Colloquium on English - Research Institute for Waldorf Education

90
Understanding Spelling Difficulties
This brings me to yet another question which was given to me yesterday and which can be dealt with
in this context. The question was: Why is it that some children have such tremendous difficulties in learning
how to spell correctly?
Well, anyone who studies Goethe’s spelling or that of other great men, may gain a peculiar impression,
for many a great personality appears anything but sure of correct spelling. Obviously this must not tempt us
to think that any bad speller in our class may be a budding genius and that therefore we must not interfere
with such a child. Naturally, this would be an entirely wrong reaction…. The teacher, above all, should
endeavor to speak not only distinctly, but also with a rhythmical and harmonious flow . . . it is very
necessary for him to cultivate the habit of living himself into each syllable and pronouncing it clearly. In
lessons he should ask his pupils to repeat his sentences accurately, giving full value to each syllable, and with
the right feeling for flow and intonation. Such practice of clear and well-formed speaking will certainly lead
to an improvement in spelling. This is another example showing that what needs to be lifted up into the
sphere of consciousness from the unconscious regions below, from the regions of sleep and dream for the
unconscious realm is that of sleep should not be artificially imposed upon the child by extraneous methods.
On what does the faculty of listening depend? Psychology does not usually formulate this question.
You see, at night we go to sleep and in the morning we wake up again, and from our own experience we
know that during sleep our memory is blotted out. What happens to us during the hours of sleep is not
known to ordinary science. But when you listen, the inner condition of your soul is no different from what
it is while you are asleep. On the other hand, when you are listening, there is a constant interplay between
your being outside yourself and within yourself. It is of great importance to be aware of this undulating
activity of the soul. When I listen I am given up to the external world. But there are always the other
moments, too, in which I wake up. Without these, hearing alone would be of no use. While listening, a
continuous process is going on of waking up and going to sleep even in the so-called waking state. A
perpetual interplay takes place between waking up and falling asleep so that during sleep our memory is
blotted out. This means that, ultimately, our entire intercourse with the world rests on this faculty of being
able to enter into an outer situation or, if I may express it somewhat paradoxically, ‘to fall asleep into what
comes from outside.’ After all, what else is listening to a conversation than to ‘sleep oneself’ into the
content of the conversation? On the other hand, the listener’s comprehension of what is said is a kind of
waking up. This is how it is. But it also means that we should not attempt to appeal to the conscious region
of the child when, in fact, the unconscious sphere, the sphere of sleeping or dreaming is the relevant one.
This is the reason why we should refrain from teaching spelling by using artificial means. Rather
should we speak every word distinctly, then ask the child to repeat it before he writes it down. In this way
we will help him towards better spelling. We can take it for granted that where there is bad spelling, there
is bad listening. Therefore the main task is to improve the pupil’s faculty of listening which is seated in the
unconscious sphere, rather than our laboring with what belongs to the opposite sphere of consciousness.
[Spelling is easier in German than in English. In German, spelling is almost entirely phonetic]
Renewal of Education, Kolisko Archives (145-147)
The Development of Spelling after Puberty
If you ask how to awaken the memory for correct spelling, my answer would be that you need to
observe the differences in human strengths during the three periods of human life, that is, until the change
of teeth, until puberty, and then after puberty until the age of twenty. You need to develop a sense for
observing these three periods of life and the differences in the specific forces of life that develop. Then you
will notice that people who, until the age of fifteen, have absolutely no sense of correct spelling or correct
grammar will develop it if they are treated in the way I just mentioned. If you draw their attention to the
rhythm of the language, they will develop this sense out of the depths of their souls after the age of fifteen.