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A class teacher's perspective after a number of years.Of necessity, this can only be an attenuated outline of some of the leading concepts underlying the educational philosophy of this and similar schools. However, we often find that enquirers have preconceived notions about what Steiner education is about. Thus, if you feel like going to the source of the pedagogical ideas, you may follow up the literature listed below, which in turn represents only a small sample of readily available material. Or you may visit another web-site on the subject. If, on the other hand, you would like one teacher's personal impressions of what the education is about, try reading on:
There are some immediate, striking contrasts with conventional ideas on schools and schooling that will become apparent, but then one comes to other concepts that may well be unfamiliar, so that one might be led to wonder how anyone had the confidence to found a deeply integrated approach seemingly unrelated to that of other educationalists. One may soon perceive that Rudolf Steiner's ideas on education are original and that they also have the ring of a universal, timeless wisdom about them. It is better that the ideas be regarded as inspired, rather than merely the views of one person.
What other approach to pedagogy is based on a perception that a young human being incarnates at birth into a succession of naturally ordered phases and stages - that they are not just to do with physical growth, but of emotional growth and individual personality, linked to fundamental concepts on destiny? It is perceived that the human spirit brings to a growing infant a mantle of forces, of life forces and a potential of soul growth, as well as what may be referred to as karma.
In other words, education isn't deemed to be primarily about the learning of well honed skills, but on filling out the soul life and advancing the development of a well balanced personality. It aims to develop flexible and imaginative powers of thinking, a rich inner life of soul, being at the same time sociable and responsible, and a practised development of concentration and purpose. Essentially, anthroposophical education is holistic, aiming to foster a free and fearless human spirit, able to direct with a loving heart a life of service.
There is an immediate contrast here in terms of priorities and methodology with conventional schooling, which, though ostensibly seeking to develop the potential in each individual, does so in a series of target accomplishments, thought to be of prime importance, and leading to tests and examinations in essentially competitive learning systems. A proportion of such skills may be seen as a somewhat forced approach to intellectual learning, which leapfrog over other necessary stages.
This latter is very far from Rudolf Steiner's insights into the needs of the young human being, in whatever culture in the world that he has been born in. For Steiner perceived that the first seven years of life are mainly, but not exclusively, in need of expression of imitation and activity in a loving surrounding. Steiner drew parallels between species in the plant world and the forms of human growth, in that babies can be likened to button mushrooms, and 5 and 6 year olds likened to young fir saplings, striding confidently and sprightly into life. The incredible capacity for imitation of a young child, as Steiner saw it, is not just that of learning the mother tongue and the copying of behaviour and mannerisms, but of absorbing all manner of influence by means of an acute sensitivity.
Whereas many people would see education as beginning to get going in the social activity of the infant play-group or crèche, with its opportunities for interaction and play, the Steiner view would foremost value the parental role and home, which the child is seen to have chosen. Therefore, to equate the modern state's approach encouraging parents to go out to work, for the provision of child minders and pre-schools, is not, one might say, quite the set of priorities that we would share, even though there may be some inevitability of such substitutes.
You may see that the kindergarten is really conceived as a home-like environment, some advantage being that the trained person in charge, being used to children, aware that they have come down to the earth from the starry realms and requiring a calm, daily rhythm, can tell them stories that mention the stars, as well as the seas, forests and mountains as images and the background for fairy tales. Practical activities will be provided in which children can really become absorbed, without a fixed end in mind, and with plenty of opportunities for imaginative play.
Play, it would seem, takes various forms, though for Steiner, who regarded it as providing the opportunity to develop flexibility of mind, it is conceived as being of lasting benefit all through life. Whereas many people would regard play as learning experience, without denying this, we would see its prime function as a budding growth point of mental faculties that will ripen in course of time. Quiet, unbroken absorption in play is viewed as really important. The classic image of the quietly playing child is something to hold in mind; the phrase 'purposeful play' is not.
Similarly, it is picture-forming capacity of the inner eye, in the view of Rudolf Steiner, that so importantly develops as children listen to stories. He said that it is so much better to tell stories, rather than read them, for the teller, too, can picture what she relates to the listener. It is held to be good to tell stories slowly, and quite quietly. If the children follow wide-eyed and attentive, so much the better. The continuous viewing of pictures as in television, and this does not refer to coloured illustrations, cuts out the need to call forth image-forming development in the mind. It is this inner capacity for picture-forming that is considered to lay the foundation for imagination and spirited thinking. If such stories also contain the wisdom of traditional fairy tales, of which much could be written, so much the better.
