Living Education

a journal for Steiner Waldorf Schools

Issue 1- November 2006

Contents:
Did Rudolf Steiner Want a Seven-Grade Elementary School Configuration?
by Mark Riccio page 1
Montessori and Steiner: A Pattern of Reverse Symmetries
by Dee Joy Coulter. page 5
Some Background information on Montessori and Steiner by Jill Taplin page 6
The Building Bridges conference: a report by Michael Stott page 8
Editorial by Christopher Clouder page 9
The Developing Child In Relation To The Architecture Of The Primary School
by Johannes Schuster page 10
 Did Rudolf Steiner Want
a Seven-Grade Elementary School Configuration?
Mark Riccio
This article examines the question: Was the original eight-grade sequence in the Waldorf elementary schools
the result of a necessary compromise Rudolf Steiner made? This question grows in importance because some
Waldorf educators have been reconsidering the effectiveness of having a class teacher for eight years. In
Switzerland, for instance, Waldorf schools have considered changing to a seven-year sequence because of the
difficulties teachers have had growing with their class.
In Waldorf education, the teacher and students build challenges because they did not have the necessary
a profound heart-to-heart relationship over the background, skill, or support to grow with a class
course of eight years. The advantages of such a deep except for a limited number of grades. Should Waldorf
and meaningful growing together become apparent to class teachers teach the entire span of elementary
anyone who has experienced it, or its opposite for grades? Was that span intended to be seven rather
that matter. It has always been fascinating to me to than eight years? In this article I do not attempt to
hear veteran Waldorf teachers speak about how they arrive at final answers to these questions, but I hope
had to meet the challenges of learning so many to prompt further discussion regarding what is in the
subjects and growing with their class. Some Waldorf best interest of Waldorf students and their teachers.
teachers felt inadequate in the face of these

Seven-year Cycles as the Basis of Waldorf Education

The basis of Waldorf education was spiritual growth of the child, e.g.,
given in several lectures by Rudolf One need not be a languages are taught in first and
Steiner in 1906-1907, later mathematician to ask the second grades through imitation, in
published as an essay, The Education
question: How does a seven- third, fourth, and fifth grades more
of the Child in Light of through the element of grammar
Anthroposophy. In this essay, year cycle fit into a and writing, and in sixth through
Steiner outlines the unfolding of the eight-grade elementary eighth grades with a greater focus
physical, etheric, and astral bodies. configuration? on style.
This process takes place in seven-
year cycles, with the physical body In the first Waldorf school, Steiner
developing between age 0 and 7, the etheric body altered the methods a bit in the first grade because
developing between the ages of 7 and 14, and the school law required children to enter school at age six
astral developing between the ages of 14 and 21. Each instead of seven. While the methods may have been
of these seven-year cycles consists of the sub-cycle of changed, I believe that the curriculum suggestions for
2 1/3 years, which are mentioned in Steiner’s later the first grade are what Steiner originally intended,
educational lectures. not adapted for six-year old (premature) first graders.
I make this point only to make the reader aware
The 2 1/3 year sub-cycles define the changes in things were not so simple in the beginning of the
teaching methods in the Waldorf school. school movement. Even today some schools do not
Approximately every two grades the teachers alter use the second dentition as prerequisite for entrance
their pedagogical approach to match the psycho- into the first grade.

School Law in 1919

In most Central European schools, elementary school,
or Volksschule, lasted for seven years with other types
of training. After leaving school, some students
became apprentices, others went to technical or
vocational schools, and some went to Gymnasium for
a classical education in preparation for university
entrance. In Stuttgart Baden-W•rttemberg in 1919,
all schools were required to have an eight-grade
elementary school sequence, and the new Waldorf
school was no exception.
One need not be a mathematician to ask the question:
2
How does a seven-year cycle fit into a
eight-grade elementary configuration? This question
has never been posed, perhaps because Rudolf Steiner
stated that compromises needed to be made:
“If one has an eye on human health and human
development, then this makes possible
correct classroom and educational practice…. The
Waldorf school is, in many aspects,
completely built on compromises; this fact we do
not want to deny; however, only as it is
possible today, do we educate and teach in the
 sense of a true knowledge of the human each human being
being.” (GA 303, p. 153, my translation) goes through seven-
year cycles and
Steiner’s use of the term “a true knowledge of the therefore not an
human being” could perhaps indicate the fact that eight-year cycle.

Seven-Year Cycles and The ‘Ideal School’

Steiner rarely discussed the ideal school or the ideal real life”. (GA 115,
curriculum. In Practical Advice to Teachers, he said: p. 203, my
translation)
“This much I must tell you before I will construct
for you the ideal curriculum; and then I will In this quote Steiner
proceed to compare this ideal curriculum with the outlines a configuration of seven grades, which
curricula which will play a role in your classes perfectly matches the seven-year cycle. Here Steiner
because we are in fact surrounded on all sides fromdraws polarities between the first and seventh grades,
the outer world and its constructs.” (GA 294 p. second and sixth grades, and third and fifth grades,
171, my translation) with the fourth grade standing by itself. This middle
grade corresponds to the ego level in the seven-fold
Because he compared the ideal with the one being put
human being or to the flower in Goethe’s description
into practice, we have to question what he meant. I
of the archetypal plant.1
think a hint was given in a lecture not completely
related to education: The fact that Steiner so rarely mentioned the ideal
curriculum and that his reference to the seven-year
“And if, for example, more attention would be
sequence is obscure may make people question their
given in your teaching, to such things, then you
validity. It seems to me, however that the ideal school
could work, therefore, in a tremendously beneficial
configuration would be one in which every grade
manner. You could work in a tremendously
corresponded to a year in the seven-year cycle. I
beneficial manner, for example, if you would divide
believe that Rudolf Steiner desired a seven-grade
the consecutive school grades into a seven-grade
sequence but he had to make certain necessary
school, so that you create so-to-say a middle grade,
compromises for the founding of the first Waldorf
which would then stand alone by itself; and that
school. In The Renewal of Education, Steiner said:
which was learned in the third grade would be
repeated in fifth grade, however in a changed “It is natural that today these things can only be
form; and according to the same principle what seen as an ideal for the future…. When there is a
was taught in second grade would be repeated in loop hole as in the case of the W•rttemberger
sixth grade; and what was taught in first grade school law, one can establish something with
would be repeated in the seventh grade. compromises.” (GA 301, p.88, my translation)

This configuration would achieve an excellent There are, of course, many other compromises that
strengthening of the memory, and people would the Waldorf school had to make to comply
see that if this were put into practice, how with the State’s requirements, however, I have
beneficial an effect these things would have – focused just on this particular one since it is so
simply because they have their origin in the laws of little discussed.

