The rhythm in life, at school and in the classroom
by Rubens Salles
In his training, the Waldorf teacher is led to a deep reflection on the importance of rhythm in life, because, in fact, life is rhythm. Nature is permeated with rhythms, and life happens through them. We live within a great solar cosmic rhythm which is day and night, and also a lunar rhythm. All life is governed by rhythms. Thus, diurnal animals wake up at dawn and retire at dusk, as did primitive man, photosynthesis follows the rhythm of day and night, the seasons the rhythm of the earth's translation, and the tides the rhythm of the moon.
“All possible states of universal manifestation are atomic and vibratory states. The existence of oscillation or vibration, necessarily matters in the existence of rhythm, which is the number of times that the thing oscillates from one pole to another, in the unit of time. Everything in the universe has its own rhythm.” Caio Miranda
Our organism is also prodigal in rhythms, starting with breathing (inspiration and expiration), heart rate (systole and diastole), wakefulness and sleep, and all our metabolic rhythms. We also know that the more we live according to natural rhythms, the healthier we are physically and mentally. When we sleep little or eat irregularly, we feel the negative effects of lack of rhythm. According to McAlice, although these rhythmic processes are related to the physiological scope, we can verify that they are also directly related to the mental state. “How different is the breath when, anxiously, we wait for the outcome of an adventure story, or when, in a state of almost falling asleep, we listen to a symphony.”(1)
What these great rhythms of life have in common is that we cannot change them, we must adapt to them. In modern life, with all its demands and technologies – such as electric light, for example – we alter some of our natural rhythms, but Alexander Bos draws our attention to the fact that “precisely through the liberation of natural rhythms, the human being can experience tremendous freedom. But he must know that he is outside the scope of the vital forces that support him and that he is therefore at risk. It is not by chance that, in these troubled times, when rhythms give us very little support, one of the main causes of death is heart infarction and circulatory disorders, which occur exactly in the centers of our rhythmic system.”(2)
Thus, it is essential that the teacher can establish a healthy rhythm of life for himself, respecting his limits, alternating work time with leisure time and rest, and time to teach with time to learn. It is also necessary to guide parents on the importance of maintaining a healthy rhythm in the child's life. Children should not eat each day at a specific time, bathe each day at a specific time, not knowing who is going to pick them up at school, what time they are going, etc., because not knowing what is going to happen always generates insecurity and anxiety. The young child needs an adult-directed rhythm, according to the rhythm of nature, that is as healthy as possible. You should wake up early and go to bed early, and not do adult hours, sleeping at 11 pm. This impairs the quality of sleep and even growth. Rhythm is health, and even homework must be done at the right time. According to teacher Cristina Ábalos, it is important to always have homework, but only in a homeopathic dose, a “digestive” for all the content that was given in the class, and it should be done during prime time, when the child has all the your energies, and not late at night.”(3)
Rhythm and teaching in times
Rhythm also represents transformation. The air we breathe in is very different from the air we breathe out, and winter is very different from spring. In addition to being of paramount importance in relation to our vital processes, rhythms also mark our cognitive processes. The alternation between knowing and forgetting marks all our learning. McAlice draws our attention to the fact that those who already know how to write have forgotten, of course, the immense effort spent to draw the first letters. What is learned can be forgotten again, because it becomes a skill. The rhythm inherent to remembering and forgetting becomes a basic methodology for the development of capacities.(4)
In elementary school, the main subjects, which appeal to thinking, reflection and mental representation, are taught by the class teacher at times, which form teaching units. Complementary subjects, such as languages, physical education, crafts, music, etc., are usually taught by specialist teachers. That is, for three or four weeks the teacher teaches mathematics, for example, then comes a period of Portuguese, then one of history and so on, always in the main class, the first of the day, with about two hours. In this way, it is possible to deepen the study of each subject, and the time available allows the use of playful and artistic elements that help effective learning. There is always a pause between periods of the same subject, allowing children to “forget” the subject for a while. Just as the night represents a “forgetfulness” and a rest from our daily tasks, and we often wake up with the solution of a problem that we had not discovered the day before, the same happens with the materials. Like seeds that rest during the winter, they sprout in the spring. When the material returns, a recapitulation of the previous period is first carried out, an experience that, according to Carlgren and Klingborg, is always surprising, as it shows that what has been absorbed with enthusiasm, reaches a higher degree of maturity in the recapitulation. Also what has not been understood – for example in mathematics – can suddenly seem easy or natural. “There is no other form of work that offers so many possibilities to focus and activate the children's interest and to configure the subject with such complete and striking images.”(5)
After the main class, there is a break for recreation, and then subjects that demand constant repetition are taught, such as foreign languages, physical education, music, eurythmy, and then practical and artistic work, such as crafts, applied arts. etc. This organization aims at the best pace for student achievement, not teacher needs or amenities.
