Teaching Language arTs in The WaLdorf schooL

Writing
83
they try to lead the children from drawing to writing by cutting the
B into separate lines and curves:
They advocate an abstract version of what we are trying to do
concretely. These educators are quite right in seeing that it would be
practical to proceed from drawing to writing, but people today are
too entangled in the deadwood of our culture to hit upon a clearly
living way of going about things. Let me warn you at this point not
to be taken in by all sorts of modern endeavors that might tempt
you to say that efforts are being made here and there to do this and
that. For you will always discover that the intentions do not have
very deep foundations. Somehow people are constantly impelled to
attempt such things, but they will not succeed until humankind has
accepted spiritual science as a part of culture. We can always make
a connection between the human being and the surrounding world
by teaching writing in an organic way and teaching reading by starting
with reading handwriting. It is natural to teaching that there is
a certain yearning for complete freedom, and we should not dismiss
this element. Notice how freedom flows into this discussion of how
we might prepare ourselves to be teachers; our discussion intrinsically
has something to do with freedom. I have pointed out that you
should not fetter yourselves by toiling away at studying how writing
came into being during the transition from Egyptian to Phoenician
culture, that you must develop your own soul capacities. What can be
done by this method of teaching will differ from teacher to teacher.
Not everyone can use a dancing bear; someone might use a better
example for the same purpose. One teacher, however, can achieve
the final result just as well as another. All teachers give of themselves
when they teach. In this, their freedom remains inviolate. The more
teachers desire to preserve their freedom, the more they will be able
to enter into their teaching by giving themselves.
∩
But one thing that children do not want—certainly not during
the change of teeth something they will reject with strong inner opposition—is
to have to draw on a piece of paper, or on the chalkboard,