The Polarities in the Eight-Grade Sequence

In the quote from GA 115, Steiner outlines the
polarities between pairs of grades in a school with a
seven-grade sequence. The principle of polarities can
also by applied, however, with an eight grade
sequence. For such a sequence, Steiner worked out
course selections for the first eight grades using
certain organic forms based on the intervals and
qualities of the four-fold human being.2
In the following quote, Steiner describes how the
teacher should conceptualize the eight-grade sequence
as an organic whole. This concept is especially
important in cases where a class teacher has to leave
a class in the middle of an eight-year cycle. The new
teacher needs to be able to teach with a sense for the
organic whole of the curriculum. I have rendered this
quote in a poetic form due to its length.
That is why such importance is placed on the fact
that the pedagogue is master in the school
and not just that any school norms dominate
which one must adapt himself to,
but that the teacher is himself master in the
school,
that he grows not only into the methods,
but that he grows with the form of the school,
that he has grown into the configuration of the
first eight grades, 3
 whether he, in one year, teaches the first or the Hebrews (the law) in third, and Norse Myths in the
eighth grade, that he teaches in such a way in the fourth grade. These subjects deal respectively with the
first grade, physical, etheric, astral, and ego aspects of the human
that in this way of teaching (of the first grade) the being.
way is also given
in which the pedagogue must teach in the eighth The four upper grades deal with the same aspects of
grade. (GA 301, p.81, my translation) the human being in reverse order. In the fifth grade,
the great individuals of Ancient
Here we have it: the first and eighth The principle of polarity is History stand as a polarity to the
grades form a polarity From there we detectable in all subjects Norse Myths, because they both deal
can conclude there must also be with the human ego. The sixth grade
in the Waldorf curriculum. topic of Romans, especially Roman
polarities between the second and the
seventh grades, between the third and law, is polar to the Hebrew Law
the sixth grades, and between the fourth and the fifth because law shapes the astral. The seventh grade topic
grades. This is what Steiner meant when he said the of Age of Discovery is polar to the topic of animal
way is given in first grade for teaching the right way fables; both are connected to the life of people/
in eighth grade. This teaching process could have been animals or to the etheric in general. The eighth grade
made even clearer if Steiner had said “What is taught topic of cultural history is polar to the archetypes
in first grade should be repeated in eighth grade” as found in Fairy tales of the first grade, because both
he did in his statements about the ideal seven-grade describe the nature of human archetype thus
sequence. representing the physical body level of the
curriculum. A teacher who masters such
The principle of polarity is detectable in all subjects in interrelationships has mastered the content, form,
the Waldorf curriculum. For example, in the history and organic wholeness of the entire curriculum, and is
curriculum, the first four years calls for: Fairy Tales in thereby able to give the children the sense that all the
first grade, animal fables in second, stories of the subjects are interconnected and taught for a purpose.

Seven-year Rhythm ?
Whether or not Rudolf Steiner wanted the elementary
school sequence to be based on the seven-year rhythm
I will leave up to the reader. I do not think instituting
such a sequence today would have a significant impact
on the day-to-day activities of schools. What is more
pertinent is whether Waldorf teachers are conscious
of the particular form of the sequence of the
curriculum and whether they are teaching out of this
type of organic understanding. Other questions that
might be raised are: Should some Waldorf teachers
become specialists? Should they focus on first
through fourth grades, while others who enjoy
teaching the older children, could work with the
higher elementary school grades? Waldorf education
is not only about educating but about “awakening”
the children. If a teacher does not possess the powers
of awakening a certain age group, should one not
accept that and instead work with the principle of
specialization?
The eight-grade sequence is not a natural one. I
believe that it has been a necessary arrangement that
may no longer be in the interest of the teacher, and
thus not in the interest of the students.
1
See Florin Lowndes’s The Enlivening of the Chakra of
the Heart , Anthroposophical Press, for a more detailed
account of Steiner’s use of the seven-fold human being as
a model for meditation or writing. See also, Mark Riccio’s
An Outline for a Renewal of Waldorf Education , Mercury
Press June 2001.
2
See Theosophy or An Outline of Esoteric Science for a
full description .
Mark Riccio currently works at Northeastern Illinois
University. He got his Doctorate at
Teachers College at Columbia University and gives
lectures on Steiner’s organic-living thinking as well as
on the Waldorf school as a heart-thinking school. His
forthcoming book, An Outline for a Renewal of
Waldorf Education is published by Mercury Press.

