Albert Einstein and Rudolf Steiner:
Kindness, Beauty, Truth and the path to selflessness...
"A human being is part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. ... The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the sense in which they have obtained liberation from the self. ... We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if humanity is to survive."

"Only the individual can think, and thereby create new values for society, nay, even set up new moral standards to which the life of the community conforms. ... The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty and Truth. "(Einstein, 1954) Albert Einstein Biography

Ideals which light the way in Steiner education:
Whereas the kindergarten teacher represents to the children that “the world is good” and the primary school teacher that “the world is beautiful” - the guiding principle facing the secondary teacher is to lead the pupil through the specific nature of the curriculum to the understanding that “the world is true”.

"Geist, durchleuchte mich

Liebe, durchgluehe mich

Kraft, durchdringe mich

Dass in mir erstehe

Ein Helfer der Menschheit

Selbstlos und treu"

(May wisdom shine through me, may love glow within me, may strength permeate me,that in me may arise a helper of mankind, selfless and true" Rudolf Steiner

Life-long learning...

To this day, Piaget's works are held in high regard, yet it is widely acknowledged that his theories are more relevant when complemented with those of Lev Vygotsky. Vygotsky believed that individual development could not be understood without reference to the social and cultural context in which development occurs. He did not see development as progressing in fixed stages, but more in a life-long accumulative manner.

Vygotsky introduced the concept of the Zone of Proximal Development . This can be understood as the gap between what one is wanting to teach and the state of development presenting itself in the learner in that area. A good teacher will be able to adequately meet this gap by extending the learner in a realistic yet enticing way.

Vygotsky saw play as a fundamental formative form of learning:"A child's greatest achievements are possible in play, achievements that tomorrow will become her basic level of real action." In this aspect, his ideas are highly compatible with those expressed by Steiner. The Waldorf plea to "keep the hood on childhood" is a heartfelt recognition of the value of children's play.

The importance of social interaction was strongly emphasised by Vygotsky."Every function in the child's cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level and, later on, on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological)." Social interaction includes teacher interaction. An enthusiastic , dedicated mentor who affirms, guides, build bridges, as well as allowing for mistakes and experimentation is vital for inspired learning.Vygotsky's theories have had an enormous influence in the shift from isolated to socially connected learning environments.

Language was seen by Vygotsky as crucial in its function for structuring a child's thought processes and social behaviour."Words play a central part not only in the development of thought but in the historical growth of consciousness as a whole. A word is a microcosm of human consciousness."This aspect of his theories strikes a strong chord with Steiner teachers who work consistently and artistically in developing both language and speech.

Understanding constructivist theories is in some ways, for those working with Steiner education, like finding a framework to describe what one is instinctively doing anyway. Or, as von Glaserfeld said:

"Constructivism does not claim to have made earth-shaking inventions in the area of education; it merely claims to provide a solid conceptual basis for some of the things that, until now, inspired teachers had to do without theoretical foundation. "
von Glasersfeld
see: Summary: http://www.cdli.ca/~elmurphy/emurphy/cle6.html

Microcosms

Vygotsky: Microcosms

A word devoid of thought is a dead thing, and a thought unembodied in words remains a shadow.
Words play a central part not only in the development of thought but in the historical growth of consciousness as a whole. A word is a microcosm of human consciousness.

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