Miss-Delectable
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 17,160
- Reaction score
- 7
Bangkok Post : Outlook
At 60, Michaela Glockler, a Swiss doctor who has been actively involved in Waldorf education all her life, looks younger and more energetic than her age. It is probably from the balance of body and mind in line with the philosophy she lives and teaches. ''Waldorf'' education is the brainchild of Austrian philosopher, scientist and artist Rudolf Steiner. Popular worldwide as an alternative education system, it aims at developing the whole child _ ''head, heart and hands'' _ so the children are healthy physically, mentally and spiritually.
The first Waldorf school was founded in Stuttgart, Germany in 1919. Now, there are 960 Waldorf schools and 1,000 kindergartens in 50 countries, including Thailand.
A respected authority on Wardorf education, Dr Glockler travels extensively to train Wardorf teachers around the globe. She was recently in town to help Mahidol University's Ratchasuda College with training on Waldorf education for the deaf.
Dr Glockler is herself a product of the Wardorf system, having studied in a Wardorf school since kindergarten through high school and college until she became a qualified Wardorf teacher.
''My inspiration came from my own experiences and what I received from my school,'' she said, explaining why she wants other children to have the same opportunity.
As opposed to rote learning, a fixed curriculum and an early push for academic excellence in pursuit of material success, the Wardorf system fosters physical and spiritual health, artistic creativity, bonding with nature and the ability to set one's own goals.
Physical exercise, music and crafts are an important part of the curriculum which has the children focus on a different subject each month. It also strives to answer the students' individual needs so they truly enjoy learning while being in touch with themselves.
Contrary to the authoritarian atmosphere in mainstream schools, the Wardorf system fosters good relations between teachers and pupils. ''I am also inspired by Steiner's philosophy of understanding human development both in physical and spiritual ways,'' she added.
After finishing her Waldorf schooling, she studied German language, literature and history. In a move that attests to a Wardorf student's love of learning, she went on to study medicine and eventually decided to become a paediatrician.
''I was first trained to be a Waldorf teacher. At 21, however, I decided to do medicine on top,'' Dr Glockler said.
But she remained dedicated to the education that she believes makes a person whole. For a decade, while she was at a community hospital's outpatient paediatric clinic in Herdecke, she also worked as a doctor and an education advisor for a Waldorf school in Witten, Germany. She later moved to Switzerland and co-wrote a book entitled A Guide to Child's Health with Wolfgang Goebel. She is now chief doctor of Geotheanum Institute (the School of Spiritual Science) in Dornach, Switzerland.
''We have three major learning models _ science, art, religions and ethics,'' she said, adding that the children are taught to have moral responsibility for Mother Earth. ''We encourage the children to explore the world, feel connections and take care of the world, nature, animals and so on.''
Art is used to instil morality in children under seven, to teach moral contexts and movements for the seven to 14 age group and to develop analytical thinking for those over 14.
To sow the seed of responsibility that comes with knowledge and maturity, the children are encouraged to have a questioning mind, to use psychological learning in their life and to use existing knowledge to learn new things.
Since children tend to copy the adults' behaviour which might later affect their physical, mental and spiritual health, the teachers must not exercise power over the children ''acting like god'', forcing them to follow the grown-ups' ways.
The way for parents and teachers to help children realise their potential, she stressed, is to give them only guidance and ''let them find their own way''.
This approach is applicable to both normal and handicapped children, she pointed out.
At present, there are more than 300 Wardorf schools for children with special needs worldwide, including 100 in Switzerland. ''This is what we call healing education,'' she said.
With respect to cultural diversity, which is one of the principles of the Wardorf education system, there have been attempts to create a Wardorf school for handicapped children to suit the local culture and to meet the children's specific needs here.
Currently, Mahidol University's Ratchasuda College is in its third year of experimenting with the teaching of sign language and Thai to the deaf under the Waldorf educational approach. So are five primary schools for the deaf in Nakhon Pathom, Trat, Udon Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat and in Bangkok's Thung Maha Mek. The project is the first of its kind in Thailand.