A rhythmic aspect that also benefits day-to-day teaching is the teacher's habit, before teaching the day's material, to always encourage students to remember the previous day's material, which favors assimilation.
Another important rhythm that is experienced at the Waldorf school is the cycle of the seasons, marked by Christian festivals. Easter at the beginning of autumn, São João at the beginning of winter, São Miguel (6) in spring and Christmas in summer.
The rhythmic organization of the class – the threefold class
In Waldorf schools every day starts with a “good morning” from the teacher to the student. Class teachers arrive at your classroom always before students, and wait to welcome them to the start of the day. It is important to arrive about 10 minutes before the students to open the room, arrange things and take possession of the space, body and soul, to welcome the children. It is common to see a row of backpacks starting at the door of each class, as students arrive and leave their backpacks to save their place in line to receive the teacher's greeting, while waiting in the courtyard for the time to start class. As soon as it's time to start the class, the teacher welcomes them and greets them one by one, taking their hand and looking into their eyes. Good morning João, good morning Maria, good morning Joana. At this moment, a personal contact is made, and the teacher takes the opportunity to make a comment, praise the hairstyle, ask about the newborn baby brother, praise a new blouse, etc. In this touch, in this direct contact, the teacher can also perceive if the child is doing well, or if he has a different behavior, which indicates the need for special attention.
“This meeting of the gaze of the small child who looks up and sees this adult in front of him, can help this child to worship his teacher, not as an idol, but with deep respect for this being who has something to say to him. Every day we need to rescue this look of the child and, of course, deserve it. This action takes 5 minutes, but you win the day with this handshake.”(7) Cristina Ábalos
At the Waldorf school, the organization of a class has as a background the harmonious alternation between expansive activities (breathing out) and introspective activities (breathing in), between speaking and listening, between exercising and paying attention, between doing and thinking, between relaxation and concentration. . This corresponds to healthy rhythmic alternation, a “pulsing” that favors a more efficient and natural learning. The essence of everything that exists in movement, rhythm brings security, favors courage and confidence. In this way, a balanced development of the capacities of Thinking, Feeling and Wanting is sought. The class organized in such a way as to contemplate the development of these three human capacities is called a threefold class.
When a class does not take this harmonic alternation into account, and focuses, for example, only on Thinking activities, on cognitive activities, it can become tiring for children, who tend to disperse and become disinterested. If the class does not have its moments of relaxation led by the educator, if it does not “breathe”, the students seek this relaxation on their own, and then the teacher loses control of the discipline. This is the time when the class becomes a struggle of the teacher trying to control the class, and stress tends to be high and learning low. In the same way that a young child needs more hours of sleep than an adult, the amount of time a child can stay focused on a cognitive subject only evolves with age, and needs to be respected for teaching to be productive.
