Waldorf News
Celebrating Boy Energy
July 19, 2012
I learned from Cynthia Aldinger that there were four male students in the LifeWays training recently. I was so glad to hear that! And then I thought again, "Wow, there are only four men taking up the LifeWays training, out of how many women?" I was glad - and I am glad - that there are at least four. But there's no getting around the fact that childcare and education in general below the high school level are both dominated by the female gender, not only in this country but in much of the world. Mind you, I have nothing against women! But greater gender balance in child care would really help, particularly with the boys. Where, these days, do children see men doing "manly" things? Where do children see men embracing their "power?" We need to find ways to help children get some sense of the things that men and women DO, even if it's now mostly on weekends. More »
Earth's Dignity: A Plea
July 16, 2012
Today, there are one billion people who go hungry and half of them produce food. Something is going dreadfully wrong when even farmers and gardeners have to go hungry. This fact did not arise overnight, but happened in two steps. First came industrialization of agriculture, the “Green Revolution,” which is neither green nor revolutionary. Bill Gates and his financially strong foundation are a leading force in AGRA (Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa). They see agriculture as a war and the weapons are pesticides and fertilizers benefiting the chemical industry; however, it is actually a war against the people. Instead of biodiversity we have monoculture. Our small holdings have been reduced, forestry and animal husbandry were banished. Fertility has decreased. What has been advertised as a step against world hunger was a path to hunger. More »
Saving Childhood: Basic Schools and the Future of Waldorf Education
July 9, 2012
On our beautiful earth, nature is at risk. Flowers and animals disappear from the planet, everybody talks about the climate. But something else is at risk: childhood. In every country of the world the pressure on children is increasing: school enrollment is gradually being moved to an earlier age, governmental curriculum is enforced for the first ten years of life, reading is taught at the age of three, competition is being intensified among the children, lots of tests, classes become more intellectual, less movement, no arts, no playing. At home: family structures are breaking down, stressed parents, unemployment, poverty, children sitting alone in front of the screen, computer games. Even the rich people’s children are poor! More »
MEDIA and Waldorf Education
July 2, 2012
Waldorf school media policies have been an issue on the front burner since Waldorf schools and media have been around. Now, with the rapidly increasing use of media by children and families in school, at work and at home, the topic takes on an even more importance. Filmaker Paul Zehrer has produced an excellent video for the Marin Waldorf School on media and how it touches children's and families' lives. It's up-to-date, fast-paced, informative and a must-see for teachers, parents and families. More »
Gudrun Koller's Angel Tapestries
June 4, 2012
The children themselves brought me to it ten years ago through the initiative of a young boy: “There was a dead man in front of our door. The police came. Please draw me an Angel; I want to embroider it.” In the school these children have so many lessons of “instruction” and little time for digestion. In order for the parents to be able to work, blocks were set up with afternoon child care, because the maximum time for lessons for first graders was eighteen hours. So instead we work – usually daily – on these embroidery pictures. The picture’s design is put on burlap with wax crayons and then stretched onto a wooden frame. The work can then begin with thick embroidery needles and many colors. The children are free to choose the kind of stitches. Since embroidery is not part of the school curriculum at this age level, I have to pay for all the materials myself. Actually I came to this project because I was desperately looking for something meaningful for the children to do on these long school days. Otherwise they often get bored, aggressive, and difficult. With an artistic activity like embroidery they become quiet inwardly, and a very beautiful atmosphere in the classroom is created. More »
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