Reclaim Early Childhood (Hawthorn Press) starts from the concept that, today, in much of the world, childhood is misunderstood, and this book looks at Steiner education, in which the authors are experienced practitioners and experts, the educational philosophy based on the thoughts of Rudolf Steiner and his phenomenological approach to childhood. Steiner theorised that life is complex and therefore appropriate education must also be complex, observing the world to slowly discover the threads linking many phenomena together - how I understand it, lifelong learning starting from birth. Steiner took this approach to learning himself, over decades, and he called it anthroposophy. This book aims to "demonstrate the relevance of Steiner early childhood education in the modern world". The authors believe that these elements of Steiner education are what is needed in today's world: a humane understanding of childhood, anchored in
- deep philosophy
- sustainable education
- common sense
- practical aesthetics
They encourage us, as we read to learn, change our minds and use only each unique child as "the only true book in which the principles of education are inscribed".
As I think about 2020 and our challenges of biodiversity, climate and politics, these words give me hope that if we start with good intentions and good foundations in early childhood education, plus a lot of kindness and compassion, we can change things for the better with, and for, our children.
In chapter 2 the authors, as I often do, suggest we ask "Why?" - in my case, usually to do with the question of whether children should climb up the slide (of course they should) or whether children should kneel down in the mud to look at a snail (of course they should). I'm not intending to be awkward in my asking "why?", rather getting us to reflect on our practice. So, as the authors say - why such an adult-centred philosophy of education? In other words, why is education seemingly for the benefit of economies, not individuals? Steiner's philosophy was called anthroposophy - combining the science of ideas with detailed observations of the world via a phenomenological experience-based approach. Anthroposophy, we are told, can be broken down into "anthropos" meaning human, and "sophia" meaning wisdom, and it is intended to be an approach for better understanding of life itself - or understanding ourselves! The author argues that education needs to avoid focusing on measurable short term gains (tests, goals) as opposed to the long term (lifelong) approach of Steiner education. Many Steiner education practices are supported by modern evidence - and therefore we should consider it's relevance more than we do - the benefits of free play, positive effects of story telling, the value of nature, aesthetics & art in education, the importance of physical movement for learning & development, the dangers of electronic media, fostering imagination and so on... All areas which many groups and educationalists are trying to bring to the attention of governments and regulators right now, such as Keeping Early Years Unique. I also strongly believe that without creativity and the arts all the way through school (the most prolific cuts are in these areas), we would have less scientists, architects or engineers, and that well-being should be at the heart of policy. In fact, as the authors tell us, the first Steiner / Waldorf School (the authors use these names interchangeably in the book) was set up when the owner of the Waldorf-Astoria (hence the Waldorf bit in Steiner-Waldorf kindergartens) cigarette factory in Germany in 1919 was concerned about the well-being of his workers and realised that a new educational approach was needed to help create "sustainable societal change".
Steiner believed that a human being was comprised of a body, a soul and a spirit. In chapter 3 the authors discuss what is intended by these words as building blocks of a solid education, and how we have become socialised to recognise quantity as a measure of the quality of our experiences - exam grades, ofsted grades, league tables, economic growth, rather than, as I see it, using measures of well-being or happiness to determine success. The authors conclude here that it is impossible to separate Steiner's "body, soul and spirit", as the soul/spirit is how we qualitatively experience the world - feelings, colours, emotions, ideas, smells. Steiner later refined this to think of humans as "thinking, feeling and willing".
I must admit, this was quite complicated philosophy, but a worthwhile detour to link the ideas together. For educationalists, this means a more constructive view of children without fixed judgements, but rather with consideration of strengths and weaknesses as shaping future development, or "becoming". This reminds me of the Te Whariki curriculum in New Zealand where the child is at the centre of a holistic curriculum, there are no expected developmental milestones, children are empowered to learn and grow, family and community are integral, and well-being & a sense of belonging are nurtured.