Paintings from class 1, class 5 and class 8 at Elmfield

4
 Montessori and Steiner:
A Pattern of Reverse Symmetries
Dee Joy Coulter, Ed.D .
Montessori and Steiner Waldorf: I have cherished both of the Theosophical Society. Montessori was inspired to
movements for years, but straddling the fence with write her most overtly spiritual books during those
these two dear friends has been a delicate business. years, and to publish them through Adyar Press, the
Each has kindly granted me an exemption, agreeing to international publishing house of the Theosophical
overlook the fact that I was befriending the other in Society.
my spare time. For a long time I held each movement It was her war experience that encouraged Montessori
in separate compartments in my heart and in my head, to press for peace education above all else, while
considering the paradox of how they could both be so hostilities also played a vital role in drawing forth
‘right’ and yet be so different. Steiner’s vision (although in his case the impact was of
Then one day I was attending a lecture on education at the First World War). Emil Molt, owner of the Waldorf
Naropa University – a Buddhist-inspired college in Astoria cigarette factory, asked Steiner to devise an
Boulder that is my third dear friend and where I most education that could serve both the children of the
love to teach – when Dr Jeremy Hayward commented workers and the management, and work toward
that the Buddhists regard wisdom (basic goodness) and reuniting a culture torn apart by hostilities and class
skillful means (right action) as the two wings of the differences. It was war, therefore, that brought about
dove. The parallels that run threadlike through Eastern Steiner’s initial invitation to participate in the
philosophy tumbled through my mind then: femininity formalization of an educational philosophy, while in
and masculinity, yin and yang; the way each contains Montessori it instigated a deeper spiritualization of
the other in seed form. In that state of mind I thought work that she had already begun with children in the
again about my paradox. Could it be that Montessori Italian ghettoes.
and Steiner Waldorf made sense not as mere halves of There are other reverse symmetries, as well. Steiner, a
what might be a good system (if only put together), male in a masculine country at the end of a very
but as wholes in themselves? Suddenly I saw these two masculine act of war, is asked to instill the feminine
inspired leaders and their educational movements as a principle of honoring the basic goodness and inner
pattern of reverse symmetries. wisdom of the child by reintroducing the arts and
Rudolf Steiner began his spiritual activities with the reawakening the heart forces. Montessori, in contrast,
Theosophical Society, eventually breaking away to form is a female in a feminine country already infused with
his own movement, which he called anthroposophy. But the arts, offering disenfranchised children the
the connections he had made as head of the German masculine service of enculturation, apprising them of
Theosophical Society gave him the publishing opportunities and building up skillful means in them so
foundation upon which to further his own teachings that they could take their place in society. While
later. Whereas Steiner’s affiliation with theosophy Steiner worked to rekindle the imaginations of overly
occurred early in his life, Maria Montessori’s happened hardened children, Montessori worked to diminish the
late in hers. She was on a visit to India when the excessive imaginative life of children who used that
outbreak of the Second World War prevented her from realm as an escape from a reality they couldn’t grasp.
returning home to Italy. She was interned in Adyar, She strove to ‘normalize’ them, and to bring their
India, for six years and forced to slow her busy life to practical activities and their imaginations into proper
the tempo of an Indian city, one that also – balance.
coincidentally – housed the international headquarters

