Struwwelpeter 2 - Waldorf Resources...Struwwelpeter 2.0 Bund der Freien Waldorfschulen B Media competency and Waldorf education Shockheaded Peter This reader is published as a collaboration

Struwwelpeter 2.0

Bund der FreienWaldorfschulen

B

Media competency and Waldorf education

Shockheaded Peter

This reader is published as a collaboration between theGerman Waldorf School Associ-ation and “Aktion mündigeSchule” (AmS). AmS campaignsfor freedom in education and in1995 initiated the first popularinitiative “Schools in freedom”(www.freie-schule.de); it sub-sequently supported the initia -tives of the same name in Berlin and Brandenburg.

Freedom has an outer and aninner side. The former createsthe prerequisites, the latter thesubstance. They both have incommon that they do not simplyjust exist but keep having to be re-conquered

Media competency is one of the issues of freedom in our time.


B

When my daughter was five years old,she explained to my wife how our faxmachine works. She had never sent a fax herself but had occasionally watched her father doing so. Such an experience, nostalgic as this onemight be, is something which we nevertheless encounter everywhere:parents, pre-school teachers and teachers keep being confronted withthe fact that the children and youngpeople with whom they work and whohave been entrusted to their care usethe latest electronic media without asecond thought and move in virtualworlds of which adults are not evenaware that they exist. What remains is often a feeling of insecurity, fear or helplessness.

That is no different for Waldorf teachers, one of whose most impor-tant educational ideals is to preparethe children in a wholly practical way for the challenges of their time.As long ago as 1919 Rudolf Steineremphasised that no pupil should beallowed to leave the Waldorf schoolwithout at least knowing the basics ofhow an electric tram works. We couldnot be alert to what is happening inour time if we did not understand how the technology functions whichwe use in everyday life. In RudolfSteiner’s time it was trams and the telegraph, today it is computers,smartphones, the Internet and robots.

From an educational perspective itcan never be a matter of condemningtechnology. It is not about moral rules of behaviour but about enabling pupils to make meaningful use oftechnology. In order to be able to dothat, we first ourselves have to under-stand the individual, social or consti-tutional effects a piece of technologymight have—both for the person whouses it and the person who uses itsproducts.

An unprejudiced and precise obser-vation of technology always allows us to find exact correspondences withphysical, psychological, social and intellectual activities of human beings.Equally technology relieves people of work and leads to completely newstructures in society.

Educationally the question thereforeimmediately arises as to the abilitieswhich a growing person must de-velop in order to be able to handletechnology with the freedom to allowthem to use it meaningfully and notsuccumb blindly to its fascination.

This applies in particular measure tothe electronic media which imitate alot of psychological activity and thushave a particularly seductive effect:why should we make an effort whenon an emotional level of experiencevery similar effects can be down-loaded through the minimal move-ment of a finger?

Media competency and Waldorf education 1

Dear Readers,

Waldorf education very deliberatelymakes use of the opportunities offeredby the different periods of life and developmental phases which youngpeople pass through in the course ofgrowing up. Accordingly the curricu-lum is an artistic synthesis which isconstantly developing; but at thesame time it also watches out to dis-cover new skills and strengths whicheach pupil can acquire in the courseof their schooling by various means. It is the purpose of this publication to show that Waldorf education cancontribute crucial perspectives for the development of a development-oriented media education.

What does that mean for daily teaching practice? What is the rela-tionship between the new challengesand proven Waldorf traditions? From what age should we deal specifically and consciously withelectronic media? How can they be used meaningfully and creativelyin lessons? What skills are importantin the use of media and when is the basis for them laid?

The present brochure is intended particularly for pre-school teachersand teachers, but it can also be under-stood by interested parents and pupilsbecause it largely avoids the use ofspecialist terminology. It goes withoutsaying that this outline is a work inprogress which has to keep develop-

ing. Above all, it wishes to give en-couragement to the pre-school teach-ers and teachers who are activelyseeking to grapple with one of thegreat educational challenges of our time.

The team of authors—Franz Glaw, Dr. Edwin Hübner, Celia Schönstedtand the author of this piece—belongsto the “Media competency and Wal-dorf education” working group whichhas been at work since 2012. Theother members of the working groupare Christian Boettger, Klaus-PeterFreitag, Andreas Neider, Florian Osswald-Muller, Dr. Martin Schlüterand, for specific subjects, Dr. PaulaBleckmann.

Henning Kullak-Ublick, Hamburg, August 2015

Media competency and Waldorf education2

Clarification of conceptsDr. Edwin Hübner

“Students have alarmingly poor reading and spelling skills—but greatmedia competency” was the title of a report in July 2012 about a previ-ously unpublished study.1 In it lectur-ers at philosophical faculties in Ger-many complained about a serious lackof quality in students which “posi-tively jumps out at you”: “There aredifficulties above all in spelling, or-thography, the command of grammarand syntax. A lack has generally beenobserved in the ability to formulatesomething independently, write coher-ent texts and, above all, also a lack ofcompetency in reading, for examplewhen making notes during lectures.”A few sentences later the report saysabout the same students: “They un-doubtedly have greater media compe-tency, there is no dispute about that.”

Reading this, we might start to ponderwhat is meant by media competency.Because writing is most certainly amedium. And there are clear com-plaints that writing skills are too poor.So that cannot be what is meant withmedia competency. However, if weonly understand it to refer to the competency in handling informationtechnology, then the quoted statementmakes sense. It is nevertheless truethat much information and many scientific texts on the Internet are onlyavailable in written form. But if wehave difficulty with the medium ofwriting, what, then, does the compe-

tency in dealing with the Internetmean? Finding an essay buried awaysomewhere on the Internet and cleverly being able to download it toone’s computer, but not understandingits content?

This example makes clear that there is a lack of conceptual clarity. What ismedia competency? And at an evenmore basic level: what is a medium at all?

This question can be answered with a general definition but that does notget us much further because there is agreat variety of products or machineswhich can all be described as media:newspapers, magazines, books, radios,televisions, computers, etc.

