In the first half of the twentieth century, promoting the uniqueness of each individual became the goal of attempts at educational reform. In a series of videos, the Goetheanum‘s Education Section presents approaches that take their cue from the individual child within their living environment.
The digital paradigm is one of perfection and efficiency. Human beings, on the other hand, need to be able to learn to live with insecurities and to keep evolving. Michaela Glöckler, former head of the Medical Section at the Goetheanum and president of Eliant, a Goetheanum partner organization, calls for a new humanism.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, teachers, educators and parents have been faced with the challenges of keeping up their relationship with the children, facilitating learning and supporting development. A series of videos provides pedagogical advice.
Because children and adolescents spend much of their time in educational settings, the spatial, conceptual and social make-up of these places will affect their health right into adulthood. According to the paediatrician Michaela Glöckler it is therefore crucial that they facilitate healthy development.
The European Alliance of Initiatives for Applied Anthroposophy (Eliant) advocates cultural diversity and choice in Europe. Its petition for an age-appropriate use of digital technology ‘For a Right to Screen-free Day Care Centres, Kindergartens and Primary Schools’ will run until the end of the year. Eliant has recently become a partner of the World Goetheanum Association.
Changes to the Pedagogical Section‘s leadership will be gradually introduced during 2021/2022. With Philipp Reubke, the perspective of early childhood education will for the first time be directly represented, while Constanza Kaliks will bring in her experience from South America. The two present Section leaders will take on new tasks.
A new contribution to the video series ‘Living Farms’ illustrates how the Mbagathi Rudolf Steiner School in Kenya combines education with basic food provision for its students. The video was made by Lin Bautze (project manager) and Philipp Wilson (camera) from the Section for Agriculture at the Goetheanum.
The research team of the Youth Section at the Goetheanum extends its research project ‘(Re)Search’, inviting young people to describe how they have experienced the pandemic and to reflect on the changes they would like to see in the world.
Teachers are currently communicating not only with their students and parents exclusively via internet, but also with each other – and that mostly via a computer screen. The Pedagogical Section at the Goetheanum has expanded their tips for school life during the time of the coronavirus to include suggestions for conducting video teacher conferences.
Due to the measures being taken against the Sars-CoV-2 virus, teachers and parents are now teaching children and adolescents via multimedia or directly at home. The Pedagogical Section at the Goetheanum publishes tips on individual relationship management, age-appropriate content, and how to include the full world of the senses and more on its blog.
Young researchers have been asking their generational peers: “What would the world look like in 2030 if what lives within you becomes a reality? What will you do to make it happen?” A first report has now been published based on interviews with young people aged 18 to 35 from 23 countries and various cultural backgrounds.
For Ronja Eis (21) and Till Höffner (20) courage is needed especially in adolescence: courage to stand up for oneself, but also courage to meet others. They invite students aged between 15 and 19 to courageously engage themselves in our globalized world.