Symmetries in Curriculum
Many curricular elements of the two approaches have that led to the answers. It then shows them what the
the same reasonable oppositions, as well. culture has developed. Montessori education invites the
child to revere the answers first, the wonders of human
Montessori would first introduce the manifested forms
cultural deeds, and then to progress to the seed
of the greatest mathematicians to the children –
elements of the finest of our manifested works.
Platonic solids, Pythagorean geometric forms – and
later introduce the biographies and the ideas behind Montessori would have the children discover
the forms. Steiner would ask his teachers to introduce geographical spaces and their spatial relationships
the wonder of sacred number principles, the early, to see how geography reveals our cultural
biographies of the mathematicians, and the spiritual interconnectedness. It is not uncommon for Montessori
quests of their day before introducing the forms. children in the early grades to raise money to preserve
Waldorf education reintroduces the questions so that Brazilian rain forests, for example. Steiner, on the
the child can personally generate the spiritual quests other hand, would start with the local environment and 5
 gradually work outward in spiral to Steiner, on the other
reach astronomy by Class 12.
hand, would start with
But he would reverse the spiral for the local environment
history. The child would begin the
Lower School with fairy tales, legends,
and gradually work
outward in spiral to reach
and myths, then work on through
Biblical and ancient recorded history to astronomy by grade 12
current events by the time he or she
entered the Upper School. Steiner would pace this
historical journey to match the unfolding
consciousness of the developing child. The Golden Age
of Greece, for example, would be addressed during
Class 5, when children are at their most sensitive about
fairness, and newly able to become a democratic society
themselves.
Montessori teachers speak more of materials,
environment, structure, building, play exercise,
concepts, specificity, order, and practicality. These
words are used to describe our formed world, and to
construct our world. Waldorf teachers speak of delicate
processes, essence, aspects, rhythm, feeling elements,
context, imagination, and beauty. These words are used
to describe our inner life and the artistic nuances of
the world as it is. However, each movement is more
than a polarity; each holds the other at its core.
Montessori offers the acculturating gesture with the
ultimate hope that children so nourished will then go
forth able to bring about peace in the world. This is a
very feminine goal, calling for inner transformations.
Steiner proposed his inner approach with the ultimate
hope that the children so nourished would then go
forth in freedom to contribute to the further
development of the culture. In recent history, this has Institute in Longmont, Colorado (www.kindlingtouch.
been largely a masculine activity.
Both of these paths are brilliant, full of compassion,
and honoring of the child. Each has the same obligation
that faces every individual in these times. We can no
longer afford, nor accept, a gender-based constraint on
Some Background information on Maria Montessori and Rudolf Steiner
Dr Maria Montessori;-
1870 - Born in Italy.
1896 - Graduated in Rome as the first female medical
doctor in Italy. After working with children with
psychiatric disturbances, she began studies in
education, psychology and anthropology.
1904 - Professor of anthropology in Rome.
1906 - Started her first school for 60 poor Roman
children aged 3 to 6 years old.
1909 - Her first book, later re-titled 'The Discovery of
the Child', was published. Her time is spent training
teachers, writing and lecturing.
1913 - Montessori Educational Association founded in
Washington DC. The first of her trips to the United
States, where her supporters included Alexander
Graham Bell, Thomas Edison and Helen Keller.
6 1917 - Worked in Barcelona, where a training centre
our ways of service. We must work to
bring ourselves into balance in life. Both
of these paths are at their best when
their practitioners strive to explore the
seed qualities within their movement.
Montessori spoke eloquently of the
spiritual embryo of the child and the
spiritual preparation of the teacher.
Those teachers would do well to study
her later works and include within the clear forms a bit
more of the mystery that Maria Montessori also says is
important. Conversely, Steiner sought teachers who
had rich practical life experiences, to model for
children ways to be in the world. Those teachers would
do well to step out into the world more often to see
what other schools are doing, what children in other
settings are like, how faculties elsewhere work with
conflict, and how today’s outer science could and would
support their spiritual insights.
These actions would be nourishing for the teachers
themselves. When I am with Waldorf teachers I witness
their feeling of isolation and inner exhaustion. For
them, a sense of context in the world would be a good
tonic. When I am with Montessori teachers, I witness
their feeling of overwhelmed compassion for the
chaotic conditions of the world. For them, a sense of
inner spiritual renewal would be equally reviving. One
thing is clear: the children need them both. Each brings
a high level of love and caring, and a path through
childhood that is vitally needed by children today.
Dr Dee Joy Coulter is a nationally recognized
neuroscience educator and director of Kindling Touch
com.).
This article was first published in the Summer 1991
issue of Holistic Education Review (now Encounter:
Education for Meaning and Social Justice) on the web
at www.great-ideas.org.
had been set up for her.
1919 - Began a series of teacher training courses in
London.
1922 - Appointed as a government inspector of schools
in Italy.
1929 - Association Montessori Internationale (AMI)
founded in Amsterdam.
1934 - Forced to leave Italy by the rise of fascism.
1936 - Rescued from Barcelona in the Spanish civil war.
1938 - Opened a Montessori training centre in Holland.
1939 - Running teacher training courses in India. She
was interned as an 'enemy alien' but allowed to
continue teaching.
1947 - Founded the London Montessori training
centre.
1949, 1950 and 1951 - nominated for the Nobel Peace
Prize.
1952 - Died in Holland.
1992 - Establishment of the Montessori International
Foundation.
Dr Rudolf Steiner;-
1861 - Born in Austria (now Croatia).
1883 - Studying in Vienna and invited to edit Goethe's
scientific writings.
1884 - 1890 - Tutor to a Viennese family of four
children, the youngest of whom was a hydrophyliac.
1890 - Moved to study and work in Weimar.
1894 - Publication of 'Philosophy of Freedom'.
1897 - Moved to Berlin and connected with theosophy.
1899 - Teacher and lecturer at the Workers
Educational Institute.
1902 - General Secretary of the German Branch of the
Some Principles of Montessori Education;
Unlike Steiner or Waldorf, Montessori is not a
registered name. Consequently any school or nursery
can call itself Montessori, whether or not the teachers
have any training, or any Montessori teaching
equipment is used. There are over 700 hundred
nurseries and schools in Britain and Ireland with
Montessori in the name, and many thousands world-
wide, a sure sign of the continued appeal of this form
of education. Almost all of these are for children
between the ages of three and six years old, some are
also primary schools and there are a few secondary
schools claiming Montessori principles.
Rudolf Steiner gave over 6.000 lectures, and published
books on the many areas in which anthroposophy is
still active, including education, medicine, agriculture,
banking and the arts. Today there are more than 30
schools in Britain and Ireland, over 50 Early Childhood
centres, and 6 teachers training courses. World-wide
there are more than 900 schools.
Dr Montessori saw child development divided into
three year phases - birth to three, three to six, six to
nine, and nine to twelve. (This is in line with Rudolf
Steiner's cycle of ego incarnation.) Each class has a
three year age span and children remain in the same
class for two or three years.
The classroom is the 'Children's House' and they are
taught to take care of it and of themselves, learning
from the examples of care and orderliness given by the
adults there. Skills are practised, for example tying
bows on special boards, or pouring with jugs of rice.
There will be real but child-sized equipment to use for
cleaning and tidying activities.
The teacher (or directress) is a supporter for the
individual children. There is little whole class teaching
and much focus on each child as a person. Each child
will be freely drawn to what he needs to do among the
equipment laid out and will stay with it for as long as
he needs, within sessions of up to three hours. There is
a natural sequence of progression that carries the child
through the work. The teacher will only intervene if
Theosophical Society. Lectures, books and plays,
continued to develop both practical, artistic and
esoteric aspects of anthroposophy.
1913 - Final break with the theosophists, General
Anthroposophical Society formed. Foundation stone
laid of the first Goetheanum in Dornach.
1919 - First Waldorf school opened in Stuttgart, for
the children of the workers and directors of the
Waldorf Astoria cigarette factory.
1921 - First Goetheanum burnt down - arson.
1922, 1923 and 1924 - Lectures on education and
other topics in Oxford, Ilkley and Torquay.
1923 - Foundation of the Anthroposophical Society.
1925 - Beginning of the building of the second
Goetheanum, and the death of Rudolf Steiner.
Kindergarten play
the child has
difficulties
and then only
give the help
that is needed
for him to
proceed for
himself.
Skills for
literacy and
numeracy can
be easily
absorbed
through the
senses by the young child, and there are many specially
designed pieces of Montessori equipment to support
this, such as geometrical shapes, sandpaper covered
letters, scented bottles and boxes that sound different
when shaken. The child's activities with this equipment
is designed to stimulate and refine the ten sensory
areas.
From an early age, children are encouraged to find out
about other parts of the world both culturally and
geographically. There is equipment for simple scientific
experiments and emphasis on naming and classifying
whatever the child discovers.
Although the educational tasks are designed to be
worked on alone, children are strongly encouraged to
help each other. Patience, politeness and mutual
appreciation are important to the child's security.
Montessori education has no religious affiliation but
many moral, spiritual and humanitarian themes.
This information is gathered from the following websites;
by Jill Taplin, kindergarten teacher at the South Devon
Rudolf Steiner School
www.montessori.org.uk and
www.montesssori-uk.org
7
 The Building Bridges conference held on 8th November 2005 at
the Faculty of Education of the University of the West of England
a report by Michael Stott
A few months ago the government published a report who spoke, whether it be from the podium, from the
on Waldorf education in which it was suggested that floor or in the organized discussion groups seemed to
Waldorf schools and state schools could benefit from look upon Waldorf teachers as allies of what one guest
sharing experiences. The report was drawn up by a speaker referred to several times as the “radical
team from the Education Faculty of the University of tradition in British education”. Although no one
the West of England (U.W.E.). At the beginning of mentioned his name, I would imagine that this
November a conference was held at the U.W.E as a first tradition goes back at least as far as John Ruskin. In his
step towards implementing the proposed dialogue. The lectures on education Ruskin’s plea sound
initiative and funding for this conference came from contemporary: “The education befitting such and such
the U.W.E education faculty. a ‘station in life’ – this is the phrase, the object, always.
They never seek, as far as I can make out, an education
About 50 people attended – many more would have good in itself”. (Sesame and Lilies, 1882). When Rudolf
come but space was limited. Of the 50, 5 were Steiner gave lectures on education in the early 1920’s
practising Waldorf teachers. Only one practising state they were well attended and appreciated by prominent
teacher was present – a head-mistress from a school figures in education. Indeed he seems to have felt able
near Bath. to speak more openly to audiences in England. This
The main body of participants were “teacher trainers”, tradition of openness and experiment came to an end
whether from the state or Waldorf sectors. The S.W.S.F in the 1990’s – almost. Professor Michael Fielding
steering group attended in full; there was an Ofsted assured us that it was still managing to exist. He
inspector and three people from the DfES. obviously saw himself as a representative of it, and
The tone of the conference surprised me. Most of those from the mood in the room I would say he was not
alone.

