It has once again been a busy start to the term, and with the warm weather starting to smile upon us once more, I have relished the chance to get out and about around the school and away from my computer. One of my favourite ways to do this is on my fortnightly GHSS school tour.

Every second Friday, GHSS hosts a school tour for new and prospective parents. As we wander from one classroom or learning space to another, I can’t help but feel a sense of pride in belonging to such a beautiful school. We begin our tour in kindy, where the children are often to be found sitting around the campfire in bush school, sipping their cups of rooibos tea, or off on a bush walk. As we travel through the remainder of the classes, some may be painting, others will be working on their cross-stitch projects, while others will be quietly at their desk and at work on a page of maths sums. Sophia and the Class 2 students are often to be found playing the lyre on the verandah, as the melodies of the violin ensemble drift across the playground. It is not always quite as idyllic as this though- on one tour, we happened to interrupt a class during a ‘paper aeroplane’ break, and another class who were in the middle of a heated debate with their teacher!

People come to visit the Steiner school or join a tour with all sorts of questions. Why are there no whiteboards or computers in the Steiner primary school? Why do they have the same class teacher all the way through? Most of these are easy enough to answer. Curiously enough, the most difficult question to answer can often be, "So, what exactly  IS Steiner education?" After all, there are so many aspects to it, and we are very often known more for what we don’t embrace (i.e. digital technology in the early years, plastic toys, textas etc) than for what we do. Many of the words that are used to describe Steiner education, such as ‘holistic’, ‘nature-based’, and ‘creative’ can also be used to describe other local alternative schools.

So, how are we different, and what is Steiner education really about? Is it our wet-on-wet watercolour paintings? Wooden recorders? Our interesting buildings with few right angles? A lunchbox free of waste and full of home-cooked, organic food?

While these may be some of the trappings or traditions that come with Steiner Education, SEA (Steiner Education Australia) says the following:

“Steiner schools educate the whole young person so they are academically prepared for a successful career, while at the same time enabled to grow into an adult ready to build a meaningful life of character and contribution. Our academic program is framed and delivered in a manner that supports the physical and emotional health of our students, ensuring that wellbeing is at the core of all that Steiner schools do. Steiner schools aim to build young people of distinction who can contribute positively to Australian and global society.”

When we get too bogged down in surface-level elements, or don’t approach the education of our children in a conscious and heartfelt way, things can go from being tradition to being dogma. Whispered accusations of something or someone not being ‘Steiner enough’ can often befall a Steiner school community.

Other things are truly are important and DO matter to our community. One prime example is protecting our children from the negative influences of the media or excessive screen time. For many years, Steiner schools were seen as strange outliers on this front, but the research and evidence is at last ‘catching up’ on informing the wider public of the damages that digital technology can reap on childhood.

 A few years, Vanessa Fountain from West Coast Steiner School in Perth wrote a wonderful article on what is ‘Steiner’ or ‘not Steiner.’ This is titled ‘Holding the Question’, and is published in this edition of the Quill. I encourage everyone to read it.

“Love is higher than opinion. If people love one another the most varied opinions can be reconciled - thus one of the most important tasks for humankind today and in the future is that we should learn to live together and understand one another. If this human fellowship is not achieved, all talk of development is empty.”

-Rudolf Steiner-

Warm regards

Eliza Allan

Did you know that according to a recent study by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, at least 35 per cent of the teacher workforce intend to leave the profession before retirement? Additionally, up to 50 per cent of teachers leave within their first five years of teaching (data from SSTUWA).

So why the dire statistics?  

The mainstream media has reported widely on the teaching profession being in crisis over the past few years. While being a teacher is an incredibly rewarding and honourable profession, it can also lead to burnout and stress. Teachers wear many hats each day: Decorator, negotiator, detective, confidante, assessor, nurse, crowd controller, educator, mediator, and of course… teacher!

As a result, teachers can often feel like they are never enough for everybody. Just like our students, our teachers are only human, and a little encouragement or words of thanks can go a long way!

The parent/teacher relationship is one of the most important that you can cultivate in supporting your child’s school journey. Fortunately, teachers at GHSS often comment on how much they value our warm, welcoming and supportive parent community. Our historically low staff turnover is perhaps further evidence of this.

Nonetheless, in honour of World Teachers’ Day this Friday (31/11), here are a few ideas and tips on how we can continue to look after our teachers at GHSS:

• A word of thanks or positive feedback goes a long way- however small!

