Whither Waldorf?, Editorial
Where is Waldorf going?
It is not that easy to break away from history, tradition and habit and to get a clear view of a development that lies in the future. In this respect, thoughts about a possible future for the Waldorf school movement do not differ from those about the possible future for our children: we do not know what the future will bring us through either. [more]
Publisher's View, Freedom
Stars in the sky
Have you heard of the “Democratic Voice of Youth”? It is an association of young people who have grown tired of waiting for us oldies finally to wake up. [more]
Series, Freedom
Leonore Bertalot – pioneer of the Brazilian Waldorf movement
When Rudolf Lanz, at the time a council member of the Escola Higienópolis school association in São Paulo, was looking for a “competent and all-round inwardly stable teacher”, he asked in many letters for support from Ernst Weißert at the German Association of Waldorf Schools. Finally, Leonore and Italo Bertalot joined the school in 1962 and supplemented the small faculty, she as a class teacher and he as an English teacher. [more]
Editorial, Freedom
Freedom is possible
Freedom can be experienced in different ways. On the one hand this is due to the fact that one person’s freedom need not necessarily be shared by another person, indeed, may even be experienced as a lack of freedom. On the other hand, there are various levels of the human being which determine the way that the experience of freedom comes to expression. [more]
Learning languages, Editorial
Listen and speak
It still works with adults, not just with children – I have tried it out myself: listen closely, repeat what you have heard – the meaning appears later by itself. [more]
Publisher's View, Learning languages
Learning from the freedom of children
A recent scene at the baggage carousel: nothing has happened for an hour, then an announcement that there will, unfortunately, be a further delay. All the waiting passengers are irritated, tiredly check their smartphones, and feel the weight of lost time! All of them? ... [more]
Series, Learning languages
Henry Barnes – a Waldorf aristocrat
Henry Barnes (1912–2008) joined the Rudolf Steiner School in New York as a class teacher in 1940. And with the exception of three years in the army he remained a teacher there until 1977. Like Ernst Weißert in Germany or Francis Edmunds in Britain, he shaped Waldorf education in the USA for decades, particularly on the east coast. [more]
Editorial
Hidden effect
As the weather grows warmer again, more skin and muscle are also on show once more. Remarkable how many people in this country are discreetly or assertively wearing tattoos and piercings – across generations and social class. [more]
Publisher's View, Body Cult
Listen and act!
Greta Thunberg posted a thought on 17 March. On Facebook. She referred to the report Mitigation of Climate Change in which the IPCC 2014 discussed the importance of nuclear energy in relation to a low-carbon energy supply and wrote: “Let’s leave that debate until we look at the full picture.” [more]
Editorial, Getting digitalised
What educates a person?
The so-called digital pact to promote digital learning in German schools has been agreed. The billions are flowing. The future of education is safe. The digital classroom is intended not just to make pupils compatible with Industry 4.0 but at the same time to put an end to teacher shortages and problems with learning. [more]
Bund der Freien Waldorfschulen e.V.