kingdom of childhood

8/4/2019 Kingdom of Childhood

1/176


2/176

i

T H E

K I N G D O M

O F C H I L D H O O D


3/176

THE K INGDOM OF CH I LDHOODii

[XXI]

FOUNDAT IONS OF WALDOR F EDUCAT ION


4/176

iii

R U D O L F S T E I N E R

TH E

KINGDOMO F

CHILDHOOD

SevenLectures andAnswerstoQuestions

GiveninTorquay, August 1220, 1924

AnthroposophicPress


5/176

THE K INGDOM OF CH I LDHOODiv

Thepublisherwishestoacknowledgetheinspiration

andsupportofConnieandRobertDulaney

OriginalTranslation byHelenFox1982 RudolfSteinerPress

RevisedTranslation 1995 AnthroposophicPress

ThisvolumeisatranslationofDieKunstdesErziehensausdemErfassenderMenschenwesenheit, whichisvolume 311 oftheCompleteCentenaryEdi-

tion of the works of RudolfSteiner, published byRudolfSteinerVerlag,

Dornach, Switzerland.

Published byAnthroposophicPress

RR 4, Box 94 A-1, Hudson, N.Y. 12534

LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData

Steiner, Rudolf, 18611925.[Kunst des Erziehens aus dem Erfassen der Menschenwesenheit.

English]

Thekingdomofchildhood:sevenlecturesandanswersto

questionsgiveninTorquay, August 1220, 1924 /RudolfSteiner. Rev. translation.

p. cm. (FoundationsofWaldorfeducation: 21)

Includesindex.

ISBN 0-88010-402-3 (pbk.)

1. Waldorfmethodofeducation. 2. Anthroposophy. 3. EducationPhilosophy. I. Title. II. Series.

LB1029.W34S7313

371.3'9dc20 95-12247

CIP

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

All rightsreserved. Nopartof this bookmay bereproduced inany formwithoutthewrittenpermissionofthepublisher, exceptfor briefquotations

embodiedincriticalreviewsandarticles.

PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica


6/176

v

CONT ENT S

AbouttheTranscriptsofLectures ...............................................................vi

Synopsis of Lectures ................................................................................ ix

IntroductionbyChristopherBamford.................................................... xiii

LECTURE 1

Torquay, August 12, 1924 ......................................................................... 1

LECTURE 2

Torquay, August 13, 1924 ...................................................................... 16

LECTURE 3

Torquay, August 14, 1924 ...................................................................... 36

LECTURE 4

Torquay, August 15, 1924 ..................................................................... 56

LECTURE 5

Torquay, August 16, 1924

AppendixtoLecture5 ............................................................................... 72

LECTURE 6

Torquay, August 18, 1924 ...................................................................... 91

LECTURE 7

Torquay, August 19, 1924 .................................................................... 109

QuestionsandAnswers

August 20, 1924 .................................................................................... 125

Index ......................................................................................................... 147


7/176

THE K INGDOM OF CH I LDHOODvi

A BOUT TH E T R AN SC R I P T S

O F L E CTUR E S

Theresultsofmyanthroposophicalworkare, first, the books

availabletothegeneralpublic;secondly, agreatnumberoflec-ture courses, originally regarded as private publications and

sold only tomembers of theTheosophical (later Anthropo-

sophical)Society. Thecoursesconsistofmoreorlessaccurate

notes takenatmy lectures, which for lackof timeIhavenot

beenabletocorrect. Iwouldhavepreferredthespokenwordto

remainthespokenword. Butthememberswishedtohavethe

courses printed for private circulation. Thus they came intoexistence. Had I beenable to correct them the restriction for

members only would have been unnecessary from the begin-

ning. Asitis, therestrictionwasdroppedmorethanayearago.

Inmyautobiographyitisespeciallynecessarytosayaword

abouthowmy booksforthegeneralpublicontheonehand,

and theprivatelyprintedcourseson theother, belongwithin

whatIelaboratedasAnthroposophy.

Someonewhowishestotracemyinnerstruggleandeffortto

presentAnthroposophyinawaythatissuitableforpresent-day

consciousnessmustdo so through the writingspublished for

generaldistribution. IntheseIdefinemypositioninrelationto

thephilosophicalstrivingofthepresent. Theycontainwhatto

my spiritualsight becameevermoreclearlydefined, theedifice

ofAnthroposophycertainlyincompleteinmanyways.

Butanotherrequirementarose, differentfromthatofelabo-

ratingAnthroposophyanddevotingmyself solely toproblems


8/176

AbouttheTranscriptsofLectures vii

connectedwithimpartingfactsdirectlyfromthespiritualworld

tothegeneralculturallifeoftoday:therequirementofmeeting

fullytheinnerneedandspirituallongingofthemembers.RequestswereespeciallystrongtoshedthelightofAnthro-

posophyupontheGospelsandtheBibleingeneral. Themem-

bers wished to have courses of lectures on these revelations

bestoweduponhumankind.

Inmeetingthisneedthroughprivatelecturecourses, another

factorarose:attheselecturesonlymemberswerepresent. They

were familiar with basic content of Anthroposophy. I could

address themaspeopleadvanced inanthroposophicalknowl-

edge. TheapproachIadopted inthese lectureswasnotatall

suitableforthewrittenworks intendedprimarilyforthegen-

eralpublic.

IntheseprivatecirclesIcouldformulatewhatIhadtosayin

awayIshouldhave been obligedtomodifyhadit beenplanned

initiallyforthegeneralpublic.

Thusthepublicandtheprivatepublicationsareinfacttwo

quite different things, builtupondifferent foundations. The

publicwritingsarethedirectresultofmy innerstrugglesand

labors, whereas the privately printed material includes the

innerstruggleandlaborofthemembers. Ilistenedtotheinner

needsofthemembers, andmylivingexperienceofthisdeter-

minedtheformofthelectures.

However, nothingwaseversaidthatwasnotsolelytheresult

ofmydirectexperienceofthegrowingcontentofAnthroposo-

phy. Therewasneveranyquestionofconcessionstothepreju-

dicesorthepreferencesofthemembers. Whoeverreadsthese

privatelyprinted lectures can take them to representAnthro-

posophyinthefullestsense. Thusitwaspossiblewithouthesi-

tationwhen the complaints in this direction became too

persistenttodepartfromthecustomofcirculatingthismate-

rialonlyamongmembers. Butitmust be borneinmindthat


9/176

THE K INGDOM OF CH I LDHOODviii

faulty passages occur in these lecture-reports not revised by

myself.

Therighttojudgesuchprivatematerialcan, ofcourse, becon-cededonlytosomeonewhohastheprerequisite basisforsuch

judgment. And in respect ofmost of thismaterial it would

mean atleastknowledgeofthehuman beingandofthecosmos

insofarasthesehave beenpresentedinthelightofAnthroposo-

phy, and also knowledge of what exists as anthroposophical

historyinwhathas beenimpartedfromthespiritualworld.

Extractfrom RudolfSteiner, AnAutobiography,

2nded. (NewYork:Steinerbooks, 1980), 38688.


10/176

AbouttheTranscriptsofLectures ix

S YNO P S I S O F TH E L E CTUR E S

LECTURE 1

Theneedforanewartofeducation. The wholeoflifemust becon-sidered. Processofincarnationasastupendoustaskofthespirit. Fun-damentalchangesatsevenandfourteen. Atseven, theformingofthenew bodyoutofthemodel bodyinheritedat birth. After birth,the bodilymilkassolenourishment. Theteacherstasktogivesoulmilkatthechangeofteethandspiritualmilkatpuberty.

LECTURE 2

In first epoch of life child is wholly sense organ. Nature of childs

environment and conduct of surrounding adults of paramountimportance. Detailedobservationofchildrenanditssignificance. Insecond epoch, seven to fourteen, fantasy and imagination as lifebloodofalleducation, e.g., inteachingofwritingandreading, basedonfreecreativeactivityofeachteacher. Thechildasintegralpartoftheenvironmentuntilnine. Teachingaboutnaturemust be basedonthis. Thehighertruths infairytalesandmyths. Howtheteachercanguidethechildthroughthecriticalmomentoftheninthyear.

LECTURE 3

Howtoteachaboutplantsandanimals(seventofourteen). Plantsmustalways beconsidered, notas specimens, butgrowing in the soil. Theplant belongstothe earth. Thisisthetruepictureandgivesthechildaninwardjoy. Animalsmust be spoken of always in connection withhumans. Allanimalqualitiesandphysicalcharacteristicsareto befound,insomeform, inthehuman being. Humansassynthesisofthewholeanimalkingdom.Mineralsshouldnot beintroduceduntiltwelfthyear.

History should first be presented in living, imaginative pictures,through legends, myths, and stories. Only atelevenor twelve shouldanyteaching be basedoncauseandeffect, whichisforeigntotheyoungchildsnature. Somethoughtsonpunishment, withexamples.


11/176

THE K INGDOM OF CH I LDHOODx

LECTURE 4

Developmentofimaginativequalitiesintheteacher. Thestoryofthe

violet and the blue sky. Childrens questions. Disciplinedependenton the rightmood of soul. The teachers ownpreparation for this.Seating of children according to temperament. Retelling of stories.Importanceofimaginativestoriesthatcan berecalledinlaterschoollife. Drawingofdiagrams, fromninthyear. Completionandmeta-morphosis of simple figures, to give children feeling of form andsymmetry. Concentration exercises to awakenan active thinkingasbasis of wisdom for later life. Simple color exercises. AWaldorfschooltimetable. Themainlesson.

LECTURE 5

Allteachingmattermust beintimatelyconnectedwithlife. Incount-ing, eachdifferentnumber should be connected with the child orwhat the child sees in the environment. Counting and stepping inrhythm. The bodycounts. The headlookson. Countingwithfingersandtoesisgood(alsowritingwiththefeet). TheONEisthewhole.Othernumbersproceedfromit. Buildingwith bricksisagainstthe

ch

ildsn

atu

re, wh

oseimpu

lseistoproceedfromw

hole

topar

ts, asi

n

medievalthinking. Contrastatomictheory. Inreallifewehavefirstabasketofapples, a purseofcoins. Inteachingaddition, proceedfromthe whole. Insubtraction, startwithminuendandremainder;inmul-tiplication, with product and one factor. Theorem of Pythagoras(eleventwelveyears). Detailsgivenofaclear, visualproof, basedonpracticalthinking. Thiswillarousefreshwondereverytime.

