role model, in order to attempt a critical reformulation of this concept in the second part with Wilfried Kuckartz and Thomas Mikhail. In the final part, and taking up the initial thoughts on the great man, I outline what it can mean to be a role model for oneself.