Acting and Judging

Action-oriented means that students are active, and teachers serve as learning guides or facilitators. Instead of memorizing dry theory, students acquire knowledge on their own through hands-on activities, their own experiences, and by solving problems related to their everyday lives. Classes can suddenly make experiences possible: sensory, thought-provoking, and immediate—experiences that are then reflected upon. If it weren’t such a cliché, I’d write that I’d want to be a student again right away when I read the descriptions of these classes in these texts.

Ulrike Sievers describes school as a place where one is allowed to immerse oneself: in topics, in work processes, in relationships. A place where the day becomes more than just a series of tasks to be checked off, because rhythms emerge that foster concentration and calm. This kind of time affects not only learning but also how we interact with one another: less hustle and bustle, more reliability, more space to build something. A trio of authors describes literary eras in which literature steps out of the book and meets the students. Literature becomes art: poems that are explored like colors and temperatures, texts that are reimagined as installations in the space, a classroom that becomes a museum. The classroom becomes a space for experience and reflection, where the present, personal history, and knowledge of the world converge. It is particularly impressive to see how diverse learning can become when it is not limited to the written word—as is the case at the gruuna School in Chemnitz. Projects, exhibitions, presentations, podcasts, and digital tools open doors for a variety of talents. Learning takes on a sensory, social, and creative dimension that can resonate long afterward.

In her article, Anabell Dreber asks what is the most human quality that can be taught. She argues for teaching less material and instead helping students develop their critical thinking skills. In an age when so much is pre-structured and optimized, the value of what only humans can do—weighing options, taking responsibility, making judgments, and taking action—is growing.

There are plenty of other exciting things to discover in our magazine as well: why physical education classes at Waldorf schools are no longer called physical education, how the mediators at the Arbitration Board of the Federation of Independent Waldorf Schools Germany work, and what connects a Waldorf teacher from Karlsruhe to Nobel Prize winner Roger Pennrose.

Enjoy reading!