LECTURE 6

In first sevenyears etheric body is an inward sculptor. After seven,childhasimpulsetomodelandtopaint. Teachermustlearnanatomyby modelingtheorgans. Teachingofphysiology(ninetotwelveyears)should be based onmodeling. Between seven and fourteen astralbodygraduallydraws intophysical body, carrying the breathing byway ofnerves, asplaying on a lyre. Importance of singing. Childsexperienceofwell-being like thatofcowschewing thecud. Instru-mentalmusicfrom beginningofschoollife, windorstrings. Teach-ing of languages;up tonine through imitation, then beginnings ofgrammar, as little translation as possible. Vowels are expression offeeling, consonantsareimitationofexternalprocesses. Eachlanguageexpresses a different conception. Compare head, Kopf, testa. Thepartsofspeechinrelationtothelifeafterdeath. Iflanguageisrightly


12/176

SynopsisoftheLectures xi

taught, out of feeling, eurythmy will develop naturally, expressinginnerandouterexperiencesinorderedmovementsvisiblespeech.

Findingrelationshiptospacein gymnastics.

LECTURE 7

Betweensevenandfourteen soulqualitiesareparamount. Beginningsof science teaching from twelfthyear only, and connected with realphenomena of life. Theproblem of fatigue. Wrong conceptions ofpsychologists. Therhythmicsystem, predominantinsecondperiod,nevertires. Rhythmandfantasy. Composition. Sumsfromreallife, notabstractions. Einsteins theory. The kindergartenimitation of life.

Teachersmeetings, theheart of the school. Every child to be in therightclassforitsage. Importanceofsomeknowledgeoftrades, e.g.,shoemaking, handwork, and embroidery. Childrens reportscharac-terization, butnograding. Contactwiththe parents.

QUESTIONSANDANSWERS

The close relationship of Multiplication andDivision. How todealwith both together. Transition from the concrete to the abstract in

Arithme

tic.No

t before

then

inth

year.Heal

thin

essof

En

glish

weightsandmeasuresasrelatedtoreallife. Decimalsystemasanintellectual

abstraction.

Drawing. Lines have no reality in drawing and painting, onlyboundaries. Howtoteachchildrentodrawatreeinshading, speak-ingonlyoflightandcolor. (Illustration). Linedrawing belongsonlytogeometry.

Gymnastics andSport. Sportisofno educationalvalue, butnecessary

as belongingtoEnglishlife. Gymnasticsshould betaught bydemon-stration.

ReligiousInstruction.ReligionlessonsintheWaldorfschoolgiven byCatholicpriestandProtestantpastor. Freereligionlessonsprovidedfortheotherchildren. Planofsuchteachingdescribed, ofwhichthefundamental aim is anunderstanding ofChristianity. TheSundayservices.

ModernLanguageLessons. Choiceoflanguagesmust beguided bythe

demands of English life. These can be introduced at an early age.Directmethodinlanguageteaching.

Closingwords byDr. Steinerontheseriousnessofthisfirstattempt

tofoundaschoolinEngland.


13/176

THE K INGDOM OF CH I LDHOODxii


14/176

SynopsisoftheLectures xiii

INT RODUCT ION

byChristopherBamford

Introduction

These talks, translated as The Kingdom of Childhood, were

given byRudolfSteiner at theSecond InternationalSummer

Conference, arranged byD. N. Dunlop and E. C. Merry, in

Torquay, England, inAugust, 1924. 1RudolfSteinerwasthen

alreadyasickman. Itwashislasttripafteraquarterofacen-

turyoftirelesslycrisscrossingthelengthand breadthofEurope

intheserviceofrenewedspiritualknowledge. GntherWach-

smuth,

wh

owas

on

eof

those

wh

ot

ravelledwithh

im,

writes:During the summer conference in Torquay, [Rudolf

Steiner] suffered tragically from the destructive illness.

Outwardly, however, nothingofthiscould beseen. Every

dayhemetalltherequirementsofthecomprehensivepro-

gram and his lecturing activity. He spoke introductory

words at artistic programs, held numerous conferences,

took par

t in

excu

rsions. B

ut everymeal ca

u

sed ren

ewedsuffering inhis illness, a condition whichhe bore coura-

geously, without a word of complaint. Dr. Wegman, his

faithful physician, discussed the situation with me and

found inconspicuous ways of enablinghim to reducehis

sufferingduringtrips, andduringpauses intheprogram,

andatmealtimes. ButRudolfSteinerallowednothingof

1. SeeT. H. Meyer, D. N. Dunlop, A ManofOurTime. London:TempleLodge, 1992;alsoGntherWachsmuth, TheLifeandWorkofRudolfSteiner.Blauvelt, NewYork:SpiritualScienceLibrary, 1989.


15/176

THE K INGDOM OF CH I LDHOODxiv

this illness to be known by those at the conference. The

more his physical suffering increased, the more heroic

became his concentrated, intense, and at the same time

spiritually clarified activity to bring about and safeguard

thegreatestplenitudeofspiritualknowledgeinthislifeon

earth.2

The theme of Steinersmain lectures was Initiation Con-

sciousness:TrueandFalsepaths inSpiritualInvestigation.3From

August 11 to 22, thiscyclewasgiven in themornings in the

TownHall. Intheafternoons, asmallgroupofaspirantteach-

ers, whohopedtoopenaWaldorfSchoolinEngland, metfor

animpromptueducationcourse. Butthiswas bynomeansthe

end of RudolfSteiners activities. In the evenings, there were

speciallectureson, amongothertopics, theChristmasConfer-

ence, theworkingsofdestiny, Christendomandtheimpulseof

Arabism, and theAnthroposophicalMovementand theGrail

andArthur streams. There were also eurythmyperformances

andeveningsofmusicandpoetry.Oneevening, RudolfSteiner

heldalecturefortheFirstClassoftheSchoolofSpiritualSci-

ence. And, onAugust 17, therewasafiftymilejourney, across

themoorsofDartmoor, toTintagelwhereKingArthurscastle

hadoncestood.4

Suchthenwastheimmediatecontextofthelecturesonedu-

cationprintedhere. This was bynomeans the first time that

SteinerhadspokenonWaldorfeducationinEngland, norwere

the ideas new on English soil. Already in 1919 a group had

cometogetherinKingsLangleytoseektofindawayofrealizing

Steiners educational ideals. Among these was H. Millicent

2. Wachsmuth, op. cit.

3. RudolfSteiner, True and False Paths inSpiritual Investigation. London:RudolfSteinerPress, 1985.4. SeeMeyer op. cit., Dunlop op. cit., and RudolfSteiner, TheArchangelMichael, pp. 269282. Hudson, NewYork:AnthroposophicPress, 1994.


16/176

Introduction xv

MacKenzie, Professor of Education at theUniversityCollege

Cardiff, whowenttoBerlinwhereshemetRudolfSteiner.5Asa

result of this meeting, and following her attendance at the

Christmas Course for teachers at theGoetheanum in 1921,

RudolfSteinerwasinvitedtospeakduringtheShakespeareFes-

tivalatStratfordonAvononNewIdealsinEducation.6The

LondonTimesreported:

ThefamouspersoninthisyearsconferencewasDr. Rudolf

Steiner, who is distinguished at present not only in the

fieldofeducation butalso inotherfields. In the lightof

spiritualscience, hegivesnewforcesoflifetoanumberof

dogmashithertoheldincheck, andhepromisestoteacher

relief from unnecessary difficulty through learning to

knowthesoulofthechildwiththehelpofsupersensible

knowledge. 7

During this trip, Steiner spent time in Kings Langleydis-

cussing educational matters withMiss Cross of the Priory

School.

InAugustofthefollowingyear(1922), Steinerreturnedto

EnglandtoattendtheOxfordHolidayConferenceatMans-

field College on Spiritual Values in Education and Social

Life.This was organized byMillicentMackenzie, who took

the chair, andopened by L. P. Jacks, Principle ofManchester

College. Asthe OxfordChroniclereported:

Approximately 200 studentsare takingpart in thisCon-

gress. PresidingattheconferenceistheMinisterforLabor,

5. H. MillicentMacKenziewasawell-knowneducator. ShewastheauthorofFreedom inEducation. AnInquiry into its Meaning, Value, andCondition.

London:Hodder andStaughton, 1925. She also wrote HegelsTheory and

PracticeofEducation(publisheranddateunknown).6. SeeRudolfSteiner, WaldorfEducation andAnthroposophyI.Hudson,NewYork:AnthroposophicPress, 1995.7. QuotedWachsmuth.


17/176

THE K INGDOM OF CH I LDHOODxvi

Dr. H. A. L. Fisherandprominentrepresentativesofthe

most varied special fields are included in its council.

Amongthenamesofthelecturersareto befoundthoseofMr. Clutton Brock, Dr. MaxwellGarnett, ProfessorGil-

bertMurray, Mr. EdmundHolmes, andothers. Thepro-

gram thus comprises an extensive area of pedagogical

idealsandendeavors.

The most prominent personality at the Congress is

probablyDr. RudolfSteiner . . . . Dr. Steinerspeaksevery

forenoonon TheSpiritualFoundationsofEducation.8

Thefollowingyear, 1923, RudolfSteineragainreturnedto

Englandandcarried thepedagogicalwork further. Hegavea

lectureonContemporarySpiritualLifeandEducationunder

theauspicesoftheUnionfortheRealizationofSpiritualValues

inEducation.9Then, beforegoingontotheFirstInternational

Summer School at Penmaemawr, he gave, among other lec-

tures, thelecturecoursepublishedunderthetitleofAModern

ArtofEducation.10Duringthismeeting, fourwomencameto

Steinertoaskhimforadviceonfoundingaschool.Heencour-

aged them toproceed with theirplans, but advised them to

planalargeschoolforasmallschoolwould beadisadvantage

in England. It should bemodern and well thought out, and

conversant with other contemporary educational ideas. For

they were not to be dilettantish. This school, he advised,

should beneither be in thecountry, nor inapoorneighbor-

hood, liketheEastEndofLondon.Nevertheless, itshould bea

8. SeeWachsmuth. AlsoRudolfSteiner, TheSpiritualGroundofEducation.London:AnthroposophicalPublishingCompany, 1948.9. See Rudolf Steiner, Waldorf Education and Anthroposophy II. Hudson,

NewYork:AnthroposophicPress, 1995.10. Rudolf Steiner, A Modern Art of Education. London: Rudolf SteinerPress, 1972;alsoavailableas Education andModernSpiritualLife. Blauvelt,NewYork:Steinerbooks, 1989.


18/176

Introduction xvii

schoolforallchildren. Inconclusion, hesaid, theymustfinda

mantoworkwiththem. Thismanturnedoutto beA. C.Har-

wood, who attended TheKingdom of Childhood lectures the

following year inTorquay. Hehad come there thinking it a

fineplacetorecuperatefroma boutofmumps.