Has your child just come home from camp? Told you about a great story their teacher shared? Or maybe a game they loved? Perhaps they are feeling more confident in maths this term?

Teachers put a lot of thought and effort into their lessons and into how they hold space for the children each day. A little acknowledgement goes a long way, and a few kind words of thanks can make all the difference in a teacher’s busy day.

• Allow your child’s teacher time to disconnect

It can be stressful for teachers to receive an emotional email from a parent late at night, or a phone call during the holidays.

• Avoid weighty issues right before bell time

Teachers are often busy preparing their lessons and classroom in the morning before the bell goes. Cultivating the right mindset to welcome the children and ensure that the day starts smoothly takes a surprising amount of emotional space. Therefore, it can be difficult for teachers when parents bring weighty topics or issues of contention to teachers during this time. It may be best to arrange an alternative time to meet instead.

Thanks to all our wonderful parents for supporting our special teaching staff, so that they can continue showing up in the best way possible for our children. 

On Friday, South Regional TAFE hosted the Golden Hill Steiner School students for the career taster program – Brew and Chew.  The students were engaged throughout the morning – learning basic barista skills, tamping coffee beans, and spinning milk for coffee and hot chocolates.  They also learnt some skills in the kitchen cooking choc chip cookies, pork, apple and sage sausage rolls, and spinach and ricotta sausage rolls.

We hope the students gained some new skills and knowledge of the hospitality industry as well as having some full bellies!

Lexy
Great Southern TAFE, Albany

Our exciting new Community Sports Elective offers students in Class 8 and 9 the chance to explore a range of sports and connect with local clubs and facilities. Throughout the semester, students will participate in a range of activities including golf, tennis, archery, and volleyball, with involvement from community coaches. This program aims to foster teamwork, build skills, and inspire a lifelong love of physical activity while strengthening ties between our school and the broader community.

Enjoy these snaps from the activities so far!

Throughout the year, Class 9 students have been undertaking a Rites Journey, deepening their understanding of themselves and their place in the world. As part of this experience, they attended the “Into the Abyss” camp in the Porongurups, spending 14 hours isolated from one another in complete silence. This pivotal element of their Rite of Passage gives them the opportunity to reflect on their personal journeys so far.

The students met the challenge with commendable maturity. At dawn we silently hiked to the summit of Castle Rock, each student honouring the symbolism and process. It was a proud teacher moment to witness their engagement and dedication.

Pictured are the students’ campsite and the views across the Stirling Ranges.

Written by Vanessa Fountain, West Coast Steiner School 

Recently I was asked if I could speak to the topic of ‘what it is to be Steiner’ as we often hear ‘that’s not Steiner ‘or ‘they are not Steiner enough’ and it can be confusing to parents and teachers alike. But first some key thoughts. 

So, what is Steiner School?

• It is a school that works from the impulses and curriculum given by Rudolf Steiner.
• It has a spiritual, pedagogical, and social aspect which is held by the College of Teachers.
• It is informed by distinct developmental phases and an in-depth understanding of child development.
• It is staffed by teachers who are on a path of personal development, working with the indications of Rudolf Steiner, who are striving in their personal and professional lives to be the best they can be. 
• A Steiner school is a sacred place of childhood where we do everything we can to  

o Protect our students from adult content

o Protect our students from adult disputes

o Protect our students from politics

o Protect our students from consumerism

o Protect our students from social media and media generally

We work to

o Allow goodness, beauty and truth to permeate all we do.

o To foster a love and connection to the natural world.

o To foster the highest ideals of what it means to be human. A classical education in the truest sense.

What is the difference between studying Anthroposophy and teaching in a Steiner School?

• We teach the child in freedom. We teach over the twelve years the major faiths of the world and epochs of humanity – we do not teach Anthroposophy.
• We understand child development and the development of humankind in light of Anthroposophy. We let this inform us, but it is not taught to the children. 
• Anthroposophy can be a spiritual/self-development path for the adult. 
• Recently a parent said to me, ‘I love that you are able to connect with the imaginative world of the child’. I am clear about my role and the context. As a free adult I am aware of the world, its complexities, injustices and perils and I am an active participant in meeting that world, but when I am with the children I meet them where they are and I am tasked to guide them on their developmental journey to adulthood, free from the fetters of the thinking that has created the world in which we find ourselves. I hold both pictures but do not confuse them. 

