To be a teacher and teaching children and youngsters is still a wonderful profession: it never gets dull or boring. But it is also a professional life under pressure. Complex demands, a high profile in professionalism, delivering sound results, yet also being attentive to the individual needs and development of the students and helping parents to understand their own child. All this demands from the teacher a multitasking talent. The teacher is constantly serving others, without time for him- or herself. Working in this profession you can easily loose your balance, the balance between inner needs and demands put on you by children, their performances, the parents and the school organism as a whole. If that happens, then we grow sour in this delightful profession. This book is a guide to find that balance which means gaining access to more energy, more creativity, more joyful responsibility for the sake of healthy students and a healthy profession.
Books
Wiechert, Christof: "Solving the Riddle of the Child…" The Art of Child Study
It may be a truism to say that every teacher should make efforts to understand his pupils. Our real understanding, after all, can be a sure foundation and support for children’s whole development; and without this our lessons will be a random undertaking that connects with our pupils, at best, in a superficial way only. A skilled teacher seeks to understand his pupils so that he can raise learning beyond mere compulsion or drill. It was Rudolf Steiner’s ideal that the weekly pedagogical meetings in Waldorf schools should support teachers’ continually developing insight into their pupils. He exhorted them to ‘become psychologists’ but did not mean this in the commonly understood sense. He himself demonstrated this ‘art of evolving insight’ in the faculty meetings in which he participated on many occasions. One can say that it is an essential part of the quality of our work as teachers for us to develop these skills of perception, reflection and insight. Christof Wiechert here picks up these suggestions of Steiner’s anew. He elaborates from them the art of the child study as a key tool in nurturing pupils development and, at the same time, teachers’ own growing powers of insight. In short the approach described here can enliven the educational and social dimensions of a whole school community.
Published by: Verlag am Goetheanum, Titel number: 1527, ISBN: 978-3-7235-1527-3
Wiechert, Christof: "Teaching – The Joy of Profession. An Invitation to Enhance Your (Waldorf) Interest"
Published by: Verlag am Goetheanum, title number: 1473, ISBN: 978-3-7235-1473-3
Wiechert, Christof: "The Waldorf School. An Introduction"
What is distinctive about Waldorf or Rudolf Steiner schools? How do their pedagogical aims relate to the wide range of educational provision available today? Many people have heard of these schools, but few know much about them.
Waldorf schools pursue an innovative educational practice that could enliven, inspire and renew many aspects of today’s education system. This accessible and straightforward book describes the core concerns of Waldorf education and the current challenges it faces. It is intended for parents, teachers and trainee teachers, and anyone else who is interested in understanding what these schools are about, but who may not wish to grapple with some of the educational theories underlying this approach.
Published by: Verlag am Goetheanum, title number: 1539, ISBN: 978-3-7235-1539-6