Four Principles for Teachers

Today I would like to conclude these discussions by pointing out something I want to lay upon your hearts; I would like you to stick firmly to the following four principles.”

Rudolf Steiner
Practical Advice to Teachers, Lecture 14

We live in a world that encourages parents to deaden their intuition in deference to the “experts”.

When we choose to give our children (an ourselves!) an education based at home, we have already taken that first step of initiative and consciousness that Steiner outlines in the first principle. We make a decision that is not the norm, not the habit, and we take the initiative to see it through.

Often the decision to home educate comes about because we see the world around us and its effect on childhood. We strive to create something different in hopes the ripples will touch beyond our four walls.

Home education allows us the freedom to “never grow stale” by giving us space to live into the seasons of life. It gives us time and flexibility to adjust when things go sour. It provides opportunity to develop warmth of heart to uncover or create levity in heavy times.

Steiner trained his teachers over two weeks. He acknowledged that it was a very short time and that much of what he presented probably felt remote to the teachers. But he also knew, just like we know when we bring big concepts to children, that the seeds have been planted.

There is so much to learn from Steiner’s lectures, it can feel overwhelming. But your intuition brought you here for a reason. Seeds have been planted that will sprout when the opportunity allows. When WE allow the opportunity to call upon the seeds. We do that through listening to our intuition, making conscious decisions out of what is needed, being open to what is around us and the knowledge that we are always learning and creating the “new” (it is what keeps us from growing stale!)

Steiner closed his seminars for teachers with these concluding remarks. He knew for teachers to live up to these principles would not be easy, but anthroposophy is about striving for something more than our habits.

How can we apply these principles at home? Let’s expand on the principles a bit with Steiner’s words.

#1: “Teachers must never be careless or lazy; they must, at every moment, stand in full consciousness of what they do in the school and how they act toward the children. The teacher must be a person of initiative in everything done, great and small. ”

Initiative is conscious will. Initiative is seeing what is needed and bringing what is needed into action. Steiner wanted teachers of children to be full of consciousness and to not act out of habit, to respond to the children out of love and spirit and thoughtfulness. That takes a lot of inner work. And while he didn’t expect perfection, he did encourage striving. 

Still unclear? It means individualizing your responses, your actions, your reactions to the people in front of you and what ever is happening and not doing things a certain way because that is how they have been done. It involves taking the initiative or action to make a conscious choice in what you say, do, etc. It often means pausing for a moment before taking action. It almost always means slowing down to “read the room”. When Steiner says a teacher must never be careless or lazy, I believe he means that teachers should not do things without thought, or act in a certain way because that is what was experienced before. Is it what the children need? From a teaching perspective, this is the question that keeps teachers from becoming lazy and careless.

Steiner’s six exercises can really help develop your skills in acting out of consciousness.

#2. “All that is happening in the outside world and in human life must arouse our interest… and we should also be able to enter into anything, great or small, that concerns every single child in our care. The teacher should be one who is interested in the being of the whole world and of humanity.“

Steiner based all his indications on what he saw was needed at the time of his life. He never thought solely of the children at a specific age in a vacuum, not concerned with where they had come from or where they were heading. Everything moves from the big picture to the smaller pieces in anthroposophy. In order to know what children need, we must be aware of the world around us because while we are teaching the children right now, what we impart on them will live with them through adulthood. It may seem like small potatoes while we lead a main lesson for the letter K, but how we approach it will last all the years ahead. What is society like right now? What is it that children need to be successful once they reach the next phase of life? It is not enough to be content with giving children a good education, it must be one that reflects what is needed in the world. 

#3 “The teacher must be one who never compromises in the heart and mind with what is untrue. Teachers must never compromise with untruth, because if they did, we would see how untruth would find its way through many channels into our teaching, especially in the way we present the subjects. Our teaching will only bear the stamp of truth when we ardently strive for truth in ourselves.”

Again, inner work plays a large part in being able to be truthful in ourselves. When I think of this principle, I think mostly of my interactions with children. Am I giving choices when there are none? Am I asking a question I already know the answer to? Am I being inauthentic in my actions?

A little story to add to this: Once upon a time, I was leading circle with a group of seven year olds as a guest teacher at a co-op. I started to sing a song, and instead of singing in my normal voice, I sang in a key that was much higher than I would normally sing. I assume at the last minute I became nervous about my non-waldorf singing voice, which is now naturally an alto, and worried how the parents would react to me being different from what they were possibly expecting to experience. Anyway, regardless of the reasoning, those children in front of me could smell a rat! They did not participate fully, and many did not join in learning the song. After a few tries, I apologized to the children and said lets try this again. I sang in my usual pitch, and the children actively participated. There is a saying that children can smell fear. I think what they actually smell is our lack of authenticity in response to the fear.

#4 The GOLDEN rule. “And now comes something more easily said than done, but it is, nevertheless, also a golden rule for the teacher’s calling. The teacher must never get stale or grow sour. Cherish a mood of soul that is fresh and healthy! No getting stale and sour! This must be the teacher’s endeavor.”

How can we keep things fresh? How can we enjoy getting up every day and embracing what will come with open arms and a little levity? What is needed to transform thoughts of dread into a feeling of joyful anticipation? How will we overcome obstacles and negative events without letting them rule our moods?  How will you pop some colour into the simple every day so you feel connected and energized? Only you can answer the question of avoiding your own staleness.

Steiner goes on to say:

And I know, my dear friends, that if during these two weeks you have received into your inner life what we were able to shed light on from the most diverse viewpoints, then indirectly, through the realms of feeling and will, what may still seem remote will come closer to your souls as you work with the children in the classroom.”

Two weeks. Adults who were interested in becoming teachers for the Waldorf school were taught everything in two weeks. And Steiner says, what you haven’t been able to take in will work on you as you work with the children. The seed has been planted and it will grow if we strive to meet these four principles.

We don’t have to have all the answers. We don’t always have to know what to do or what to bring right in the moment. Teaching is not about becoming the Encyclopedia Britannica of Steiner’s indications, a card catalogue with answers for every situation. It is about striving. Striving for action out of authenticity and full consciousness, aware of the world we live in, with a side dose of levity and joy. When we keep this in our hearts, the seeds will grow and we will find what is needed.

Until next time,
Marina