Chapter 4 is dedicated to exploring the 12 senses as understood by Steiner (12? I hear you say...). We generally think of the sense as biological pathways - receptors -> impulses -> brain processing - but there is also a qualitative aspect - sounds or smells make us feel something too - we qualitatively experience phenomena like sound - listening to music makes us feel a certain way. Steiner's 12 senses as listed in the book are below:
Steiner believed that a human being was comprised of a body, a soul and a spirit. In chapter 3 the authors discuss what is intended by these words as building blocks of a solid education, and how we have become socialised to recognise quantity as a measure of the quality of our experiences - exam grades, ofsted grades, league tables, economic growth, rather than, as I see it, using measures of well-being or happiness to determine success. The authors conclude here that it is impossible to separate Steiner's "body, soul and spirit", as the soul/spirit is how we qualitatively experience the world - feelings, colours, emotions, ideas, smells. Steiner later refined this to think of humans as "thinking, feeling and willing".
- Thinking - consciously thinking through steps, utilising past experiences
- Feeling - in the present moment, a dream consciousness
- Willing - unconsciously acting automatically to do something (using the "will")
The "will" is important here as it is the future of children - the process of their "becoming", the instinct to start to crawl or explore the environment. I made a mental link here with the Characteristics of effective learning in our EYFS (not enough emphasis is given to fostering these attitudes and dispositions), our equivalent of fostering the "will" in children as a building block for future development, nurturing learners for life rather than academic statistics.
I must admit, this was quite complicated philosophy, but a worthwhile detour to link the ideas together. For educationalists, this means a more constructive view of children without fixed judgements, but rather with consideration of strengths and weaknesses as shaping future development, or "becoming". This reminds me of the Te Whariki curriculum in New Zealand where the child is at the centre of a holistic curriculum, there are no expected developmental milestones, children are empowered to learn and grow, family and community are integral, and well-being & a sense of belonging are nurtured.
Chapter 4 is dedicated to exploring the 12 senses as understood by Steiner (12? I hear you say...). We generally think of the sense as biological pathways - receptors -> impulses -> brain processing - but there is also a qualitative aspect - sounds or smells make us feel something too - we qualitatively experience phenomena like sound - listening to music makes us feel a certain way. Steiner's 12 senses as listed in the book are below:
- sight (visual)
- hearing (auditory)
- touch (tactile)
- taste (gustatory)
- smell (olfactory)
- balance (vestibular)
- warmth (thermoception)
- movement & position in space (proprioception)
- well-being (visceroception)
- language sense (phonic / sound perception)
- thoughts / concepts
- individuality (the "I" sense)
The authors inform us that senses are automatic (at least at first), bring quality to consciousness, exist discretely from one another, are "in the moment" telling us what we perceive "now", and they have accompanying sensory organs or networks. From Steiner's perspective, the senses can be ordered into 3 categories:
- lower (willing) - touch, well-being, proprioception, and balance
- middle (feeling) - smell, taste, sight and warmth
- upper (thinking or social senses) - sound, as well as phonological sense, thought and the "I" sense - the latter 3 were Steiner's own additions however he died before he finished the work.
It is also not this simple of course, as senses often combine to provide us with information.
Steiner's work and theory as applied to child development is complex (as I have discovered!) and sometimes overwhelming - I found some of the philosophical theory hard to grasp. But one important part of his theory is that of "freehood" - learning to develop the capacity to act freely, as opposed to "freedom" - being able to do as one wishes. This distinction, the authors say, is important in education - children need to develop "freehood" but having total freedom may be counterproductive to this. We need freehood to help us to inhibit desires and weigh up choices - what we know as executive function in neuroscience, and what Steiner would probably call the "I" functions.
Steiner divided child development into roughly seven-year phases. So in Steiner's terms early childhood is approximately birth to seven (dentition or losing the first teeth). During this time the senses are rapidly developing - I liked the author's reference to thinking about a circle; the senses work together over time to explore the concept of circle - not only vision but also movement, and proprioception. I was prompted to think of some reading I did recently about embodied maths - we need to allow children time to develop and explore these concepts with their whole bodies - so we are not doing maths, rather we are exploring concepts that will become maths later on. Another example given is that of "a table" - a child comes to perceive a table from first seeing this object through vision, then depth, balance, touch, movement, as they experience the concept of "table". Here I was reminded of children we have worked with who did not own a table so sitting at the table with us for lunch was a new concept for them - to develop, perceive and understand the world, children need time, rich experiences and close relationships.
