Community of Tenderness
Dear Members of The Waldorf School of Santa Barbara Community,
Recently St. Nicholas and his mischievous sidekick Rupert stopped by WSSB to share a few words and humble holiday treats. Two incidents stick out from the visit. The first was when Rupert—that meek but rascally hirsute elf—painstakingly emptied his sack of tangerines and walnuts onto a table in Senora Marcela’s classroom—only to suddenly knock all the goodies off the table, sprint over to the sink and turn on the water full blast, close the room’s lights, and then burst out of the door. It was something worthy of Charlie Chaplin. For a few moments in the Grade 6/7 classroom, delicious pandemonium reigned.
Another memorable incident was the way an older boy spontaneously hugged St. Nick. It happened so fast both St. Nick and the boy were caught off guard. Then the boy woke up during this spontaneous hug, realizing it was something not typical of boys his age, and then sheepishly, ironically laughed it off. That incident too was right out of Chaplin.
Greg Boyle visited Santa Barbara this week, giving a standing-room-only talk at UCSB. A Jesuit priest, writer, and founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles (the largest gang-intervention, rehabilitation, and reentry program in the world), Boyle is, as the woman who introduced him said, a “straight-up hero.” And what is the nature of Boyle’s heroism? Tenderness. His gang intervention program runs on two unwavering principles: 1). We are all unshakably good (no exceptions), and 2). We belong to each other (no exceptions). These principles build what he calls a “community of tenderness.”
We at WSSB find such an approach deeply admirable. In light of the beauty of the children, how could we not? Isn’t that what we most deeply want our children to know, a place where they are not merely watched and tested—to borrow language from Boyle—but rather viewed through a lens of love? It’s daunting, humbling work, of course, but what other option is there? The beauty of the children constrains us to trying.
In other (and good) news, a donor has offered to support our aspiring community of tenderness by giving an additional $2,500 if ten WSSB families donate to our Annual Campaign by this upcoming Tuesday, December 10. No amount is too small. And none is too big. This donor’s gift is meant to encourage 100% participation among all families.
So please give by this Tuesday!
The children walked the Advent Spiral today. This is a ceremony where each child, carrying an apple with an unlit beeswax candle inside, walks a spiral of evergreen branches while live music is played. When the child reaches the middle of the spiral, she lights her unlit candle with the large burning one waiting in the spiral’s center; then retraces her steps outward, placing her lighted candle down along the spiral’s way. As each child kindles her candle, slowly but surely the darkness in the hushed, harp-filled Great Room grows less dark, and soon all are awash in a glow.
The Advent Spiral Walk is practiced in most Waldorf schools near Winter Solstice, a time when many festivals celebrate the gradual return of longer days. To see each student walking the spiral in her own manner is an experience words fail. But the observer is doubtlessly filled up, defenseless before that particular human being on her particular journey towards her particular light.
Important Dates:
December 7: Winter Faire from 12 to 5 p.m.
December 9: Strings Assembly at 8:45 a.m.
December 9: Board Meeting at 3:30 p.m.
December 13: Faculty Offering at 11:30 a.m. Dismissal at 12:45 p.m.
December 16-January 3: Winter Break
With gratitude,
The WSSB Admin Team
PS The Thought of the Day is from Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel: “When I was young, I used to admire intelligent people; as I grow older, I admire kind people.”