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One
of the goals of home schooling our children is to educate the
whole child, not just the intellectual mind. We can all relate
to anecdotal stories of children who are very bright, ahead in
their studies, but who lack common sense, emotional equanimity,
or the ability to adjust smoothly to life experiences. Recent
studies about "E.Q.", or emotional intelligence, suggest
that E.Q. ability may influence happiness and achievement in
life more than the more traditional I.Q.
More than just E.Q. and I.Q., my experiences with life and with
children confirm that there are many different kinds of intelligence.
There is logical intelligence, typified in the scientific process
and mathematical analysis. There is artistic and perceptual intelligence,
or being able to see and reproduce shapes and colors. There is
an instinctive body intelligence, which signals us when our bodies
need more care or nutrition. There is emotional intelligence,
being able to understand feelings, both of ourselves and of others,
and to treat other people in compassionate and harmonious ways.
There is musical intelligence, being able to create and express
oneself through sound. And there is hand/eye intelligence, the
ability to create with your hands an image you have in your mind.
It can be exemplified by the learning of skills ranging from
riding a bicycle to delicate surgery, painting a picture or fine
carpentry. Each kind may be called a center of learning or intelligence.>
The Waldorf model has long confirmed that there are many different
centers of intelligence. A child who may have trouble spelling
may be a gifted handworker. The child who writes beyond their
years may not focus as well on math. The child who draws and
has artistic promise may not be graceful in movement. Traditional
school models have often focused on the intellectual center alone
to the detriment of other centers of learning. Thus children
who may be extremely gifted, but in an unaddressed center of
intelligence, may feel they are underachievers and have low self
esteem. Our job as educators is to find the strengths of our
children and allow them to blossom fully. To do this we must
expose them to and help them explore as many different centers
of learning and ability as possible.>
We also must address the learning weaknesses of our children.
One of the most effective ways to do this is to combine a strong
center with a weaker center in a single activity. When we can
combine two or more different centers this way, the stronger
or more developed center can induce the weaker one into new understanding.
Seymour Pappert, in his book "The Children's Machine",
talks about 'kitchen math'. He observed that a person who could
not reason out a fraction problem on paper was able to solve
it simply by measuring out the fractions using flour and a measuring
cup. Thus a practical, hands on experience overcame a difficulty
in abstract reasoning. When we combine a new subject with something
a child already knows and enjoys, we enhance learning. Another
example is of a child who was artistically able but had trouble
with creative writing. By drawing a picture first, making the
image of a story in her mind, she was then able to find the words
to express it on paper. Understanding and using the different
centers of intelligence helps to connect different kinds of knowing
to solve problems and remove roadblocks to education.
When we use learning techniques that combine different kinds
of knowing, the learning experience also goes deeper, being patterned
in more than one area of the brain. Waldorf education is a model
of this kind of 'relational' learning. Thus, in the Waldorf models,
instead of sitting at a desk and memorizing multiplication tables,
children move their bodies and limbs in rhythm games to combine
body and intellectual centers at the same time. Thus kids 'know'
multiplication numbers as rhythms as well as just stored facts.
When my oldest son was in second or third grade, he learned about
primary numbers by making a beautiful multi pointed drawing showing
a non-factorable number as a picture. By combining his artistic
sense and his logical senses, he 'got' the concept in a way that
goes deeply within.
In teaching our children, then, first, we have to address as
many different kinds of intelligent development as possible to
find their areas of strength and passion. We also can put different
centers together to so that the stronger abilities can help develop
the weaker areas. We want to find more than one level to engage
our children in when learning so they learn more deeply, and
in doing so, develop more fully as human beings.
HOW DOES HANDWORK FIT INTO THIS?
First, there is the need to explore hand skills as a center of
knowledge in its own right. Your children's life/work destinies
may include developing their hand/eye intelligence to expertness.
Your child may be drawn to building, working with machinery,
or other physical skills. Even making art or playing a musical
instrument requires great dexterity and control in the hand/eye
center. On a practical level, being able to work with tools or
mend clothing is a basic life skill which a child's education
should address,as those of us not able in these areas can attest
to!
Secondly, learning is also more fun and exciting when we can
connect different interests and abilities. The child who resists
numbers measures and adds eagerly in order to build a woodworking
project. The child who does not like informational reading will
pore over directions to a craft project. The child who is careless
with possessions may come have valuation and care for objects
he or she has spent hours in making.
Thirdly, being skillful in manipulating materials and creating
gives a child the feeling of mastery and control in their environment.
Knowing how to make and change things to suit ones needs and
ideas fosters in the child the idea that they can change their
world. There is nothing as frustrating as knowing what you want
to make and not knowing to do it. Conversely, it gives great
satisfaction and esteem to be able to take an idea in the mind
and turn it into an actual physical manifestation. For example,
our children have been exposed to a lot of hands-on nature lore.
I remember the time our son's class had to build a fire to cook
lunch, and the empowerment it gave to my son, who knew how to
and was able to set up and start a fire. Handwork builds self-reliance
into lives. Children are more confident knowing that they have
the skills to make or mend the things they need or want to play
or work with.
There is also a great hunger in children (and in all of us) to
have tactile connection in our lives. We love and are nourished
by the feeling of touching and experiencing the world through
our fingers. Some years ago, I was invited to come to an 'art
night' at a local public elementary school with my dolls and
handworking. I set up a table in the corner of the gym, surrounded
by a plethora of other tables and activities for the children
to do. Despite the many other displays, I had a large crowd of
children around my table, kids who stayed there the entire evening
doing a simple handwork project. The yearning in these children
to work with their hands and make something, and the satisfaction
of doing so, was palpable. I believe the desire to work and create
with our hands is one of the most basic human tendencies.
Handwork is also a great therapy in life when times are tough.
One of my friends knitted an afghan each year during medical
school finals. My father found comfort and solace in his workshop.
Knitting has helped me through difficult hours in hospital waiting
rooms. Any yarn or craft store owner can tell you that people
turn to their hands to help them stay centered, busy, and productive
during any number of circumstances.>
Finally, I believe that the materials themselves have healing
and nurturing properties when selected with care, and can help
in esthetic training of the senses. Rudolf Steiner felt that
natural materials, which have been alive, actually strengthen
our etheric energy bodies, unlike synthetics, which cause the
etheric energy to diminish. Selecting high quality wools, cottons,
and other natural fibers are important to your child's sensitive
touch. In your conference packet are many sources for fine quality
handworking materials.
I wish you joy in the time you spend with your children. May
handwork add many happy hours together.
Susan Weir
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