Introduction

Austrian theorist – named himself an anthroposophist and/or a Spiritual Scientist

Originally member of Theosophy Society (leader for several years)

·        Theosophy (God-wisdom) a revival by Madame Blavatsky of a Greek non-theistic movement. Believed all religions are attempts to reach the Absolute, indicating the importance of humans’ spiritual character and quest for spiritual knowledge.

·        Theosophical beliefs are an amalgamation of elements of ‘truth’ from various world religions (immortality, reincarnation, social ethics etc.) Members attempt to reach truth through spiritual ecstasy and mysticism

 

Steiner split formally from the Theosophy Society in 1912 (he prioritised Christian thinking in his version of theosophy) and developed his ideas of

 

·        Anthroposohy (anthorpos – Sophia) Wisdom of Man

·        Geisteswissenschaft Spiritual Science

 

Two terms used interchangeably, although the literature about Steiner tends to use Anthroposophy

 

Combination (or alchemy) of spirituality and science because ‘materialism understands nothing of matter and spiritualism nothing of the spirit’ (Steiner, 1954)

Attempt to ‘close the gap’ left by theology, physiology and psychology: all of which have a specific field of focus

Spiritual science argues that there are no frontiers to human knowledge, although this may appear so if there are limits to our perception

Aims to build bridge between visible world of nature and the invisible world of spirit

 

The highly abstract nature of his ideas, and their ‘foreignness’ to a rationally based culture can make his writing appear rather obscure

 

‘[Steiner’s writing is] difficult and obscure to the point of exasperation for the casual reader’ (Childs, 1991: p. 2)

Contextualising Information

·        Members of Human Nature

·        Epochs of Development

·        Temperaments

 

Proper pedagogy can arise only out of thorough knowledge of human nature, and particularly child nature

 

‘ … the whole of human life contains within it the seeds of its own future; but if we are to tell anything about this future, we must first penetrate the hidden nature of the human being.’ (Steiner, 1907/1996: p. 2)

 

Four Members of Human Nature

·        Physical Body

·        Etheric Body (Life Body)

·        Astral Body (Sentient Body)

·        Ego

 

Human nature has four ‘members’ (aspects) which ‘unfold’ or ‘reveal’ themselves during the course of a person’s life

‘Life in its wholeness is like a plant. The plant contains more than what it offers to external life; it also holds a future condition within its hidden depths. One who views a newly leafing plant knows very well that eventually there will also be flowers and fruit on the leaf-bearing stem.’ (Steiner, 1907/1996: p. 2)

 

Physical body – in common with all of the mineral kingdom, this is a combination of substances subject to the laws of the mineral world

world (Childs 1991)

 

Etheric Body (life body) - what distinguishes us from inanimate minerals

The vital force that bring life to the body (in common with plants and animals) bringing about the forces of growth, reproduction etc. (Steiner doesn’t include ‘death’)

Human etheric body differs from that of plants animals in that it is organised to serve the purposes of the thinking spirit also (Childs 1991)

‘It is therefore the builder and shaper of the physical body, its inhabitant and its architect.’ (Steiner, 1907/1996)

 

Astral body (sentient body) - what distinguishes us from plants

Vehicle of emotions that are absent in creatures consisting only of physical and etheric bodies: pain, pleasure, impulse etc.

Extension beyond responding physically to a sensation to reflecting on that stimulus in an inner process (Childs 1991)

Cannot simply be explained in terms of matter – consists of active forces and astral body deviates in both size and shape from the physical body

  

Ego (the body of the ‘I’) - not shared with any other earthly creature

Body of the I is the higher soul of mankind, making humans the kings of earthly creation

Force of individualisation: that which guarantees the uniqueness of every person

 

‘Working outward from itself it [the I] has to ennoble and purify the other members of human nature’ (Steiner, 1907/1996: p. 11)

 

Task of the ego is to purify and ennoble the other three members of Man’s nature

The ‘I’ is the soul’s central core (Steiner 1910/1994: p. 61)

  

Incarnation and Reincarnation

The ‘grave prejudice’ of modern materialist science is to try and explain the spiritual qualities of a person being by hereditary transmission from parents/ancestors

Our physical qualities come from our parents/species – as spiritual entities we have our own shape (Childs 1991)

 

‘I’ is eternal

Ego evolves to higher and higher stages of development through successive stages of re-embodiment

Life on earth is a continuation of life in spiritual worlds

 

‘Growth’ and ‘development’ of the child a process of gradual incarnation: descent of the spiritual entity into the world of matter