In his Preface to the previous edition of The Kingdom of

Childhood, thissameA. C. Harwoodwrote:

[These talks] were given specifically for a small group of

teachersorintendingteachers, nomorethanfiveinnum-

ber(thoughsomeotherswereallowedtoattend), whohad

resolved toopenaschool basedon[Steiners]work.11

Asalways, RudolfSteineradaptedwhathehadtosaytothe

characterofhisspecialaudience, someofwhomhadnoexperi-

enceofteaching. Hegivesthemeverypossibleencouragement,

whilehepointsoutthemagnitudeofthetaskonwhichtheyare

entering. Hestimulatestheirobservation bymanypracticaland

homelyexamples. heshowsthemhowessentialitisforteachers

toworkuponthemselves, notmerelytousetheirnaturalgifts

buttotransformthem, toseekforunsuspectedpowerswithin

themselves, neverto becomepedants, buttomakeampleuseof

humorandkeeptheirteachingandthemselveslivelyandimagi-

native. But, above all, he insists on the grave importance of

doingeverythinginthelightoftheknowledgeofthechildasa

citizenofthespiritualaswellasoftheearthlyworld.

ManyoftheideaswhichSteinerstressedfortyyearsagohave

sinceappearedinmodifiedformsinthegeneralpracticeof

education. But there is no other form of education which

affirms the existence of the eternal being of the child in the

spiritualworld before birth, whichregardschildhoodasagrad-

ualprocessofincarnation, andseesallphysicalprocessesasthe

11. This was opened 1925 in 1925 as the New School in Streatham. It is now

known as Michael Hall and is situated in Forest Row, Sussex.


19/176

THE K INGDOM OF CH I LDHOODxviii

resultofspiritualpowers. Thisistheuniquecoreofananthro-

posophical education, andSteiner reminds teachers that they

mustneverforgetitorrepresentthemethodsdevelopedinhis

schoolsapartfromthesecentraltruths.

Thereaderoftheselecturesmust bearinmindthat, ingiving

them, Steinerassumedinhishearerssomefundamentalknowl-

edgeofthatSpiritualSciencewhichithad beenhislifesworkto

establish. Someofhisstatementsmaythereforeappeartohavea

somewhatdogmaticflavortoanewreaderwhodoesnotknow

whatcarefulresearchanddepthofstudylie behindthem.

Ingeneral, however, thelecturesareconcernedwithpractical

examples, which give a livelypicture of the kind of teaching

Steinerwished toprevail inhisschools. Hehimselfdescribed

theselecturesasaphoristic,andsometimestheyseemtotreat

inquicksuccessionanalmost bewilderingnumberofsubjects.

But, onreflection, itwill befoundthattheyreturnagainand

againtoafewcentralthemes:

theneedforobservationintheteacher;

thedangers of stressing the intellect andhandling the

abstract beforetheageofadolescence;

thecryinginneedinchildrenfortheconcreteandpic-

torial;

theeducationofthesoulthroughwonderandreverence;

the difference itmakes to life when imagination first

graspsthewhole, andthepartcomeslaterinitsproper

relation;and, atthesametime, theneedforchildrento

bepracticalandtounderstandthepracticalworkofthe

worldaroundthem.

Steiner himself distinguished sharply between the styles

appropriatetothewrittenandthespokenword. Hadhe been

abletorevisetheselecturesasa bookhewouldnodoubthave

transformed them radically. As this was not possible, it has

seemed besttokeepinthetranslationthecolloquialstyleofthe


20/176

Introduction xix

original(andunrevised)typescript. Thelecturesshould beread

astalksgiventoanintimategroup.

Thetalksthemselvesareself-explanatory. Asalecturecourse,theyhavealways beenindemand. Perhapsthisis becausethey

weregivenoriginallytoasmallEnglishgroup, dedicatedtothe

project of founding their ownWaldorfSchool. And, for this

reason, perhaps, they have spoken directly and simply to all

thosepioneerparentsandteacherswhooverthepastseventyor

soyearshavestruggledtodothesameintheEnglish-speaking

world. Theyhavealwaysfoundthese lecturesespeciallyexcit-

ingandinspiringfortheirgreat practicalvalue. Andsuchprac-

tical value, after all, is at theheart ofWaldorf education, as

RudolfSteineremphasizesinhisseventhlecture:

If, therefore, we educate children not only out of

knowledge of thehuman being, but in accordance with

thedemandsof life, theywillalsohave toknowhow to

readandwriteproperlyattheagewhenthisisexpectedof

themtoday. Weareobligedto includeinthecurriculum

manythingsthataresimplydemanded bythecustomsof

thetime. Nevertheless, wemustalsotryto bringthechil-

drenintotouchwithlifeasmuchaspossible.

IwoulddearlyliketohaveashoemakerintheWaldorf

School, if this were possible. It cannot be done because

such a thing does not fit into a curriculum based on

present-day requirements, but in order that the children

mightreallylearntomakeshoes, andtoknow, nottheoret-

ically but through their own work, what this entails, I

woulddearlyliketohaveashoemakeronthestaffofthe

school. But itsimplycannot bedone because it isnot in

accordancewiththeauthorities, althoughitisjustthevery

thingthatisinaccordancewithreallife. Nevertheless, we

dotrytoenablethechildrento bepracticalworkers.


21/176

THE K INGDOM OF CH I LDHOODxx


22/176

LectureOne 1

1

T O R Q UAY

/ AU G U S T

1 2,

1 9 2 4

MyDearFriends,

It givesme thedeepest satisfaction to findhere in Englandthat you are ready to consider founding a school based on

anthroposophicalideas.1Thismay beatrulymomentousand

incisive event in thehistory of education. Such words could

well beheardasexpressinglackofhumility, butwhatwillcomeabout for education through an art of education based on

Anthroposophyissomethingquitespecial. AndIamoverjoyed

thatanimpulsehasarisentoformthefirst beginningsofaCol-

legeofTeachers, teacherswhofromthedepthsoftheirhearts

do indeed recognize the very special quality of what we call

anthroposophical education. It isno fanatical idea of reform

thatpromptsustospeakofarenewalineducationallife;weareurgedtodosooutofourwholefeelingandexperienceofhow

humankindisevolvingincivilizationandinculturallife.

Inspeakingthuswearefullyawareoftheimmenseamount

thathas beendoneforeducation bydistinguishedindividuals

in the courseof thenineteenthcentury, andespecially in the

last fewdecades. But although this wasundertaken with the

1. TheNewSchool,StreathamHill, London, S.W.16, wasopenedinJan-uary 1925. In 1935 thenamewaschangedtoMichaelHall.In 1945 theschoolwasmovedtoKidbrookePark, ForestRow, Sussex.


23/176

TH E K INGDOM O F CH I LDHOOD2

very bestintentionsandeverypossiblemethodwastried, areal

knowledgeofthehuman beinghas been lacking. These ideas

abouteducationaroseatatimewhennorealknowledgeofthe

human beingwaspossible becauseofthematerialismthatpre-

vailedinallaspectsoflifeandindeedhaddonesosincethefif-

teenthcentury. Therefore, whenpeopleexpoundedtheirideas

oneducationalreformtheywere buildingonsandoronsome-

thingevenlessstable;rulesofeducationwerelaiddown based

onallsortsofemotionsandopinionsofwhatlifeoughtto be.

Itwas impossibletoknowthewholenessofthehuman being

andtoaskthequestion:Howcanwe bringtolightinpeople

what lies, god-given, within their nature after they have

descended from pre-earthly life into earthly life?This is the

kindofquestionthatcan beraisedinanabstractway, butcan

only beansweredconcretelyonthe basisofatrueknowledgeof

thehuman beingin body, soul, andspirit.

Nowthisishowthematterstandsforpresent-dayhumanity.

Theknowledgeofthe bodyishighlydeveloped. Bymeansof

biology, physiology, andanatomyaveryadvancedknowledge

ofthehuman bodyhas beenacquired; butassoonaswewish

toacquireaknowledgeof the soul, we, withourpresent-day

views, areconfrontedwithacompleteimpasse, foreverything

relating to the soul ismerely aname, a word. Even for such

thingsasthinking, feeling, andwillingwefindnorealityinthe

ordinarypsychologyoftoday. Westillusethewordsthinking,

feeling, andwilling, butthere isnoconceptionofwhattakes

place in the soul in reference to these things. What the so-

called psychologists have to say about thinking, feeling, and

willing is in realitymere dilettantism. It isjust as though a

physiologistweretospeakinageneralwayofthehumanlungs

orliver, makingnodistinction betweentheliverofachildand

thatof anoldperson. We are advanced in the scienceof the

body;nophysiologistwouldfailtonotethedifference between


24/176

LectureOne 3

the lungsofachildand the lungsofanoldman, or indeed,

betweenthehairofachildandthehairofanoldman. Aphys-

iologistwouldnoteallthesedifferences. Butthinking, feeling,andwillingaremerewordsthatareutteredwithoutconveying

anysenseofreality. Forinstance, itisnotknownthatwilling,

asitappearsinthesoul, isyoung, whilethinkingisold;thatin

fact thinking is willing grown old, and willing is a youthful

thinkinginthesoul. Thuseverythingthatpertainstothesoul

contains youthfulness and old age, both existing in human

beingssimultaneously.

Even inthesoulofayoungchild there istheold thinking

andtheyoungwillingtogetheratthesametime. Indeed, these

thingsare realities. But todaynooneknowshow to speakof

these realitiesof the soul in the same way the realitiesof the

bodyarespokenof, sothatasteachersofchildrenwearequite

helpless. Supposeyouwereaphysicianandyetwereunableto

distinguish between a child and an oldman! You would of

coursefeelhelpless. Butsincethereisnoscienceofthesoulthe

teacherisunabletospeakaboutthehumansoulasthemodern

physiciancanofthehuman body. Andasforthespirit, thereis

nosuchthing!Onecannotspeakofit, therearenolongereven

anywordsforit. Thereis butthesinglewordspirit,andthat

doesnotconveymuch. Therearenootherwordstodescribeit.

Inourpresent-daylifewecannotthereforeventuretospeakof

aknowledgeofthehuman being. Herewemayeasilyfeelthat

allisnotwellwithoureducation, andthatcertainthingsmust

beimprovedupon. Yes, buthowcanweimprovemattersifwe

knownothingatallofthehuman being?Thereforealltheideas

forimprovingeducationmay beinspired bythe bestwillinthe

world, buttheypossessnoknowledgeofthehuman being.

