Expecting the unexpected. How a class teacher prepares for his lesson
As a teacher, I have repeatedly made the surprising discovery that the class found the lesson all the more interesting the more I turned my attention inwardly to specific individual children as I prepared the lesson and in doing so asked them: “How can I best explain this to you in particular?” A class is a complicated social work of art that is in constant movement. Every individual child always relates to all the others. [more]
Metamorphoses of attentiveness
Developing a culture of attentiveness and interest belongs to the highest goals of Waldorf education. Witnessing how children and adolescents turn the whole of their attention to a person, a story or a natural phenomenon is an uplifting experience: the impression arises that the young person grows a little bit beyond themselves in their undivided attention. [more]
Self-knowledge and empathy. The global foundations of our life
The national declarations of independence were a major step for humanity. Today a further step is required: humanity needs a declaration of interdependence based on respect and love. [more]
Publisher's View
Hard currency
In his Urfaust, which never progressed beyond a fragment, the German dramatist and philosopher Gotthold Ephraim Lessing asked the spirits which was the smallest distance to be found on earth. That was, the answer came, the space between good and evil, right and wrong. [more]
Spotlight
Inclusion – possibilities and limits
The first Waldorf school already had a so-called special class shortly after it was founded in 1919 which was looked after by Karl Schubert. And the concept of inclusion also quickly gained a foothold in Waldorf schools. It is characterised by small classes and the care of children with special needs within a normal class. Yet we should test where the boundaries of inclusion lie and the prerequisites on which its successful implementation rests. [more]
Bund der Freien Waldorfschulen e.V.