Parents do not ‘create’ their offspring – they merely provide the vehicle for the spiritual being seeking re-embodiment

Destiny is self-created – and so most children choose the parents they are born to (Childs 1991)

 

 

We have the possibility of achieving freedom if we comprehend both dying and becoming

If we focus only on dying we would be unable to move forward

 

 

The Four Members and Life Epochs

Educator works with the four members of the human being, which do not develop uniformly

Correct foundation for teaching involves a knowledge of these laws of human nature and development

 

 

Four Life Epochs

Development divided in roughly 7 year periods

 

 

 

First Epoch

Forces of heredity are at work only in the first epoch

Physical birth liberates the child from the mother and enables to the child to interact directly with the environment

Child makes no differentiation between himself and the environment, and instinctively imitates the world around him

The spirit is present, but unconscious. The soul is present, but dreaming (Childs 1991)

Etheric body is preparing for its liberation, and until this occurs there should not be excessive call on the child’s powers of thinking/memory

 

‘Before the change of teeth occurs, the free life-body is not yet at work in human beings.’ (Steiner, 1907/1996: p. 16)

 

Etheric body is working to free itself and second teeth are created by the etheric body (rather than inherited by the physical body)

 

Main task of the educator during this epoch is to ensure the harmonising of the spirit and soul within the physical body: the educator must provide an environment that is worthy of imitation

 

‘The task of the educator, declared Steiner, is to develop that part of the child’s spirit which is not yet perfect, and that part of the soul which is still less perfect. In terms of pedagogy this means the education of the will (through the limbs), and partly educating the feeling of life (through the rhythmic system). Direct education of the intellect or thinking life is virtually impossible; one cannot implant intelligence that is not there, one can only awaken those faculties already in the child, but sleeping.’ (Childs, 1991: p. 40)

 

Second Epoch

Etheric Body (soul and spirit) is freed from the physical body and child can begin to develop its own inner nature

Freeing of etheric forces means that they can be used to serve the body in a different way and become forces of mental representation: formation of concepts is now possible

Child begins to differentiate self from environment and to seek an authority

 

Third Epoch

Only after freeing of astral body is child able to apply his own judgement to the world

 

Fourth Epoch

Liberation of the ego, characterising the individuality of the person

 

 

 

Four Temperaments

Doctrine of four temperaments has Greek foundation

 

Before the age of puberty, the overriding temperament of all children is sanguine

 

Overriding temperament of the adolescent and young adult is choleric

Middle life is melancholic

Old age is phlegmatic

 

Our temperament is the result of the interpenetration of our astral body and ego (representing the ‘cosmic’ stream of soul and spirit) and of our physical and etheric bodies (representing the ‘earthly’ stream of heredity).

Manner of interpenetration means that one member predominates over the other three

 

Temperaments in the classroom

Teacher should always work with a child’s basic temperament and never against it

Group children according to temperament: this enables them to grow bored of their similarity and explore other ways of being

 

Cholerics and Phelgmatics should be kept apart by grouping the sanguines and melancholics between them

 

Melancholic

Attention not easily aroused,

 

 

 

Sanguine

Attention easily aroused,

Little strength of perseverance

 

 

 

Teacher’s own temperament

Teachers must strive after self-knowledge and work to suppress any extremes of temperament while they are with their pupils (Childs, 1991: p. 62)

 

 

Appropriate Pedagogy

Children must know with their whole being. The teacher must help the child at all times to permeate his faculties of cognition with feeling and with will. The child should never feel a separation between spirit and body

 

‘The great aim at the Waldorf School is to being up free human beings who know how to direct their own lives.’ (Steiner, 1923/1985: p. 201)

 

Activities in the classroom must start from knowledge of the child

 

‘In educating, what the teacher does can depend only slightly on anything he gets from a general, abstract pedagogy: it must rather be newly born every moment from a live understanding of the young human being he or she is teaching.’ (Steiner, 1919/1985: p. 4)

 

Knowledge of the special needs of each life period provides the basis for drawing up a suitable curriculum.’ (Steiner, 1919/1985)

 

 

Education in the First Epoch

Infant children are messengers from the spirit world (Childs, 1991: p. 67)

Feelings of deep reverence on the part of the teacher should accompany this descent into the physical world (Steiner, 1944: p. 15)

 

Child in first epoch is a sense-organ: he surrenders himself to the environment, and everything makes an impression upon him

