|
The Teacher as Artist by Maribeth Lockhart, Class of 2005 The idea that "Waldorf school education is not a pedagogical system but an Art-the Art of awakening what is actually there within the human being" resonates very powerfully for me. The thought that "the Waldorf school does not want to educate, but to awaken" --to nourish-- is especially compelling when we realize that this art starts with the teachers themselves and then reaches to the children. Throughout The Younger Generation, Steiner carefully and thoroughly describes how humanity has come to find itself in its present situation. Today, human beings find themselves in a cold, dry, empty culture "expressed in a withered life of mind and heart," filled with cleverness and even an inordinate pride in this cleverness, devoid of joy and true human-to-human connectedness, devoid of life and balance. Steiner concludes that "human beings have reduced themselves to their head and forced themselves to believe that the head is the most valuable part." Almost humorously, he reminds us that "to be tremendously learned is not difficult." Proceeding with "business as usual" and trying to solve our problems with the very thing that has caused them only hopelessly exacerbates the situation, especially with regard to how we approach education. Education that values only the head actually interrupts and hinders the child's development. It is incredibly comforting and inspiring to realize, then, that there is an alternative to this grim zeitgeist. There is an educational approach that is truly wise and compassionate and even joyful --which values and speaks to the whole child, not just his head. To understand that it is not the teacher's own sum of knowledge but the teacher's own being and individuality, and the artistic impulse permeating and enlivening the atmosphere between pupil and teacher which enable the children to slowly but surely come "to the full development of their own powers" is to feel hopeful again. Waldorf education values the child's feeling and will; it prizes human individuality; it strives to educate the child "for the whole of life." Waldorf education recognizes the tragedy in "exterminating what is alive in the child" and clearly sees what a precious thing it is that "the child wants to remain human," that children want "to feel the beating of their hearts again and not merely add something to their knowledge." |
|
|