The college believes this method will allow deaf children to achieve their full potential and be able to set goals and direction for their own lives. It focuses on creating balance through physical, emotional and intellectual activities to ensure the harmony of deaf youngsters' intellectual, artistic and physical personalities through all kinds of art.
According to Jitprapa Sri-on, director of the Ratchasuda College, the five kindergartens will soon expand the Waldorf approach to cover Prathom 1 to 3 if funding is approved.
To Dr Glockler, Waldorf education in Thailand is still only in the early stages. The country's first Waldorf school, Panyothai, is just nine years old.
Apart from training Wardorf teachers, Dr Glockler has been active in anthroposophic medicine since 1988, also developed by Rudolf Steiner. As an extension of conventional medicine, it uses several kinds of remedies and therapies to suit the patients' individual needs, background and mental state which relate to their health.
They include naturopathic medicines which use natural methods to enhance the body's inherent healing capacity; therapy through arts such as sculpting, drawing and painting; music therapy; voice control; and eurythmy which transform speech and music into visible movement. It is believed this helps restore balance between mind and body and triggers the healing process of one's body and soul.
For Dr Glocker, both Waldorf education and anthroposophic medicine belong to the spiritual sciences that help people to develop their physical and spiritual well-being as well as empathy, which is instrumental to peace.
A doctor who believes prevention is better than cure, Dr Glocker said the right education is in itself a preventive medicine. ''If we educate people correctly, they will be healthy for life.''
What advice can the Wardorf guru offer parents who want to try the Wardorf way in their family? ''Allow the children to develop their own abilities as part of your relationship, family and profession,'' she said.
The youngsters's freedom to develop their own identity leads not only to self-esteem and happiness. ''They will enjoy learning new things, understanding the world and find a meaningful life for themselves,'' she said.
''When individuals feel free and peaceful within, they understand themselves and other people.'' And as such, she said, it is an education for peace that
the world now urgently needs.
At 60, Michaela Glockler, a Swiss doctor who has been actively involved in Waldorf education all her life, looks younger and more energetic than her age. It is probably from the balance of body and mind in line with the philosophy she lives and teaches. ''Waldorf'' education is the brainchild of Austrian philosopher, scientist and artist Rudolf Steiner. Popular worldwide as an alternative education system, it aims at developing the whole child _ ''head, heart and hands'' _ so the children are healthy physically, mentally and spiritually.
The first Waldorf school was founded in Stuttgart, Germany in 1919. Now, there are 960 Waldorf schools and 1,000 kindergartens in 50 countries, including Thailand.
A respected authority on Wardorf education, Dr Glockler travels extensively to train Wardorf teachers around the globe. She was recently in town to help Mahidol University's Ratchasuda College with training on Waldorf education for the deaf.
Dr Glockler is herself a product of the Wardorf system, having studied in a Wardorf school since kindergarten through high school and college until she became a qualified Wardorf teacher.
''My inspiration came from my own experiences and what I received from my school,'' she said, explaining why she wants other children to have the same opportunity.
As opposed to rote learning, a fixed curriculum and an early push for academic excellence in pursuit of material success, the Wardorf system fosters physical and spiritual health, artistic creativity, bonding with nature and the ability to set one's own goals.
Physical exercise, music and crafts are an important part of the curriculum which has the children focus on a different subject each month. It also strives to answer the students' individual needs so they truly enjoy learning while being in touch with themselves.
Contrary to the authoritarian atmosphere in mainstream schools, the Wardorf system fosters good relations between teachers and pupils. ''I am also inspired by Steiner's philosophy of understanding human development both in physical and spiritual ways,'' she added.
After finishing her Waldorf schooling, she studied German language, literature and history. In a move that attests to a Wardorf student's love of learning, she went on to study medicine and eventually decided to become a paediatrician.