Chapter 6 tackles Steiner's educational principles - chiefly to facilitate the development of freehood. The previous chapter prompted me to "google" Steiner's stages of development and it explained a lot when I read the section on adults aged 49-56 and 56-63... Back to Steiner's principles:
Steiner divided child development into roughly seven-year phases. So in Steiner's terms early childhood is approximately birth to seven (dentition or losing the first teeth). During this time the senses are rapidly developing - I liked the author's reference to thinking about a circle; the senses work together over time to explore the concept of circle - not only vision but also movement, and proprioception. I was prompted to think of some reading I did recently about embodied maths - we need to allow children time to develop and explore these concepts with their whole bodies - so we are not doing maths, rather we are exploring concepts that will become maths later on. Another example given is that of "a table" - a child comes to perceive a table from first seeing this object through vision, then depth, balance, touch, movement, as they experience the concept of "table". Here I was reminded of children we have worked with who did not own a table so sitting at the table with us for lunch was a new concept for them - to develop, perceive and understand the world, children need time, rich experiences and close relationships.
Chapter 6 tackles Steiner's educational principles - chiefly to facilitate the development of freehood. The previous chapter prompted me to "google" Steiner's stages of development and it explained a lot when I read the section on adults aged 49-56 and 56-63... Back to Steiner's principles:
- Imitation - children observe / explore and imitate in their play
- Imagination - free play, sensory play, artistic activities and mindful language guide and develop imaginations
- rhythm, structure and security - orderly surroundings with aesthetic activities & atmosphere sooth and support development (here I am reminded of our treasure baskets and natural objects for exploration, and of Maslow's hierarchy of needs)
- nutrition - appropriate nutrition and the ability to help prepare the food
- meaningful relationships - my understanding of this ties in with key person theory and attachment - we actively listen and tune into children's thinking, interacting, taking an interest and joining in if appropriate.
Steiner kindergartens around the world don't all follow the principles to the letter, they vary depending on where they are and on the children who attend - teachers carefully observe children and each kindergarten meets the needs of its own cohort of children. The environment is the 3rd teacher and the rhythm of days, months and years follows natural routines, seasons and cycles. This again reminds me of my own ethos of aiming to instil a sense of awe and wonder through exploration & experience of the natural world and the rhythms of life. And as the authors say, it transcends international differences as it is adopted in countries and cultures as diverse and Britain, Tibet, South Africa, in Brazilian Favelas and Israeli kibbutz, with the commonality of nature, rhythms of life, and in the moment experiences. An interesting comparison follows of Steiner and other educational philosophies including Montessori, Pikler and state systems.
The final chapter deals with challenges to and for Steiner education, much of this stemming from a misunderstanding of the why and how behind the philosophy - hence the importance of this book. I'm no expert (and I will admit to not totally grasping some of the phenomenology and anthroposophy - but at least I learnt to spell it!), but reading this has done exactly what the authors set out to do - helped me to understand the way of Steiner education, to ask myself some reflective questions, and to see that it really does fit with many practitioners and experts' current thinking that too much, too soon is detrimental and that childhood should be about a journey of "becoming", of being in the moment, and experiencing nature, exploring concepts in rich language environments, and having the freedom to have ideas and to run with them as we learn together.
Give this book a chance - I think that you will notice that much of the philosophy evident in Steiner principles sits nicely with what many know to be the right thing for early education now - child-centred, in the moment, mindful experiences to develop skills, dispositions and attitudes for lifelong learning and an appreciation of our world - highly relevant today.
A nice accompanying title to this is Too much, too soon? Early learning and the eroson of childhood edited by Richard House (Hawthorn Press).
This collection of chapters from an amazing collection of "educators, researchers, policy-makers, carers and parents" guides us through the problem of "too much, too soon" for our youngest children. The Open EYE campaign, led by Richard House, argued that the new EYFS (2008) would increase an already top down curriculum approach in the early years, without consideration of current research and developmentally appropriate practice. Too much assessment and too little time for genuine play was (still is...) eroding childhood. The book argues that more emphasis on formal learning in the early years is detrimental to what really matters - laying the foundations for lifelong learning, and avoiding a "toxic childhood". Well-known names such as Sue Palmer, Lilian Katz and Sally Goddard Blythe guide us through the arguments and evidence. This review is just in time for the latest review of the Early Learning Goals, which have also come under much scrutiny and objection, not surprisingly.
If this has all sparked your interest, then the too much, too soon website here is a great place to start.
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[Thanks to Hawthorn Press https://www.hawthornpress.com/ for the review copies]
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