Waldorf School Education to Freedom and Responsibility Rudolf Steiner (1861 – 1925) „ At school, it's not about getting all the possible education, but about getting prepared so that we could get it out on life experience“ Rudolf Steiner (1861 – 1925) o founder of Waldorf alternative school o austrian philosopher, educator, literary critic, artist, playwright, social thinker, esoteric o was significantly influenced by the philosophy of W. Goethe o * 1861 Kraljevec (Austrian and Hungarian border) in the family of an Austrian railway official o † 1925 Dornach (Switzerland) o final exam in Vienna, mathematics and natural sciences at university + lectures on philosophy, literature, psychology and medicine - student and teacher - 1891 field studies in philosophy at the University of Rostock - 1899 - 1904 teacher in Berlin - his life mission is to find new methods of exploring the soul on a scientific basis, he lectures the results of his investigation to a narrow range of interested listeners - personal correspondence with famous personalities of the cultural life (Ernst Haeckl), official representatives of German culture didnt notice to him for a long time - 1904 work Theosophia - author of anthroposophy - 1913 Anthroposophic the company its base is Goetheanum (Dornach) Anthroposophy • from Greece anthropos = human, sofia = wisdom • the science of the spiritual nature of a man • system of philosophical and pedagogical views on the education of a man • based on Christianity, Eastern philosophies, Egyptian and Greek mysteries, the natural mysticism of Goethe's work Waldorf School ois one of the most significant ideas of alternative pedagogical thinking 20th century (the first school was founded in 1919) othey vary in a number of knowledge, the teaching of foreign languages, nature is not divided into isolated parts when beign taught othere is a special subject called eurythmia (rhythmic aesthetic teaching) othey pay close attention to the teacher's personality and for that reason creates a two-year teacher training Waldorf Schools about themselves ogeneral development of a child in practical and artistic fields oit is based on anthroposophy anthropology (distinctive view of a human, evolution cultivates respect for freedom of human individuality) owant to discover pupil's abilities onot to give freedom in the curriculum to any subject over a second one oto achieve harmony between science, art and spiritual values oilluminating basic principles by using obvious examples, not to overhelm pupils with encyclopedic summaries Waldorf Schools about themselves oteaching of the main subjects conducted in two-hour blocks - called epochs, which are further divided into the rhythm, teaching and narrative part othe lack of books (books can be complementary but the most important are pupil workbooks that they make themselves) ocertificate in the form of verbal assessment, it is not possible repeat a year oone class teacher throughout the whole time of school oan important part of the training is image, rhythm and movement, activity The first Waldorf School o open on 7th September 1919 on the request of Emil Molt in the village of Waldorf, Stuttgart o by the estabilishment of a school based on Steiner´s ideals Molt wanted primarily to give to his employees´children the possibility of new adequate education o first Waldorf school started with eight teachers and 175 pupils o management of first Waldorf School was very loose for those times - voluntary tasks formulated to arouse interest o strict, externally enforced discipline is rejected o all school activities = thanks to direct contact between teachers and students Anthroposophy as the basis of Waldorf education oeducational system of philosophical views, science about the nature of human oRudolf Steiner founded the first Anthroposophic Society in the early 20th century ohuman, according to Steiner, is a complex of three worlds (body, soul, spirit) these are represented by three body types: physical, etheric, astral and fourth type - „me" oit is related to the division of childhood into three stages and the seven-year development periods, to which the educational content is adapted (personal experience from Katie: colour of classrooms, subject content adjusted to age, plays & performances, „Morgenspruch“ & rhythm games) Human development in terms of Anthroposophy and Waldorf Education oup to 7 years - development physical body oimportant is example and imitation, the greatest freedom possible; it is not practical explanation or influence on the rational side oup to 14 years - development of etheric body oimportance of the natural authority of a teacher as a model, influence through parable and moral examples; the will is formed, development of memory; importance of music and art ofrom 14 years - development of astral body oaesthetic, moral and religious sectors are preffered; are generated out of authentic courts and judgments about things and phenomena memorial and emotional contents oaround 21 years - birth of a free, creative and independent human Three of the objectives followed in Waldorf schools (Trostli) oto develop the ability to think clearly, logically and creatively, to lead children to self-knowledge oto discover and develop skills of deep feeling, sensitivity to the beauty, the joys and the sorrows of this world, to others oCultivate the strength and willingness to do what has to be done, to work not only for ourselves but for the benefit of all human kind and the Earth Structuring, organization and management of the Waldorf School oKindergarten - preschool degree oTwelve years of school - classes team remains unchanged o1st - 8th year – lower level (elementary school) oclass teacher teaches almost all the subjects o9th - 12th year - is higher (upper) level (high school) odifferent teachers for vocational subjects o13th year with maturity (final) exam oHeadmaster is not responsible for the school management but The entire staff in cooperation with the association of parents, teachers and friends of the Waldorf School. (personal experience from Katie: How a Waldorf school in Berne, Switzerland is managed by the staff and the impression of it) Internal organization of teaching othe division of subjects on the main and training (vocational) omain teaching - didactic form EPOCH (combined two or three lessons, discusses the same subject for three to six weeks, epochs are repeated about every six months) mother tongue, mathematics, geography, history, science education, physics, chemistry and others. otraining (vocational) classes - takes place in normal lessons (45 min), focuse on subjects that require constant exercise foreign