If we try to determine phenomenolog-ically what human beings encounterin their environment, there are essen-tially three key aspects:

• Writing• Transmitted or preserved speech or music

• Still or moving images

1) Pany, Thomas: „Studierende mit alarmierenden Lese- undRechtschreibschwächen“, in: Telepolis 24.7.2012www.heise.de/tp

Clarification of concepts 3

The same content can be transmittedby all three forms of media but theactivity of a person in engaging witheach medium is qualitatively differ-ent. If someone reads a written workthen it is the eyes which are primarilyactive and that person has to developtheir own images in the imaginationon the basis of the abstract sequenceof symbols they see. When peoplehave contact with the word transmit-ted by technology it is mainly theirhearing that is active. Here too theyhave to create individual imagesthrough the activity of their imagina-tion. In transmitted images, above allsounds and moving images together,the activity of the imagination is hard-ly necessary because the images arealready there.

With that we have arrived at whatpeople do in concrete terms whenthey read a text, listen to music orwatch a new film on the screen—independently of the transmitted content. We therefore have to differ-entiate between two aspects when welook at the relationship between a person and media: on the one handthe transmitted content (ideas andthoughts) to which the individual di-rects their attention, and on the otherhand the aspect of the activity, whatpeople do physically while they aredealing with the technical artefact ordevice. People are engaged in differ-

ent activities in relation to the samephotographic image depending onwhether they look at it on photo-graphic paper, on a computer screenor projected on to a wall with a projector.

The way people interact with mediatherefore takes place in the context ofthe tension which exists between theway they relate with their ideas andwith their activity to the respectivemedium.

A distinction has to be made betweenthe media type as a procedure, as atechnical process, and the “material”in which this process takes place. Text can be written on stone, a papyrusroll or paper, but it can also appear inprint in books, ebooks, newspapers,magazines or on the screen of a com-puter. Writing as a media type remainsthe same in all those instances. Butthe carrier by means of which it ismade accessible to people is a differ-ent one in each case and people have a different relationship to the respective carrier with the whole oftheir sensory organism and that influ-ences in a subtle way how people deal with the media type of writing.


Writing Preserved speech and music Still or moving pictures

We therefore have to distinguish between three layers when looking atmedia:

1. Media content—what people takein as content (e.g. the content of anovel).

2. Media type—the process by which something is communicated or presented (text or sound).

3. Media carrier—the material basison or within which the communica-tive or presentational process occurs(book, ebook, smartphone, MP3player, etc.).

The contradiction described at the beginning is now easy to understand.The philosophy students display cleardeficits with regard to the media type“text” but possess pronounced skill in handling the media carrier “com-puter”. But comprehensive mediacompetency comprises not just skill inhandling the media carriers but alsothe media types text, sound andimage. Media education thus com-prises several fields: media content, the field of media types and the field of media carriers.

But education must not just be guidedby the abilities which people need toselect content, handle devices anddeal with media types but it also hasto take the physical and emotional de-velopment of children and adolescentsinto account. That is why it is indis-pensible that reflections on media ed-ucation are preceded by considera-tions of developmental psychologyand our understanding of the humanbeing. We have to start with the grow-ing human being when we consider atwhat point it makes sense to learn tohandle certain skills with the childrenin the various fields of media compe-tency.

Clarification of concepts 5

Media content Media type Media carrier

Each child develops individually. Thisobvious fact can lead us to neglect toprovide educational support for thecharacteristic developmental stageswhich every child passes through atcertain stages of their life. In contrast,Waldorf education places a particularvalue on children and adolescentsbeing able to develop within realmsof experience which take account oftheir physical, emotional, social andintellectual degree of maturity. Such a balancing act between doing thingstoo early or too late demands thatteachers keep the development ofeach individual child as well as of theclass community constantly in mind.

The archetypal image for age-appro-priate development, as well as forlearning as a whole, is the conquest of the three archetypal human abili-ties of walking upright, speaking andthinking. These developmental stages,which every human being requires,are linked both to the age of the firstthree years of life as well as the sur-roundings of the children; but theynevertheless have to be acquired byeach child individually and thus leadto an extension of their individual autonomy. These experiences are sofundamental in nature that they formthe constitutional basis for all furtherlearning.

Taking account of important momentsin child development certainly doesnot restrict their individual process ofmaturation but, on the contrary, helpsit to unfold fully. To remain with theexample above: it is of course possibleto force a child to walk prematurelyby means of a baby walker but bydoing so we deprive them of the es-sential experience for their future lifeof being able to obtain an upright posture through their own strengthand thus to achieve a completely different relationship to their sur-roundings. Conversely it would be a forced intervention to prevent thechild from walking once they have become mature enough to do so. What is important, then, is to createthe space for the child to develop but not to force it.

Rudolf Steiner describes a particularlymarked developmental step throughwhich children and adolescents obtainan increasingly autonomous relation-shipwith theworld in that forceswhichpreviouslyworked unconsciously turninto freely available soul forces. Hecompared this gain of personal auton-omy with birth and drew attention tothe fact that we can observe some-thing like a seven-year rhythm in this respect.


Media education in the light of ourunderstanding of the human beingHenning Kullak-Ublick

In early childhoodchildren makethemselves at homein their body andsuccessively de-velop it into an in-strument with which to experience theworld and throughwhich they can es-tablish a direct and

sensory relationship with their envi-ronment. Here the surrounding spaces,movements, rhythms—in short, thesurrounding atmosphere—play a cru-cial role. The more the sensory experi-ences are differentiated, the morethere is a rhythm to the course of theday, the more the actions of the adultsaround the child are meaningful, themore it is possible for the child tobuild a rich physical and constitu-tional foundation for life. At this age,Rudolf Steiner says, the child moves in an envelope woven from the habits,thoughts and feelings of the adults.The soul forces of thinking, feelingand intent largely form a unity whichshould not be broken apart through apremature and one-sided intellectualemphasis.

At around the age of six or seven,these forces are successively discov-ered as independent fields of experi-ence and require differentiated sup-port and attention. The forces whichwere previously directly engaged informing the body—Steiner calls themthe etheric or formative forces—are liberated and can now be used to formconscious and deliberately producedthoughts and ideas. The imaginationplays a crucial role in this respect;after all, it allows children to developa flexible and vivid life of ideas fromwhich they can derive the correspon-ding concepts in a second and thirddevelopmental step. At this age therelationship of children with the worldis significantly determined by the re-lationship of the adults surroundingthem with the world. The children experimentally borrow their view ofthe world, as it were, in order to formtheir own on that basis—and be it inopposition.

