| Discovering Michaelmas by Michael Ro, Class of 2003 Michaelmas has always been a mystery for me. I had not heard of the festival when I was introduced to it two years ago, and even now as a third year teacher training student, I still feel that my connection to the event - though growing - is tenuous. Year after year, I have attempted to truly grasp the reason and thought behind the celebration of this festival. Recently, through this struggle, I was able to both further my understanding of Michaelmas and gain an important insight into Waldorf pedagogy. This year, during our Michaelmas assembly in the teacher training, Dorit Winter spoke of the spirit of Michaelmas. She used stories of Antarctic explorers, including Shackleton and Cherry Apsley-Gerrard, as representations of the "Michaëlic Spirit." Coincidentally, in our grades curriculum class just prior to the assembly, Deborah Krikorian had also brought the example of Shackleton in explaining the versatility of using human biographies as a teaching medium. The unexpected re-emergence of the explorers in the assembly engaged my interest, though I was not aware of exactly how until later. In the moment, I was struck with surprise by the linkage, not sure whether it had been planned or a mere "co-incidence" [Ed. Note: it was a coincidence]. I found out later, during my studies, that something more was brewing with me. As a third year student, I have been exploring Study of Man by Rudolf Steiner. After the assembly, my reading of these lectures took on a new quality. While reading, thoughts of Michaelmas were constantly returning to me. It was as if I was reading the lectures looking through a lens tinted with the spirit of Michaelmas. Passages became imbued with deeper meaning. For example: "Men regard it as a tremendously noble thing to repent of a deed; repentance is based upon sheer egoism: one would like to have done something better in order to be a better man. That is egoistic. Our efforts will only cease to be egoistic when we do not wish to have done a thing better than we have done it, but consider it far more important to do the same thing better next time." I found this quote strongly related to the near-disastrous expeditions of the Antarctic explorers. The men found the necessary strength to fight despair, not allowing themselves to pine away wishing for different circumstances. Realizing what faced them, they did what they needed to do and strode forward. This link between Michaelmas, Shackleton and Study of Man proved to be very powerful for me. The Waldorf curriculum thrives on this type of linkage. Subjects are consciously and deliberately tied together, not only within a year, but through the entire span of a child's life in school. With themes constantly resurfacing, reinforcing, and growing from each other throughout the years, the children have the opportunity to look at their studies and the world through many different lenses. Just as I was able to look at the Study of Man lectures with a new and fresh perspective, the children continuously gain an enlivened way to look at the world. |
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