The Heart of Childhood

The transition from preschool to first grade is a significant step in a child's life. The physical changes alone, at this time, are striking. Children lose their baby teeth and their baby fat as their bodies lengthen, taking on a new proportion. When children enter first grade, they change inwardly as well. Their inner life deepens and their emotional response to the world around them becomes richer.

First graders are as physically active as they were during the kindergarten years, but now they must be taught in a manner that engages their growing emotional capacity. Waldorf teachers use a wide variety of methods to address this developing capacity, but in the grade school, the most significant is art. In a Waldorf School all subjects language arts, geometry, chemistry, history, geography - are taught through art.

Right from the beginning of grade one, lessons are infused with an imaginative, aesthetic quality. Even the letters of the alphabet are taught in an artistic way. If, for example, the letter S is being introduced, the children might be told a story of a snake - a sly and slinking serpent with a sinuous shape.

This snake will be described in all its subtlety as it slithers and hisses through the softly stirring grass. The alliteration will bring a phonemic awareness to the children. On the blackboard the teacher will draw a beautiful picture of a snake in colored chalk to accompany the story.The image of this snake with its striking serpentine shape provides the children with a vivid, visual representation of their new letter, a modern hieroglyph that offers the children a meaningful and multi-dimensional experience of the abstract symbol which we have designated as the letter S.

Waldorf Schools do not waste much time debating the respective values of the sight and sound methods of reading. They use both, and more besides. But their uniqueness lies in the way they release the inherent power of the miraculous word from the humdrum of conventional speaking, writing and reading. Thus letters like B, M, P, or S, will fill the room with sound, and will be put on paper with loving care, in color, using great strokes. The shape of the letter B for instance, may be extracted from a memorable story about a bumblebee, or a butterfly, or a bear. This B retains in its form something of the burgeoning, blooming, bountiful things of which it speaks. In the letter P first graders can see, once their attention is called to it, how the form shows a pressure that rises ever upward in a pump, so that the flow or pride and power arises in pomp or, more mildly, in papa. Peacocks and pouter pigeons, and the plume in a cavaliers hat, seem written in the world as Ps.

By teaching children in this way Waldorf Schools create a solid foundation for reading that will support strong future development. Yet, at the same time children are being taught in a manner that engages them fully actively, emotionally, and thoughtfully - paving the way for the development of higher intelligence. The validity of this approach is underscored by Jane Healy in her book, Endangered Minds: "All thinking, even language processing calls upon both hemispheres of the brain at the same time..... Since the hemispheres carry on continual and rapid communication over the bridge of fibers (corpus callosum) that connects them, their ability to interact is probably the ultimate key to higherlevel reasoning." People who learn to read both a letter-type and a picture-type script, as in Japan, tend to process language more equally between the two sides of the brain than do people who read only letter-type script. 

The task of educating children in this comprehensive, artistic manner - using poetry, music, painting, drawing, and drama - is the assignment of the class teacher. In each Waldorf school the class teacher is given the primary responsibility of shepherding the children in his or her class through the eight years of elementary school. Through this on-going relationship, the emotional bond between the teacher and the children is strengthened, allowing the teacher to know both the children and their families more deeply. In contemporary society, where families are increasingly transient and where extended families are not always nearby, Waldorf Schools provide a much-needed, ongoing sense of community.

But it is not just in Waldorf Schools that this practice, called looping, is being employed to strengthen the bond between teacher and children and to enable teachers to know students their learning styles, their talents, and their struggles more thoroughly.  In state schools in Sweden, Japan, and the U.S., educators are choosing to stay with the same children for a number of years to increase the effectiveness of their work.

The class teacher is supported in these efforts by an equally dedicated group of specialty teachers, individuals who work with the children throughout the grades in a variety of subjects: foreign languages, music, handwork, woodwork, physical education, and more. The insights and understandings of these teachers complement those of the class teacher to insure that each child is known fully and taught in a manner that addresses their educational needs. 

Over this extended eight-year journey, the class teacher and the specialty teachers will observe many dramatic developmental changes in the children. For instance, one notable juncture will occur around the age of nine or ten. At this time children become more individuated and independent. This individuation is accompanied by a sense of separateness that gives rise to self-consciousness. Some children at this age become reluctant to hold a parents hand or kiss them goodbye in public. Others are burdened by fears and uncertainty. It is a time when feelings of loneliness and loss are not uncommon. This turning point of childhood is expressed poignantly by Billy Collins, in his poem,

On Turning Ten.

But now I am mostly at the window
watching the late afternoon light.
Back then it never fell so solemnly
against the side of my tree house,
and my bicycle never leaned against my garage
as it does today,
all the dark blue speed drained out of it.

It seems only yesterday I used to believe
there was nothing under my skin but light.
If you cut me I would shine.
But now when I fall upon the sidewalks of life,
I skin my knees, I bleed.

To help teachers meet these important inner changes in the lives of children, Rudolf Steiner, the founder of the Waldorf School movement, designed a comprehensive curriculum. With the help of this curriculum, teachers are able to assist children in navigating each of these important transitions on their way to independence.