Media education in the light of our understanding of the human being 7

With puberty, thinking, feeling andthe will have established themselvesas independent fields of activity tosuch an extent that it increasingly lies within the autonomy of the ado-lescent to bring them together into a unity again. With regard to the fur-ther, now fully conscious learning, it is exceptionally important that theyexperience in adults that the latter arein this sense in control of their think-ing, feeling and will, in other words,have obtained an individual relation-ship with the world and form boththeir judgements and their actions outof such an awareness.

All learning experiences are based onthe archetypal image described at thebeginning: just as in learning to standupright and walk it is the active, act-ing will which is at work, languagehas a direct relationship with an expe-rience of the world through the feel-

ings (as the search for the right wordclearly shows) in order then to be-come the teacher of the thinking.

In the fifth lecture in “Study of Man”,Rudolf Steiner describes the extraordi-nary threefold step which leads frominference via judgement to the con-cept: the first step is that childrenshould concern themselves with asubject through perception, actionand experiment in order then to de-scribe it precisely and thus develop a basic power of judgement (what do I describe, what do I leave out, etc.).Once this activity of perception andjudgement has been able to beprocessed at least once in sleep, the children together form concepts whichresult from looking back on what theyhave experienced and remembered.This path from experience into con-sciousness enables the individual for-mation of judgements and conceptsbecause it does not roll out a finishedresult but moderates an open-endedprocess which challenges the will,feeling and thinking.


This signature of learning through discovery must also underlie the cur-ricula for media education. Here theconsistent motif in the encounter withthe world, constitutive in the first yearsof school, is that the children experi-ence connections. Not individualchunks of knowledge but conceptuallandscapes or chronological processesshould be experienced and under-stood. When children in their secondyear at school draw reflections in a circle and in class 12 mathematicallyinvestigate inversion in a circle, theyencounter the same phenomenonthrough activity on the one hand andthen cognitively on the other. If chil-dren in class 3 experience for a wholeyear what is involved in making a roll,from ploughing to baking, they willhave a more thoroughly real relation-

ship with global economic questions,ecology, the chemical effect of fire andmuch else than if they had to do with-out such a basis in experience.

In the following outline of a curricu-lum (page 14), the attempt will bemade to do justice as much to the various ways that children and grow-ing young people can access theworld as to the social conditions under which they are growing up.

Media education in the light of our understanding of the human being 9

Age Birth to approx. To approx. To approx. age 6–7 age 13–14 age 20–21

Relationship with: Parents and + school and + “world”surroundings friends

Social relationships Attachment Relationship Encounter

Learning stages Learning linked Learning linked Conscious with activity with emotion learning

Cognitive stages Self-experience Sense of self-worth Self-assurance

The above considerations can be summarised in a table:

Technology saves people from havingto do things although as a result theyface the risk of losing the correspon-ding skills just like a muscle atro-phies if it is not used. Human beingsthus tend to be alienated from inten-tional thinking and their own bodythrough technology: as active humanbeings they are reduced to mere con-ceptual thinking. This does not haveto be a problem for adults who canfind the corresponding counterbal-ance. For them the positive opportuni-ties of the world of technology thusopen up.

For children there is the fundamentalproblem that they first of all have todevelop their body. In a developmentwhich takes many years, they have to develop their physical, emotionaland intellectual abilities as the indis-pensable basis for obtaining mediacompetency.

Direct media education, which enablesthe growing humanbeing to usemediain a meaningful way, must thereforebe preceded by indirect media educa-tion which schools precisely thoseabilities in human beings which theyrequire to be equal to the challengesof life and thus at the same time thedemands which the technical mediaworld makes of them.

That is why all education in the present time is media education: education today and in the futuremust proceed on the basis that youngpeople grow up in a technical mediaworld. That does not mean, however,that somehow media have to be pres-ent in each lesson. On the contrary: asthe primary developmental task of thechild is to develop and master theirown physical and emotional forces,education has to begin by supportingtheir healthy development. It there-fore has to ensure, on the one hand,that children find many activities intheir surroundings which stimulatethem to develop their physical andmental abilities in a healthy androunded way. On the other hand it hasto be ensured that everything whichwould hinder such physical and men-tal development is excluded. Indirectmedia education therefore tries tomake sure that in the first years of life to the time when the child is ready for school technical media donot play any role in the child’s life.


Indirect and direct media education Dr. Edwin Hübner

Life in early childhood should ideallybe free of media. The aim is to enablechildren to practice and train theirability to do things physically and experience things emotionally, andthus their will, in many different ways.Everything which is an obstacle tosuch practice should be excluded. Inessence, we could say that the mottofor such an approach is: later mediacompetency is rooted in earliermedia abstinence.

Such an educational approach is oftenvilified contemptuously as “overpro-tective education”. It is not, however,a case of “protecting” but of “en-abling”. This is an “enabling educa-

tion” which helps children to acquirethe forces which they need for life in aworld filled with information technol-ogy which the latter cannot, however,give them.

As children grow up, indirect mediaeducation retains its importance as acounterweight but does increasinglymove into the background to give wayto direct media education. The follow-ing diagram illustrates the interactionbetween indirect and direct media education:

Indirect and direct media education 11

Artistic work, music, pictures, sculpture

1st septennium 2nd septennium 3rd septenniumPhysical development

Indirect media education

Direct media education

Development of judgementDevelopment of habits and abilities

AdolescenceEarly childhood Pre-School period Start of school “Rubicon” Puberty

Use of information technology

Info about the dangers of the Internet

Learning to use PC

Understanding film and music production

Understanding hardware and software

Reading aloud

Telling stories

Cultivating a reading culture

Learning to read and write Sports, choir, orchestra, clubs, etc.

Media abstinence

Conquering surroundings through experience

Movement, eurythmy, sport

ennium t sept1s

ennium2nd sept

enniumd sept3r

Conq

Media abs

Indir

enough experi

tinence

, sporyhmytement, eurvMo

sic,

hroundings truering surConq

ect media education

Media abs

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elopmentvsical deyPh

ork, mus tic wtisAr

ough experience

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and abilities

o about tInf

elopment of habits vDe

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artwe and sofardwanding hartserU

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ilm and music pranding ftsnder

ement

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ement

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telling sTTelling s

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eading aloud

oriest

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hool period Se-ScPrhildhoody c

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ts, cSporeead and writo rning tLear

ding culturating a rCultiv

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ty dolescence

c.tra, clubs, ethesc, orhoirts, c

A

A principal characteristic of all mediacan be described with the words“fragmentation” or “atomisation”.Such a signature can already be seenin writing. The living flow of languageis analysed and broken down into in-dividual sounds which are then trans-lated into symbolic representations.Language living in the present ismade enduring in spatially orderedsymbols.

