Walking, Stirring, Sweeping

Dear Members of The Waldorf School of Santa Barbara Community,

We are hearing from parents in all grades about technology use. Some parents are concerned about how much their children use it at home. Some parents are concerned about how much they, the parents, use it at home. Such questioning is heartening and needed, especially after a few years where much of life, for many, shifted to the screen. For the sake of the children (and our beautiful earth which, as French philosopher Gaston Bachelard wrote, seeks to be admired by us), we ought to be wary of this shift.

WSSB preschool teacher Ms. Barbara once addressed the technology question pithily. At the end of a long, complex discussion about it during a faculty meeting, Ms. Barbara finally spoke up. What she said was so memorable, we wrote it down. “Walking, stirring, sweeping, chopping, handwriting are needed today. These things support children. Push-button, swiping life is not supporting children.” Thank you, Ms. Barbara.

As a friendly reminder, we share here some relevant remarks/guidelines from the WSSB Parent Handbook about technology, remarks/guidelines in support of the children:

"Waldorf schools, internationally, seek to preserve the innocence and wonder for the younger children by creating a special atmosphere of play and learning. Waldorf education is based in part on the principle that the child should learn to discern what is real from what is a simulation of reality. If this sounds trite, we must draw your attention to the fact that the child’s perception of the world is vastly different from that of the adult. Because the capacity for abstract thought does not fully develop until puberty, much of what the growing child experiences as imaginary or real comes from feelings, sensations, and, especially with the younger child, imitation.

In order that home and family life can work most consistently to help nurture the child’s imaginative and creative capacities, we strongly recommend no TV viewing and / or screen time for children in kindergarten through 3rd grade and only very limited and carefully monitored—if any—viewing for children in other grades (this includes video games, Nintendo, computers, mobile phones and movies). We feel that the effect of the medium itself is not harmonious with our approach. Waldorf teachers work to bring images to life as part of the educational experience. If children are absorbed with media images, then the instructional images have less effect. Also we feel that it is very important that children have time to be actively involved in creative or outdoor play, home projects, reading, and so on. Engaging in electronic entertainment reduces time spent with more creative activities."

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The following is an update from Senora Marcela's 4th/5th Grade class:

"We are excited to share with you the success of our animal project. Under the guidance of Mr. Wheeler, a visiting teacher, our students worked hard the past few weeks to research and present their findings about their favorite animals. The students created oral and artistic presentations, including dioramas, to showcase their learning.

The project culminated in a trip to the Natural History Museum in Santa Barbara where the students had the opportunity to witness a variety of animals up close. They were captivated by the beautiful displays and had a wonderful time exploring the exhibits. They also had a blast playing in the creek, finishing the day with a visit to the ice-cream store.

We are extremely grateful for Mr. Wheeler's guidance. We hope to see Mr. Wheeler back at WSSB soon; and we thank him for all his work. And we are proud of the hard work of our students.”

In gratitude,

The WSSB Admin Team

The Thought of the Day

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
— Mary Oliver