Less is More

“We should teach in a way that leaves them with a yearning to be curious and inquisitive at every opportunity about what is going on around them, so that they use this curiosity and thirst for knowledge to add to whatever they already know.”

Rudolf Steiner
Practical Advice To Teachers

Do you teach too much?

One important aspect of Steiner’s indications is economy in teaching. That we teach in a way that connects one subject to another, and that we do not bombard children and teens with too many facts.

We parents can become overly excited about planning for our children, and want to pack ALL. THE. THINGS into a lesson. I’d even go so far to say that we do this with celebrations and festivals as well. In our excitement, we plan to do so very much, and the true meaning and goal of the lesson or festival is lost in the distraction of more than the child can take in.

It creates an overload.

The quote above was written in relation to teenagers, but I think it applies to all ages. We need to remember that our reignited curiosity and thirst for knowledge cannot be the driving force behind lesson planning. The driving force must be the child and their phase of development.

We aren’t teaching a thesis! If we share with the child everything about a topic, where will they carry their own natural curiosity? Where will their wonder be when they come across something in later years and say, “oh, I already know that”, with everything around them.

My planning motto: If I have too much to cover in a block, I’ve created too much to cover in a block. The fault is not on the amount of time I’ve allotted, the fault is; I’m teaching a thesis when I should just be teaching an introduction.

Less is more.

#wednesdaywaldorfwisdom