Contrast this consistent and well-proven approach to child upbringing with the cacophony of the modern world, with all its various stimuli, not least by so-called educational toys and gadgets, then one can see that such materialistic impressions can so readily lead to a lack of concentration. Ponder the effects of watching a screen, which are said almost to have an addictive effect, how lazy some aspects of the mind may become. In retrospect, parents may see how easy it is to get carried away by the swing of things. How far have we come from the time when a hand-made dress for a child's doll or a skipping rope might be a well received birthday present!
Seen from the Steiner philosophy point of view, the modern approach to stimulating young children in a variety of ways is to awaken their consciousness too soon. For once triggered, this process tends to continue, leading to early maturation that has concertina'd important intervening stages. This has been recognized, for instance, in Norway, where the teachers of 5 and 6 year-olds take the children out on walks and activities in nature and introduce them to imaginative, social activities before they are advanced to formal learning.
In Steiner schools, it is only when a child's front teeth have started to change, showing that the life forces are free to engage on new tasks, that formal teaching is begun. At this period, wax or clay modelling is said to be of real benefit, as may be witnessed in part by the healthy colour that comes, when so occupied, to a child's cheeks! It is probably known to the reader already that children are not introduced to printed books nor asked to learn to read before the age of 7. At this age, in Class I, are shewn in stages how the sounds of language have character of their own and how the pictorial forms of these settle into the shapes of the letters of the alphabet.
In short, children are encouraged to become engaged in the activity of writing, related to story material, well before reading, which is a much more passive activity. In its own time, reading can simply arise out of writing in a child's own picture book. Neither is there any pressure to advance, or indeed the need for this at this age, as progress in any case may be inward and by no means always obvious. At all events, any sign of pallor in the face, is taken as an indication not to require mental work for the time being.
We have encountered recent experience of a boy, aged 7, who was reluctant to write down letters, even with wax crayons in colour, nor to join in the speaking of a verse with other children in class. One might suppose that he was a slow learner, as they say. But the day came, without any warning, when he joined in the verse, speaking out as though he knew it well and confidently that he was able to, and did, write out letters clearly. In other words, one can wait on children. It is the willingness to be patient in such cases which is perhaps the hallmark of the loving educator.
This, in an important sense, is what Steiner education is all about - that of loving young human beings, loving good stories, loving working together, loving art, music and rhythm and, in a word, loving life. This is profoundly true, which makes Steiner schools warm and cheerful places to visit. Yet, despite the frequency of sunny days in the world, sometimes there are rainy days and even storms. Schools are a bit like the world and society in miniature. It does not follow that nobody ever has a bad day. Destiny brings people together. Part of the opportunity of this is to provide opportunities for learning of various kinds.
As may be known, a child in a class in a Steiner Waldorf school will likely stay with a class of children and its teacher for a number of years, as many as eight years in all. It is sometimes asked: "What if a child does not like his/her teacher?" Sometimes, a child goes off a teacher, who may have displayed impatience or irritation towards it. It may take time to work through such problems, yet with the teacher meditating on a positive outcome the clouds can clear away. If the teacher's mood remains positive, and trust remain between parent and teacher, then things can come right.
Let there be no mistake. There is an affirmation of the good in every individual. There is no place for punishment or condemnation in school. The aim, though, is to learn to work, so that in certain cases work may have to be finished off, one way or another, though without coercion. It is art of all kinds which is the greatest help in resolution of problems, art which is therapeutic. Steiner highlighted this as no one else has done, the extreme value of art within education and that education itself can be seen as an art. Art and love, love and art, lie at the very core of the pedagogy.
A polarity of love can be taken to be fear. A verse by Steiner for parents to say to children at every bed-time is: "....nothing brings fear, but love to all around me." It is almost as though Steiner rated fear as the one emotion that has to be faced down, with the need for this to develop moral courage. Time and again, Steiner says that children can be told of stories of courage and the upholding of clear, unafraid thinking, in freedom of spirit. This is the long-term sway of the education, preparing young people for the time when they will take up their task in life.
In order to achieve such a worthy aim, Steiner would not have us get there by exhortation, by moralizing or by dogma. To think this would be totally to misunderstand the means of attaining such strength of character. Personal example and stories and biographies stir young people's idealism. Children have to learn to work, but not by the teacher standing over them. The work at every point has to be suitable for their age, with some shared social aims of the whole class, yet allowing of individual expression. It is the concept of the individual working alongside the whole class group, at his own level, which is another such important aspect of the pedagogy.
