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Vista Series Series

Rhythms of Learning Edition 2 Revised

What Waldorf Education Offers Children, Parents & Teachers

Paperback
February 2017
9781621481799
More details
  • Publisher
    SteinerBooks
  • Published
    15th February 2017
  • ISBN 9781621481799
  • Language English
  • Pages 366 pp.
  • Size 6" x 9"
$30.00

“An experiment in its eighth decade, with more than sixty thousand students attending five hundred schools worldwide, Waldorf education is the largest and fastest growing independent, nonsectarian school movement in the world. The more than one hundred and fifty Waldorf schools in North America appear to be but the beginning of a rapid growth that will almost certainly be continued by the next generation. This volume is intended as a companion to educators and parents, both inside and outside the Waldorf school movement, who want to explore Steiner’s intuitive and spiritual-scientific research concerning child development and, in particular, the positive and negative forces affecting that development in a culture that puts children at risk.” — Robert McDermott (from the foreword)

Waldorf education—an established and growing independent school movement—continues to be shaped and inspired by Rudolf Steiner’s numerous writings and lectures on education and child development.

In Rhythms of Learning, key lectures on children and education have been thoughtfully chosen from the vast amount of material by Steiner and presented in a context that makes them reader-friendly and accessible. In his many discussions and lectures, Steiner shared his vision of education that considers the spirit, soul, and physiology in children as they grow. 

Roberto Trostli, a seasoned Waldorf teacher, has selected the works that best illustrate the fundamentals of this unique approach. In each chapter, Trostli explains Steiner’s concepts and describes how they work in the contemporary Waldorf classroom. We learn how the teacher–child relationship and the Waldorf school curriculum changes as the students progress from kindergarten through high school. 

Rhythms of Learning is an excellent resource for parents who want to understand how their child is learning. Parents will also be more prepared to discuss their child’s education with teachers, and teachers will find it to be a valuable reference source and communication tool. 

C O N T E N T S:

Foreword
Preface to the Revised Edition
Introduction: A Seed for the Future

1. The Foundations of Waldorf Education

The Education of the Child in the Light of Spiritual Science

2. Teacher and Child

The Four Temperaments
Understanding Children’s Temperaments
Gratitude, Love, and Duty

3. The Waldorf Kindergarten: The World of the Young Child

Walking, Speaking, Thinking

4. The First School Years: From Whole to Part

Children from the Seventh to Tenth Years
Teaching Children to Write
Teaching Arithmetic

5. The Middle Elementary School Years: Self and World

Zoology and Botany in the Elementary School
Nature Study in the Elementary School
Teaching Geography

6. The Upper Elementary School Years: Cause and Consequence

The Child at Twelve
Teaching in the Upper Grades
Teaching History

7. The High School Years: Adolescence—the Quest for Self

Working with Adolescents

8. The Arts in Waldorf Education: The Jewels in the Crown

Education through Art
An Introduction to Eurythmy

Rudolf Steiner

Rudolf Steiner (b. Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner, 1861–1925) was born in the small village of Kraljevec, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now in Croatia), where he grew up. As a young man, he lived in Weimar and Berlin, where he became a well-published scientific, literary, and philosophical scholar, known especially for his work with Goethe’s scientific writings. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he began to develop his early philosophical principles into an approach to systematic research into psychological and spiritual phenomena. Formally beginning his spiritual teaching career under the auspices of the Theosophical Society, Steiner came to use the term Anthroposophy (and spiritual science) for his philosophy, spiritual research, and findings. The influence of Steiner’s multifaceted genius has led to innovative and holistic approaches in medicine, various therapies, philosophy, religious renewal, Waldorf education, education for special needs, threefold economics, biodynamic agriculture, Goethean science, architecture, and the arts of drama, speech, and eurythmy. In 1924, Rudolf Steiner founded the General Anthroposophical Society, which today has branches throughout the world. He died in Dornach, Switzerland.

Roberto Trostli

Roberto Trostli has been active in Waldorf education since 1981 as a class teacher, high school teacher, adult educator, author, and lecturer. He received his BA from Columbia University and his MA from the University of Cambridge, England. After working as a violinmaker, Roberto taught for ten years at the Rudolf Steiner School in New York City, the school he also attended as a child. Later, he moved to Hadley, Massachusetts, where he worked for eighteen years, first as a class teacher of graded 1 to 8, and then as the founder and director of the Hartsbrook High School. In 2009, Roberto moved to Richmond, Virginia, where he resumed class teaching at Richmond Waldorf School. Roberto also worked as a pedagogical consultant and lectured and offered workshops internationally. He was co-director of the part-time teacher training in Sunbridge College in New York, and served as Director of the Waldorf Research Institute. Roberto was a member of the Pedagogical Section Council for ten years and helped restructure the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA). Roberto's written works include numerous articles and plays. In addition to this volume, he edited Teaching Language Arts in the Waldorf School (2004) and Creating a Circle of Collaborative Spiritual Leadership (2014), and has written a book about the college of teachers in Waldorf schools. Early in his career, Roberto became interested in teaching science and wrote Physics is Fun!—revised and reissued as Physics the Waldorf Way (2016).