Film breaks down movement intomany images taken rapidly one afterthe other. Television technology di-vides the image one step further intothousands of individual dots. Thetransmission of language by mobilecommunications works on the sameprinciple. The acoustic signals arescanned in a cycles of millisecondsand the measured values are trans-lated into digital information which is then transmitted.

This signature of atomisation inherentto media technology also has an effecton content. It is a basic characteristicof all media types that they separateout and hold fast details from livingreality which thus lose their relation-ship with the totality of life.


The principle characteristic of modern media is image

resolution, i.e. “atomisation”and “fragmentation”. Here theresolution of the printed imageinto raster dots at five times

magnification

The media world surrounding us givesus a fragmented world of individualpieces of information which in them-selves no longer have a context. Justlook at a news broadcast from thisperspective. An amazing wealth ofparticulars is presented which is, however, completely missing anyinner coherence. A war in the MiddleEast is directly followed by a naturaldisaster in the USA; a serious accidentin China is described and subsequent-ly the opening of a museum; this isfollowed by the result of a footballmatch in Europe and finally by theweather forecast. These individualcontributions have nothing to do withone another. Their lack of context failsto communicate any meaning.

Facing this is the individual personwho has to find their way around aworld presented in this way. Theyneed the ability to orientate them-selves in this cosmos of fragmentedscraps of information and embed themagain in some kind of context. Theycan only do this if they have acquireda certain level of background knowl-edge. Education has to support thegrowing young person in this. It has to give them the ability once again towork out a context for themselves in aworld of disjointed bits of information.For that they need on the one hand a broadly based general educationcomprising as many fields of life andknowledge as possible, and on the

other hand a centre in themselves towhich they can relate everything theyknow.

We can find an important educationalreference in this regard in RudolfSteiner. He told the teachers workingat the time:

“But there is a relationship which is ofvery special importance and which weshould establish wherever possible:the relationship with the human beingas such. We should take every oppor-tunity to establish the relationshipwith the human being as such. That isto say, we may be discussing an ani-mal, we may be discussing a plant, wemay be discussing a thermal phenom-enon—in every instance we have theopportunity without fragmenting thelesson, without distracting the child as it were, to connect the matter withsomething concerning the humanbeing.”

If human beings are placed at the centre, and if beyond that we seek toshow how they relate to their environ-ment, then children can consolidatethemselves inwardly and develop anassurance in their relationship withthe world. They possess a centre towhich they can relate the bits of infor-mation in which assail them every day in a meaningful way.

Indirect and direct media education 13

A person is not really media compe-tent if they can only use a PC. Mediacompetency means knowing the ad-vantages and disadvantages of allmedia types and media carriers and,depending on the situation, selectingthe one which is most suitable at anyparticular time.

For this reason, too, it is important thatchildren should first learn to handle theclassicmedia carriers: paper andbooks.Beyondthat,currentpracticehasshownthat there is no real edu cational sensein making use of computers in lessonsbefore the age of 12.

Waldorf education considers the abil-ity to use a computer to be as impor-tant as do other educational methods.But it holds the view that the age atwhich a subject is dealt with by thechildren is of central importance. Theindependent use of a computer as-sumes that an independent judgementhas been developed. The ability toform our own judgements does not primarily start developing until theage of 12—and not until this age is iteducationally sensible and necessaryto use computers, and IT technologyas a whole, as media carriers. How-ever, the education about media typesmust be clearly distinguished fromthis. It starts as soon as the child enters school.

Direct media education takes place at the levels of media type and media

carrier. Attention must be paid toevery level in school and for everyfield there is a curriculum.

Curriculum for the media type “text”

Children should experience in earlychildhood that stories have their origin in the human imagination. Thatis why it is desirable that children atthe beginning of their life are initiallytold stories—without a book in hand.

Subsequently it is important that weshould keep reading to children. Children should experience that inbooks, and in texts as a whole, themysterious and exciting stories whichpeople tell one another have beenwritten down. Parents should observetheir function as role models and dis-play an active book culture throughtheir behaviour.

In the first class at school, childrenlearn how to write and how what hasbeen written can be read on the basisof active pictorially artistic activity.

From classes 2 and 3 onwards it is important that the ability to write andread continues to be practised. To thisend it is recommended to build up aclass library in the classroom in whichthe children can lend each other thebooks they have found exciting. It isalso very good if the school sets up aschool library which gives encourage-ment to read. Reading groups spe-


Media curriculumDr. Edwin Hübner

cially set up for beginning readers contribute to the development of a reading culture.

From class 5 or 6 children should getan initial idea of what it means to do“research”. There are many things thatcannot be found on the Internet. Thereis an enormous wealth of knowledge inlibraries. That is why it is importantthat growing young people learn aboutlibraries and also get some idea howthey can find things in the stocks ofbooks held there.

In class 7 or 8 the pupils should developthe skill to touch-type with 10 fingerson a keyboard—at least for as long ascomputers are still operated with key-boards.

Curriculum for the media type “sound”

Just as with text, the ability to makejudgements in the media type “sound”is based on our own active experi-ences. In the preschool period thechildren should find adults withwhom they can sing together andthrough whom they can acquire amore or less big repertoire of songs.

In the first years at school, singing andmaking music together is very muchcultivated and the stock of songs thechildren know is systematically ex-panded. Starting in class 1, the chil-dren should also learn simple musicalinstruments such as the recorder. A

more demanding instrument like theviolin or piano can follow. The goal is for the children to acquire a broadspectrum of musical experiences andthe corresponding skills.

From class 4 or 5 onwards simplemusic theory introduces thinkingabout the musical experiences. Fromclass 8 onwards the young peopleshould become familiar with the his-torical genesis of the culture of musicalcreation up to and including contem-porary music. Here it is important thatthey should be able to analyse presentpopular music in particular and there-by understand how film music is com-posed and what function it performswithin the action of the film.

Curriculum for the media type “image”

Much value is placed by everyone ona command of the textual media type.But there is not the same awarenessthat the image media type also has to be “read”. Just as children have to learn to understand texts, they alsohave to know how images communi-cate a message and how it can be understood.