How can I support the school?

• Join in, become involved in positive and practical ways. 
• Understand that we are not a community school, we are a Steiner school led by a College of Teachers. 
• Support the teachers – model holding your teachers with awe and reverence. It is so confusing/damaging for children to hear disparaging comments about their school or teachers from their parents. Keep adult conversations away from the children.  
• Do your spiritual work – have a daily spiritual practice. Work on your own personal development. The greatest gift we can give our children is as role models who are striving to become the best that they can be. Show them we are willing to work on ourselves.

The Journey of the Teacher:

• We understand the coming together of the children and Class Teacher is not an accident but rather a sacred agreement. We trust that the teacher brings qualities that the children will need on their journey and vice versa. 
• In our teacher training we study the story of Parzival written by Wolfram von Eschenbach in the early 1200s. It is a work that emphasises the importance of humility, compassion, sympathy, and the quest for spirituality. Within the story, Parzival fails to ask the wounded Fisher King ‘What ails thee?’ His failure to ask means that his quest is not over, and it won’t be until he does. We all have wounds that we fear will not heal. We all have that which we struggle to understand. Parzival teaches us to ask the question and to hold as a gesture of being, an openness to there being a question.

And so, to our quest or question, what is Steiner enough?

Well, every hero’s journey begins with a first step.   

• Are you Steiner enough on that first magical day (as a parent or teacher) that you encounter the work of Rudolf Steiner and its implications to, everything. Or is it after one book, two books or three books? Is it your first reading of one of Steiner’s works or the twentieth? What is the magic number? Is that a secret? Is it your reading or your understanding? Your understanding or somebody else’s understanding? Is it when you’ve read it, or when you’ve lived it? Or do you need to have read it, lived it, and understood it in the same way that someone that lots of people admire understands it? And how many times?
• Are you Steiner enough in your teacher training, where your world is turned upside down and you see everything with new eyes. When you feel the weight of the spiritual undertaking and responsibility that you are embarking on? 
• Or are you Steiner enough in your first year of teaching when you live, breathe, and give every second of your life to your class, forsaking sleep, your own health, and family life?
• Or are your Steiner enough after two years, five years, ten years, or thirty years of teaching?

At what point do you become Steiner enough?

One of the great joys of being a Steiner teacher is to create the sacred space in which to hold with reverence and awe, the unfolding of a young human being. We as parents and educators are tasked with removing hindrances but also to trust the sacred journey of each individual and their life purpose.

One of the great tragedies of being a Steiner teacher, and we hear it in every school, is the phrase - Such and such, or this or that person/parent/teacher is not Steiner. What does that mean? So many times, over my career I have seen talented, enthusiastic, dharma called teachers damaged by this. I have seen them in tears, and I have seen them leave. Some leave forever and some come back, years later, tougher, stronger, hardened by the experience but knowing deep down this is their calling. 

How lovely it would be if we could hold with the same reverence and awe that we do the child, the unfolding of the teacher and their calling with their class. 

In College, when we see or hear something in the school that invokes a question, you will never hear us say “that’s not Steiner”. Rather, you will hear us say "how can we help?" 

• One member of College will speak to the person to better understand the situation, the impulse that the person carries and what stands behind it. The why – the question.
• We ask how and in what way can we support the person? Perhaps it is by supporting the impulse. Perhaps by mentoring. Or perhaps the person can mentor us on this wonderful initiative. 
• What do they need?
• What do the parents need to support the teacher with this impulse?

I remember in my first year of class teaching, my mentor, a very experienced Waldorf teacher asked me about my Class 1 play. My first degree was in Jacobean Literature and Theatre Studies, so I was dying to bring my background into good use. I had grown accustomed to being asked ‘why’ about everything I did. My mentor wanted me to demonstrate my understanding of child development, the Waldorf curriculum, the specific needs of the children in front of me and what I brought to the picture, how it would serve the class and not my ego. I told my mentor how I wanted to use stage lights and how this would bring the magic that the children experienced with their introduction to letters and sounds to life for the audience. My mentor questioned the need. I must have convinced him or maybe it was my enthusiasm and determination - he let me run with it. He supported me in faculty. The play was good, the children wonderful. The stage lights - a distraction, a crutch for a new teacher. And the energy they brought; I will never forget that. My mentor let me learn in a framework of safety that fast tracked me to being an even better teacher for the children. If he had just said no, what was the learning…. especially for a choleric. I learnt so much from that experience. 

