“To Germinate The wishes of the soul, Growing acts of will Mature fruits of life.” Rudolf Steiner
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Centro Educativo Waldorf
FUNDAMENTALS
When children relate what they learn to their own experience, they are interested and alive, and what they learn becomes their own. Waldorf schools are designed to foster this kind of learning. Waldorf education has its roots in the scientificspiritual research of the Austrian scientist and thinker, Rudolf Steiner (18611925). In April of 1919, Rudolf Steiner visited the Waldorf Astoria cigarette factory in Stuttgart, Germany. The German nation, defeated by the First World War, was teetering on the brink of economic, social and political chaos. Steiner spoke to the factory workers about the need for social renewal, for a new way of organizing society and its political and cultural life. Emil Molt, the owner of the factory, asked Steiner if he would undertake to establish and lead a school for the children of the employees of the company. Steiner agreed, but set four conditions, each of which went against common practice of the day: 1. That the school be open to all children; 2. That it be coeducational; 3. That it be a unified twelveyear school; 4. That the teachers, those individuals actually in contact with the children, have primary control of the school, with a minimum interference from the State or from economic sources. Steiner’s conditions were radical for the day, but Molt gladly agreed to them. 1
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On September 7, 1919, the Free Waldorf School (Die freie Waldorfschule) opened its doors. Today there are different Waldorf schools all over the world that subscribe to this pedagogical movement created by Rudolf Steiner. No two schools are identical; each is administratively independent. Nevertheless, a visitor would recognize many characteristics common to them all. Steiner’s premise is to work beginning with the child. And to work with each child requires people and institutions that are willing to put themselves to the side in order to place the focus of concern on the child, without any other motives. This notion poses a challenge for the teacher, because it obliges her or him to recognize that each child is a being unto her or himself. This being has “something” to say regarding her or his education. The teacher must learn to take heed of this “something”. The main basis of Waldorf teaching has to do with a particular idea of personhood. The idea is to follow a person from childhood, throughout the different evolutionary phases and throughout an integral education. The Waldorf teacher respects the child’s individuality and thus guides her or him to grow into a free and autonomous adult. Today, almost one hundred years after this initiative, there are more than 1200 Waldorf schools all over the world
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SEPTENNIUMS
One of the central pillars of Waldorf education is the study and understanding of the biography of human development. This pedagogy recognizes the different phases in a person’s life. According to Waldorf philosophy, these phases take place in sevenyear cycles, or septenniums. During each septennium, a human being presents and develops certain characteristics. During this time, the person becomes aware of certain needs and capabilities. In education it is fundamental to accompany and respect the first three septenniums. In this way, children and youth can grow and shape themselves.
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EARLY CHILDHOOD (1st septennium, 07 years)
Babies and young children submit themselves completely to their physical environment. They absorb the world through their senses. They respond with the most active mode of learning: imitation. Ideally what stands out during this phase is GOODNESS. All that a child learns in the first phase of life is assimilated by IMITATION. Imitation is determined by internal factors, such as temperament, or type of character. The child absorbs all that surrounds her or him, and integrates it without a rational or conscious filter. For this reason, those that dedicate themselves to small children (parents, caregivers, and teachers) have the responsibility of creating an environment worthy of the child’s imitation, without question. Thus it is necessary to provide surroundings that offer adequate and meaningful routines and activities. These routines and activities respect and value childhood, so that through imitation the child builds all her or his being. During this phase, children should do activities related to the senses and corporal development. The child develops skills thanks to the natural capacity for imitation she or he possesses.
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The preschool teacher is in charge of guiding different daily activities, such as kneading and baking bread, gardening, waterÂcolor painting, making small looms, free play, circle time, and folktales. Complete involvement in such activities is the best preparation the child can have for life. This helps establish the foundation of the powers of concentration, interest in, and love of learning that will last for a lifetime. Each classroom has baskets of seeds, snail shells, blankets, bark, wool, and tree trunks. Children turn these materials into little cars, fruits, or dolls as they interact with their classmates. All these elements permit the child to focus her or his efforts on the purest perceptions to develop fantasy and the senses through play. The child thus lays the foundations for thinking.