“Summary of Outcomes”
The official “Summary of Outcomes” diplomatically by people with many years of bitter experience behind
avoids being in any way provocative. The notes them not to rush towards the present state education
accompanying some of the talks reflect where the real machine. In my discussion group an ex-head master,
interest lay. For example, two phrases used recently by now educational advisor to the South Gloucestershire
the official establishment were mentioned: 1) we must council, expressed surprise when a “Waldorf” person
educate “the whole child”; 2) teachers need to practise suggested a compromise adoption of some particular
“self-reflection”. Could one find a better pair of bridges state requirement. I do not recall his precise cryptic
to link Waldorf schooling with state schooling? Well, comment, but it implied “in for a penny, in for a
watch out! This was not precisely the phrase used by pound”. He also said “why would you do that?”
Professor Fielding, Director of the Centre for The official summary of the conference lists a number
Educational Innovation at the University of Sussex. of areas where Waldorf Schools might learn something
This is what he actually said: “Whole child – yes, but from the state sector: “support systems”, “accessing
the state sector funds for research”, “record keeping and assessment”
has merely co- etc.
opted this as a
foot soldier in What it does not emphasize is that support for the
the war on state sector in its present form was noticeably absent.
standards; Self- The real hero of the day was “the radical tradition”
reflection – yes, which has “no truck with setting, competition ….” Its
but it is largely spokesmen and women have become aware that many
superseded by of their treasured values are also those of Waldorf
the imperative education. These are what stimulated enthusiasm. It
of delivery and was the importance of believing in what you are
incessant teaching, establishing relations with pupils, making
surveillance of each school a reflection of its environment, and above
crude all the idea of teachers running their school as a team
accountability.” which seemed to inspire many people present.

I was left with In conclusion it can be said that the opportunity to

the impression discuss education freely and purely in terms of
that we were education would be greatly appreciated by teachers
8 being warned within state schools – if they were indeed represented
by those present – but that neither party would benefit
from selecting this or that practice from the other
sector and trying to implement it. It was repeatedly
pointed out that any particular practice has evolved
organically out of a whole and cannot be considered in
isolation.
My hope is that the expressed desire for dialogue will
lead, as a next step in the process, to a meeting of
practising teachers from both Waldorf and state
education, but this time at the invitation of a Waldorf
School. Wynstones will be writing to the University of
the West of England to offer its premises for such a
conference.
Michael Stott has been a class teacher and language
teacher at Wynstones and in Hastings NZ for many years.
He is now retired and living in Gloucestershire.
Living Education welcomes debate and differing views.
Readers should note that there was very different
perspective on this event written by John Burnett to be
found in the SWSF Newsletter 21 Spring 2006 (Ed)

Editorial: Living Education would like to welcome our new readers and we hope you will find this a worthy
successor to Child and Man and Steiner Education. The intention is that it also becomes a vehicle of debate as
well as being informative and inspiring. This journal is primarily aimed at Waldorf teachers, parents and all
those involved in Steiner Education. That circle is expanding rapidly in many new directions and as the
international debate on education and childhood increases in volume and intensity Living Education is there
to serve all those who wish to participate in developing a spiritually based approach to education that tries to
meet the inner needs of the growing child.
In Europe at the end of the 19th century there was a firm consensus that the education of children should be
directed towards nation building. This was the foundation on which national systems of compulsory schooling
were built. Industrialized thinking allied with academic traditions led these policies well into the 20th century.
In this century we face the demands of a renewed globalisation enhanced by technological inventiveness, pan-
culturalism and economic pressures. In this transition there are dangers as well as opportunities. A way of
life seems threatened and reactions can vary from resorting to past certainties to neo-liberal recipes. Every
putative solution has an impact on schools and the educational environment as an enclosed garden is no
more. Change cannot be avoided but how do we ensure that children’s well-being, health, capacities, needs and
future competencies are taken into account responsibly and sensitively?
The dangers are clear. As expressed by the Slow Food movement’s warning about modern agricultural
practices. “We have created a production system that no longer seeks to make a good product, only a product
that is easily sold. We have eroded food’s ability to stimulate the senses; we have diminished variety and
biodiversity, we have encouraged waste, deadened the soil, polluted the air and increased transportation that
further pollutes. Instead of ending hunger in the world, we have set up a global network that does not respect
the labour of millions….” (Carlo Petrini. Le Monde diplomatique. September 2006). A stark warning of the
questions that confront us in ecological awareness and global ethics.
Pressures on educational practice are similar. The tendency towards homogenisation created by increasingly
imposed testing regimes and the demotivation of the teaching profession through bureaucratisation,
management doctrines and political expediency are contemporary challenges. However there is also the wide-
spread concern about the quality of childhood and the Education for All progamme to ensure that every child
in the world receives their entitlement to at least primary education by 2015. Alongside the acknowledgment
that mass educational systems set up so many decades ago no longer suffice there is the increased advocacy of
children’s rights and the search for better, deeper and more responsive ways to assist learning.
As parent and /or teacher educators these questions are ours also. Steiner saw the potential for education to
bring healing, solidarity, self-fulfilment, understanding and tolerance into a fractured world. This quest is our
inheritance and challenge and by sharing inner and outer
experiences, being supportive of creative endeavours,
accepting our differences and embracing our vocation
with enthusiasm the struggle is far from lost. Living
education is a necessity of our times.

Christopher Clouder.

