Language of the Soul

These conferences are intensely informative and communicative, characterized by very long periods of sitting together in beautiful auditoriums. When a music teacher comes on stage and instructs us to sing along with her in harmony for a few minutes, everyone in the hall takes a deep breath as they eagerly stand up. Last time, in Gladbeck, we sang «Un poquito cantas» under the dynamic direction of Christina Brinkmann, and those few minutes planted a catchy tune in my head for the rest of the conference.

Singing has a long tradition at Waldorf schools. During class teacher time, most classes sing every morning, and there are choirs or ensembles at the school that invite people to large concerts throughout the year. Singing is healthy, among other things because we usually exhale longer than we inhale. On the other hand, we hear from some Waldorf schools that they no longer have a choir. Our author, music professor Iru Mun, reflects on singing as one of the most original forms of human expression, which has a profound effect on the soul. In her article, class teacher Hiltrud Kamolz explains the changes in singing culture over the years and shows that music and singing are also a way of finding and strengthening one's own position in the world.

Barbara Hoos de Jokisch is a singing teacher and describes, among other things, the difference between singing and speaking in her text. Music teacher Tobias Gräff practiced solo singing with eleventh graders and reports on how this can lead to deep self-confidence and the realization that even seemingly insurmountable challenges can be overcome.

I would like to recommend many other articles in this issue: we report on the forest internship in the ninth grade at the Freie Waldorfschule Schwäbisch Hall, where ecology and class cohesion are promoted. Editor and theater clown Sebastian Jüngel describes how clowning can help teachers develop more humor and serenity. Former Stuttgart Waldorf student Laurens Pérol has already won several awards with his first feature film. The theme day «Waldorf Schools for Democracy» in Leipzig focused on enlightenment, education, and attitude.

I hope you enjoy reading this and wish you a cheerful February!