Teaching Language arTs in The WaLdorf schooL

7
Introduction
With the publication of the Foundations of Waldorf Education,
all of Rudolf Steiner’s educational lectures, addresses, and conferences
will be available in English for the first time. This series allows teachers,
parents, and researchers to explore more broadly and delve more
deeply into Rudolf Steiner’s educational philosophy and the Waldorf
curriculum and methods. It also makes it possible to trace the development
of Rudolf Steiner’s educational ideas from 1906 to 1924.
Such a large treasure trove presents a challenge to anyone wishing
to research specific themes or topics. If one wants to read all of Rudolf
Steiner’s indications about teaching grammar, for instance, one has
to delve into a half dozen different volumes. Indications on a more
general topic such as teaching writing are found in more than two
dozen sources, creating a burden for anyone wishing to read them all.
This compendium was created to ease that burden, for it contains
all of Rudolf Steiner’s statements regarding the teaching of language
arts—writing, reading, literature, grammar, spelling, handwriting,
and recitation. Rudolf Steiner’s indications are always fruitful when
taken in context; a compendium such as this allows one to develop a
different perspective by considering his various statements in relation
to one another. To facilitate reference, each chapter contains a list of
excerpts and the pages where they may be found in this volume. Unless
otherwise noted, the page numbers and titles in this compendium
are from books in the Foundations of Waldorf Education series. Those
references that list the title and date are from books that were not yet
retranslated or reissued when this edition was being compiled. Readers
might notice that a few texts appear more than once. Because
Rudolf Steiner sometimes spoke about several subjects in the same
lecture, it seemed prudent to include the relevant selection in the all
of the appropriate sections of this compendium.