Christopher Clouder is chair of the SWSF steering group and of

the European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education. He is co-
founder of the Alliance for Childhood and was a teacher at Kings
Langley Steiner School and Michael House for many years. Little Yarra Steiner School: view of class 3 side of the
primary school building see article on next page 9
 The Developing Child In Relation To
The Architecture Of The Primary School
Johannes Schuster
The physical spaces in which we work and live can The 7 year old's perception of the world is completely
have a profound effect on our senses and feelings and different from the 12 year old's. Children spend a lot of
can support or detract from the activities that take place quality time at school and the totality of the education
inside them. What would it feel like to be in a narrow, environment in which they are immersed has a
dark room compared to an open airy, light filled room, a profound effect on their healthy growth in body, soul
room with low ceilings compared to another with high and spirit. The buildings and landscape in which the
and vaulted ceilings? How would it be to stand in a children work and play are an important part of the
round space with no corners to move into or a space educational environment.
where the walls were not straight but leaning in or out?
If the children’s consciousness and the teaching
Each time our feelings would be very different. These
contents and activities that change from year to year
are the extremes. In between there is an endless
can find an echo in the architecture of the classroom, it
number of more subtle variations. Most of the time the
can be a wonderful support to teacher and children. In
effect a room has on us is not
other words, if the shape and
conscious, particularly once we
feeling of a room can respond
are used to it. The space however
to the atmosphere and nature of
continues to affect us, regardless
the activities going on inside the
of whether we are aware of it or
room, something happens akin
not.
to the well-proportioned body of
Children spend a lot of time in the an acoustic instrument, which
classroom and many activities amplifies the tone and makes it
take place there. The kinds of sing.
things children do and learn, the
We have been very fortunate at
eyes through which they look
the Little Yarra Steiner School
towards their teacher or look out
View of Class 2 building to be able to have purpose built
into the world are not static. Big
rooms. First the Library/
changes take place in children from year to year. In
Administration building, which was built in 1991, then
Steiner Schools every year the curriculum, stories,
the Class 1 and 2 building in 1993, followed by
drawings, discipline, games, subjects etc. change to
Classrooms 3 – 6, which were completed in 1998. Each
embrace the child's consciousness at a given age and
building was designed and formed with a very different
to support him or her in the business of “growing up" .
quality and intent.

CLASS 1

At last a King's daughter came into the woods; she had sense of warmth and protection. In Class 1 the teacher
lost her way and could not find her father's kingdom stands before the children like the shepherd gathering
again. She had been wandering round and round for his little flock. The floor plan encourages this
nine days and she came at last to the iron stove. A relationship between teacher and class: the walls
voice came from within and asked: "Where do you create a near circle to gather the children around the
come from and where do you want to go?" "I have lost teacher. The ceiling is slightly higher than that of Class
my way to my Father's kingdom and I shall never get 2 and has a steeper curve. There is more headroom
home again," she answered. and a little more space to dream. The roof curves over
From 'The Iron Stove'., Grimm's Fairy Tales the space with a nurturing and protective gesture and
lifts up just a little over the windows to let in the light.
Class one children often draw houses and figures still
floating in the air. There is no solid ground as yet. The
child still has a dream like consciousness which is not
yet directed to the world outside but lives in the
archetypal images of Fairy Tales. All the activities, from
painting and skipping to counting and speaking the
sounds of the letters etc., are woven through with an
imaginative quality. The world for the child is a beautiful
world and there is cause for wonder wherever we look.
Ideally, the physical space housing Class 1 should
10 support this feeling of wonder and beauty and give a
 build dams and water courses. The Class 2 child seeks
CLASS 2 to meet the world through an experience of the 4
"For three days and three nights they dug into the fairy elements, Wind and Water, Fire and Earth. After the
mound, tunnelling deeper and deeper. On the third day timeless and archetypal images of the Grimm's Fairy
they reached the inner-most heart of it. To their mortal tales in Class 1, the Celtic Myths and stories of Class 2
eyes, their senses protected from the fairy glamour by are still in the realm of the fairy tale but there is a
the cold iron of the daggers with which they dug, there different quality now. Between tales of journeys and
was no splendid palace there, no fore-court of prancing adventure there weaves an awareness of the
horses, no banquet hall brilliant with rich hangings and landscape and a connection with nature forces and
vessels of gold and silver, only a dark, earthen cavern, images of elements.
held up by rough slabs of stone."
From 'The High Deeds of Finn MacCool'
Rosemary Sutcliffe

Class two children still love to dream but they have

moved closer to the earth. In their drawings too,
houses, trees and people begin to stand on solid
ground. Class 2 activities are very similar to Class 1 in
that there is everywhere an imaginative element of
wonder and beauty. The difference is one of focus. The
journey throughout the primary years is one of gradual The Class 2 room still allows the teacher to gather his
awakening from dream consciousness to full 2Oth little flock in a circle, but the circle is stretched out now,
Century day consciousness in Class 8. In Class 1 the the flock is more 'jumpy' and a little harder to contain.
atmosphere is still very inward. By Class 2 the focus The gesture of the roof is similar to that of Class 1 but
has started to shift outward, the journey has begun. If the windows have become taller and the eave line lifts
Class 1 children will quietly be occupied with a cubby up further on three sides to allow more of the world into
made of cloths or twigs, or playing in the sandpit, Class the room.
2 children tend to roam and find a tap somewhere to

Prophets represent strong leaders and individuals who

CLASS 3 lead the Israelites through the desert and into the
And all the people answered together, and said: "All promised land. In some ways this is like the picture of
that the Lord hath spoken we will do." And Moses the children's journey through Class 3. There is always
returned the words of the people unto the Lord. And the a strong sense of what is 'right' and what is 'wrong' and
Lord said unto Moses: "Lo, I come unto thee in a thick whenever the Israelites (or the Class 3 child for that
cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, matter) do the wrong thing, the consequences are not
and believe in thee forever." far off.
Exodus Chapter 19, Verse 8 - 9