Thiscan benoticedeveninourowncircles. Fortodayitis

Anthroposophythatcanhelpustoacquirethisknowledgeof

human beings. I am not saying this from any sectarian or


25/176


fanaticalstandpoint, butitistruethatonewhoseeksknowl-

edgeofthehuman beingmustfinditinAnthroposophy. Itis

obviousthatknowledgeofthehuman beingmust bethe basis

forateacherswork;that beingso, teachersmustacquirethis

knowledge for themselves, and thenatural thingwill be that

they acquire it throughAnthroposophy. If, therefore, we are

askedwhatthe basisofanewmethodofeducationshould be,

our answer is:Anthroposophymust be that basis. But how

manypeoplethereare, eveninourowncircles, whotrytodis-

claimAnthroposophy asmuch aspossible, and topropagate

aneducationwithoutlettingit beknownthatAnthroposophy

is behindit.

AnoldGermanproverb says:Pleasewashme butdontmake

me wet!Manyprojects areundertaken in this spirit butyou

must above all both speak and think truthfully. So if anyone

asksyouhow to becomeagood teacheryoumust say:Make

Anthroposophyyourfoundation. YoumustnotdenyAnthro-

posophy, foronly bythismeanscanyouacquireyourknowl-

edgeofthehuman being.

There isnoknowledgeof thehuman being inourpresent

cultural life. There are theories, butno living insights, either

intotheworld, life, orpeople. Atrueinsightwillleadtoatrue

practiceinlife, butthereisnosuchpracticallifetoday. Doyou

knowwhoarethemostunpracticalpeopleatthepresenttime?

Itisnotthescientists, foralthoughtheyareawkwardandigno-

rantoflife, thesefaultscan beseenclearlyinthem. Butthese

thingsarenotobservedinthosewhotrulyaretheworsttheo-

rists and who are the leastpractical in life. They are the so-

calledpracticalpeople, the business and industrypeople and

bankers, thosewhorulethepracticalaffairsof lifewiththeo-

reticalthoughts. A banktodayisentirelycomposedofthoughts

arising from theories. There is nothing practical in it; but

peopledonotnoticethis, fortheysay:Itmust beso, thatisthe


26/176

LectureOne 5

waypracticalpeoplework. Sotheyadaptthemselvestoit, and

noonenoticestheharmthatisreally beingdoneinlife because

itisallworkedinsuchanunpracticalway. Thepracticallife

oftodayisabsolutelyunpracticalinallitsforms.

Thiswill benoticedonlywhenanever-increasingnumberof

destructive elements enter our civilization and break itup. If

thisgoesontheWorldWarwillhave beennothing butafirst

step, anintroduction. InrealitytheWorldWararoseoutofthis

unpractical thinking, but thatwasonlyan introduction. The

pointnowatstakeisthatpeopleshouldnotremainasleepany

longer, particularly in teaching andeducation. Our task is to

introduceaneducationthatconcernsitselfwiththewholeper-

sonbody, soul, and spiritand these three principles will

becomeknownandrecognized.

Intheshortcoursethatisto begivenhereIcanspeakonly

ofthemostimportantaspectsofbody, soul, andspirit, insuch

away that itwill give adirection to education and teaching.

That is what I shalldo. But the first requirement, as will be

seenfromthestart, isthatmylistenersmustreallytrytodirect

theirobservation, evenexternally, tothewholehuman being.

Howarethe basicprinciplesofeducationdeterminedthese

days?Thechildisobserved, andthenyouaretold, thechildis

like this or like that, andmust learn something. Then it is

thoughthow besttoteachsothatthechildcanlearnsuchand

such a thing quickly. But what, in reality, is a child?A child

remainsachildforatmosttwelveyears, orpossiblylonger, but

thatisnotthepoint. Thepointisthatachildmustalways be

thoughtofas becomingagrown-uppersonsomeday. Lifeasa

wholeisaunity, andyoumustnotconsideronlythechild but

thewholeoflife;youmustlookatthewholehuman being.

SupposeIhaveapalechildintheschool. Apalechildshould

beanenigmatome, ariddleto besolved. Theremay beseveral

reasonsforthepallor, butthefollowingisapossibleone. The


27/176


childmayhavecometoschoolwithsomewhatrosycheeks, and

mytreatmentofthechildmayhavecausedthepallor. Imust

admit this and be able tojudge the causes of the change of

color;Imayperhapscome tosee thatIhavegiven thischild

too much to learn by heart. The memory may have been

worked toohard. If Idonot admit thispossibility, if Iam a

shortsightedteacherwiththeideathatamethodmust becar-

riedthroughregardlessofwhetherthechildgrowsrosyorpale

thereby, that themethodmust bepreservedatanycost, then

thechildwillremainpale.

If, however, Iobserved thissamechildat theageoffifty, I

wouldprobablyfindterriblesclerosisorarterialhardening, the

cause of which would beunknown. This is the result ofmy

having overloaded the childsmemory at the age of eight or

nine. Foryou see, theadultoffiftyand thechildofeightor

nine belongtogether, theyareoneandthesamehuman being.

Imustknowwhattheresultwill be, fortyorfiftyyearslater, of

mymanagementof thechild; for life isaunity, it isallcon-

nected. Itisnotenoughmerelytoknowthechild, Imustknow

thewholehuman being.

Again, Itakegreattroubletogiveaclassthe bestdefinitions

Ican, sothattheconceptscan befirmlygraspedandthechil-

dren will know: this is a lion, that is a cat, and so on. But

shouldchildrenretaintheseconceptstothedayoftheirdeath?

Inourpresentagethereisnofeelingforthefactthatthesoul

toomust grow ! If I furnish a child with a concept that is to

remain correct (and correctness is of course all thatmat-

ters!), a concept to be retained throughout life, it isjust as

thoughI boughtthechildapairofshoesattheageofthree,

andeachsuccessiveyearhadshoesmadeofthesamesize. The

child will growoutof them. Thishowever is something that

peoplenotice, and it would be considered brutal to try and

keepthechildsfeetsmallenoughtogoonwearing thesame


28/176

LectureOne 7

sizedshoes!Yetthisiswhatis beingdonewiththesoulwhenI

furnishthechildwithideasthatdonotgrowwiththeperson. I

amconstantlysqueezingthesoulintotheideasIgivethechild

whenIgiveconceptsthatareintendedto bepermanent;when

Iworrythechildwithfixed, unchangeableconcepts, insteadof

givingthechildconceptscapableofexpansion.

These are some of the ways in which youmay begin to

answerthechallengethatineducationyoumusttakethewhole

human being intoconsiderationthegrowing, livinghuman

being, andnotjustanabstractidea.

Itisonlywhenyouhavetherightconceptionofhumanlife

as a connected whole thatyou come to realizehowdifferent

fromeachotherthevariousagesare. Children beforethefirst

teethareshedareverydifferent beingsfromwhatthey become

afterwards. Of course, youmustnot interpret this incrudely

formedjudgments, butifyouarecapableofmakingfinerdis-

tinctionsinlife, youcanobservethatchildrenarequitediffer-

ent beforeandafterthechangeofteeth.

Before the changeof teethyou can still seequite clearly at

worktheeffectsofthechildshabitsoflife before birthorcon-

ception, initspre-earthlyexistenceinthespiritualworld. The

bodyof thechildactsalmostas though itwerespirit, forthe

spirit thathasdescended from thespiritualworld isstill fully

activeinachildinthefirstsevenyearsoflife. Youwillsay:A

finesortofspirit!Ithas becomequite boisterous;forthechildis

rampageous, awkward, andincompetent. Isallthisto beattrib-

utedtothespirit belongingtoitspre-earthlylife?Well, mydear

friends, supposeallyoucleverandwell-brought-uppeoplewere

suddenlycondemnedtoremainalwaysinaroomhavingatem-

perature of 144o Fahrenheit? You couldnt do it! It is even

harderforthespiritofthechild, whichhasdescendedfromthe

spiritual worlds, to accustom itself to earthlyconditions. The

spirit, suddenlytransportedintoacompletelydifferentworld,


29/176


withthenewexperienceofhavinga bodytocarryabout, acts

as we see the child act. Yet ifyou knowhow to observe and

notehoweachday, eachweek, eachmonth, theindefinitefea-tures of the face becomemore definite, the awkwardmove-

ments become lessclumsy, and thechildgraduallyaccustoms

itself to its surroundings, then you will realize that it is the

spiritfromthepre-earthlyworld that isworkingtomakethe

childs body graduallymore like itself. We shall understand

whythechildisasitisifweobservethechildinthisway, and

weshallalsounderstanditisthedescendedspiritthatisacting

asweseeitwithinthechilds body. Thereforeforsomeonewho

knows the mysteries of the spirit it is both wonderful and

delightfultoobservealittlechild. Indoingsoonelearnsnotof

theearth, butofheaven.

In so-called good children, as a rule, their bodies have

already becomeheavy, even in infancy, and the spirit cannot

properlytakeholdofthe body. Suchchildrenarequiet;theydo

not scream and rush about, they sit still andmakenonoise.

Thespiritisnotactivewithinthem, becausetheir bodiesoffer

suchresistance. Itisoftenthecasethatthe bodiesofso-called

goodchildrenofferresistancetothespirit.

In the lesswell-behavedchildrenwhomakeagreatdealof

healthynoise, whoshoutproperly, andgivealotoftrouble, the

spiritisactive, thoughofcourseinaclumsyway, forithas been

transportedfromheaventoearth; butthespiritisactivewithin

them. It ismakinguseof the body. Youmayevenregard the

wildscreamsofachildasmostenthralling, simply becauseyou

thereby experience the martyrdom the spirit has to endure

whenitdescendsintoachild-body.

Yes, mydearfriends, itiseasyto beagrown-uppersoneasy

for the spirit, Imean, because the bodyhas then beenmade

ready, itnolongeroffersthesameresistance. Itisquiteeasyto

beafull-grownperson butextremelydifficultto beachild. The


30/176

LectureOne 9

childitselfisnotawareofthis becauseconsciousnessisnotyet

awake. Itisstillasleep, butifthechildpossessedtheconscious-

nessithad beforedescendingtoearthitwouldsoonnoticethis

difficulty: if the child were still living in thispre-earthly con-

sciousness its life would be a terrible tragedy, a really terrible

tragedy. Foryousee, thechildcomesdowntoearth; beforethis

ithas beenaccustomed toa spiritual substance fromwhich it

drew its spiritual life. The child was accustomed todeal with

that spiritual substance. Ithadprepared itself according to its

karma, accordingtotheresultofpreviouslives. Itwasfullycon-

tainedwithinitsownspiritualgarment, asitwere.Nowithasto

descendtoearth. Ishouldliketospeakquitesimplyaboutthese

things, andyoumustexcusemeifIspeakofthemasIwouldif

Iweredescribingtheordinarythingsoftheearth. Icanspeakof

themthus becausetheyareso. Nowwhenahuman beingisto

descend, a bodymust bechosenontheearth.

