Education in a Sacred Manner

Dear Friend of The Waldorf School of Santa Barbara,

At the foundation of Waldorf education is a spiritual view of things. But what does that mean exactly?

One possible answer is the following: according to this education, everything -- a child, a community, this world with all its places, phenomena, and creatures -- is of immeasurable beauty and worth, and this immeasurable beauty and worth enjoin us to interest, devotion, and care. Put more simply, this education is -- to borrow from Black Elk -- education “in a sacred manner.” And an education in a sacred manner requires of us a radically different relation with the “environment.” An education in a sacred manner asks that we take time to hear and honor what Thomas Berry so vividly termed “the dream of the earth.”

Indigenous leaders met at a global conference in 1990 to contemplate the state of our earth. At the end of this conference the leaders spoke these tough, resonant, inspiring words:

We have jeopardized the future of our coming generation with our greed and lust for power. The warnings are clear and time is now a factor. . . . We speak of our children, yet we savage the spawning beds of the salmon and herring, and kill the whale in his home. We advance through the forests of the earth felling our rooted brothers indiscriminately, leaving no seeds for the future. We exploit the land and resources of the poor and indigenous peoples of the world. We have become giants, giants of destruction. . . . We must return to the spiritual values that are the foundation of life. We must love and respect all living things, have compassion for the poor and the sick, respect and understanding for women and female life on this earth who bear the sacred gift of life. We must return to the prayers, ceremonies, meditations, rituals, and celebrations of thanksgiving which link us with the spiritual powers that sustain us and, by example, teach our children to respect.

"We must return to the spiritual values that are the foundation of life." What a statement for our times.

At WSSB we aim to keep such spiritual values -- which can lead to practical effects -- alive for the children. At WSSB we aim to hear and honor -- to the best of our limited but sincere abilities -- the dream of the earth. At WSSB we aim to restore -- in our small but matterful way -- what Black Elk calls "the sacred hoop."

Wherever you are on this beautiful planet, please consider helping us with this work by giving to our Annual Fund Campaign. Our goal this year is $60,000.

https://waldorfsantabarbara.org/annual-giving-fund

We deeply appreciate your time and consideration.

In gratitude,
The WSSB Admin Team

PS The poem of the day is by Gary Snyder:

For All
Ah to be alive
on a mid-September morn
fording a stream
barefoot, pants rolled up,
holding boots, pack on,
sunshine, ice in the shallows,
northern rockies.

Rustle and shimmer of icy creek waters
stones turn underfoot, small and hard as toes
cold nose dripping
singing inside
creek music, heart music,
smell of sun on gravel.

I pledge allegiance

I pledge allegiance to the soil
of Turtle Island,
and to the beings who thereon dwell
one ecosystem
in diversity
under the sun
With joyful interpenetration for all.