At some point in Class 3 the 9 year old child goes

through a significant threshold experience, the
realisation of "I am my own person, I am separate from
Mum and Dad or my family". This is a scary feeling and
is often accompanied by a great deal of anxiety. 'Death'
is a theme that often comes up for children at this time.
What is the consequence of this experience? On the
one hand the stronger sense of 'I' wants to test the
water by challenging authority, on the other hand there
is a strong interest to go out and meet the world hands
on. Fights and disputes occur easily but there is also a
fascination with physical work. 'Serious' cubby building
and digging etc. are high on the list of priorities. The
teacher will give the children descriptive pictures of how
things are made and of the various trades. The Class 3
Building Project is a key feature of the year. In this
turbulent time the Class 3 child is best supported if the
teacher can become a firm authority who sets the rules
and determines the consequences of breaking them.
The Class 3 child loves testing out the rules and is
greatly reassured when the consequences are
predictable and consistent. The Class 3 stories are
often drawn from the Old Testament. Moses and the
The Class 3 room does not gather up the children in a
circle any more. The room is more elongated and
divided into a wider front section where the teacher
stands and a longer section for the Class. Both, through
the floor plan and through the rise and fall in the roof,
the teacher and the class are placed opposite each
other. At the crossover, the space wherein the teacher
and class meet, the room is at its highest point. At the
front of the room the light streams from above; at the
sides the walls have receded to make room for
uninterrupted rows of windows which bring in lots of
light and encourage the two way flow between the
world outside and the class within.
11

CLASS 4
And Loki thought to himself how it might soften the
wrath of the other gods if he took back to Asgard with
him, not only new hair for Sit, but a gift for the Allfather
and a gift for Freya as well, and he smiled and said:
'Then fashion for me a ship that shall be the best of all
ships and worthy of the gods, and a spear that will
always find its mark and will not disgrace even such a
warrior as Odin.' 'We shall do those things.' said
Ivaldi's sons, and they set to work at once, with a great
heaping of fuel on their furnace and a great blowing
with their bellows and much hammering of metal.
From 'The Six Gifts', Barbara L. Picard
The class 4 child has reached a special time which
could be described as the golden age of childhood.
Looking back, the threshold experience of class 3 with
its accompanying feelings of anxiety and insecurity has
been worked through. Looking ahead to classes 5 & 6,
new forces connected with the emergence of abstract
thinking and pre-pubescence will mark the beginning of
the end of childhood and the start of a new phase.
Class 4 is often a very social year. There is a sense of
flow both socially and physically. The children move
with a keen sense of rhythm, the colours they use in
their drawings are strong and full of contrasts and their
form drawings flow in knotting and weaving patterns.
The children now have a strong desire to move about
and venture further a-field. The curriculum at this point
introduces local geography and animal study from the
point of view of the child looking out to a world that is
still familiar and near at hand.
The class 4 theme is Norse Mythology. Unlike class 3
where throughout the Old Testament stories there was
one god, in the Norse myths there are many gods. We
now have more than one authority and the gods
amongst themselves have the most varied interactions
and often step down to earth for all kinds of battles and
CLASS 5
When Perseus was grown up, Polydectes, King of
Seriphus, sent him to attempt the conquest of Medusa,
a terrible monster who had laid waste the country. She
had once been a beautiful maiden whose hair was her
chief glory. But as she dared to vie in beauty with
Minerva, the goddess deprived her of her charms and
changed her ringlets into hissing serpents. She became
a cruel monster of so frightful an aspect that no living
thing could behold her without turning into stone.
From 'Perseus and Medusa', Thomas Finch fight their battles. Odysseus, whose idea of the wooden
Every class 5 teacher soon finds out that class 5
children love to argue. What matters is not so much the numerous adventures.
object of the argument but the very process itself - the
joyful discovery of a new power of the mind which now The class 5 child can readily identify with the enquiring
can be put to good use disagreeing with or playing
tricks on the adults around. The faculty that bestows
such powers is the beginning of a new way of thinking. important context for much of the class 5 curriculum.
Although the class 5 child's thinking is still playful and
12
picture-filled, the ability to form abstract concepts of the The class 5 room too seeks to reflect a new enquiring
tests of strength. Throughout the myths however, there
is an atmosphere of impermanence, it is the "twilight of
the gods" who know that the old world will pass away in
the end and a new one will arise. This is not unlike the
class 4 child who experiences the bloom of childhood
which, however, cannot last forever and will also pass
away for a new phase of life to begin.
Among all the primary class rooms the Class 4 room
has the strongest sense of flow and rhythm. The roof
weaves rhythmically up and down and particularly lifts
over each comer, looking out into the 4 directions of the
earth. The floor plans of classes 1 - 3 have a more
rounded "organic" shape which pre determines the
respective position of class and teacher. The class 4
floor plan, as a regular geometric form does not
suggest where teacher and class are to be. Only after
positioning the lower windows and blackboard do we
know where the teacher will stand. As a result of this
"front" and "back", "left" and "right" become less clearly
defined which adds to the number of possibilities to
position the class and creates a sense of movement
and sociability in the space within. In addition to the
lower windows, the class 4 room also has windows high
up in the roof and under the eves. The gesture of these
windows is one of looking out into the distance from a
higher vantage point - just like the class 4 child also
looks out to a widening landscape and a world that is
getting increasingly bigger.
world begins to emerge. This opens up many new
possibilities which the curriculum takes up in the study
of Geometry, Botany, History, Grammar etc. and the
further extension of Animal study and Geography.
Historically, the point in time when abstract, conceptual
thought makes its first appearance, leads us to ancient
Greece. Pythagoras, Euclidean Geometry, the Greek
philosophers, orators and chroniclers all employ this
new faculty. Odysseus, the hero in Homer's epic is a
wonderful example of this. All the ancient heroes from
Gilgamesh to Thor relied on strength and courage to
horse brought about the sack of Troy, relies on cunning
and the powers of the mind to aid him through his
mind and the eye for beauty and grace of the ancient
Greek and the theme of ancient Greece becomes an