 I learnt in Class 1 to let my ego go. To trust the journey of the children and my role in it. I learnt to do the work, surrendering the efforts to the spiritual beings tasked with the care of my children and to step aside to let grace flow into the vessel I had helped to prepare. This experience planted a seed for a continuing life journey of simplifying and coming back to what really matters. A journey of identifying core values and how they are expressed in our lives. Our children need guides with lived experience who can say I’ve been there, maybe I can help. 

On another occasion earlier in my career we had an Open Day, and many staff were unwell. I was a very green Early Childhood teacher at the time and one of the senior teachers approached me and asked if I would give the Early Childhood talk, right now. I was beside myself with nerves, but I did it, unprepared. Unfortunately, I reversed two key concepts in my anxiety. After, when I realised, I wanted to find a big rock and crawl under it. My mentor congratulated me on stepping up in a time of need, on my clarity of speech and projection and my striving as a teacher. ‘Perhaps in this week’s mentor session we could talk about’ ……yep! It took a couple of years before I felt like I could stand up and talk in front of parents again but when I did, I was well prepared. A few years on from that, I learnt to do the preparation, but then put it aside and speak from my heart to the hearts of those in front of me. 

At what point was I Steiner enough? At the point where I stepped up to the task. 

At the point where I accepted the responsibility for those in my care. At the point where I did the work. At the point where I let my mistakes inform but not define me. When you recognise your path and you are actively striving, I think you are Steiner enough. Ask a thirty-year teaching veteran, they will have more questions than answers and so much compassion for those on the journey. 

Oh, but this is a Steiner School and, this or that school is ‘more’ Steiner. 

• Just as every individual has a journey so does the being of a school. 
• Just as everyone is at a different place on their journey, so are schools. There are developmental phases for schools – pioneering, establishment, maintenance and all the stages in-between. Each phase has its benefits and challenges, neither better than the other, just different.
• The history of the land and its people, the importance of place has an impact on the school.
• The demographics of the school inform its being.  
• The country, politics and history all affect the expression of the school. 
• The size of the school, the resources available
• The College, the parent body, the administration all informs the being of the school. 

And yet, they are ALL Steiner schools. Probably a better question is what gifts do you bring? Do you bring the pioneering spirit, the gift of bringing form and roots, or the skills and vision of expansion, or would a more established school support you and your child better? What is the best expression of a Steiner school for you? 

So, what is it to be Steiner?

• Working from the indications of Rudolf Steiner. Taking them, working with them, living them, making them personally relevant to the context, place and time, at whatever point in your journey with Steiner education or Anthroposophy that you are at.
• Working on yourself. Having a regular, disciplined spiritual/ meditative practice. Striving to be the best version of you – In your personal and professional life.
• Engaging with nature and the arts.
• Trusting that you are in the right place. Your journey thus far has prepared you for where you are now. It is less important what you do and more important who you are as a human being. What values, integrity, wisdom, and compassion have you garnered. How can you bring your experiences, positive and negative, to the service of humankind?
• Being reflective, flexible, and open to learning. Holding the question.
• Looking to your own path with integrity. Lifting others up wherever you can. 

If I had to choose one answer for, what is it to be Steiner? I’d say, when we live out of the understanding that every member of humanity and our planet are sacred, interconnected spiritual beings. That through our spiritual practice and striving in our personal, local, and global healing initiatives, we invite into being the highest expression of self, humanity, and the earth. And finally, that we strive to hold each other with compassion, asking the question and being willing to be a part of the answer as we undertake our interconnected, but unique journeys. 

And when are you Steiner enough? – when you decide to walk the path.

Written by Vanessa Fountain, West Coast Steiner School

Many hands helped to make our Parents and Friends Stall such a roaring success at our recent Spring Festival. The P&F would like to sincerely thank everyone who contributed by purchasing curries, setting up and packing down, baking delectable sweet and savoury treats, volunteering at our busy coffee & drinks cart, serving delicious food or purchasing Spring raffle tickets. Our collective efforts raised over $3000 towards our School Library Fund! 

Our next big event is our annual Spring Fair Open Day on Saturday November 22, so mark your diary now! We’re gearing up for a magical day of activities, fun and connection. We look forward to working alongside many more hands to create another memorable event for our children and wider school community.

Stay tuned for more details on how you can support the upcoming Spring Fair.