languages, practical work, religion, eurythmy odaily class schedule includes theoretical, artistic and practical subjects oduring the school year - monthly festivals, holidays, class games, excursions, trips (personal experience from Katie: 12th class theatre play, concert at Goetheanum in Dornach) School Day at the Waldorf School orhythmic alternation of the main teaching (epochal) and training - in accordance with the basic life-rhythms and hygiene requirements oinitiation of a day - 15 to 30 minutes simple art activities othe main subject - two-hour block called epoch otraining subjects for 45 min. (or another two-hour block) o5th, 6th class - afternoon classes (practical, artistic courses and physical activities) odaily class schedule includes theoretical, artistic and practical subjects oduring the school year - monthly festivals, holidays, class games, excursions, trips The Curriculum oThey do not have a precise and uniform curriculum framework plans but these are adapted to the needs of every school oanthropocentric otrying to reconcile science, art and religion Epochs omonothematic two-hour block of teaching oalways at the beginning of day oa teacher develops a given topic (eg. maths, house building, the history of Greece) oemphasis on the aesthetic and working subjects and foreign languages oone main subject, usually for 3-6 weeks continuously, then begins another the main subject of the next epoch oepochs are usually taught by one classroom teacher odivides the rhythm, teaching and narrative section oadvantage of epochs – undistributed pupil´s attention for many subjects osubject which appears only on Waldorf School eurythmy - art to express the idea of movement, music or your own experience opersonal experience from Katie: examples of epochs Evaluation ostudents are not graded ovalued by characteristics that always relate to the abilities of each child oare not compared with other pupils oreceive recommendations for pupil´s further development opupil shall not be forfeited, pupils usually stay together as a group throughout the whole course of schooling opersonal experience from Katie: critics and „dark side“ of this kind of evaluation Methods oThey use image, rhythm and movement oThree phases of each individual procedure - recognizing, understanding and creation of skills: 1. observation, experience, experimentation 2. remembering, describing, drawing, verbalizing 3. processing, analysis, abstraction, generalization, formation theories oIncludes a range of physical activities oThe pupils learns to catch himself, record, describe and document all learning material by himself in an epoch workbook Aids at the Waldorf School I. omaterials, that the teacher creates himself or in cooperation with other colleagues obooks - can be complementary (eg. exercise books and atlases), rather than the main means of teaching opupil´s workbooks and notebooks for the epochs Aids at the Waldorf School II. otraditional type of textbooks are considered to be a secondary sources and "passive" learning resources – limited use othe basis aids are "active" learning resources (collections of texts, original documents, statistics, encyclopedias, manuals, which creates a teacher) opupils recording the curriculum in the epoch notebooks (teacher checks requires corrections and additions) omedia are not used in teaching opersonal experience from Katie: pros and cons of typical Waldorf aids, e.g. old fashioned school books and media) Negative Pages of Waldorf School osmall continuity eg. primary schools to regular secondary schools osome students can develop feelings of frustration eg. the fact that at the they school learned nothing systematic, that they will not be able to cope graduates from other schools oexcessive pupil´s freedom at these alternative schools leads to a lower level of educational attainment oeducation often provide young teachers, who usually have little experience odoes not put enough emphasis on the standard pedagogical university education (class teacher from first to eighth year teaches almost all subjects, as a prerequisite serves graduation and completion of education workshops for teachers of Waldorf education) oopinion that it imposes pupils certain (almost dogmatic) style education, not open to scientific criticism or confrontation with other alternative schools Waldorf Schools in the Czech republic oBrno, České Budějovice, Hradec Králové, Jeseník, Karlovy Vary, Olomouc, Ostrava, Pardubice, Písek, Praha, Příbram, Semily oCurrently, the most common type of alternative schools (over 900 Waldorf Schools worldwide, 35 in Czech republic Overview of Waldorf Schools oKindergarten Beroun, Boseň, Brno, České Budějovice, Karlovy Vary, Klatovy, Olomouc, Písek, Praha 3, Praha 6, Příbram, Rovensko pod Troskami, Sedlčany, Staré Ždánice, Semily, Strakonice, Turnov, Žďár n. Sázavou oPrimary (Elementary) School Brno, Olomouc, Ostrava, Pardubice, Písek, Praha 5, Praha 6, Příbram, Semily oSecondary School Ostrava, Praha, Příbram, Semily oSpecial School Praha Samples of some types of Waldorf Schools oWaldorf class - special color tones (different in each class, corresponding to the psyche of each age), flowers, artwork and amount of students paintings and products olearning by experience oemphasis on artistic and creative aspect of teaching ohandicrafts oforeign language teaching Demonstration of a physical activity during the maths lessons - 4th grade Sample of English language teaching oLetters deduction: oevery letter has a story, characteristic and color oexample, the letter „W“ nteacher tells a story, which plays an important role in the water, the sea (eg. The Little Mermaid), will focus on colorful description of waves nchildren along with teachers demonstrate the movement of hands and whole body and say, "wave after wave of swirling wind, high water sprayed upward." nthe next day everything is repeated and pupils paint pictures of the stormy sea nwith the teacher´s help in the middle of waves appears the letter „w“ in blue colour > Samples of drawing forms • it is a specific subject, it is dynamic drawing that expresses feelings, rhythm and movement • by drawing patterns children find out the world around them, they will explore geometric shapes (sun, conch, spiral etc.). • the picture show depicting of the rhythm of walking, jumping, dancing, blowing wind, a stream of water, waves, flight • with drawing forms writing teaching is also linked to • exercise fine motor skills Samples of drawing forms – 4th grade The first school in the Czech Republic, which began work on the principles of Waldorf education – ZŠ Svobodná v Písku (od 1990/91) Steiner School Bern http://www.steinerschule-bern.ch