Absent is the concept, so common elsewhere, of the pupil who is top of the class or rated the best at something. Such thoughts have to be set aside. Yet it does not follow that pupils do not themselves wish to do well or be unwilling to admire the achievements of others. And even the child who may be thought of as less well endowed with natural abilities will be valued for what he is and what he/she can do. The system does not produce drop-outs, even though patience is sometimes needed. It is sad when a class breaks up because some pupils are entered for other secondary education, when the class spirit that has formed is such a powerful support as children enter puberty. It is often seen that when classes hold together until they all leave keep in touch with each other subsequently.
Steiner explains that quite apart from the more ordinary ties that being with a group of children over a number of years brings, in all the experiences they share. there are more subtle links beneath the threshold of consciousness, A teacher who has been at centre stage over the period between a child's 7th and 14th birthday has almost become life and blood to them. Are there, then, disadvantages that such an influence may bring, compared to the more ordinary idea of children coming yearly, and even more frequently, under the influence of a variety of teachers?
Here again, the concept of a child's destiny comes to the fore. The teacher, man or woman, will have his/her own personality, some strengths and even some weaknesses possibly, so that classes may develop some particular characteristics. This is quite accepted in a large school. One teacher might be very strong in singing, for example, whilst another more gifted in art or drama. It might seem a matter of faith to go along with this, but actually it does seem to work out well, you might be surprised.
Steiner education may be described from different points of view. However, it is worth pursuing the theme of courage a little further, for it holds, as has been said, an important position in the pedagogy. This can be shewn by reference to the story material for the various age-groups. In fairy stories, fortitude in adversity is a frequent theme; so is the moral courage of saints, as related in the legends of Saint Francis and Saint Martin. In the Bible stories in Genesis, in addition to the authority of the Lord God, there are the various accounts of courageous obedience of the patriarchs. In sequence, the above form the theme material for the ages from 7 to 9 years of age.
For the following year, again there are tales in the Norse myths of courageous feats by the gods in outwitting the giants in Juttenheim and amongst the elemental forces of nature. For 11 year-olds, there are new tales of heroism in all sorts of predicaments, that call at times for a certain amount of guile. Later again, there are epic battles and accounts of the Roman legions, followed up by descriptions of the early explorers on voyages of discovery. In every case, there is wonderful literature to be followed, with the gradual extension of syntax, grammar and vocabulary.
Constantly, though, the approach to such stories is through feeling and imagination, inculcating not so much conscious knowledge, though the stories will certainly be remembered much later in life, but a respect and even a reverence for former times. Steiner education is very much to do with preparing young people for modern life, yet paradoxically, it might seem, draws on former cultural periods to root the personalities of the young. It isn't too much to claim that we ourselves have lived through such former periods on earth. This deepens and broadens our outlook.
To focus on further aspects, and it is hardly possible in trying to do justice to the individual who channelled this system of modern education - so as to incarnate at the appropriate time for the world - not to be quite serious about it. This leads us on to human freedom and concerns about authority. Many people might think that Steiner education is hardly likely to lay stress on a feeling for authority. Isn't the whole idea, somebody might say, that it is a free sort of school, with pupils having a big say, perhaps, in how much and what they do? Are not such schools sometimes conceived as free-thinking and radical?
This may well be true in one context, yet misleading in another. After all, children have to attend lessons and there is a regular programme of work. Yet it is certainly true that authority is not seen as something that has to be imposed, but rather that children innately have within them a natural disposition to look towards authority and to accept it. This is what one would expect to happen with children in respect of their class teacher, the adult outside of their family whom they come to respect, even to love. It is again an important and humbling concept that a teacher can have such influence.
This, of course, is not confined to Steiner education, as can be witnessed in many schools. A very healthy attitude may also often be witnessed from children to the leaders of people who work with and teach children in sports and activities, particularly when they have enthusiasm and they like working with children. But when teachers in schools are changed yearly, and the tasks set become more important than relationships, this does not give so much chance for natural authority and trust to develop.
Yet respect for authority in childhood matures and ripens in adulthood into tolerance and even forming the potential in old age for benevolence and blessing. All through life it is well to retain a healthy respect for the authority of the forces of nature and indeed for the Creator. That puts quite another slant on things.