A central motif of a curriculum whichtakes its cue from child development isthat children should first learn to cre-ate images through their own activework. That can start in the preschoolperiod in that they begin to draw orpaint simple motifs with wax crayons

Media curriculum 15

or watercolours. This is built on in theearly years at school when childrenonly gradually become capable of de-veloping an aesthetic sense. The chil-dren now learn to distinguish andaesthetically judge various shades ofcolour. As they grow older, the picturesand drawings become more differenti-ated and varied. At about the age of 12(class 6), an introduction to the laws ofprojection and the theory of light andshade is also very useful. The childrenlearn to handle the laws of perspectivein a practical way through concretedrawing problems. In class 11 suchpractical understanding can be takenup and mathema tically deepened inprojective geometry.

From class 9 onwards is the time forthe young people to become ac-quainted with the language of photo-graphic and film images, once againby means of concrete projects. Theaim should be for them to be able toanalyse and understand the proce-dures of professional film-makingthrough the production of their ownfilms. In this context the adolescentsshould also understand the structureand function of advertising.

Understanding media carriers

It is one of the basic impulses of Waldorf education, something we canalready find expressed in Steiner, thatchildren and young people shouldlearn to understand their technicalenvironment.

A key main lesson in class 3 has as itssubject the basic principles of houseand ship building, of various tradesand food production. In the same way

children should have practical experi-ence of how paper is made. In the spirit of such a curriculum, doing bookbinding themselves in class 7 or 8 isalso an educationally productive project.

There has long been a consensus inWaldorf schools that computer tech-nology should be introduced from class9 onwards and that this should be doneby starting with the practical use ofelectronic components and devices.1

This means that as part of a practicalmain lesson in class 10 or 11 basiccomputer circuits (NOR, OR, NAND,AND, half adders, full adders, flip-flops, etc.) are built using relays andtransistors and examined before in-vestigating the way that microproces-sors work. In class 11 many schoolshave included practical programmingin the curriculum. Finally, the Internetand the way it is built in principleshould be dealt with in class 12.

The overall aim is to show how themachine we call a “computer” imple-ments formalised human logic in a se-quence of physical changes of state. In looking at the way this is imple-mented, it becomes clear that onlyhuman thinking can meaningfully interpret these interlinked states andtheir end state.

Using the media landscape for learning and presentations

In order for pupils to be able to usecomputer technology meaningfullyalso for their studies, they have tolearn how online resources can besensibly utilised alongside books,journals, etc.


That assumes, however, that theyhave already mastered strategies ofmeaningful book searches. Theyshould become familiar with thiswhen they make their first smallerpresentation in front of the class. Spe-cific suggestions as to how useful re-search can be undertaken on the In-ternet by means of search engines canbe of educational benefit—initiallyguided in school—starting in aboutclass 7 or 8. In this context the varioustypes of search engine can be dis-cussed, basic procedures and aspectsof searches can be dealt with and in-formation provided about specialistportals as well as useful research portals.

It is very important that pupils shouldbe given criteria which they can useto assess the credibility of web pages.2

Finally, there is the subject of “verifi-cation of sources”. There should be a regular return to this subject in theappropriate place in subsequentyears—above all in history lessons. A class 8 pupil should also obtain abasic knowledge about the correctforms of written communication onthe Internet: construction of a businessemail, formulating a meaningful sub-ject line, “netiquette”, writing an application letter, attachments, etc.

Presentation techniques on a PC,overheads, etc. can be learned withthe pupils from class 10 onwards,practised and critically discussed. In this way they can understand thestrengths and weaknesses of com-puter aided presentations, learn to use presentation software sensiblyand avoid presentation pitfalls.

Words from Rudolf Steiner can serveto sum up the basic motif of the mediacurriculum: “All teaching must pro-vide knowledge about life.” All teach-ing must ultimately lead pupils to understand the life of their time in ascomprehensive a way as possible,have a good command of its funda-mental cultural techniques and con-tinue to develop them in a meaning-ful way.

1) Educational perspectives, experiences and concrete sug-gestions for lessons have been collected at www.waldorf-it.de.2) Thus for example pupils should be made aware of the im-portance of the version history and discussion page in aWikipedia article.

Media curriculum 17

When people communicate them-selves through their language, ex-pressions, movement and gestures,through song or other forms of ex-pression, or let themselves be im-pressed by others, this is the most im-mediate form of communication fromperson to person. Although media ex-tend our possibilities of entering intoan interchange with others, they insertan intermediary in between the direct encounter between human beingswhich keeps hold of what was previ-ously a direct presence.

Speech and text

When children become familiar withthe medium of writing, the writtenword is separated from the speakerand listener and preserved. That isquite a radical abstraction process be-cause language until then has been a direct experience. That is why learn-ing the letters is preceded in Waldorfschools by an intense practice phase inwhich the elementary forms are drawnfirst and only then are the letters de-rived from the images—images withwhich the children can create an innerbond.

Such drawing requires the full atten-tion of the children because on the one hand there is a great aspiration tomake what is drawn clear and beauti-ful, and because on the other hand thematerials offer sufficient resistance in

the hands of the children to directtheir vigilance into their fingertips.This makes drawing and writing an equally creative and perceptualprocess. Large, not too smooth sheetsof paper and wax crayons are wellsuited to bring out such a balance ofcontent, aesthetics and effort of will.

In writing, children know what theyput on paper—they are “directly pres-ent”. In reading, the distance to theprevious experience of language be-comes even greater because now theyhave to reawaken the spoken word tolife again from out of the letters: theyhave to hear inwardly what they seebefore them as finished symbols andon top of that still have to understandwhat they “hear”.

Language is externalised in symbols in writing and has to be returned to aninner experience in reading.

It makes immediate sense that theability to express ourselves well inwriting and, conversely, actively learn-ing to read have as an important pre-requisite that the speaker or listenerhas a nuanced relationship with thespoken word: alongside an active andpassive vocabulary they also have toexperience the beauty, vividness andelasticity of language—includingthrough their own voice.

Because language can only be learntfrom human beings, the writing of for-


Class teacher periodHenning Kullak-Ublick

eign languages is also not practiced in Waldorf schools until the languageshave been experienced in the earlyyears at school in lively stories, dia-logues, poems and songs.

