Down to Earth Rudolf Steiner Early Childhood Conference 26th-29th September 2009
Te Ra School, Kapiti Coast
by Emma Nelson

ECCE HOMO

In the heart the loom of feeling,

In the head the light of thinking,

In the limbs the strength of will.

Weaving of radiant light,

Strength of the weaving,

Light of the surging strength,

Lo, this is Man.

‘Down to Earth’ truly lived up to its pamphlet description as; “an opportunity to come together as colleagues and friends, to be inspired and to share our deepening knowledge and understanding of anthroposophy in practice.” Gathering for our first evening meal together there was already a feeling of meeting old friends, an air of excitement, and an environment singing reverence and care. Tables laid exquisitely with flowers, candles and bamboo serving dishes, and warmly encouraging smiles from the hosts left us feeling thoroughly nourished for our first night’s sleep in the homes of teachers. I found it wonderful to have that extra time with a Te Ra School kindergarten teacher and gently probed further into the ‘Steiner realm’ over breakfast conversation and before-bed queries.

Each morning after a verse and song we listened to Dr. David Ritchie, a practising anthroposophical doctor who lectures in New Zealand and overseas on the subject of child development. David’s title for the workshop lectures was “A Strong Etheric for Peace, Battles and Beyond.” David coached that the ability to be spontaneous, imaginative and develop thinking relies on a strong etheric, developed especially in the first seven years. The human being’s whole can be observed in four sheaths; spirit, soul, etheric and physical. The way I currently understand it is that the etheric is the animation of the physical – when I see a dead body the physical bones, muscle and skin are there but the etheric, the ‘life’ of the body has gone. The etheric body is built up through pregnancy, when the foetus floats in dynamic movement all the time. All bodies (water making up about 80% of our constitution) are continually pulsing with movement, the fluids; blood, lymph, cerebral spinal and bile circulating through tissues all the time. The etheric is the part of you which you most strongly incarnate into and gain individuality, it is also the part that connects you to the environment. David describes the etheric body of the child as the buffer between the child and the world. Rhythm (not routine) supports the etheric body, rhythm such as the breastfeeding rhythm determined by the baby. With rhythm life is tireless, you can do a lot rhythmically and not get tired. Getting fired up/excited about something, thinking a lot and experiencing overload of emotional reaction and conflict are tiring. David made the observation that physically tired children switch to using astral energy. This energy is more scattered and taxing to the child hence the common behaviours associated with ‘overtired’ children. The child needs space around them and time. Play allows the child to digest what’s coming in through the soul life. Their etheric body makes things manageable and comprehensive. The etheric meanders, when things are structured you rely much more on the soul (astral) life. Socializing brings the soul life into the etheric in the right way. When children come into their ’soul life’ they need to be able to ground themselves in the physical play of the etheric. In the early years this is most helped by adults carrying out useful activity appropriate for imitation by the children. Touch, life, movement and balance are the four body senses which help you get ‘in’ to your body. Having had years of experience it is easy for the adult to forget how much of a challenge inhabiting the body is. Take static balance – the ability to be in your body and be still. Stand two feet together with your eyes closed and you will soon become aware of the many subtle movements in your legs and feet (and the way the muscles operate without conscious thought and in anticipation so that the movements prevent loss of balance.) Having a strong etheric increases a persons resilience – resilience being the ability of the persons ego to deal with adversity. David commented that when we go through a difficult period in our lives we either get stronger or we get addicted – to substances, to other people, to success/fame, to habits etc. Developing our inner security helps us choose the path which strengthens us and this inner security is bodily – the kind of thing you get from a hug. Constantly raised cortisol and adrenalin levels in children (being too ‘awake’) can block the etheric and hinder brain growth – particularly in the areas of emotional development. Just as adults we do things to ‘relax’, children need to play to calm the astral body. “When I feel pulled out of myself I do things to bring myself back.”

A sign that a child needs to strengthen their etheric is the retention of physical reflexes (such as the rooting, tonic and startle reflexes.) This means that the child hasn’t entered their body fully, can’t ground themselves and therefore feels anxious. In reference to childhood depression David talked about the low etheric caused by a life too structured, with too much expected, where a child reacts to unjustness by imploding rather than coming out to meet the world.

I took part in the Painting Workshop held to help teachers gain confidence and skill in their own art. We used one of the school classrooms set up with wooden school desks, painting boards and a blackboard up front on which the teacher demonstrated. I didn’t hugely enjoy the first day – something about walking into a classroom, waiting for all the others to arrive, sitting next to each other, being instructed. Flashbacks of high school when you have no control over your time (something personally challenging to me.) I was rather surprised at the way the Waldorf art lesson proceeded. The teacher first brought out her own painting done prior and then directed us step by step in recreating it ourselves. Knowing that Steiner education places a lot of emphasis on creativity I thought this was quite strange. I had expected the teacher to go over material use and technique and to then let us experiment. Instead each small step was patiently demonstrated, the class moving on as a whole when one instruction was complete. Looking around the walls I saw copious ‘copies’ of similar paintings. I felt rather constricted and asked the teacher what happened when a child did not want to paint what the class was doing for the day. She replied “It is usually a case of the child saying “I can’t” rather than not wanting too. I then encourage him/her and they feel more confident when they complete it.”

The following day I felt closer to my classmates and made a better day of it. I had ’slept’ on the idea that everyone does the same work and realised that in many ways that made sense. How is a person supposed to learn if they have not been shown, in detail, how to do something. The majority of New Zealand kindergarten teachers are told not to draw in front of children lest we corrupt their inherent artistic abilities. We have this idea that because Art is mused from higher places we should not ‘teach’ how to do it. This can leave many children enthusiastic and inspired but with little skill. In times gone by artists learned by copying and literally ‘doing’ their masters works. Here in the Waldorf classroom we were learning  with precision – how to make this line, which colour applied with what opacity, left to dry and then veiled with such a particular stroke. Bit by bit the craftsmanship of the painting was revealed to us and we were able to end the day knowing how to produce a particular kind of work. Once technique was understood and mastered to the best of one’s ability we were able to bring originality into the work.  I happened to paint sheep in a paddock rather than Mary on a donkey (having always preferred to send New Zealand Christmas cards) This was praised by the teacher and even held up in front of the class. I was slightly surprised by the class’s reaction – as if it had been revolutionary to modify an element – but this has happened to me in classes other than Waldorf too (I’m seldom one to follow the flock.) I had fun in all the further sessions and enjoyed learning from my classmates. Because we had all done similar paintings it was easy to see what you preferred about someone else’s work and then ask them how they had executed it. Most people were very happy with what they had managed to accomplish and had increased confidence in painting (at least in a particular way.) I would be interested to know how the transition between following the art teachers instructions and creating your own work occurs. Surely Waldorf students must reach a point where dependence on the teacher decreases? Or perhaps there is an important lesson here. My eyes (seeing individual accomplishment as the higher achievement) see it as dependency, but is it not rather collaborative, cooperative, and co-dependent?