ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION
The Local Planet has covered Steiner education in previous issues but John Donaldson asked to relate his very happy experiences with the change and choice he made for his son. We would like to cover other educational alternatives, from Montessori to faith schools; home education to learning all subjects through art - or even an exceptional ‘conventional’ school. Would you like to write and share the educational decisions and experiences (whether very positive or not so good) you and your children have had?

A chance meeting and conversation with a total stranger in a coffee shop near Kilkeel, County Down lead to a decision to educate my son James in a Steiner school. He spent his first two years in a Kindergarten at a Camphill community outside Kilkeel. Then, two years ago we relocated to East Clare so that James could start his education in Ireland’s largest Steiner school.

Kindergarten which is for four to six year olds, is like an extension of the home. James’s teacher and classroom exuded an air of calm and safety.The classroom was spacious, bright and sparsely yet thoughtfully furnished with beautiful curtains, handwoven wall hangings, lambskin rugs and a wooden floor that was lovingly polished. Handmade dolls, wooden toys, shells, carefully folded coloured cloths and other specially chosen items that marked the seasonal progression of the year added to the sense of beauty of the room.

The children knew the days of the week by the particular weekly activity that happened on that day: Monday was painting day, Tuesday was baking day, etc., and the passage of seasonal time was marked by celebrating the festivals of St Brigid, St Patrick, May Day, etc.

The routine was the same each day. After morning verse came circle time which included singing, verses, games and stories and always lots of movement. The children didn’t have to sit at desks, and after circle time they were free to play or help the teacher prepare the food for the morning snack, which they shared together before going outside to play in the orchard.

At the end of the day the teacher sat in her armchair an the children gathered around. When everyone was ready she told them a story. The same story was repeated every day for a month and then the teacher presented it to the children as a puppet play before starting a new story.
The children were not ‘taught’in Kindergarten; they learnt through observation and experiencing the daily and weekly activities using all of their senses. My son James has an amazing understanding of colour, due to the weekly painting experiences he had during these two years. Every painting day, following the teacher’s lead, the children worked with one or more of the three primary colours: red, blue and yellow, on wet paper. Each of these painting exercises was simply an opportunity for the children to experience a colour on paper, or when more than one colour was used on the page, to experience the magic of seeing a new colour emerge when two colours touched and met on the wet paper. Without comment the teacher left the children with their own exciting discoveries. These will stay with them for ever. James instinctively knows how to create whatever colour he needs and never describes a colour as being simply ‘red’, ‘blue’ or ‘green’: it is always an ‘orangy red’/’warm red’/’spicy red’/’light blue’/’dark blue’/’sky blue’..and so on.

The children played with sand, small logs, shells, stones, pieces of wood, pieces of cloth and bits of wool as well as handmade dolls. The children were able to play very imaginatively and a log could be one minute a train, then a car or a bus or even a cow! What the object became was only limited by the child’s imagination. I felt this was a very important experience for the children - for my child - and will ensure that they become adults who can find their own way, through a life filled with initative and imagination.

PRIMARY SCHOOL
The children leave Kindergarten and begin primary school at age seven, starting in Class 1 and continuing for the next seven years to Class 7. Each day begins with a two-hour Main Lesson. They have the same Main Lesson teacher through those seven years, and the full range of academics are taught.The lesson is punctuated with music, song, verse and lots of movement. A particular theme is studied for four weeks during which time the children engage with the subject material in a deep way. The themes studied are revisited often throughout the year, always building on, and solidifying what has gone before.

In Class 1, the children learn to read from their own writing. The letters of the alphabet are discovered through artistic illustrations of stories they have heard. The four mathematical processes of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are introduced using stories in a way that allows the children to warm to, and easily understand the principles being taught. Mathematical learning is reinforced through concrete activity including movements such as skipping, jumping and clapping. Every child learns to play the flute and to knit in Class 1. Music, art, movement, languages and handwork are a part of the every day experience of the children. These subjects are seen as an essential part of the curriculum bringing colour, contrast, a sense of balance and enjoyment to each school day.

As the children move through the classes, new aspects of the curriculum are introduced in a way that supports and responds to the needs of their development and growth. In Class 2, for example, animal fables and Saints’ stories are introduced which meet the growing awareness of the contrasts that belong within our nature and the truth that authentic intelligence includes an ethical dimension. In Class 6, Physics and Chemistry are introduced in recognition of a significant cognitive shift in the child and the readiness for understanding of how science draws on ways of thinking and discovering the world.

The children are not given text books but they make their own copy books which are carefully adorned with artistic illustrations.The continuous engagement in practical, artistic and musical activities unlocks and nourishes the children’s powers of creativity, building their self esteem which in turn forms the foundation for academic learning.

By Class 7, the children will have covered Creative Writing, Reading, Spelling, Grammar, Poetry and Drama.
They will also have learned World Exploration, History and Biography, plus Geography, Physics, basic Chemistry, Astronomy, Geology and Physiology.

After the Main Lesson there is a generous break for food, and time to play and exercise. Here, there are large wooded school grounds. Following the break, the wider curriculum of Handwork such as knitting, crocheting, sewing, cross stitching, basic weaving, toy-making and woodworking. They also learn languages: Irish and French. Their movement classes include group games, athletics and Eurythmy*. All are taught by specialist subject teachers.

The relationship between the teacher and pupil is the key to successful learning and because the teacher remains with the class for seven years, they will come to know each child and their needs in a deep way. It has been a joy for me to see my son James blossom and grow in this education system. I will always remember with great delight the many early mornings he spent happily knitting while he waited for his breakfast. Another of the many memories I will cherish is watching him sit outside on a step, knitting (‘an elephant’!) as he watched every move of two big workmen on the roof of our house. For James this was a regular thing to do but I sensed that they were fascinated by this little boy. Indeed, I have been truly fascinated and personally enriched by my experience of Steiner education.

John Donaldson originally trained as a pharmacist and his son James attends Raheenwood Steiner School, near the village of Tuamgraney.

*Eurythmy: ‘movement to tone and speech. Our usual way of taking in speech and music is by listening. Eurythmy brings this to visual experience by expressing in movement the form inherent in the words and tones. Vowels, consonants, musical tones and intervals are ‘moved’ through the limbs, engaging the whole human being, integrating bodily movement with movements that arise within the soul, thus creating a harmonious relationship between the soul – the spiritual element and the body.’