An Introduction from the College of Teachers
Rudolf Steiner’s indications for educational renewal are part of a general ‘cultural’ evolution. They provide the impulse upon which the school is based. Interpreting our times, our geographical location and the individualities of our students, is an ongoing process. It is a continually evolving union of our various cultural heritages with the elemental and natural forces of our place on the continent. It is a search for true identity as local, national and global citizens. Fundamentally, all our educational practices are directed towards this end. The Newcastle Waldorf School strives to be true to the human condition and archetypes represented in the natural world, whilst consciously marrying this with the demands of our
modern society.
Here, my child, is the little gold I have earned with the sweat of my brow, toiling from early morning till late at night. Take it and use it so you may learn something in the High School that will set you further on the path of life than I have been able to reach.
So said the poor woodcutter to his young and diligent son, in the Grimm’s Fairy tale, ‘The Spirit in the Bottle’, and so the heart of every devoted parent and teacher rises to the sentiment expressed therein, when they retell this story, so full of wisdom, to the children at their knee.
These parents and teachers are expressing a deep yearning for the evolution of the generations as we tread our way on earth and through time. For these individuals there is the will to help the children to go a little further in that evolution – a little closer to perfection - than their forebears had gone before.
It is the intention of the College of Teachers to make it possible for families to partake in this effort. Here you will find a strong endeavour to give the children a rich cultural experience and a solid foundation in the arts and sciences (through exposure to the classics and to the rigour of accuracy, precision and objectivity in mathematics) and further, the development of productive will, consistent with and springing from the developing feelings, that will lead, eventually, to the development in the individual of an inner moral strength. This moral strength is capable of mastering selfish behaviours, especially in the communal arena where sharing and goodwill are positive social qualities.
The fostering of imaginative consciousness is the nourishment which the young adult will be able to access when the age of discretion is reached: a time when decisions can be made for the future out of freedom of thought.
As Goethe states: The highest achievement of the human being as a thinking being is to have proved what is knowable, and quietly to revere what
is unknowable.
The care and education of the children of the Newcastle Waldorf School is the responsibility of the College of Teachers. The College is the heart of the school community and has a commitment to the ongoing study of the work of Rudolf Steiner and the continuing development of the school.
The College has the responsibility of ensuring that the curriculum of the school, while fulfilling the requirements of the NSW Board of Studies, offers high cultural and moral examples of human endeavour. The teachers also ensure that our young children have space and time for creative play which will build a wonderful storehouse of inspiration. This balance in the curriculum creates an atmosphere of oneness or connectedness with all spheres of life – spiritual, cultural, emotional and practical.
The teachers share all the work of the school from the tasks of cleaning and maintenance, through to gardening and administration, in order to demonstrate to the children the wholeness that can be life and the joy of work. Parents are also invited throughout the year to join the working bees or to help out in other capacities if required.
The teachers of the school strive to provide examples, to show the children that individuals can fulfil their own potential and at the same time work consciously as a group for a better society.
modern society.
Here, my child, is the little gold I have earned with the sweat of my brow, toiling from early morning till late at night. Take it and use it so you may learn something in the High School that will set you further on the path of life than I have been able to reach.
So said the poor woodcutter to his young and diligent son, in the Grimm’s Fairy tale, ‘The Spirit in the Bottle’, and so the heart of every devoted parent and teacher rises to the sentiment expressed therein, when they retell this story, so full of wisdom, to the children at their knee.
These parents and teachers are expressing a deep yearning for the evolution of the generations as we tread our way on earth and through time. For these individuals there is the will to help the children to go a little further in that evolution – a little closer to perfection - than their forebears had gone before.
It is the intention of the College of Teachers to make it possible for families to partake in this effort. Here you will find a strong endeavour to give the children a rich cultural experience and a solid foundation in the arts and sciences (through exposure to the classics and to the rigour of accuracy, precision and objectivity in mathematics) and further, the development of productive will, consistent with and springing from the developing feelings, that will lead, eventually, to the development in the individual of an inner moral strength. This moral strength is capable of mastering selfish behaviours, especially in the communal arena where sharing and goodwill are positive social qualities.
The fostering of imaginative consciousness is the nourishment which the young adult will be able to access when the age of discretion is reached: a time when decisions can be made for the future out of freedom of thought.
As Goethe states: The highest achievement of the human being as a thinking being is to have proved what is knowable, and quietly to revere what
is unknowable.
The care and education of the children of the Newcastle Waldorf School is the responsibility of the College of Teachers. The College is the heart of the school community and has a commitment to the ongoing study of the work of Rudolf Steiner and the continuing development of the school.
The College has the responsibility of ensuring that the curriculum of the school, while fulfilling the requirements of the NSW Board of Studies, offers high cultural and moral examples of human endeavour. The teachers also ensure that our young children have space and time for creative play which will build a wonderful storehouse of inspiration. This balance in the curriculum creates an atmosphere of oneness or connectedness with all spheres of life – spiritual, cultural, emotional and practical.
The teachers share all the work of the school from the tasks of cleaning and maintenance, through to gardening and administration, in order to demonstrate to the children the wholeness that can be life and the joy of work. Parents are also invited throughout the year to join the working bees or to help out in other capacities if required.
The teachers of the school strive to provide examples, to show the children that individuals can fulfil their own potential and at the same time work consciously as a group for a better society.