Andindeedthis bodyhas beenpreparedthroughoutgenera-

tions. Some father andmotherhad a son or adaughter, and

there again a son or a daughter, and so on. Thus through

hereditya body isproducedthatmustnow beoccupied. The

spiritmustdraw into itanddwell in it; but in sodoing it is

suddenlyfacedwithquitedifferentconditions. Itclothesitself

ina bodythathas beenprepared byanumberofgenerations.

Of course, even from the spiritual world thehuman being

canworkonthe bodysothatitmaynot bealtogetherunsuit-

able, yetasarulethe bodyreceivedisnotsoverysuitableafter

all. Forthemostpartasouldoesnotfitatalleasilyintosucha

body. Ifagloveweretofityourhandas badlyasthe bodygen-

erally fits the soul, you woulddiscard it at once. You would

neverthinkofputting iton. Butwhenyoucomedownfrom

thespiritualworldneedinga body, youjusthavetotakeone;

andyoukeepthis bodyuntilthechangeofteeth. Foritisafact

thateverysevenoreightyearsourexternalphysicalsubstanceis


31/176


completelychanged, atleastintheessentials, thoughnotinall

respects.Ourfirstteethforinstancearechanged, thesecondset

remain. Thisisnotthecasewithallthemembersofthehuman

organism; some parts, evenmore important than the teeth,

undergochangeeverysevenyearsaslongasapersonisonthe

earth. Iftheteethwereto behaveinthesamewayasthesewe

shouldhavenewteethatseven, fourteen, andagainattwenty-

oneyearsofage, andsoonandtherewould benodentistsin

theworld.

Thus certain hard organs remain, but the softer ones are

constantly beingrenewed. Inthefirstsevenyearsofourlifewe

havea bodythatisgiventous byouternature, byourparents,

andsoon;itisamodel. Thesouloccupiesthesamerelationto

this bodyasanartisttoamodelthathehastocopy. Wegradu-

ally shape the second body out of the first body up to the

changeof teeth. It takes sevenyears to complete theprocess.

This second body that we ourselves have fashioned on the

modelgivenus byourparentsonlyappearsattheendofthe

firstsevenyearsoflife, andallthatexternalsciencesaystoday

aboutheredityandsoforth ismeredilettantismcomparedto

thereality. Inrealitywe receiveat birthamodel body that is

withusforsevenyears, althoughduringtheveryfirstyearsof

life it begins todieoutand fallaway. Theprocesscontinues,

untilatthechangeofteethwehaveoursecond body.

Now there are weak individualities who are weakly when

theydescendtoearth;theseformtheirsecond body, inwhich

theywillliveafterthechangeofteeth, asanexactcopyofthe

firstone. Peoplesaythattheytakeaftertheirparents byinherit-

ance, butthis isnot true. Theymaketheirownsecond body

according to the inheritedmodel. It is only during our first

sevenyearsoflifethatthe bodyisreallyinherited, butnaturally

manyareweakindividualitiesandcopyagreatdeal. Thereare

also strong individualities descending to earth, and they too


32/176

LectureOne 11

inherit a good deal in the first seven years, which can be

observedintheirteeth. Thefirstteetharestillsoftandsubject

toheredity, butwhentheyarestrongindividualities, develop-ingintheproperway, thesechildrenwillhavegoodstrongsec-

ondteeth. Therearechildrenwhoattenyearsofagearejust

likechildrenoffourmereimitators. Othersarequitediffer-

ent, strongindividualitystirswithinthem. Themodelisused,

butafterwardtheyformanindividual bodyforthemselves.

Suchthingsmust benoted. Alltalkofhereditywillnotlead

youfarunlessyourealizehowmattersstand. Heredity, inthe

sense that it is spoken of by science, only applies to the first

sevenyearsofapersonslife. Afterthatage, whateverweinherit

isinheritedofourownfreewill, wemightsay;weimitatethe

model, butinrealitytheinheritedpartisthrownoffwiththe

first bodyatthechangeofteeth.

Thesoulnaturethatcomesdownfromthespiritualworldis

very strong in us, and it is clumsy at first because it has to

becomeaccustomedtoexternalnature. Yetinrealityeverything

aboutachild, eventheworstnaughtiness, isvery fascinating.

Ofcoursewemustfollowtheconventionstosomeextentand

not allow allnaughtiness topassunreproved; but we can see

better in children than anywhere else how the spirit of the

human being istormented by thedemonsofdegeneracy that

arepresent in theworld. Thechildhas toenteraworld into

whichitsooftendoesnotfit. Ifyouwereconsciousofthispro-

cess, youwouldseehowterriblytragic it is. Whenyouknow

something of initiation, and are able to consciously observe

whatlaysholdofthechilds body, itreallyisterribletoseehow

thechildmustfindaway intoallthecomplicationsofbones

andligamentsthathaveto beformed. Itreallyisatragicsight.

The child knowsnothing of this, for theGuardian of the

Thresholdprotects the child from any such knowledge. But

teachers should be aware of it and look on with thedeepest


33/176


reverence, knowingthatherea beingwhosenature isofGod

and the spirithasdescended to earth. The essential thing is

that you should know this, that you should fill your hearts

with this knowledge, and from this startingpointundertake

yourworkaseducators.

There are greatdifferences between themanner ofhuman

beingthatapersonisinthespiritual-soullife beforedescend-

ing to earth, and that which a person has to become here

below. Teachersshould beabletojudgethis becausestanding

beforethemisthechildinwhomaretheaftereffectsofthespir-

itualworld. Nowthereisonethingthatthechildhasdifficulty

inacquiring, becausethesoulhadnothingofthisinthespiri-

tuallife.

On earth, human beings have little ability to direct their

attention to the innerpartof the body; that isonlydone by

thenatural scientists and thephysicians. They know exactly

whatgoesoninsideapersonwithinthelimitsoftheskin, but

youwillfindthatmostpeopledonotevenknowexactlywhere

theirheartis !Theygenerallypointtothewrongplace, andif

inthecourseofsociallifetodayapersonwasaskedtoexplain

thedifference betweenthelobesoftherightandleftlungs, or

to describe the duodenum, very curious answers would be

given. Now beforewecomedownintoearthlylifewetakelit-

tle interest in the external world, but we take much more

interestinwhatmay becalledourspiritualinner being. Inthe

life between death and a new birth our interest is almost

entirelycenteredonour innerspiritual life. We buildupour

karmainaccordancewithexperiencesfrompreviousearthlives

andthiswedevelopaccordingtoourinner lifeofspirit. The

interestthatwetakeinitisfarremovedfromanyearthlyqual-

ity, veryfarremovedfromthatlongingforknowledgethat, in

itsone-sidedform, may becalledinquisitiveness. Alongingfor

knowledge, curiosity, apassionatedesireforknowledgeofthe


34/176

LectureOne 13

externallifewasnotours beforeour birthordescenttoearth;

wedidnotknowitatall. Thatiswhytheyoungchildhasit

onlyinsoslightadegree.Whatwedoexperience, ontheotherhand, istoliveright

inandwithourenvironment. Beforedescendingtoearthwe

liveentirelyintheouterworld. Thewholeworldisthenour

inner beingandthereexistnosuchdistinctionsasouterand

innerworld. Thereforewearenotcuriousaboutwhatisexter-

nal, forthatisallwithinus. Wehavenocuriosityaboutit, we

bear itwithinus, and it isanobviousandnaturalthingthat

weexperience.

So in the first sevenyears of life a child learns to walk, to

speak, and to think, outof the samemannerof living ithad

beforedescendingtoearth. Ifyoutrytoarousecuriosity ina

child about some particular word, you will find that you

therebyentirelydriveoutthechildswishtolearnthatword. If

youcountona longing forknowledgeorcuriosityyoudrive

outjustwhatthechildoughttohave. Youmustnotreckonon

a childs curiosity, but ratheron something else, namely, that

thechild becomesmerged intoyouas itwere, andyoureally

live inthechild. Allthatthechildenjoysmust liveand beas

though it were the childsown innernature. Youmustmake

the same impressionon thechildas itsownarmmakes. You

must, sotosay, beonlythecontinuationofitsown body. Then

later, when the childhaspassed through the change of teeth

and gradually enters the period between seven and fourteen

yearsold, youmustobservehow, little bylittle, curiosityanda

longingforknowledge begintoshowthemselves;youmust be

tactfulandcareful, andpayattentiontothewayinwhichcuri-

ositygraduallystirsinto beingwithinthechild.

Thesmallchildisstillonlyaclumsylittlecreature, whodoes

not ask questions, and you can onlymake an impression by

being somethingyourself. A childquestions the environment


35/176


aslittleasasackofflour. Butjustasasackofflourwillretain

any impressions you make upon it (especially if it is well

ground), so too does the little child retain impressions, notbecausethechildiscurious, but becauseyouyourselfarereally

onewiththechildandmakeimpressionsasyouwoulddowith

yourfingersonasackofflour.

Itisonlyatthechangeofteeththatthesituationalters. You

mustnotice the way the childnow begins to ask questions.

Whatisthat?Whatdothestarsseewith?Whyarethestarsin

the sky?Whyhave you a crookednose, grandmother?The

childnowasksallkindsofquestionsand beginsto becurious

aboutsurroundingthings. Youmusthaveadelicateperception

andnotethegradual beginningsofcuriosityandattentionthat

appearwith thesecondteeth. Theseare theyearswhenthese

qualities appear and youmust be ready tomeet them. You

mustallowthechildsinnernaturetodecidewhatyououghtto

bedoing;Imean, youmusttakethekeenestinterestinwhatis

awakeningwiththechangeofteeth.

Averygreatdealisawakeningthen. Thechildiscurious, but

notwithanintellectualcuriosity, forasyetthechildhasnorea-

soningpowers;andanyonewhotriestoappealtotheintellect

ofachildofseven isquiteonthewrong lines. Thechildhas

fantasy, andthisfantasyiswhatwemustengage. It isreallya

questionofdeveloping the conceptofakindof milkof the

soul.Foryousee, after birth thechildmust begiven bodily

milk. Thisconstitutes itsfoodandeveryothernecessarysub-

stance iscontained in themilk that thechildconsumes. And

whenchildrencometoschoolattheageofthechangingofthe

teethitisagainmilkthatyoumustgivethem, butnow, milk

forthesoul. Thatistosay, yourteachingmustnot bemadeup

of isolated units, but all that the children receivemust be a

unity;afterthechangeofteethchildrenmusthavesoulmilk.