In short, teachers have to learn to dispense their privileged position of authority with good grace and not a little humour. With a humble attitude teachers may even feel that they can learn from children. It is a mistake to conceive of oneself as just an adult, or children just as children. For we do well to keep the freshness, the innocence and the imagination of childhood alive in us, as well as to remember that children bring with them much of worth. It is our aim to keep the spirit of childhood alive in children. It is really mistaken for education to become too matter of fact.
Though a teacher in a Steiner school may feel grave in his conscientiousness and serious in his expectation of good work, he is as ready at other times to join in the fun and, indeed, can gain in stature by so doing. Spirited enjoyment of life is the balanced compliment of high endeavour. Steiner made much of concepts of balance in teaching, of which the above is but just one example. Children can and should enjoy school.
To advance this further, there is the enjoyment of learning to play the recorder, an art form with its own laws, requiring and necessitating a feeling for authority and also fostering sensitivity to truth. For if the wrong note is sounded, one is forced to accept and face the truth. Some children, indeed, find this difficult, or are unwilling to learn with patience, The thing is to persevere and not to let children give up learning to play an instrument.
A sense for truth is also engendered by the re-telling of stories, either verbally or in writing accurate accounts. This is strongly featured in the education, with good descriptions of stories and actual events such as outings, as experience in accurate recollection and inherently leading to honesty. Fanciful stories by children, based on natural untruths can lead to deviancy, rich imagination being one thing and far-fetched distortion being quite another Children's minds are assaulted by too weird pseudo-tales one way and another.
A developed feeling for truth is also essential for accurate observations of phenomena in science, indeed really being a prerequisite for these. The earliest that aspects of science are covered in Steiner schools is in Class V, as around the age of 11 years is seen as the counterpart to the time in mankind's cultural history when science began to emerge in Ancient Greece. This was the time when the arts and philosophy also flowered, it being an important concept in Steiner education that science be not studied prior to the arts, not already having an established comprehensive foundation.
And so you may see, even in this short account, how deeply integrated are moral and spiritual values in the proper education of human beings, for a feeling for honesty, for courage, for truth. for human endeavour, for art, for tolerance, for human individual differences, for service, for respect for nature and an undistorted approach to science. The growth of logic and reason tends to enter at a later stage. Much more could be added about the secondary education stage in Steiner/Waldorf schools, which is beyond the scope of this article, but about which much more could be added.
Is then the education 'Christian', otherwise religious or some kind of humanist substitute for it, for the values mentioned above seem eternal? What is the difference, it may be asked between classic and traditional orthodoxy and what has been described? You have, do you not, a yes and no answer, where anyone may admit that the aims are thoroughly thought through and worthy of respect, and yet one may well be forced to admit that a child's experience of school might be otherwise to what one has known oneself or necessarily readily trust. And what about the implications concerning reincarnation, which seem at points to be implied?
The short answer to whether Steiner schools are 'Christian', despite the apparent contradiction in terms, is that the teachers themselves would certainly feel identified with a religious attitude and almost certainly in the Western world consider themselves Christian, though possibly not as usually conceived by the Churches. However, this does not preclude teachers in other cultures and regions of the world - and identifying with other religions - also perceiving the truths in the pedagogy.
The wonder is that the pedagogy upholds universal spiritual truths and can be applied for the education of children the world over. Indeed, little by little, such recognition is already beginning to happen. This approach to pedagogy not only works in Europe, let us say, where it arose, but in far-flung places in the world, in all the continents on Earth. And wherever it catches on, it makes for a common brotherhood of man and minimizes differences of race, national culture and even differences between the major religions. This is not the least remarkable aspect about it.
It is safe to say that this will be seen to be so more and more in the future. For this approach to education is fundamentally still in its infancy, even now, 85 years after its inception. This is because, one may sense, it is really founded on real insights and solid truths. This is the way to set up schools, that respect human individuality and enhance potential, quite untied to the dictates of external committees of one kind and another. Schools themselves need to be self regulating and free from political interference. It will be seen in this millennium how far these realizations will have spread and developed.
No account of Steiner Waldorf education really ought to omit a reference to eurythmy. The reader will be well able to press the right buttons, possibly to consult the World Book or more likely on a Steiner web-site for a full account of what all this is about. But for what it is worth, there follows a brief description that will be consistent in tone with this article. Eurythmy, as taught in Steiner Waldorf schools, as part of the education of children - an important part, is to be distinguished from other forms of eurythmy.