Speaking is far more than an act of in-formation exchange. Speech activatesall levels of soul experience from thebright spark of an idea through theprobing search for the right word tomodulation, sentence structure andthe speed at which we speak whichchange with each different person towhom we speak.

What applies to language also appliesin variation to every other type ofcommunication: it encompasses thewhole spectrum of human experiencein thinking, feeling and the will.

From the perspective of media compe-tency, the question arises as to thebasic abilities which people need inorder to gain access to differentmedia. The “when” also plays a bigrole. Electronic media are a very spe-cialised form of communication. Theiromnipresence—which will increaseexponentially once again in the verynear future when robots will com-monly be found everywhere—posesthe risk, however, that as a resultother forms of expression will be neg-lected and will atrophy.

A sovereign command of differentmedia is the consequence of a sensi-ble use of the senses, perceptual abil-ity, power of judgement and the willto think which a person has acquired.

Class teacher period 19

In writing, children know what they put onpaper—they are“directly present”…

These are, however, abilities which ar-rive not all at once but only over timebecause they are directly connectedwith the age of the child.

In this section we will look at the timefrom starting school to about the ageof 12, that is, at the first six years ofschool.

The crucial prerequisites for dealingwith electronic media at a later stageare created in the first years of school.It is, however, the case that childrendo not obtain their assurance in thisrespect by learning how to work anygiven device (that takes no time at all)but from quite different areas.

We have already seen in the exampleof language that hearing, understand-ing, investigating and having a feel-ing for the spoken work belong just asmuch to speech acquisition as the ac-tive “putting into words” of our ownfeelings and thoughts. Human beingscannot be replaced by devices here.That is why the cultivation of beauti-ful and clear articulation when tellinga story or reciting a poem, the pleas-ure in word games and riddles, theplaying of dramatic scenes and theconquest of writing as an artisticmeans of expression are quite won-derful instruments for developing aliving relationship with language.These experiences form the platformfrom which successive new media can be conquered without the contentbeing lost in the process.


Characteristic effects of electronicmedia are that they:

• Make information available withextreme speed, i.e. at any timeand immediately.

• Make the sense of passing timewhile they are being used disap-pear.

• Create the illusion of movement(in images, games, films, etc.)with minimal physical exertion.

• Frequently replace active atten-tion with the flood of images andinformation generated externally.

• Rely on web links, i.e. program-med associations, instead of pur-suing connections on the basis ofthinking and perception.

• Gloss over boredom.

• Replace judgements or conceptswe develop ourselves with fin-ished judgements in the form of a never-ending flood of informa-tion.

• Replace the slow and thoroughdevelopment of ideas in dialoguewith another person with bite-sized news summaries which areintent more on the associated ef-fect than on knowledge acquisi-tion and the perception of ourcounterpart.

• Shorten language to abbrevia-tions or symbols (icons).

These things are countered bymany sensible applications but theissue here is how they can be usedwithout dependencies being cre-ated or other unwanted side-effectstaking centre stage.

So what abilities are important andhow can they be developed?

• Active training of the senses canstimulate perceptual abilities in a nuanced way.

• By training observation, attentioncan be maintained beyond shortspans.

• The children’s developing world of ideas can become a creative in-strument of consciousness throughtraining the imagination—an in-strument which not only repro-duces thoughts but develops (andreflects on) further what has beenlearnt. Imagination is the best protection against unsubstantialfantasy worlds.

• A lot depends on experiencing ourown physicality in space and timeand making ourselves at home inour body.

• The hands have to be discoveredas what they are: the ultimatehuman instruments of freedomwith which we can do “anything”we want.

• Class libraries stimulate the sen-sory experience of reading andthey promote real research inwhich it is not web links but realquestions which lead to the goal.

• Joint activities can lead the chil-dren to discover how collaborationcan produce more than the sum ofindividual activities.

• Experiences with a variety of“analogue” means of expressionand media carriers develop theability to distinguish between the

qualities of various media andtheir carriers (paper or modellingwax, wax crayons or watercolours,musical instruments, clay, wood,etc.).

• The “triad” which extends fromactive hearing or doing throughdescriptive creation to recollectingcognition creates the basis for in-dependent, active learning.

• Children must be given a sense oftime and rhythm through experi-encing lessons which “breathe”,learning to wait, being involved in natural processes (looking afteranimals and the herb garden inclass 1, agriculture main lesson in class 3, butterflies in class 5,gardening, bees, etc.) and experi-encing that work is always led to a conclusion (culmination) so thatthe effort is worthwhile.

In short: children in the early yearsat school should use materialswhich address the full diversity oftheir senses from smell throughcolours to touch.

All of these things are deeply rootedin the methods and traditions of Wal-dorf schools. But in contrast to thepast, many of these activities onlyany longer take place in school andtherefore acquire an additional so-cial therapeutic function.


With regard to the above, we can say:

• The experience of chronologicalprocesses counters the disappear-ance of time in the sphere ofelectronic media.

• Training the attention, the expe-rience of meaningful connectionsthrough observation, and learn-ing to develop concepts ourselvesin the “triad” of learning are theprerequisite for being able tojudge the associative randomsearch result on the Internet incontext.

• The experience of movement andtactile dexterity are the counter-part to the physical immobilitywhen using computers.

• Communal experiences throughseeing the results of the work ofclassmates as well as communalactivities (music, drama, eu-rythmy, handwork, etc.) commu-nicate the experience of real en-counters and set real relationshipsagainst electronically controlledforms of communication.

• The living use of language inmany different forms elevates itabove the purely informative ex-change of news or judgementsand communicates the experi-ence of a true meeting from person to person.


At around the age of 12, children dis-cover increasingly how they can—andwant to—confront the world throughreflection and in terms of causalities.This is the time at which the conscioususe of electronic media can andshould also start.

School is probably the only placetoday in which children can have experiences for several hours eachday which are all based on a direct,sensory and emotional encounter withthe world and the people aroundthem. It can be a field of experience in which children can come to termsunhindered with the analogue—i.e.non-virtual—world and at the sametime extend their opportunities tomeet with other children and adults.

To this extent the absence of elec-tronic media at this age is not an impoverishment but a gain in prox-imity to the world and the ability tofocus on and deal with the world.This means not less but more activity,not a restriction of available experi-ences but an extended and fulfilledconnection with the world.