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MIDDLE CHILDHOOD (2nd septennium, 714 years)
The basic ideal that stands out during the second septennium is BEAUTY and its characteristic, which is IMAGINATIVE art. When children are ready to leave preschool and enter primary school, they have an avid desire to explore the world of experience, for the second time. Before, they identified the world and imitated. Now, at a more conscious level, they are ready to get to know it again through means of imagination. Imagination is the extraordinary power of human cognition that permits us to “see” an image, “listen” to a story, and “guess” hidden meanings behind appearances. The basic virtue of the second septennium is the predisposition for love, that which leads to veneration and devotion, which are essential beloved authority one of the fundamental pedagogical principals. The child must cultivate respect and veneration for the person who teaches her or him. It is absolutely essential to have a being, a teacher, whom the child can love profoundly. This is how the child receives the content of the teacher’s lessons. For the child, that which the teacher transmits is true. During the years in primary school, the teacher’s job is to transform all that the child needs to learn about
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the world via the language of the imagination. This is as real as intellectual analysis for an adult. Included are the riches from ancient, less intellectual eras, the stories, legends and myths that speak of the truth in parables and images. All these are an invaluable treasure for the teacher. When these are seen through the lens of the imagination, nature, the world of numbers, math, geometric form, and practical work they feed the soul of the child. Anything that calls the imagination, that is deeply felt, that stirs up and activates feelings, can be remembered and learned.
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ADOLESCENCE (3rd Septennium, 14Â21 years)
In the glorious turbulence of adolescence, the personality celebrates its independence and looks to explore the world yet again, in a new way. On the inside, the young person, the human being who has been given years of education, is maturing silently. Eventually the individual will emerge. At this age, young people are in search of the TRUTH, and to this end they engage in independent thinking and understanding of the complex ways of the world. At this stage, the human being is not creative in his or her own body, but he or she is creative in the sense of creating their own individuality. Only after this septennium is the human organism structured and shaped to go into the world with social maturity, and with the ability to form groups and communities. The guiding force, at this stage, is seeking to lead young people towards autonomy, as free individuals, so that they can situate themselves in the world as receptive beings, aware of the times in which they are living. In these three big stages, we see the first steps in human development: initially totally dependent, then learning about the world, finally moving toward autonomy. In this way, the Waldorf education aims to create a learning space for each child and youth to develop his or her own capabilities.
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PLAN & METHOD
The Waldorf School, rather than pursue an abstract goal or uniform education, intends instead to fortify the students’ individual characteristics, preparing them to be social beings adept at living in the world with others. The plan and method of teaching is tailored to the developmental stages and individual characteristics of the child. The atmosphere at the school is not influenced by fear of qualifications, as Waldorf evaluates a wider range of criteria which include the whole human being. First and foremost, a collaborative work environment is established, an environment which allows the child to learn, grow and mature. In Waldorf schools, intellectual, artistic, and manual skills have equal importance, and all the abilities and talents of the child are given time to develop. The idea is to stimulate the various intellectual, artistic and manual aptitudes because, deep down, we want to enable the development of discernment while at the same time encouraging a sense of well being, and affirming each individual’s will. This paves the way toward freedom and responsibility. The basic principle of the Waldorf education suggests that the goal of every teacher should be “To awaken the individual faculties of each child so they learn how to learn”.
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In other words, that child learns to create for his or her self, his or her own knowledge. In each grade, materials are presented according to the age and unique development of each child. It is very important to know the ideal moment and particular way the material should be presented. It needs to meet the needs and possibilities of the student. In other words, the Waldorf pedagogy takes into account the stages of childhood development (any acceleration can cause long term irreversible damage). THE ARTS AND PRACTICALS SKILLS
Waldorf teachers believe that a human being is not only a brain, but a brain with a heart and extremities, a being with a will and emotions on par with the intellect. To ensure that an education doesn’t produce individuals inclined toward the extreme of the mind, stunted in emotional health and will, these less acknowledged aspects of our human nature must be constantly used, nourished and guided. This is where the arts and manual handicrafts have an essential contribution, educating the heart and hands, and the mind. Waldorf schools are not intended to train specialists in art. There is a different purpose, which is to provide deep inner experiences. There is no more effective activity for the cultivation
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of basic activities in the first septennium of early childhood than art. Through the creation of art, humans gain the experience of being fully engaged with all soulful activities, and with every fiber of their being, as they struggle to solve a problem that is important to them. With artistic activity, the fundamental abilities are being engaged: to observe, create, respond, cultivate interest, awaken the imagination, and strengthen the will. There is no better way to strengthen the will than to practice something with dedication and joy, over and over again, overcoming difficulties and obstacles in the process. In this way, the school becomes a path where a variety of experiences enrich the soul of the child, educating the whole human being, not just the head, but also the heart and the hands.
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Centro Educativo Waldorf
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