These are otherwise the movement as a stage art movement to speech of individual speaker or chorus or else to music of small ensemble or larger orchestra. It may be on quite a large scale and staged in large halls or theatres. On the other hand, curative eurythmy may be utilized by highly trained therapists for all manner of human conditions and incapacities. Both have made very established headway and are widely respected. Also introduced by Rudolf Steiner, with the agency of Frau Marie Steiner and others, were all sorts of exercises for children in school classes.
Fair-sized Steiner/Waldorf schools may well have a eurythmist as teaching member of staff to give lessons to classes once or twice a week. Otherwise, smaller schools, such as the Wroxham school, may well have to do what they can by way of movement and rhythm. Movement for children in very important. However, eurythmy is to be distinguished from dance or physical education, or from anything much else, though, to be fair, at one level it does bear comparison with some of the gestures that have entered in recent years into movement and music lessons. If anything, in a way, this shows that people are really ready for it, even in a sense hungering for it.
It may be helpful, then, to consider eurythmy, not just possibly as an unfamiliar name, to do with arm movements and stepping, though this is just an elementary beginning to a huge subject. With young children, it may be little more than stepping to the notes or rhythm of a musical melody or to the words of a verse. Even children's movements to old-fashioned nursery rhymes, which they love to do, can be seen as elementary eurythmy.
Eurythmy in other words is enjoyable, or it certainly should be. It is also for everyone, young and old. It aims to convey, by certain arm movements that express feeling in gesture, the sounds of the spoken word and these may combine with steps in spatial forms, patterns and sequences. All this can readily put one on the spot, requiring attention and concentration and thus involving one's mind, one's feeling and the movement of one's arms and legs. It becomes a very holistic exercise!
The thing is that eurythmy has rules, not unlike clear speaking or singing, which to begin with are conveyed just by example and left largely uncorrected, though it cannot be sloppy. It isn't like a physical exercise. It does leave some freedom of expression to individual temperament. It is both individual and social, and indeed the social aspect is important. In such ways it is therapeutic and very much in line with the rest of the pedagogy.
Each lesson in eurythmy is enlivening, for it seeks to engage the life forces, to fill out the soul and to engage all members of the human entity, the body, soul and spirit. It sets out consciously to bring about balance, posture, nobility of movement and presence of mind. Indeed, eurythmy is almost an education in itself. Like fairy stories, it would do an immense amount for law-breakers in society of every description. Lest this be considered to be over-stated, one may add a little more to the claim that eurythmy is highly beneficial.
One can tell very easily whether a child or adult is trying in eurythmy and something of a person's psyche just by observing it, as well as the progress a person is making. There is something noble and compelling about it. And like singing, one can see how see how much good it does for the human being. When did you last hear of a ballet dancer or opera singer up before a Court? It is the same with a eurythmist - perhaps even less likely! Eurythmy with children shows to the discerning eye where they are and how they have come on. Anybody, everybody, can benefit from eurythmy.
Where, then, are the descriptions in all the above for the ordinary things expected to be learnt in school? These are covered, of course, in a wide and carefully considered curriculum. Think of grammar, it is there. Think of languages, they are there. Think of number, arithmetic, geometry and algebra, they are there. Look at the abbreviated curriculum appended below on this web-site. Look at the work covered in school to the age of 13 alone and you will find it wide-ranging. Number in particular is important, for number is closely related to the essence of childhood.
However, if there is one subject with which to conclude this description of Steiner's pedagogy, it might well be geography. Like history these days, geography, at least in the U.K. has tended to become an after-thought. After all, can one not look up in an atlas or encyclopaedia all that might very well need to have occasion to find out? In a Steiner school, though, rather like art, geography isn't so much a separate subject, though there may be a main lesson on it at some point for a few weeks, as much as something that can be brought in at any point and into almost any lesson.
Inherently, in a Grimm fairy tale, there are geographical situations, accounts of journeys through rivers, seas, mountains and hills, with not infrequent mention of the sun, moon and stars. So it is in the good book of the Bible, that model of story-telling, with its continual references to geography and the sense of dramatic situations in speech. Think of the varied settings of Shakespeare's plays. Think of fables, legends, myths and epic poetry, Norse Gods, Greek heroes and Portuguese explorers. You will find aspects of geography in all of these and much elsewhere besides.
This can be expanded to take in everything under the sun and made that much more conscious, for children are already primed with interest in the world, albeit progressively from simple home surroundings outwards. Essentially, children have come down to the Earth because they love the Earth, as well as common humanity, and they want to know about the world and to feel it as part of themselves, not just something out there, but part of their own being. So what we are doing by telling children about the world and people in it is filling up and lighting corners of their being. If anybody, anywhere, would like to know more, by all means press the right buttons and get in touch.
