In these eight talks on education for adolescent-aged young people, Steiner addressed the teachers of the first Waldorf school two years after it was first opened. A high school was needed, and Steiner wanted to provide a foundation for study and a guide for teachers already familiar with his approach to the human being, child development, and education based on spiritual science. Steiner's education affirms the being of every child within the world of spirit.
These dazzling, radical lectures were given one month before the opening of the first Waldorf School—following two years of intense preoccupation with the social situation in Germany as World War I ended and society sought to rebuild itself. Well aware of the dangerous tendencies present in modern culture that undermine a true social life—such as psychic torpor and boredom, universal mechanization, and a growing cynicism—Steiner recognized that any solution must address not only economic and legal issues but also that of a free spiritual life.
This book from Rudolf Steiner constitute one of the most comprehensive introductions to his philosophy, psychology, and practice of education. He describes the union of science, art, religion, and morality, which is the goal of all his work and underlies his comprehensive ides on educational renewal. Against this background, Steiner describe a new developmental psychology. Based on the development of children’s consciousness, he discusses the ways various subjects should be presented so that they can grow inwardly in children.
The underlying thesis of these lectures, volume XX in the "Foundations of Waldorf Education" series, is that true education must be based on knowledge of the whole human being and that such knowledge cannot be attained without love. On this basis, Steiner presents his understanding of every aspect of child development—bodily, psychological, and spiritual. At the same time, he shows that, to prove worthy of their calling, teachers must begin a process of inner development. In Steiner’s view, it is human beings who give value and meaning to the world.
A perfect combination between education and diversion: stories, songs and games have been developed and made by a team of qualified experts in the education of the English.