Thus, after greeting the students at the door of the classroom, holding hands, looking them in the eyes and addressing each student directly, the activities in the classroom begin. Initially, in elementary school classes, the Verse da Manhã is recited, with all the students standing up. This same verse has been recited in all Waldorf schools, in all countries, since the opening of the first Waldorf school in 1919. Below is the verse recited by grades 1-4, and the verse for classes from 5th to 8th grade, both by Rudolf Steiner:
Morning Verse - 1st to 4th
With your dear light,
the sun brightens the day,
and the power of the spirit,
that shines in my soul,
gives strength to my limbs.
In the sunlight, O God,
I worship human strength,
that you kindly
planted in my soul,
so I can be
looking forward to work,
so I can have
desire to learn.
From You come light and strength.
That to you flow back
love and gratitude.
Morning Verse - 5th to 8th grade
I contemplate the world
where the sun shines,
where the stars shine,
where the stones sleep,
where the plants live
and living grow,
where the animals feel
and feeling live.
where already the man,
having the soul in you,
sheltered the spirit.
I contemplate the soul
that resides in me.
the divine spirit
act inside her,
as it acts
over sunlight.
he hangs out
in the vastness of space
and in the depths of the soul as well.
I beg you,
O divine spirit:
what blessings and strength
for me to learn,
for me to work,
grow inside of me.
Feel – rhythm exercises
Every day after the morning verse in elementary school, the class teacher starts his class with a rhythmic activity. These are exercises whose main objective is to harmonize the class and make students more predisposed to learning. It happens that each child arrives at school with a different state of mind. Some arrive in a hurry because they were late, others are still sleepy, others have heard their parents arguing, or have been in traffic for a long time, etc. That is, they are not yet ready to learn. Then, the teacher guides an activity done standing, with the students moving with rhythm, a physical activity that everyone does together, accompanied by the recitation of a poem, or singing a song, with clapping or rhythmic gestures.
As small and simple as it may be, a poem spoken in chorus in the classroom helps make each student feel that they are part of a whole. In a playful and joyful way, rhythm exercises are taught with poems and songs – which may even be part of a future play – which are performed by everyone. Songs and poems with rhythm enrich vocabulary and oral language, allow you to experience various educational topics, and help to “fine tune” the class, preparing it for learning.
These exercises are created by the teacher of the class, or by other teachers and adapted to the class and the moment. They are done in the classroom, around the desks, or in a central space, pushing the desks to the sides. As it is a daily playful activity, which children enjoy, it is easily led by the teacher. Children learn musical commands to form the circle, and to return to their seats at the end of the activity. They move, exercise diction, vocabulary, musicality, sociability – by holding hands, touching and looking at each other –, and this is how the whole body wakes up. The activity is repeated for several days, where the teacher gradually introduces new challenges and difficulties, and then the exercises are replaced by others, according to the program established by the teacher. In the first three school years, it is important that the rhythmic part is performed in a circle, with the children standing and free to move. The circle is the perfect form, which integrates everyone and where each one sees the whole.(8)
Themes of the subject of the time are also introduced by the teacher in these activities. Times tables are also practiced through rhythm exercises, with rhythmic gestures that help in memorizing the results. For little ones, rhythmic counts, front to back and back to front can also be done. Attention games are also widely used, as well as body geography, which is worked with exercises that lead students to exercise right and left, front and back, up and down, inside and outside, always with rhythmic movements and illustrated with a song or poem.
This rhythmic part of the class acts mainly on Feeling, on the child's sensitivity and sensations, and lasts from 15 to 20 minutes. Contrary to what one might think, it is time that is being gained for teaching, because in addition to its intrinsic educational value, it improves the productivity of the rest of the class. Students who arrive at school more excited have the opportunity to expend some of their energy and calm down, and those who arrive more lethargic are more awake, and all ready for the day's content.
Thinking - Cognitive Activities
After the rhythmic part, the children are ready for the cognitive work, the development of Thinking. It begins with a retrospective of the previous day's class, when the teacher encourages children to spontaneously tell what they remember. It is about activating memory, remembering. Then, the teacher presents the subject scheduled for the day. During the second seven years, the gateway to learning is Feeling. In other words, the teacher needs to be able to enthuse his students, involve them through the playful experience of the contents so that they have pleasure and motivation to learn. After the experience comes the conceptualization through Thinking.