Peter H. Reeve. 01/07/01 updated Jan.2005
Peter attended Emerson College teacher training course in 1968 to 1970, working as a class teacher at Michael House school in Derbyshire for five years, returning to Norfolk with his wife, Roswitha, to build their family of three girls and one boy. These in the course of time all passed through the little Norfolk Steiner school, spending the last four years of their education to the age of 18 plus at the Rudolf Steiner School of Edinburgh and have since each moved on through university. See news of old scholars. Peter is currently teaching his fourth class of children, Roswitha her third.
Class 2 at Wroxham
Eurythmy at Wroxham
Age 7: Grimms' fairy stories. telling and recapitulating - a basis for speaking and writing in English. The forms and characteristics of letters of the alphabet. The singing of nursery rhymes and the like. Movement in rhythms; stepping and clapping. Water-colour painting and wax-crayon art work. Modelling in plasticine, etc. Practical work in number: shop-keeping and measuring. Imaginative drama. Verbal introduction to French and German through singing, games etc. Various outdoor activities. Introduction to pentatonic recorder. Age 8: Stories from fables and saints (St. Francis and the like) Further Grimms' tales. Careful listening and recounting. (very little analysis) Seasonal songs and verses learnt by heart. Practice in writing of known material. Continuation with movement exercises in eurythmy. Regular work in water-colour painting and wax-crayons. Regular work in modelling. Introduction to cursive hand-writing. The learning of multiplication tables. Mental arithmetic Other work continues. Age 9: Stories from the Old Testament: the Creation, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob & Moses. The basis for ‘Main Lesson' illustrated work books. Seasonal songs for festivals. Regular art-work and handwork (knitting). Form drawing and modelling of given forms. Practice in the four rules of arithmetic and simple fractions - examples taken from life. The learning of poems and more multiplication tables. Performing for festivals on stage: singing, drama, recorder work and the like. Some practical experience in ‘farming' and ‘building' as child-centred activities. Home surroundings.
Simple tunes on descant recorder and introduction to written music.Age 10: Stories from Norse mythology: about Thor, Odin, Loki, Freya and so on in vigorous folk tales in relation to giants and the elements. A stress on the dramatic element and clearly formed language. Associated work in main lesson books, art and drama. Various exercises in eurythmy of a more clearly expressed manner. Clear melodies and movements. Clarity in speech exercises. Children's own designs in handwork to make small gifts. Continuing work in fractions. Swimming, canoeing and rope climbing. Balancing exercises. Adventures. Man and animal main lesson. Age 11: Stories from Greek mythology: Perseus, Andromeda, Heracles (Hercules), Trojan war and the Iliad. - some Egyptian mythology. Later, the beginning of history, such as on Alexander the Great. The beginning of science through observation of phenomena in science: mechanics, heat and some geography and geology. Voyages of discovery. Familiarity with all the multiplication tables. Long multiplication and division. More exercises in fractions - some algebraic notation. More extended written work. More accuracy in language, including grammar. etc. Age 12: A Stories from Roman history. Epic poems. The Christian mystery as central in human history, after which everything changes. Early British history: the Celts, Vikings, Danes, Saxons and Romans. Roads, bridges and settlements. Short biographies. More geography and discoveries. Social and economic factors in trade. Geometry through accuracy and art. Introduction to the science of light and sound. Plant studies in relation to Man. Introduction to astronomy. Ratios and problems. Age 13: Stories and biographies from the time of the Crusades to the growth of cities. Tales of knights and chivalry. Robin Hood and King John. Scenes and figures from English history. The geography of the British Isles, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. . The exchange of ideas between the East and the West through the opening up of trade routes. The opening up of the Americas. The slave trade and its eventual outlawing. Continuation of world geography. More accuracy in the writing of English, as well as in French and German. Some work on electricity. Parenting
Bibliography
Practical Course for Teachers
Study of Man
Discussions with Teachers
Education and Modern Spiritual Life
The Spiritual Ground of Education
Eurythmy as Visible Speech
Curriculum for Waldorf Schools I and II
Childhood. A study of the Growing ChildRudolf Steiner
Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Steiner
Karl Stockmeyer
Caroline von HeydebrandAvailable in the UK from Rudolf Steiner Bookshop, 35, Park Road, London. NW1 6XT
Telephone 020 7723 4400.
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