Iftheyaretaughttoreadandwriteastwoseparatethingsitis


36/176

LectureOne 15

justasthoughtheirmilkwereto beseparatedchemicallyinto

twodifferentparts, andyou gave themonepart at one time

and the other at another. Reading and writingmust form a

unity. Youmust bring this idea of soulmilk into being for

yourworkwiththechildrenwhentheyfirstcometoschool.

Thiscanonlycomeabout if, afterthechangeofteeth, the

childrenseducationisdirectedartistically. Theartisticelement

must beinitall. TomorrowIwilldescribemorefullyhowto

develop writing out of painting and thus give it an artistic

form, andhowyoumustthenleadthisoverartisticallytothe

teachingofreading, andhowthisartistictreatmentofreading

andwritingmust beconnected, again byartisticmeans, with

the first simple beginnings of arithmetic. All thismust thus

formaunity. Youmustgraduallydevelopsuchthingsassoul

milkforthechildrenwhentheycometoschool.

Andwhenchildrenreachtheageofpubertytheywillrequire

spiritualmilk.This isextremelydifficult togivetopresent-

dayhumanity, forthereisnospiritleftinourmaterialisticage.

Itwill beadifficulttasktocreatespiritualmilk, butifyoudo

notsucceedincreatingityourselves, your boysandgirlswill be

lefttothemselvesduringthedifficultadolescentyears, forthere

isotherwisenospiritualmilkinourpresentage.

Ijustwantedtosaythesethings bywayofintroductionand

to giveyou a certaindirectionof thought; tomorrow we will

continuetheseconsiderationsandgomoreintodetails.


37/176

THE K INGDOM OF CH I LDHOOD16

2

T O R Q UAY

/ AUG U S T

1 3,

1 9 2 4

Ipointedoutyesterdayhowthechildsdevelopmentunder-goes a radical change with the loss of the first teeth. For in

truth, whatwecallheredityorinheritedcharacteristicsareonly

directlyactiveduring thefirstepochof life. It ishowever the

casethatduringthefirstsevenyearsasecond lifeorganismis

gradually builtupinthephysical body, whichisfashionedafter

themodeloftheinheritedorganism. Thissecondorganismis

completedatthechangingoftheteeth. Iftheindividualwho

comesoutofthespiritualpre-earthlyworldisweak, thenthis

secondlifeorganismissimilartotheinheritedone. Iftheindi-

vidual is strong, then we seehow in theperiod between the

changeofteethandpuberty, fromsevenyearstillaboutfour-

teen, akindofvictoryisgraduallyachievedovertheinherited

characteristics. Children become quite different, and they

changeevenintheiroutward bodilyform.

Itisespeciallyinterestingtofollowthequalitiesofsoulthat

now reveal themselves in this second life epoch. In the first

epoch, beforethechangeofteeth, thechildcan bedescribedas

beingwhollysense-organ.Youmusttakethisquiteliterally:

whollysense-organ.

Takeforexamplethehumaneyeorear. Whatisthecharac-

teristic of such a sense-organ? It is that the sense-organ is

acutelysensitivetotheimpressionsoftheouterworld. Andif


38/176

LectureTwo 17

youobservetheeyeyoucancertainlyseewhatkindofprocess

takesplace. Thechildduringthefirstsevenyearsisreallycom-

pletelyandwhollyaneye. Nowconsideronlythisthought:in

theeyeapictureisformed, aninvertedpicture, ofeveryexter-

nal object. This is what ordinary physics teaches everyone.

Whatisoutsideintheworldisto befoundwithintheeyeasa

picture. Physicsstopshere, butthispicture-formingprocessis

reallyonlythe beginningofwhatyoushouldknowconcerning

theeye;itisthemostexternalphysicalfact.

Ifphysicistslookedatthispicturewithafinersenseofobser-

vation, theywouldseethatitdeterminesthecourseofthecir-

culation of the blood in the choroid. The whole choroid is

conditioned in its bloodcirculation bythenatureofthispic-

turewithin theeye. Thewholeeyeadjusts itselfaccordingto

thesethings. Thesefinerprocessesarenottakenintoconsider-

ation byordinaryphysics. Butthechildduringthefirstseven

years is really an eye. If something takesplace in the childs

environment, let us say, to take an example, a fit of temper

whensomeone becomesfuriouslyangry, thenthewholechild

willhavean internalizedpictureofthisoutburstofrage. The

etheric bodymakes apicture of it. From it somethingpasses

overintotheentirecirculationofthe bloodandthemetabolic

system, somethingthatisrelatedtothisoutburstofanger.

This isso inthefirstsevenyears, andtheorganismadjusts

itself accordingly. Naturally these are not crude happenings,

they are delicate processes. But if a child grows up with an

angry fatherorahot-temperedteacher, thenthevascularsys-

tem, the bloodvessels, will follow the line of the anger. The

resultsofthis implantedtendency intheearlyyearswill then

remainthroughthewholerestoflife.

These are the things thatmattermost for young children.

Whatyousay, whatyouteach, doesnotyetmakean impres-

sion, except insofar as children imitate whatyou say in their


39/176


ownspeech. Butitiswhatyou arethatmatters;ifyouaregood

thisgoodnesswillappearinyourgestures;andifyouare bad-

tempered this also will appear in your gesturesin short,everything thatyoudoyourselfpasses over into the children

andmakes its way within them. This is the essential point.

Children are wholly sense-organ, and react to all the impres-

sionsofthepeoplearoundthem. Thereforetheessentialthing

isnottoimaginethatchildrencanlearnwhatisgoodor bad,

that they can learn thisor that, but to know that everything

that isdone in theirpresence is transformed in theirchildish

organisms into spirit, soul, and body. Thehealth of children

for their whole lifedepends onhowyou conductyourself in

theirpresence. Theinclinationsthatchildrendevelopdepends

onhowyou behaveintheirpresence.

Butallthethingsthatyouareusuallyadvisedtodowithkin-

dergarten children are quite worthless. The things that are

introducedaskindergarteneducationareusuallyextraordinar-

ilyclever.Youcould bequitefascinated bytheclevernessof

whathas beenthoughtoutforkindergartens inthecourseof

the nineteenth century. The children certainly learn a great

deal there, they almost learn to read. They are supplied with

lettersofthealphabetwhichtheyhavetofit intocutout let-

ters. Itall looksverycleverandyoucaneasily be tempted to

believethatitreallyissomethingsuitableforchildren, butitis

ofnouseatall. Itreallyhasnovaluewhatsoever, andthesoul

ofthechildisimpaired byit. Thechildisdamagedevendown

intothe body, rightdownintophysicalhealth. Suchkindergar-

tenmethods breedweaklingsin bodyandsoulforlaterlife.1

1. TranslatorsNote. InGermanythechildrenremaininthekindergartenuntiltheirseventhyearsothattheaboveremarksapplytoallschoollifeupto this time, (including, for instance, the Infants departments of stateschoolsinEngland).


40/176

LectureTwo 19

Ontheotherhand, ifyousimplyhavethechildrentherein

thekindergartenandconductyourselvessothattheycanimi-

tateyou, ifyoudoallkindsofthingsthatthechildrencancopyoutoftheirowninnerimpulseofsoul, astheyhad beenaccus-

tomedtodoinpre-earthlyexistence, thenindeedthechildren

will become likeyourself, but it isforyoutoseethatyouare

worthyofthisimitation. Thisiswhatyoumustpayattention

toduringthefirstsevenyearsoflifeandnotwhatyouexpress

outwardlyinwordsasamoralidea.

Ifyoumakeasurlyfacesothatachildgetsthe impression

youareagrumpyperson, thisharmsthechildfortherestofits

life. Thisiswhyitissoimportant, especiallyforlittlechildren,

that as a teacher you should enter very thoroughly into the

observationofahuman beingandhuman life. Whatkindof

schoolplanyoumakeisneitherherenorthere;whatmattersis

whatsortofapersonyouare. Inourdayitiseasyenoughto

thinkoutacurriculum, becauseeveryoneinourageisnowso

clever. Iamnotsayingthisironically;inourdaypeoplereally

areclever. Wheneverafewpeoplegettogetheranddecidethat

this or that must be done in education, something clever

always comes out of it. Ihavenever known a stupid educa-

tionalprogram;theyarealwaysveryclever. Butwhatisimpor-

tantisthatyouhavepeopleintheschoolwhocanworkinthe

wayIhaveindicated. Youmustdevelopthiswayofthinking,

for an immense amountdependsupon it, especially for that

ageor life epochof children inwhich they are really entirely

sense-organ.

After the change of teeth is completed, children are no

longer a sense-organ to the same degree as before. This is

already diminishing between the third and fourth year. But

before then children have quite special peculiarities that are

generally not known whatsoever. When you eat something

sweet or sour you perceive it on the tongue andpalate, but


41/176


when young childrendrinkmilk they feel that taste ofmilk

through their whole body because they are also an organ of

sense regarding taste. Young children taste with their whole

body;therearemanyremarkableinstancesofthis.

Olderchildrentaketheircuefromgrown-upsandtherefore

atfifteen, sixteen, ortwentytheyare, nowadays, already blas

andhavelosttheirfreshness. Butitispossibletofindchildren

in theirearlieryearswhoare stillwholly sense-organ, though

lifeisnoteasyforsuch. Iknewforexampleasmall boywhoon

being given something to eat that he knew he would enjoy,

approached thedelectable objectnot only with those organs

withwhichapersongenerallyapproachesfood, buthesteered

toward it with hishands and feet;he was in fact wholly an

organ of taste. The remarkable thing is that in hisninth or

tenthyearhe became a splendid eurythmist anddeveloped a

greatunderstandingforeurythmy. Sowhathe began bypad-

dinguptohisfoodasa littlechildwasdevelopedfurtherin

hiswillorgansatalaterage.

Idonotsaythesethingsjokingly, buttogiveyouexamples

ofhow to observe. You very rarelyhearpeople relating such

things, but they arehappening everymoment. People fail to

perceivethesecharacteristicphenomenaoflifeandonlythink

abouthowtoeducatetheyounginsteadofobservinglifeitself.

Lifeisinterestingineverydetail, frommorningtillevening;

the smallest things are interesting. Notice, for instance, how

twopeopletakeapearfromafruit bowl. Notwopeopletake

thepearinthesameway;itisalwaysdifferent. Thewholechar-

acterofapersonisexpressedinthewaythepearistakenfrom

thefruitdishandputontheplate, orstraightintothemouth

asthecasemay be.