''I was first trained to be a Waldorf teacher. At 21, however, I decided to do medicine on top,'' Dr Glockler said.
But she remained dedicated to the education that she believes makes a person whole. For a decade, while she was at a community hospital's outpatient paediatric clinic in Herdecke, she also worked as a doctor and an education advisor for a Waldorf school in Witten, Germany. She later moved to Switzerland and co-wrote a book entitled A Guide to Child's Health with Wolfgang Goebel. She is now chief doctor of Geotheanum Institute (the School of Spiritual Science) in Dornach, Switzerland.
''We have three major learning models _ science, art, religions and ethics,'' she said, adding that the children are taught to have moral responsibility for Mother Earth. ''We encourage the children to explore the world, feel connections and take care of the world, nature, animals and so on.''
Art is used to instil morality in children under seven, to teach moral contexts and movements for the seven to 14 age group and to develop analytical thinking for those over 14.
To sow the seed of responsibility that comes with knowledge and maturity, the children are encouraged to have a questioning mind, to use psychological learning in their life and to use existing knowledge to learn new things.
Since children tend to copy the adults' behaviour which might later affect their physical, mental and spiritual health, the teachers must not exercise power over the children ''acting like god'', forcing them to follow the grown-ups' ways.
The way for parents and teachers to help children realise their potential, she stressed, is to give them only guidance and ''let them find their own way''.
This approach is applicable to both normal and handicapped children, she pointed out.
At present, there are more than 300 Wardorf schools for children with special needs worldwide, including 100 in Switzerland. ''This is what we call healing education,'' she said.
With respect to cultural diversity, which is one of the principles of the Wardorf education system, there have been attempts to create a Wardorf school for handicapped children to suit the local culture and to meet the children's specific needs here.
Currently, Mahidol University's Ratchasuda College is in its third year of experimenting with the teaching of sign language and Thai to the deaf under the Waldorf educational approach. So are five primary schools for the deaf in Nakhon Pathom, Trat, Udon Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat and in Bangkok's Thung Maha Mek. The project is the first of its kind in Thailand.
The college believes this method will allow deaf children to achieve their full potential and be able to set goals and direction for their own lives. It focuses on creating balance through physical, emotional and intellectual activities to ensure the harmony of deaf youngsters' intellectual, artistic and physical personalities through all kinds of art.
According to Jitprapa Sri-on, director of the Ratchasuda College, the five kindergartens will soon expand the Waldorf approach to cover Prathom 1 to 3 if funding is approved.
To Dr Glockler, Waldorf education in Thailand is still only in the early stages. The country's first Waldorf school, Panyothai, is just nine years old.
Apart from training Wardorf teachers, Dr Glockler has been active in anthroposophic medicine since 1988, also developed by Rudolf Steiner. As an extension of conventional medicine, it uses several kinds of remedies and therapies to suit the patients' individual needs, background and mental state which relate to their health.
They include naturopathic medicines which use natural methods to enhance the body's inherent healing capacity; therapy through arts such as sculpting, drawing and painting; music therapy; voice control; and eurythmy which transform speech and music into visible movement. It is believed this helps restore balance between mind and body and triggers the healing process of one's body and soul.
For Dr Glocker, both Waldorf education and anthroposophic medicine belong to the spiritual sciences that help people to develop their physical and spiritual well-being as well as empathy, which is instrumental to peace.
A doctor who believes prevention is better than cure, Dr Glocker said the right education is in itself a preventive medicine. ''If we educate people correctly, they will be healthy for life.''
What advice can the Wardorf guru offer parents who want to try the Wardorf way in their family? ''Allow the children to develop their own abilities as part of your relationship, family and profession,'' she said.
The youngsters's freedom to develop their own identity leads not only to self-esteem and happiness. ''They will enjoy learning new things, understanding the world and find a meaningful life for themselves,'' she said.
''When individuals feel free and peaceful within, they understand themselves and other people.'' And as such, she said, it is an education for peace that
the world now urgently needs.