Perhaps the most obvious way in which the curriculum addresses the nine-year change is through the stories that are told in the course of the school year. In third grade, the stories of the Hebrew Bible offer children pictures of the beginning of the world. They are wonderful images: the separation of light and darkness, the creation of Adam and Eve, and the Garden of Eden. These are pictures of a time of innocence and harmony, pictures that mirror the inner life of the young child. The story of the fall from Paradise and the subsequent expulsion from the Garden of Eden presages the change that occurs between the ninth and tenth year in children when they, too, leave the paradise and innocence of early childhood and become more aware of the realities of the world in which they live.

Other parts of the third grade curriculum are designed to help the nine-year old with this transition, as well. One feature of this change is that children begin to experience uncertainty. They are unsure of their surroundings and begin to question and to be afraid. The third grade study of house building corresponds to a childs need to find stability in the world. This confidence is furthered by the study of how a modern house is constructed. The children can feel the solidity of the foundation, the firmness of the floor joists, and the uprightness of the stud walls. Children at this age have a great interest in all that people can do with their hands and are fascinated by the plumbers, electricians, roofers, and painters. They come to sense their own potential and understand that they too can do.  This feeling is empowering. It works to allay fears and to quell insecurities.

For the ten-year-old child, the world begins to expand. So in fourth grade geography is introduced to correspond to the childrens growing interest in the neighborhoods in which they live. This initial study of geography helps children begin to orient themselves, gradually reaching out from the neighborhood to the towns, cities, provinces, and countries of the earth. This study will be continued and expanded each year through eighth grade until the children have a thorough understanding of the vastness and diversity of our planet.

The Waldorf curriculum is rich and comprehensive, designed to promote a valuable set of important skills and habits. However, it also has a unique relevance because the subjects that are taught correspond to the developmental changes that are occurring within the child. Through this creative and innovative approach, it is possible to teach children the basic understandings they need in language arts and arithmetic in a way that serves their emotional development at the same time.

With each passing grade children grow more independent and awake. With the onset of adolescence in the middle school, another dramatic developmental change occurs, giving rise to the heightened development of critical thinking.  It is at this age that the Waldorf approach is sharpened to a more exacting focus.

In sixth grade, for instance, the teaching of geometry mirrors the adolescents growing need and affinity for precision. The geometric constructions that are done in class with serious mechanical drawing tools support the acquisition of new skills and new understandings. Terms like circumference, radius, diameter, perpendicular, and parallel become meaningful through hands-on constructions. These constructions are intricate and demanding, combining technical accuracy with artistic ability. This is an unbeatable combination for the twelve year-old: engaging them fully while enabling them to work with marked focus and uncharacteristic quiet. The result is the acquisition of technical skill and know-how that is lasting and sound.

In seventh grade, the historical study of the Renaissance is the perfect subject for the thirteen year-old. At a time when young people are ready to redefine themselves, leave their early grade experiences behind and look to the future, they resonate with the changing world of Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Copernicus.

Old ideas and ways of thinking have lost immediacy and power for the seventh grader. Their world is changing as rapidly as the world of Columbus and Gutenberg.  In history classes, as in all subjects, the students create their own textbooks. They write compositions to summarize in a clear and concise manner the important information that has been studied and carefully illustrate their work through demanding modes of self-expression.

In seventh and eighth grade, science studies reflect a young persons growing preoccupation with his or her physical body. Whether the subject is human physiology with a study of the circulatory, digestive, and reproductive systems, or the anatomy of the skeletal system, the students are captivated by this work in a way that could not have been possible prior to puberty.

Developmentally appropriate teaching is a key component of Waldorf Education. Through a rich and rigorous curriculum, the students learn lessons about their subjects, but also about themselves. Throughout the elementary school years, Waldorf students are involved in learning experiences that promote their active, emotional, and thoughtful engagement. This multi-dimensional approach to teaching enables the students to develop a multiplicity of talents, good moral character, and a well-rounded human intelligence while being introduced to a rich array of subjects and materials.
 
The grade school journey provides memorable experiences for children. During their time together the students change dramatically as they develop a growing sense of independence. They start out as children - warm, dynamic, active, and involved - and conclude their journey in grade eight looking and acting markedly different - thoughtful, reflective, objective, and self-aware.

Throughout the grade school, the students experience a deep spectrum of feelings as they are taught in a manner that nurtures both their affective and cognitive capacities. They delight, wonder, and are surprised by the subjects they study. They relive the development of western civilization and come to a deeper understanding of what it means to be human. At the same time they acquire good work habits and the necessary academic skills to support their continued education.  And through it all, they form lasting, supportive friendships in a rich learning community, one that fosters meaningful heartfelt connections on many levels and prepares them for the challenges that await them in high school. Many good schools offer aspects of this multi-dimensional approach to education. But very few schools offer the comprehensive approach to learning that is invariably part of a Waldorf students education.

Jack Petrash
Nova Institute

本文轉自 http://www.rsct.ca/index.cfm?pagepath=WALDORF_EDUCATION/The_Lower_School&id=836