In Waldorf schools textbooks are used only for teacher preparation and planning. He is free to prepare his classes, and choose or create poems, stories, plays, etc. . Notebooks without a line are used, which require a greater effort from students to write their texts, exercising their coordination, but also allow students' creativity to be developed, with beautiful drawings illustrating the subjects.
Wanting – volitional activities
After the Thinking exercise, students must do a task that requires a transformative individual action, such as working on the subject of the day, drawing, painting or other manual work.
The notebooks express the individuality of each student, and are very important for the development of their willpower, their Want, very different from the handouts to fill out, which most conventional schools use. When ready, the notebooks represent a victory achieved by the student, they are like small books written by the students on each subject, and are exposed to the community during the annual Pedagogical Exhibition, which all Waldorf schools hold.
Feel – tell stories
The class always ends with the teacher telling a story, or a part of a story told little by little. Stories act on Feeling, and are an emotional food for children, having great importance for their ethical and moral formation, and also for the development of language and imagination. The teacher/narrator needs to prepare himself, with an inner work, before telling a story, to be able to convey with depth, serenity and respect the conceptual image represented by it.
The teacher's knowledge of the students' temperaments is also very important here, as the stories can be soul food for them. So when the professor is describing various details, going quickly from one to the other, he will be talking to the sanguine, when he is describing the banquet table, he will be “feeding” the phlegmatic, when he is describing the sadness of the princess trapped in the castle tower, he will be speaking to the melancholy, and in describing the hero's strength and determination, to the wrathful.
The types of stories to be told should be age-appropriate for the children. In Waldorf schools, stories are told from kindergarten to the end of elementary school. Passerini clarifies that “the content of this educational activity is known as the curriculum of the soul, that is, a curriculum of content that facilitates the acquisition of conceptual images or paradigms for individual understanding and social behavior (emphasis by the author).” (9)
In the Waldorf curriculum, the indications are to tell fairy tales for children from 6 to 7 years old, fables and legends of saints at 8 years old, Old Testament stories at 9 years old, Norse mythology at 10 years old, mythologies from Atlantis to Greece at 11 and Rome at 12, and biographies from 12 to 14. Each type of story meets the pedagogical objectives inherent to each age group, depending on their characteristics and development needs, and the decision on what type, or what story to tell, is always up to the class teacher. Later we will detail a little more how stories are used as a pedagogical tool.
Bibliography
- MCALICE, Jon and GÖBEL, Nana, et al (Coord.). Waldorf Pedagogy – UNESCO.1994, p. 31.
- BOS, Alexander. Challenges for a Social Pedagogy. 1986, p. 91.
- ÁBALOS, Cristina MB Class of the Dom da Palavra project (recorded on video). 2008
- MCALICE, Jon and GÖBEL, Nana, et al (Coord.). Waldorf Pedagogy – UNESCO, 1994, p. 30.
- CARLGREN, Frans and KLINGBORG, Arne. Education for Freedom – the Pedagogy of Rudolf Steiner. 2006. p.45.
- Or São Miguel Arcanjo, celebrated on September 29 (NA). “Saint Michael represents the strength of the Self that defeats the Dragon, which represents the strength of evil. This image gives security, because by warding off evil, it protects” (Passerini, 2004, p. 102).
- ÁBALOS, Cristina MB Class of the Dom da Palavra project (recorded on video). 2008
- SALES, Ruth. Theater at School – vol.1. Pedagogical guidelines by Cristina MB Ábalos, Dora R. Zorsetto Garcia and Vilma L. Furtado Paschoa. 2007, p. 17.
- PASSERINI, Sueli Pecci. Ariadne's Thread: A Path to Storytelling. 2004, p. 120.
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