Ifpeoplewouldonlycultivatemorepowerofobservationof

thiskind, thedistressingthingswouldnotdevelop inschools

thatareunfortunatelysooftenseentoday. Onescarcelyseesa


42/176

LectureTwo 21

childnowwhoholdsapenorpencilcorrectly. Mostchildren

hold them incorrectly, and it is because the teachers do not

knowhowtoobservethechildrenproperly. Thisisaverydiffi-cultthingtodo, anditisnoteasyintheWaldorfschooleither,

where drastic changes are frequently needed in the way the

childrenholdtheirpencilsorpens. Youmustneverforgetthat

thehuman beingisawhole, andassuchmustacquiredexterity

inalldirections. Thereforewhatteachersneedisobservationof

lifedowntotheminutestdetails.

And if you especially likehaving formulated axioms, then

take this as the firstprinciple of a real art of education:You

must beabletoobservelifeinallitsmanifestations.

Youcanneverlearnenoughinthisregard. Lookatthechil-

dren from behind, for instance. Some walk by planting the

wholefootontheground, otherstripalongontheirtoes, and

there can be every kind ofdifferentiation between these two

extremes. Yes, indeed, toeducateachildyoumustknowquite

preciselyhowthechildwalks. Forchildrenwhotreadontheir

heels show in this smallphysicalcharacteristic that theywere

veryfirmlyplantedinlifeintheirformerincarnationandwere

interested in everything in their former earth life. In such a

case, youmustdrawasmuchaspossibleoutofthechild, for

there are many things hidden away in children who walk

stronglyontheirheels. On theotherhand, thechildrenwho

tripalong, whoscarcelyusetheirheels inwalking, havegone

throughtheirformerearthlifeinasuperficialway. Youwillnot

beable togetmuchoutof thesechildren, butwhenyouare

withthemyoumustmakeapointofdoingagreatmanythings

yourselfthattheycancopy.

You should experience the changing of the teeth through

carefulobservationlikethis. Thefactthatchildrenwereprevi-

ouslywhollysense-organnowenables them todevelopabove

allthegiftoffantasyandsymbolism. Andyoumusttakethis


43/176


intoconsiderationeveninplay. Ourmaterialisticagesinsterri-

blyagainstthis. Takeforexampletheso-called beautifuldolls

thataresooftengiventochildrenthesedays. Theyhavesuchbeautifullyformedfaces, wonderfullypaintedcheeks, andeven

eyeswithwhichtheycangotosleepwhenlaiddown, realhair,

andgoodnessknowswhatall!Butthiskillsthefantasyofthe

child, foritleavesnothingtotheimaginationandthechildcan

takenogreatpleasureinit. Butifyoumakeadolloutofanap-

kinorahandkerchiefwithtwoinkspotsforeyes, adab ofink

foramouth, andsomesortofarms, thenwithimaginationthe

childcanaddagreatdealtoit.

Itisparticularlygoodforchildrento begiventheopportu-

nitytoaddasmuchaspossibletoplaythingsoutoftheirown

fantasy. Thisenableschildrentodevelopasymbolizingactivity.

Childrenshouldhaveasfewthingsaspossiblethatarefinished

andcompleteandwhatpeoplecallbeautiful.Forthe beauty

ofsuchadollthatIhavedescribedabovewithrealhairandso

on, isonlyaconventional beauty. Intruthitisugly becauseitis

soinartistic.

Donotforgetthataroundthechangeofteethchildrenpass

over into theperiodof imagination and fantasy. It isnot the

intellect but fantasy that fills life at this age. You as teachers

mustalso beabletodevelopthislifeoffantasy, andthosewho

bear a true knowledge of thehuman being in their souls are

able todo this. It is indeed so that a true knowledge of the

human being loosens and releases the inner life of soul and

bringsa smile to the face. Sourandgrumpy facescomeonly

fromlackofknowledge. Certainly, apersoncanhaveadiseased

organthatleavestracesofillnessontheface;thisdoesnotmat-

ter, forthechildisnotaffected byit. Whentheinnernatureof

aperson isfilledwitha livingknowledgeofwhatthehuman

beingis, thiswill beexpressedinhisface, andthisiswhatcan

makeareallygoodteacher.


44/176

LectureTwo 23

Andso betweenthechangeofteethandpubertyyoumust

educateoutoftheveryessenceofimagination. Forthequality

thatmakes a childunder seven so wholly into a sense-organnow becomesmore inward; itenters thesoul life. The sense-

organsdonotthink;theyperceivepictures, orrathertheyform

pictures from theexternalobjects. Andevenwhen thechilds

sense experiences have already a quality of soul, it is not a

thought that emerges but an image, albeit a soul image, an

imaginativepicture. Thereforeinyourteachingyoumustwork

inpictures, inimages.

Nowyoucanworkleastofallinpicturesifyouareteaching

children something that is really quite foreign to them. For

example, the calligraphy of today isquite foreign to children

bothinwrittenorprintedletters. Theyhavenorelationwhat-

evertowhatiscalledan A. Whyshouldtheyhavearelationto

an A?Whyshouldthey beinterestedinan L?Thesearequite

foreign to them, this A, this L. Nevertheless when children

cometoschooltheyaretaughtthesethings, withtheresultthat

theyfeelnocontactwithwhattheyaredoing. Andiftheyare

taughtthis beforethechangeofteethandareobligedtostick

letters into cut-out holes, for example, then they are given

thingsthatareoutsidetheirnatureandtowhichtheyhavenot

theslightestrelationship.

Butwhatyoushouldappealtoiswhatthechildrendopos-

sessnowan artistic sense, a faculty for creating imaginative

pictures. Itistothisyoumustturn. Youshouldavoidadirect

approach to the conventional letters of the alphabet that are

usedinwritingandprinting. Rather, youshouldleadthechil-

dren, inavividandimaginativeway, throughthevariousstages

thathumanityhaspassedthroughinthehistoryofcivilization.

Informertimestherewaspicturewriting;thatistosay, peo-

plepaintedsomethingonthepagethatremindedthemofthe

object. Youdonotneedtostudythehistoryofcivilization, but


45/176


youcanshowchildrenthemeaningandspiritofwhatpeople

wantedtoexpressinpicturewriting. Thenchildrenwillfeelat

homeintheirlessons.Forexample:Letustaketheword Mund(mouth). Getthe

childrentodrawamouth, orratherpaintit. Letthemputon

dabsofredcolorand then tell them topronounce theword;

youcansaytothem:dontpronouncethewholewordatfirst,

but beginonlywith the sound M. Andnowyou can form

the letterMoutof theupper lip(seedrawing). Ifyou follow

thisprocessyoucangettheletterMoutofthemouththatthe

childrenfirstpainted.

Thisishowwritingreallyoriginated, eventhoughtodayitis

difficulttorecognizefromthewordsthemselvesthattheletters

wereoncepictures, becausethewordshaveall beensubjectto

changeinthecourseoftheevolutionofspeech.Originallyeach

soundhaditsownimageandeachpicturecouldhave butone

meaning.

Youdonotneedtogo backtotheseoriginalcharacters, but

youcaninventwaysandmeansofyourown. Theteachermust

beinventiveandmustcreateoutofthespiritofthething.

Take the word fish. Let the

children draw or paint some

kindoffish. Letthemsaythe

beginning of the word: F

andyoucangraduallygetthe

letter Foutofthepicture(see

drawing).


46/176

LectureTwo 25

Andthus, ifyouareinventive, youcanfindpicturesforall

theconsonants. Theycan beworkedoutfromakindofpaint-

ing-drawing, or drawing-painting. This ismore awkward todealwiththanthemethodsoftoday. Foritisofcourseneces-

sarythatafterthechildrenhave beendoingthispaintingforan

hourortwoyouhavetoclearitallaway. Butitjusthasto be

so, thereisnothingelseto bedone.

Soyoucanseehowtheletterscan bedevelopedoutofpic-

turesandthepicturesagaindirectlyoutoflife. Thisistheway

youmustdoit. Onnoaccountshouldyouteachreadingfirst,

but proceeding from your drawing-painting and painting-

drawing, you allow the letters to ariseoutof these, and then

youcanproceedtoreading.

Ifyoulookaroundyouwillfindplentyofobjectsthatyou

canusetodeveloptheconsonants inthisway. Alltheconso-

nants can be developed from the initial letters of the words

describingtheseobjects.

It isnotsoeasy forthevowels. Butperhaps forthevowels

the following is possible. Suppose you say to the children:

Lookatthe beautifulsun!Youmustreallyadmireit;standlike

thissothatyoucanlookupandadmiretheglorioussun.The

children can stand, look up, and then express their wonder

thus:Ah!Thenyoupaintthisgestureandyouactuallyhavethe

Hebrew A, the sound Ah, the sound of wonder. Now you

needonlytomakeitsmallerandgraduallyturnitintothelet-

ter A(seedrawing).

eurythmy, lettingthemtakeuponepositionoranother, then

youcanalsodevelopthevowelsinthewayIhavementioned.

Andsoifyou bring before

thechildrensomethingofan

innersoulqualityandabove

all what is expressed in


47/176


Eurythmywill beaverygreathelptoyou becausethesounds

arealready formed in theeurythmygesturesandmovements.

Thinkforinstanceofan O. Youembracesomething lovingly.Outofthisyoucanobtainthe O(seedrawing). Youcanreally

getthevowelsfromthegesture, themovement.

Thus youmust work out of observation and imagination,

and thechildrenwillthencometoknowthesoundsand the

lettersfromthethingsthemselves. Youmuststartfromthepic-

ture. Theletter, asweknowittodayinitsfinishedform, hasa

history behindit. Itissomethingthathas beensimplifiedfrom

apicture, butthekindofmagicalsignsoftheprintedlettersof

thepresentdaynolongertelluswhatthepictureswerelike.

WhentheEuropeans, thesebettermen,wenttoAmerica

at the time when the savages, thenative Indians, were still

thereeven in the middle of the nineteenth century such

thingshappenedthey showed these savagesprinted writing

andtheIndiansranawayfromit becausetheythoughtthelet-

terswerelittledevils. Andtheysaid:Thepalefaces, astheIndi-

ans called the Europeans, communicate with each other by

meansoflittledevils, littledemons.

Thisisjustwhatlettersareforchildren. Theymeannothing

tothem. Thechildfeelssomethingdemonicintheletters, and

rightlyso. Theyalready becomeameansofmagic becausethey

aremerelysigns.

Youmust beginwith thepicture. That isnotamagic sign

butsomethingrealandyoumustworkfromthis.