outlook into the world. What was a small roof window
arising out of the undulating flow of the class 4 roof has perfect balance between movement and form, but this
become a wide, formalised gable window in class 5,
reminiscent of the angles and proportions found in
ancient Greek architecture. Similarly, the long rows of
lower windows take in and look out into the world with
greater "silence" or "stillness" compared to the "busy"
windows in the earlier classrooms, which rose and fell appears in the proportions of living organisms, including
with the changing line of the roof. The floor plan
CLASS 6
ROME
Let others better mould the running mass
Of metals and inform the breathing brass,
And soften into flesh a marble face;
Plead better at the bar; describe the skies,
And when the stars descend and when they rise.
But Rome! 'Tis thine alone, with awful sway,
To rule mankind and make the world obey:
Disposing peace and war thy own majestic way.
To tame the proud, the fettered slave to free;
These are imperial arts - and worthy thee.
Virgil
The consciousness of the child from class 1 to class 6
undergoes enormous change. The development we
have observed is one from inward focus to outward
interest, from dreaming to wakefulness, from picture
thinking to the beginning of abstract thinking. The
changing design of the classrooms reflects this
development. However, the changing consciousness of
the child is also paralleled by physical changes.
Physical growth in the child does not occur on an even
or uniform rate. In the early primary years we observe a
remarkable change in the child's face. The forehead
becomes less prominent, the eyes have become
smaller, the upper lip no longer protrudes above the
lower lip, the mouth grows thinner and the nose is more
pronounced. Compared to the rounded and less formed
features of the preschool child, the face of an 8 or 9
year old has individualised. This process of
individualisation leads to the experience of self and of observation, in mathematics practical applications (e.g.
separateness typical for class 3.
In the middle primary years the strongest growth occurs child's increasing faculty of conceptual thought, which
in the trunk, which grows in length as well as breadth as seeks structure and form and is able to take hold of the
the figure matures and becomes fuller. The trunk is the subjects offered in the curriculum in a new way.
seat of our rhythmic organs and it is interesting that
children's ability to physically move with rhythm and
grace peaks at this time. Class 5 children can still
encompasses a rectangle in the proportion of the "
golden section" * which is also the proportion of the
windows and a number of other relationships in the
room. The corners have not yet crystallised into right
angles but geometrically arise out of two overlapping
pentagons. Overall the room has much less of the
organic flow evident in the earlier rooms, in favour of
greater formality and weight. The greater degree of
formality is connected with the intrinsic nature of
conceptual thought, which brings structure, form and
understanding as against movement and flow which
arise from the heart. In the class 5 child there is still a
balance is about to tilt in the following years.
* The golden section or ratio is the proportion of
1:1.618 which Euclid, the father of modern geometry
discovered about the year 300 BC. It was widely used
in Greek architecture and by artists of all ages and also
the human body and face.
balance with grace and confidence across a balancing
beam when a year later in class 6 half of them will loose
balance and fall off. The reason for this is the sudden
spurt of growth that has occurred in the limbs. Class 6
for boys and often earlier for girls marks the beginning
of pubescence. Puberty as such is proceeded by a
rapid growth in the bones, the children suddenly grow
thin and tall and can outgrow their clothes in a matter of
months.
We have described how the development of
consciousness is paralleled physically in the growth
from the head to the trunk and down into to the limbs. It
is a descent from 'heaven to earth'. With every
consecutive year the child is able to embrace new and
further aspects of the world.
By class 6 the child begins to experience the physical
weight and solidity of his and her own body. The
curriculum at this point brings increased physical
activity and introduces Geology and Mineralogy (the
"bones" of the earth), Climatology and Physics. In
Physics (Warmth, Acoustics, Optics, Electricity &
Magnetism) the emphasis is placed on accurate
interest and banking) become important. The physical
growth occurring in the skeleton is paralleled with the
The cultural yearly theme in class 6 is that of Ancient
Rome. If the ancient Greeks were Artists, Scientists 13
and Philosophers, the Romans were Rulers, Law which comes to rest in the perpendicular and is held in
makers and Empire builders. The focus of the ancient this position by its own weight. Four right angles form a
Romans was very much directed to earth and they square. The number four has always been associated
created the physical and organisational structures with Earth (as in the 4 elements, the 4 directions, the 4
necessary to expand to the four corners of the known seasons etc.). The square, or in its three dimensional
world.* aspect the cube is the form that gives expression to the
weight, solidity and immovability of matter. It's
The history and cultural "atmosphere" of ancient Rome opposite, the circle or sphere, can remind us of the
thus provides a very apt generative impulse for much circling dance of the planets and stars and the
of the class 6 curriculum. surrounding heavens. What has been described above
The class 6 room is the tallest of the group of rooms as the “descent from heaven to earth “could also be
and although it has the same size (80 m2) as all the expressed geometrically as the journey from the circle
other rooms, it feels bigger. With the extra height the to the square or from the sphere to the cube. In class 6,
proportions of the windows have also slightly increased however, the square of the floor plan is balanced by
compared to class 5. The floor plan is that of a square the rounded quality of the roof, which with the help of
room over a golden rectangle and is above all the hexagonal layout of the ceiling lining assumes a
characterised by the qualities of the right angle. The dome like character. Similarly, the gables of class 5
have become arches in class 6 reminding us of the
ancient Romans who first invented the technique to
construct arches and domes in their buildings.
The class 6 child stands at the first beginning of
adolescence. The coming years will be characterised
by the physical and emotional changes that come with
puberty. The equilibrium of body and soul which we
still find in class 5 will be lost for some years and begin
to return in years 11 & 12, when the emerging young
adult awakens to a selfhood that can consciously and
freely choose its directions in life. Geometrically we
could say in class 1 we have a sphere, in class 6 the
sphere begins to hover above the square, by class 12
they will have inter penetrated each other.

The Primary School buildings at Little Yarra Steiner School

right angle is the point that lies exactly between acute
angles, which feel thin and pointy and obtuse angles,
which have a wide and open quality. The right angle is
neither pointy nor open. Lying exactly in-between, it
resembles movement that has come to rest in the static
balance between two opposites, like the pendulum
* Ancient Roman roads and aqueducts can still be
found in many parts of Europe and Roman law forms
the basis of modern law in most European countries.
Johannes Schuster is a Teacher/ Administrator/
Architectural Concept and Designer at Little Yarra
Steiner School, 205 Little Yarra Rd, Yarra Junction
3797, Australia, www.lyss.vic.edu.au
JohannesSchuster@yahoo.com

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 Living Education is produced three times a year:
Next Issue January 2007
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should be sent to the same address.
 The Editor’s choice of article and editing is final.
 The Editor is Christopher Clouder: the editorial
Knitted Gnomes made by Class 2 at Elmfield R S School,
team is: Lara Cousins, Jill Taplin and Ian Young
 Photos in this magazine were taken by parents and
staff of Elmfield School, G Kaye and J Schuster of Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship Ltd, (SWSF)
Little Yarra Kidbrooke Park, Forest Row, E. Sussex RH18 5JA UK
Tel. +44 (0)1342 822115
 The layout of this magazine has been designed and
Fax. +44 (0)1342 826004 (Charity No. 295104)
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