Our first experience of eurythmy
A short report about the visit of a eurythmist to the little Waldorf School “El Bolson” in faraway Patagonia.
The Waldorf school “Crisol de Micael” had the good fortune to receive a visit from the godmother of one of our scholars. Stefanie Frank, eurythmy teacher in Hamburg, former waldorf pupil and mother, spent two and a half weeks here and gave the scholars from class 1 to 6 a wonderful gift – their first experience of eurythmy! The final performance was a great achievement and lovely to see!
Through eurythmy an important experience can be had, which has a pedagogical effect: the movement within a group and the conscious use of the body, trains the will and the social ability to open up to others, at the same time. This subject is only taught at Waldorf Schools and is often found to be boring. However, all our children made a serious effort during the eurythmy lessons to experience themselves as part of the whole and to gain a sense for the whole itself. Rudolf Steiner recommended eurythmy lessons twice a week. Eurythmy stimulates creativity, balances out and helps to combat stage fright.
Stefanie Frank showed us that spontaneous deeds are possible, while remaining humble and unpretentious. With her great sensibility and awareness and the ability of an experienced teacher to enthuse her students, she made a lasting impression on us.
Interview
Stefanie, did you notice any differences between your pupils in Germany and the children here?
No, not at all. Children are the same all over the world. Some are quieter, others are more restless and challenging…they are simply children.
As an experiences Waldorf teacher, could you tell us what your impression of our school is, now that you have gotten to know our daily life here a little?
I admire the effort and devotion of every single teacher. One can feel in the classrooms that everyone is working together on a common task and also eagerly exchanging their experiences. To awaken such lively interest in the children is the true art of education. Due to lack of space, activities such as cooking, pottery, carpentry and handwork are neglected.
Would you visit us again and how do you see the future of our school “Crisol de Micael”
I really enjoyed my visit here. I like working in schools that are small and still need a lot of their strength for growing In general, I think that the school community shouldn’t become dismayed at the prospect of all the development that still needs to take place. On the contrary, the greater the challenges, the more the helping powers can grow! All Waldorf schools grow from the bottom upwards toward the 12th class. The potential and the ability to continue to work in this direction are present in this school. Many parents take part in the seminars on Waldorf education, which is a great help and helps to create the right foundation. A school is brought to life by all its’ members. Through the common goal of going on this 12 year journey together, trust is built and the social organism strengthened. Something as important as education shouldn’t be given up in class 6 or 7, but rather continued right up to the great final celebration!
On that note we end our conversation, which will surely be followed by many more. I hope that we will see each other again, Stefanie! Thank you very much for everything you did here. It was an honour and a pleasure to have you here. We hope that it won’t be the last time...Magdalena Rotta, mother of children at the Waldorf school Cri
To top Update: 08/2009