Education as a Healing Agent
"An Art of Education that is at the same time a cultural Therapy-this is what Rudolf Steiner has bequeathed to us. It is permeated with those Divine powers that are revealed, in Art, in their garb of Beauty. It leads to those sources of life whence health and healing flow to the growing human being. In this educational activity, as a member of the community of artists in life, the teacher may feel himself in all humility, to be priest and healer as well."
What a quote! This comes from the article "Education as a Healing Agent" by Caroline von Heydebrand.
This is one of those gems. This article reminds me that this education was intended for all and that there are some wonderful WHYs behind the HOWs and WHENs. This article confirms that the first schools worked with children that didn't fit the "perfect child" mold - this is something harder and harder to find among the younger schools in the movement. I fear it is a sign of the times - the movement is growing and more and more teachers are being put into the classroom that may not have all the experience needed - it isn't always their fault, of course they have to learn somewhere! As more and more parents face these realities along with their desire to have a Waldorf education for their children, special needs or not, homeschooling becomes a very real option. This leave us each in the unique position to really understand what is being asked of us and while none of us will be perfect, it is in the striving and the caring of our own will forces that we can become this healer for our children - all of them... special needs spectrum or not.
I am often asked to describe just how I *know* that Waldorf is working with my children... it is so hard to put into words. I have watched miracles in my own home and read of them from our clients and friends through the years. Often when a parent confronts me with a question they are working on within their child, I come back to inner work on the parent's end... it isn't something fun, being faced with our own issues, facing our demons, the things that bring out the dragons in us, walking in our poo... but it is these very things that keep us from being that healer. These children call upon us to be genuine - they see if we are putting on a show for them... especially those children that we have trouble loving or liking... we all go through these times!
I know that often Waldorf seems like this lofty goal that is so unobtainable so we just give up or we settle, deciding we'll never be perfect so why try to be... it is enough to just use bits and pieces, not understanding the whole. Moms will ask me how I can do it and feel effortless about it - I DON'T! It takes a huge amount of effort, I've just been at it for a long time so the things I have learned have become second nature - it is almost like learning a new language - I am beyond the steps of knowing how to say "where is the restroom" and to the point of being able to hold a conversation with someone in that language... it takes time and perseverance. Articles like this one help a lot - it might seem like words swimming in your head for a few months or years as you become fluent, but with work it will come and the fruits are amazing.
Forgive yourself for not being perfect and resolve that you will just keep striving. Remember that this education works but it isn't one sided... teachers work and then the students work, it is two sided, both working together. The home is such a wonderful place for this to take place.
Read the article HERE.