School is the onlyplace today in whichchildren can have experiences each dayof a direct, sensoryand emotional en-counter with theworld and the peoplearound them.

The relationship between childrenand the media landscape changes be-tween their tenth and twelfth birth-day. For primary school children themost important entertainment deviceis still the television, computershardly feature. This changes with theonset of puberty: the emotional con-nection with the television is trans-ferred to the computer and the Inter-net. Thus from a certain age almost allyoung people surf the web, embarkon a voyage of discovery and visit theso-called social media platforms tokeep in contact with their friends orfind new ones. That can be donethrough a profile with Google+ orFacebook, a Twitter or YouTube ac-count or through their own blog. Ontheir smartphone or PC at home, thegrowing young people spend a lot oftime letting their data—sometimesvery personal—flow through the web.

We easily overlook that Facebook andthe like are hidden traps. Nothing isforgotten on the web—something ofwhich young users should be aware!In order to make use of the socialmedia platforms without risk, it is im-portant to know the following basic“rules”. They are intended as recom-mendations and primarily representan appeal to common sense.

Rules of the game for young people:

1. Handling confidential informationin the right wayPersonal information and the informa-tion of friends such as surname, tele-phone number or address have nobusiness on the Internet. Passing onpersonal information is only permissi-ble if the person concerned (in thecase of minors, the parents) has givenconsent. Smartphone apps in particu-lar require a great deal of care sincemuch information can be transmittedunnoticed on installation. Great atten-tion should also be paid to all othersecurity settings on the web such as infirewalls, browsers, cookies, etc..


Young people on the webCelia Schönstedt

2. Publication of contentBefore writing anything, the possibleconsequences should be considered,i.e. nothing should be published whichone would not be happy to write on a poster at the central railway stationor tell another person directly to theirface. And it is important to know thatone can be held responsible for one’scontributions in forums, blogs andother social networks.

One can give one’s postings a personalstyle but should be very cautious withanything of a private nature. As amatter of principle one should neverpost anything that is insulting, dis-criminatory, racist or vulgar or takepart in any kind of hate campaign—instead, factual argumentation is rec-ommended. It is best to reveal one’ssources in postings, to insert the corre-sponding links and name the originaladdress if known. Because socialmedia lives off linking and network-ing and transparency. That makescontributions credible and gives them greater weight.

3. Behaviour on the InternetSince in a written medium we cannotsee the expressions or gestures of others, ironic or humorous remarksshould always be marked accord-ingly—that is the only way to avoidmisunderstandings (example: “I don’tlike you ;-)”).

It should further be considered thatwith our account we present our per-sonality on the social networks whichcould be perceived in real life byother users as a “real” person. Thatcan have—both positive and negative—repercussions because every mouseclick leaves a trace. The times when it was possible to surf the web anony-mously are long past: website visitscan always be traced.

It is also important to know how toreact when cyber bullying occurs, forexample that a user can be blocked,that screenshots can be taken as evi-dence and that one should in any casewithout fail seek help.

Young people on the web 25


4. Legal informationIt is important to comply with the lawsin force—in particular no material pro-tected by copyright should be usedand no racist or pornographic contentdistributed. Trademark and personal-ity rights should not be infringed.

5. Right to one’s own imageAs soon as someone is clearly recog-nisable in an image, their consent isrequired before publication. Specificexample: a breach of the law has occurred if photos of a fellow pupil, a teacher or parent are posted on theweb without the consent of the peopleconcerned. The same applies toposted videos which make use ofmusic protected by copyright.

Particular care should be taken withthe use of intimate pictures of oneselfsuch as e.g. sending them by MMS,WhatsApp or by similar means (so-called “sexting”) as the risk of abuseis very great.

6. Learning from mistakesIf a mistake should occur when usingFacebook or the like, it is best toadmit to it and try to clear up the mis-understanding as quickly as possible.

If one is uncertain about how to for-mulate a contribution or commentary,it is best to check once more with par-ents or a teacher before publication—the same applies equally to deliber-ately negative or inappropriatecontributions from other users onone’s own website, pinboard or blog.

“Be professional, kind, discreet, authentic. Represent us well. Remem-ber that you can't control it once youhit ‘update’.” (“A twitterable Twitterpolicy” in 140 characters. Source:www.gruntledemployees.com)

Media as vehicles for education 27

When the subject of the use of mediais discussed, the discussion is mostlyabout their effect on consumers.Much less attention has so far beenpaid to the effect on the producers,particularly the young producers ofmedia content.

The question as to the effect appearsinquiteadifferent light inbothrespectsif we change sides in the truest senseof the word.

Irrespective of whether pupils are researching an article for a schoolmagazine, a local radio broadcast orwhether they are making a film con-tribution, they are from the beginningin a complex web of relationships be-tween the external world, their owninterest and the public.

A radio programme to which nobodylistens and a film which nobodywatches lose their meaning. Network-ing on social media produces an in-sight on a range of levels about publicreaction. Not just commentaries fromYouTube users but even second bysecond analysis of “views”: at whichpoint did viewers lose interest, whichpassages were viewed repeatedly, inwhich countries, by which age groupswas my film seen?

The first chapters made clear that inchildhood indirect media education,particularly in the form of abstinence,plays a crucial role. How might directmedia education now look in upperschool?

Three aspects can play a key role:

1. Active creation Just as the class 9 pupil becomes familiar with the material and worktechniques in woodwork not just theoretically but experiences the ad-justment of his planning and specificactions through the work piece itself,so their own experience in the pro-duction of media content should bethe basis of learning.

2. Developing the power of judgement In this way, of course supplementedby the corresponding theoreticalknowledge, young people can de-velop power of judgement and are nolonger dependent on accepting thejudgement of adults.

3. Structuring access to the world Electronic media can communicateaccess to the world and human be-ings, access which is created with in-terest and with intentions which havebeen thought about in knowledge ofthe effect, and which is clearly differ-ent from analogue access. Thus theexperience of making a (feature) filmcan teach a lot of relevant knowledgeif it is compared with the experiencein working on and performing a the-atre piece.

