We all remember history class

This is short description of how history works in a Steiner school. I have posted it with the hope of encouraging discussion to understand more about Steiner education

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We all remember history class. It was that really horrible class where we had to memorize dates and famous people (with names we couldn’t spell or pronounce), and larger than life events that had happened so long ago we didn’t even feel connected. Ah yes, this is the history class we love, and love to complain about. And yet, in Steiner schools, history is a class that spans about 12 years, namely from grades one to twelve. It is deeply imbedded in stories of the lower grades, and transformed into historical events in the upper grades. It is this relationship, this transformation of history in the lower grades to the upper grades that remains a unique feature of Steiner schools. This transformation clearly illustrates how the work in the classroom meets the development of the child.
Let’s take an example of starting the history in grade four. This is not a whimsical choice. There is a specific reason for starting in grade four. In a Steiner school grade four is the first time that the child meets history as we, the parents, conventionally understand it. In grade four, the young student is introduced to ancient civilizations, the Indians, Persians, Egyptians and the numerous contributions of these civilizations to the fabric of human development. To better understand what is so special about grade four, we need to situate ourselves in another historical event.
Imagine standing on the edge of a river just 50 kilometers from Rome. Behind you is your loyal and experienced army. It is a cold January day in 49 B.C. and you have been recalled to Rome. You know the existing Roman laws prevent you from bringing your army within less then 50 kilometers; but you efficient network of spies inform you that the consuls in Rome, worried about your successes against the Gauls, have decided to incarcerate you. It is the decision of a lifetime. With a sweep of your arm, you lead your army across the river and towards Rome. “Ala jacta, est!” is what history records as your statement during that fateful moment. Ala jacta est…the die is cast. Thus Julius Ceasar crossed the Rubicon, marched onto Rome and, as they say, the rest is history.
What this story brings as a picture is an important event in the fourth graders’ life: a coming of age, an expression of him or herself; the first tentative footsteps toward freedom as an individual. Around this age (9-11), the young student feels stirring within him or her, the initial impulses of this freedom. No longer are they under the spell of the parents: they are slowly, yet surely, awakening to that impulse within them that will eventually develop into their free being.
In step with this event, therefore, the history class must reflect this. It is not a surprise, then, the history in grade four starts to look at ancient civilizations, civilizations that brought about the first transformations for humanity, be it in agriculture, science, or art. These civilizations also reflect the first steps of humanity to take control of their destiny, and not leave everything to the gods…. like a fourth grader taking the first tentative steps towards freedom and independence. What used to be one world with one history is now a world full of many “histories” reflecting a wide range of independent steps taken by humanity in the course of its development.
A key to the transformation of this experience into ninth grade history lies in the changes brought about by these ancient civilizations, changes that may be referred to as “revolutions”. Yes, there was an agricultural revolution that occurred in ancient times; there was a social revolution; there were many transformations that may be referred to as revolutions. Appropriately enough, then, the theme of history in grade nine is revolutions, as this completes the transformation begun in grade four.
In grade four, the young student begins to experience changes brought by man. But all these changes bring about great civilizations. The unspoken question is then why do these civilizations pass away? Part of this may be seen in the discussion of revolutions in grade nine; but the seed for this question is planted in grade four. Yes, man’s development has allowed great civilizations to arise; but man’s “mischief” or misuse of this development, may bring about the collapse. This picture of misguided intellect comes through a different story for the fourth grader; it comes in the shape of Loki, the Norse god who causes the ultimate destruction of Valhalla and the death of Odin. These stories do not come in history class; they will come in the literature class. Here the fourth graders will experience that such a skill, such freedom, may also be abused to the detriment of all. But it is a story and a good one at that, where the evil or wicked nature of Loki is unmistakable. And through this story, a seed is planted, a seed that will germinate for the next four years to blossom in grade nine as a question – how can all this happen? This is the opening necessary in the context of polarities, the theme for grade nine, to now bring in the history of revolutions – real, violent, modern. People die (not just the citizens of Valhalla) in revolutions. This is the result of the deeds of men as well, just like the great civilizations; but here, the contrast between different points of view, different perspectives of the truth, is inevitable. The world may be a place of transformation but it is also a place of turmoil.
Thus, over time, a question that remains incipient in grade four, now blossoms fully in grade nine and is met in the history curriculum. In grade four, the civilizations are great, beautiful, testimonies to man’s greatness and individuality; but lurking the background is the Loki in each man, the Loki that can bring about Ragnarok, the end of the world. As the independence of the young student grows, the Loki in them becomes more inquisitive, more active, probing and testing the world until confrontation with the world is inevitable. Now the light of the civilizations meets the darkness of Loki. Men must choose; men are always right; what is the truth? These are questions of the young adolescent. Revolutions that changed the world will help the young adolescent in grade nine meet these questions.
Yes, history is still about dates and places, and people. When seen in the totality of the curriculum of a Steiner school, it is possible to see the continuity of the story of man that started in grade four and is transformed in grade nine.