From Imitation to Authority

A mother Robin with precious care and relentless efforts works daily to keep her eggs safe in the nest. The sun rises and sets many times until finally the eggs crack and the baby bird glimpses the surroundings of the outside world. Again the mother Robin makes her way to support these helpless babes. She flies in search of food, protects them from intruders and keeps them warm through the cold nights. The babies see the coming and going, the care that is given to them. Each day they grow until the day comes when they begin to be too large for the nest. The baby bird's wings have grown and now show a strength that gives them an opportunity. They have seen mother fly in and out from the nest but haven't made the flight themselves. The moment arrives when they too must stretch their wings, trust in themselves and the environment, and make their way into the world. They trust in what their mother showed them all this time. Their wings carry them gently from the nest. They fly, haltingly at first, and soon they soar!

From the first beginnings of a child's life in utero, there is inexplicable care happening around the clock. Warmth, food, and care are given to the child in abundance so that their physical being may grow strong and to fullness. Once the unborn child can begin to hear, there is a sense of mother's voice. The unfolding of earthly life continues and the world begins to emerge through a symphony of experiences. The emergence of speaking is such a time where the child around the age of 2 begins to imitate the surrounding world through speech. A child's "mother tongue" provides the foundations for being able to learn any language on the Earth. Feelings are experienced when vowels are spoken and resounded. Forms begin to reflect their nature when consonants resonate. The qualities of the world are experienced and felt as a reality that can be depended upon. The time of childhood is truly a "kingdom", one in which, once left behind, there is no way to re-enter. A child wants to witness and thus know that they can trust their surroundings which can provide the reassurance that the world is inherently Good.

When I was teaching in the 1st grade, I remember a time where a student had climbed a tree and then began to feel scared. They didn't want to jump from the tree to the Earth below. Now I could have climbed up there, picked them up, and carried them down but it's obvious that this isn't the first choice to be of help. The tree felt like it was in the clouds and the Earth miles below. In reality, it was no more than a few feet which presented no danger to the child. I reassured them that "Mother Earth will catch you."A questioning gaze looked at me, then to the ground, then to the child's own hands, and was followed by a leap of faith that the ground was still there. Mother Earth did in fact catch them.

Rudolf Steiner has given so much to this world and it's important that the words that he shared be taken up from the page. During a lecture given for educators looking to work with children "in need of soul care", often referred to as Special Needs, he shared a thought that can present as incredibly helpful if taken up with earnestness. "You have no idea how unimportant it is what the teacher says or does in comparison to the importance of who he is as a person, as a teacher"(1). In reference to the story above, I could have provided a number of convincing solutions to the child with explanations and measures and logical conclusions of the child’s safety or I could have walked off and left them to figure it out themselves, knowing they were not in any real danger. The words I shared came from a place of Imagination that bridges the gap from the world seen by the young child to one that expresses its essence through activity. My conviction was sincere and the child could trust my words and could live into the image given.

Now that we are in the 3rd Grade together, there is a great difference in the students' conception of the world, and in my task to help them enter into life. A crisis emerges around the age of 9 when a child begins to leave this kingdom of childhood behind. A shift takes place where a greater sense of oneself unfolds and separation begins to be felt in waves. A question arises in the inner life of the student "How do they (teachers, parents, adults, classmates) know what they know?" What was once taken as irrefutable now is up for debate. With such a variety of opinion, expression of human life, and exposure, especially in this technological age, there is a chaos brewing inside the children during this stage of development. The educator's task is now to be a source of not just saying what I believe but to be a living example of my ideals. The trust built throughout the earlier years, guiding them gently from the trees to mother earth, provides a foundation for the new trust that is being sought. 

"Children of elementary school age no longer absorb what they observe in their environment; now they take in what lives in the objects of observation. They enter a stage which should be based primarily on the principle of authority--the authority children encounter in teachers... Children want to see teachers as mediators between themselves and the whole Universe"(2). The curriculum provides tools by which the students of this age can begin to discover objective measures of truth for themselves, but most importantly, the teacher offers themselves as a living example of a truth and authority in who they are. This natural tendency to question and challenge, if left unfostered, can have great consequences in later life. If as a child who goes through this was unable to find these authorities in their lives then it can be increasingly difficult to enter into our later adult life with a sense of purpose and freedom. Take a moment and reflect on those who surrounded you at this time as natural authorities. Can you remember how they lived their lives? How did they impress you with who they were?

There are mysteries in Life which can awaken capacities that are slumbering. By beginning to understand how the Human Being enters into life, we can glimpse an experience that is common and also completely individual. These threshold moments hold great responsibility, not only for those who are initiating them but also to the helpers in our lives. Our beliefs about who we are, where we are going, and what happens next can become crippling if we cannot enter into them with a sense of trust. This trust is fostered as the first experiences or "feathers" of our lives begin to show themselves. The wind may blow strong and fast but it is there as a medium by which we can learn to fly.

1. Rudolf Steiner, Curative Education, lectures of 1924, Rudolf Steiner Press, Bristol 1993

2. Rudolf Steiner, The Spiritual Ground of Education, August 16th 1992, Anthroposophic Press, Great Barrington 2004