Child must develop slowly into the world, with the teacher as enthusiastic mediator and protector

Every opportunity should be taken to instil in the child feelings of gratitude to the higher worlds by developing his/her sense of awe and wonder

 

Two ways in which children in the first epoch enter into relationship with their environment

·        Imitation

·        Example

 

‘ … as the muscles of the hand grow firm and strong through doing the work for which they are suited so the brain is guided into the correct course of development if it receives the proper impressions from the environment.’ (Steiner, 1996: p. 19)

 

Young children are able to learn so readily through imitation because they experience the world with complete openness, proceeding from the basic assumption that the world is good. Therefore teachers must always act in ways that are worthy of imitation (Petrash, 2000)

 

‘The children who live in [..] an atmosphere of love and warmth, who have around them truly good examples to imitate, are living in their proper element. One should thus strictly guard against anything being done in the children’s presence that they should not imitate.’ (Steiner, 1907/1996: p. 22)

 

The world should be regarded as a work of art – to attain real knowledge of the world the intellect must marry scientific understanding with artistic experience

 

Waldorf Kindergarten (Petrash 2000)

Part kitchen, part playroom. Restful colours, simple furniture, toys/play are structures usually wooden.

Primary duty to provide suitable opportunities for child to imitate

Use of rhythm and repetition to ‘aid healthy development’ (Oldfield, 2001)

Teachers intentionally work in the presence of children and important tasks are assigned a day in the week

 

‘Work’ for children should be restricted to imitating adults’ ordinary activities

Task of all schools gradually to lead the child over from play to work, and the basis of this should be the imitation of the real work that adults do (Steiner, 1988)

 

 ‘A Steiner Waldorf Kindergarten is like an extended family. The day and its activities have a regular rhythm and structure from the children’s arrival until their departure. There is a balance between the daily work that needs to be done, caring for the house, baking bread, doing the washing and so on as well as handicrafts, such as simple weaving, carving, embroidery and sewing. There is sweeping to be done, leaves gathered up outside and even a little garden to attend. The of course there are the festivals to celebrate, stories to be told, songs to be sung and games to be played. Last and by no means least, there is time for creative play both indoors and outdoors.’ (Clouder and Rawson, 2003: pp. 41-2)

 

 

 

Education in the Second Epoch

At the change of teeth, the etheric body can be worked upon through instruction

Children can now take guidance from the inner meaning and value of things

Key qualities of this stage are discipleship and authority

 

‘Formation and growth of the etheric body means the shaping and developing of inclinations and habits.’ (Steiner,  1907/1996: p. 23)

 

The tendency to imitate diminishes and the child has a profound longing for authority as s/he begins the process of differentiating from the environment

 

There is still no teacher intention to implant content

Child in this epoch seeks to comprehend the world by socialising with others and learning through them (not assimilating concepts directly). Until puberty children should be storing in their memories the treasures of thought on which mankind has pondered. Later intellectual understanding will penetrate this and illuminate this

 

Artistic education awakens the intellect and the teacher’s task is to develop an authoritative approach within an artistic relationship of leader and led (Childs, 1991: 85)

 

‘Much can be done with the simplest resources, if only the teacher has the proper artistic feeling, joy, and happiness in living, a love of all existence, a power and energy for work – these are the lifelong results of the proper cultivation of a feeling for beauty and art.’ (Steiner, 1907/1996: p. 35)

 

 

 

Education in the Third Epoch

 

Abstract moral maxims in education are appropriate only when astral body is liberated

 

‘The intellect is a soul-force only born with puberty, and we should not try to influence it in any way externally before this time.’ (Steiner, 1907/1996: p. 31)

 

 

Teachers help to develop powers of discernment

 

‘The ability to observe, compare, analyse and synthesise helps young people better understand the world they are inheriting and at the same time, prepares them for finding their place in the world.’ (Petrash, 2003: p. 83)

 

In-depth study

Truth, Beauty and Goodness

 

References

 

Childs, G. (1991) Steiner Education in Theory and practice Edinburgh: Floris Press

Petrash, J. (2003) Understanding Waldorf Education: teaching from the inside out Edinburgh: Floris

Steiner, R. (1907/1996) The Education of the Child. Early Lectures on Education Barrington MA: Anthroposophic Press

Steiner, R. (1910) cited in Childs, G. (1991) Steiner Education in Theory and practice Edinburgh: Floris Press

Steiner, R. (144) cited in Childs, G. (1991) Steiner Education in Theory and practice Edinburgh: Floris Press