People willobject that the children then learn to read and

writetoolate. Thisissaidonly becauseitisnotknowntoday

howharmfulitiswhenthechildrenlearntoreadandwritetoo

soon. It isavery badthingto beabletowriteearly. Reading


48/176

LectureTwo 27

andwritingaswehavethemtodayarereallynotsuitedtothe

human beingtillalateragetheeleventhortwelfthyearand

themore a child is blessed withnot being able to read and

writewell beforethisage, the better it isforthe lateryearsof

life. Achildwhocannotwriteproperlyatthirteenorfourteen

(Icanspeakoutofmyownexperience becauseIcouldnotdo

itatthatage)isnotsohinderedforlaterspiritualdevelopment

asonewhoearly, atsevenoreightyears, canalreadyreadand

writeperfectly. Thesearethingsthattheteachermustnotice.

Naturally you will not be able to proceed as you really

shouldtoday becausethechildrenhavetopassfromyourinde-

pendentschool intopublic life. Butagreatdealcan bedone

neverthelesswhenyouknows these things. It isaquestionof

knowledge. And your knowledgemust show you, above all,

thatitisquitewrongtoteachreading beforewriting. Inwrit-

ing, especially if it is developed from the painting-drawing,

drawing-painting that I have spoken of, the whole human

being isactivethe fingers takepart, the body ispositioned,

thewholepersonisengaged. Inreadingonlytheheadisoccu-

pied and anything that only occupies apart of the organism

and leaves the remainingparts impassive should be taught as

late aspossible. It ismost important first to bring the whole

beingintomovement, andlateronthesingleparts.

Naturally, ifyouwanttoworkinthiswayyoucannotexpect

to begiveninstructionsforeverydetail, butonlyanindication

ofthepathto befollowed. Andsoyoucan buildonnothing

else butabsolutefreedominthismethodofeducationarising

outofAnthroposophy, thoughthisfreedommust includethe

freecreativefancyoftheteacherandeducator.

In theWaldorf School we have been blessed with what I

mightcallaveryquestionablesuccess.We beganwithonehun-

dred and thirty to one hundred and forty pupils; but these

pupils came from the industrial worksof EmilMolt, so they


49/176


were at that time to a certain extent compulsory children,

thoughwehadalsosomechildrenfromanthroposophicalfam-

ilies.2IntheshorttimeofitsexistencetheWaldorfSchoolhas

grownso bigthatwehavenowmorethaneighthundredchil-

dren and between forty and fifty teachers. This is adoubtful

success becausegraduallyit becomesimpossibletokeepaclear

view of the whole. From the arrangements of theWaldorf

SchoolthatIshalldescribetoyou, youwillsoonseehowdiffi-

cultitistosurveythewhole;thoughIshalllaterindicatecer-

tainwaysofmakingthispossible.Wehavehadtoformparallel

classes;inthecaseofthefifthandsixththerearethreeparallel

classes:A, B, andC. These classes are still overfull andhave

morechildrenthantheotherclassesintheschool.

There isthereforeateacher inClassA, another inClassB.

Just imagine how this would work out in a proper educa-

tionalestablishmentoftoday. YoucomeintoClass 1 A, where

youfindaparticulareducationaldrillgoingonthatisconsid-

eredthe best. NowyougointoClass 1 B. Itcouldequallywell

becalledA,onlythatdifferentchildrenaresittingthere, for

in both classes exactly the same thing goes on, because the

right method is used. This is of course all most clearly

thoughtout: what is intellectualhas butonemeaning and it

cannot beotherwise.

WithusintheWaldorfSchoolyoufindnosuchthing. You

go into the first Class A. There you see a teacher, man or

woman, whoisteachingwriting. Theteacherletsthechildren

makeallkindsofforms, letussaywithstring. Theythengoon

to painting the forms and gradually letters arise. A second

teacherlikestodoitdifferently. IfyougointoClassByoufind

2. In 1919 thefirstRudolfSteinerschoolwasfounded byEmilMolt, direc-toroftheWaldorfAstoriacigarettefactory, Stuttgart. Thefirstpupilswereallchildrenofthefactoryworkers.


50/176

LectureTwo 29

thatthisteacherislettingthechildrendancetheformsround

theroom, inorderthattheymayexperiencetheformsof the

lettersintheirown bodies. Thenthisteachercarriesoverthese

forms also into the letters themselves. You would never find

uniformityofteachinginClassesA, B, andC. Thesamethings

aretaught but incompletelydifferentways, forafreecreative

imaginationpervadestheclass. Therearenoprescribedrulesfor

teaching in theWaldorfSchool, but only oneunifying spirit

thatpermeatesthewhole. Itisveryimportantthatyouunder-

standthis. Teachersareautonomous. Withinthisoneunifying

spirit they cando entirely what they think is right for them-

selves. Youwillsay:Yes, butifeveryonecandoastheylike, then

thewholeschoolwillfallintoachaoticcondition. ForinClass

5A, therecould begoodnessknowswhatkindofhocus-pocus

goingon, andin 5B, youmightfindthemplayingchess. But

thatisexactlywhatdoesnothappenintheWaldorfSchool, for

thoughthereisfreedomeverywherethespiritthatisappropri-

atetotheageofthechildrenisactiveineachclass.

IfyoureadtheSeminarCourse,youwillseethatyouhave

thegreatestliberty, andyettheteachingineachclassiswhatis

rightforthatage.3Thestrangethingisthatnoteacherhasever

opposedthis. Theyallquitevoluntarilyacceptthisprincipleof

aunifying spirit in the work. Noone opposes itor wants to

haveanyspecialarrangementsmade.Onthecontrary, thewish

isoftenexpressed bytheteacherstohaveasmanydiscussionsas

possible in theirmeetings about what should bedone in the

variousclasses.

Whydoesnoteacherobjecttothecurriculum?Theschool

3. Just beforetheopeningoftheWaldorfSchool, in 1919, Dr. Steinergavethree simultaneous courses of lectures to the teachers two of which havebeenpublished in Englishunder the titles of Study of Man and PracticalAdvicetoTeachers.


51/176


has beengoingforseveralyears. Whydoyouthinkthatallthe

teachersapproveofthecurriculum?Theydonotfinditatall

unreasonable. Theyfinditexcellentinitsveryfreedom because

itis baseduponrealtruehumanknowledge.

Andthefreedomthatmustprevailintheschoolcan beseen

injustsuchthingsascreatingteachingmatteroutofimagina-

tion. Indeeditdoes. Allofourteachershavethefeelingthatit

isnotonlyaquestionofwhat they thinkaboutanddiscover

outoftheirownimagination, butwhenIsitwithourWaldorf

teachersintheirmeetings, orwhenIgointotheclasses, Iget

more andmore the impression that once the teachers are in

theirclassroomstheyactuallyforgetthataplanofteachinghas

previously beendrawnup. WhatIexperiencewhenIgo into

theclassesisthatinthemomentofteachingeachteacherfeels

thatheorsheiscreatingtheplanofwork.

Such is the result when realhuman knowledge lies at the

basis of the work. I tell you these details even though you

mightthinktheyweresaidoutofvanity;indeedtheyarenot

saidoutofvanity butsoyouknowhowitisandthengoand

do likewise;thiswillshowyouhowwhatgrowsoutofatrue

knowledgeofthehuman beingcanreallyenterintothechild.

Ourteachingandeducationisto be built, then, onimagina-

tion. Youmust bequiteclearthat beforetheninthortenthyear

the childdoesnot knowhow todifferentiate itself as an ego

from its surroundings. Outofacertain instinctchildrenhave

long been accustomed to speak of themselves as I, but in

truththeyreallyfeelthemselveswithinthewholeworld. How-

ever, peoplehavethemostfantasticideasaboutthis. Theysay

ofprimitiveracesthattheirfeelingfortheworldisanimism,

thatis, theytreatlifelessobjectsasthoughtheywereensouled.

They say that tounderstand children youmust imagine that

theydothesameastheseprimitivepeoples, thatachildknocks

againstahardobjecttoendowitwithaqualityofsoul.


52/176

LectureTwo 31

Butthisisnotatalltrue. Inreality, childrendonotensoul

theobject, but theydonotyetdistinguish between the living

andthelifeless. Forchildren, everythingisone, andtheyarealsoonewiththeirsurroundings.Notuntiltheageofnineortendo

childrenreally learntodistinguishthemselvesfromtheirenvi-

ronment. Thisissomethingyoumusttakeintoconsiderationin

thestrictestsensetogiveyourteachingaproper basis.

Therefore it is important to speak of everything that is

around the childrenplants, animals, and even stonesin a

waythatallthesethingstalktoeachother, thattheyactamong

themselveslikehuman beings, thattheytelleachotherthings,

that they love and hate each other. You must learn to use

anthropomorphism in themost inventive ways and speak of

plantsandanimalsasthoughtheywerehuman. Youmustnot

ensoulthemoutofakindoftheory buttreatthemsimplyin

awaythatchildrencanunderstand beforetheyareabletodis-

tinguish betweenthelifelessandtheliving. Asyetthechildhas

noreasontothinkthatthestonehasnosoul, whereasthedog

hasasoul. Thefirstnoticeabledifferenceisthatthedogmoves,

butthechilddoesnotattributethismovementtothefactthat

thedoghasasoul. Indeed, youcantreatallthingsthatfeeland

liveas if theywerepeople, thinking, feeling, and speaking to

oneanother, asiftheywerepeoplewithsympathyandantipa-

thy for each other. Therefore everything that you bring to a

childofthisagemust begiven intheformoffairytales, leg-

ends, andstoriesinwhicheverythingisendowedwithfeeling.

Itmust be kept inmind thatnourishing the instinctive soul

qualitiesofimagination inthiswayisthe bestfoundationfor

thechildssoullife.

Ifyoufillachildwithallkindsofintellectualteachingdur-

ingthisage(andthiswill bethecaseifyoudonottransform

everything you teach into pictures) then later the child will

suffer effects in the blood vessels and circulation. Youmust


53/176


considerthechildin body, soul, andspiritasanabsoluteunity.

Thismust besaidrepeatedly.

For this task as a teacheryoumusthave artistic feeling inyour soul and an artisticdisposition. It isnotonly whatyou

think out or what you can convey in ideas that works from

teachertochild, but, ifImayexpressmyselfso, itistheimpon-

derablequalityinlife. Agreatdealpassesoverfromteacherto

childunconsciously. Theteachermust beawareofthis, above

allwhentellingfairytales, stories, orlegendsfulloffeeling. It

canoften benoticed inourmaterialistic timeshowa teacher

doesnotreally believewhatheorsheistellingandlooksonit

assomethingchildish. ItisherethatAnthroposophycan bethe

guideandleaderofatrueknowledgeofthehuman being. We

become aware throughAnthroposophy that we can express a

thing infinitelymore fully andmore richly if we clothe it in

pictures than if weput

kingdom of childhood

Documents