Just as with good reason we teachwriting before reading in Waldorfschools (see page 18), the same canapply analogously here: the reflected

Media as vehicles for educationFranz Glaw


The Facebook page ofthe school magazineMonolith

production of content in various mediatypes is part of the educational task ofthe school. Here the aspect of the re-duction in own activity can provide aguideline for the sequence so that thetasks might be listed as follows:

• Production of a newspaper (text)

• Production of a radio programme (sound)

• Production of a film/TV contribution (moving image)

Project experiences in upper school

Text media type: “Finding one’s ownlanguage”

The occupation with the medium oftext in upper school does not need tobe restricted to the reception andanalysis of literary texts or technicaltexts. It can also serve the goal of sup-porting pupils in the search for theirown form of expression. The poetrymain lesson in class 10 offers the foun-dations for becoming acquainted withthe possibilities and limits as well asthe laws of various literary forms. Onthis basis pupils can test themselvesand the effect of their own texts. Hereit is very helpful if there is a concretetask and an addressee; that is, if it isnot just the teacher who reads the textfor the purpose of assessment.

A very good opportunity exists in thisrespect if there is a school newspaper,or a class or group of pupils producesa newspaper for a specific occasion.

The then class 8 at the Düsseldorf school in 1994founded the school magazine Mono-lith following a “newspaper week”. It continues to appear regularly to thepresent day despite several genera-tional changes.

When in 2008 the education ministryin the German federal state of NorthRhine-Westphalia decided to amendthe regulations for the award of theintermediate school leaving certifi-cate, the draft amendment initiallyprovided neither for the opportunity to include previous achievements northe possibility of re-examination. Together with other protests from theWaldorf representatives, the editorialteam of Monolith went on the offen-sive, carefully researched the issuesconnected with Waldorf teacher train-ing locally in Witten-Annen, studiedthe legal position, questioned experts,attended plenary sessions of the stateparliament and meetings of the schoolscommittee and finally asked all edu-cation policy spokespeople of the par-ties represented in the state parlia-ment for a detailed interview whichwas to appear in a special edition ofthe school newspaper. Well-prepared,very comprehensive interviews thentook place in the state parliamentwhich illustrated to the politicians thelimits of their own knowledge about

Mr Jansen from the organic butcher’s shop


the matter, which they readily admit-ted.

The representatives of the oppositionparties even found their way to theDüsseldorf school and attended thepresentations of and colloquia on theyear projects. After further debate inthe state parliament, the draft law wasfinally amended to say that the sub-ject teacher will award a predictedgrade and that there is the possibilityof re-examination. Afterwards the edi-tors were rightly proud of their part inthe success on the political stage.

Sound media type: “My image of the world”

As part of a project week, a group offemale pupils came together in class9 who wanted to make a radio pro-gramme arising from their agricul-tural work experience. They intendedto deal with the subjects of factoryfarming, organic meat and vegetari-anism. Their first stop in their researchwas the organic shop in the schoolgrounds. Here the aspiring reportersput the questions they had preparedboth to the customers and the owner.In this way they found out that themeat which was sold there was sup-plied by Jansen’s, an organic butcherin Cologne. They followed up immedi-ately with a charming telephone callwith the result that next day we weregiven an exclusive tour of the busi-ness by the boss himself, who with a

great deal of humour spoke about his30 years working as an organicbutcher. Interviews with customers,the background noise in the salesarea, including the little bell at thedoor, and above all the unmistakableJansen laughter gave us almost 2hours of live sound material. Further-more, Mr Jansen also gave us the address of our next research stop: the organic farm on which the animals live before they are slaughtered and, cut into half car-casses, delivered to thebutcher. Once again the line of argument agricultural work experience—projectweek— radio programme produced asmall miracle and on the next day de-livered a comprehensive insight intoappropriate and healthy animal hus-bandry with the farmer and businessowner answering all questions pa-tiently and almost philosophically. Onthe fourth day all the material was lis-ten to and usable sound clips were ex-tracted and saved. In addition, an-other group still conducted someinterviews in a busy shopping streetwith customers of a conventionalbutcher’s and an organic shop.

As with all the other interview part-ners, it was apparent that the fearsand concerns of the 14-year-olds werewholly unfounded: all the people they

A well-modulated soundtrack

approached responded in a friendlyway and were more than willing tospeak. And be it the equipment(recorder, headphones, microphone)or the technical competence of the in-terviewers: the interviewees treatedthe fledgling reporters with great re-spect which strengthened their self-confidence and made them almost visibly grow in stature.

It can be seen from this that themedium of radio provided the pupilswith access to places and subjectsand, above all, also to people whichwould hardly have been accessible to them without this medium.

Creating reality

A further completely new and crucialexperience arrived when it came tomaking a radio programme out of thealmost five hours of sound material.To begin with, it was immediately obvious that listeners could not be expected to listen to these five hoursin full and without commentary. Thematerial had to be radically cut down.Then the voice-over had to be writtenand spoken clearly and without mis-takes in the recording studio. This required speaking skills and inven-tiveness from the pupils to create animage for the listeners of what theycould naturally not see themselves.

The starting sequence was to be ascene in the sales area of Jansen’s

butcher’s shop. On various tracks wemixed the conversation between cus-tomers and shop assistants and cus-tomers among themselves as back-ground, Mr Jansen’s laughter, therepeated ringing of the door bell and, finally, the voice-over which explained where we were and whomwe were about to interview aboutwhat.

This montage technique triggeredgreat surprise among some pupils andthe spontaneous reaction “But that’smanipulation!”. But it quickly becameclear that a radio feature in principlehas to be produced like this. The un-filtered and complete reproduction ofreality is simply not possible. For thatthe radio listeners would themselveshave to go to the production locationsafter preparatory research.

Responsibility

So the producer of the radio pro-gramme has to select, arrange andcomment—there is no other way.They present their view of a section ofreality and to this end use the impres-sions obtained of this diversity. Indoing so, they of course have a pur-



pose and require a concept withoutwhich they would not have any crite-ria for selection. The question is, ofcourse, how conscientiously the pro-ducer works and how independentand honest they are with regard totheir intentions.

It is a crucial difference whetherpupils are taught these facts in an ab-stract way or can experience themthrough their own activity. By makingtheir own production in a real contextthey become aware, on the one hand,of the responsibility of media workersand they can, on the other hand, bet-ter put their own consumption ofmedia into the context in which themedia content is produced; this ulti-mately makes them more capable of critical reflection.

Recognition of own work

A few weeks later we then went tothe recording studio in which a one-hour broadcast on our subject was to be produced. At the start of theproject the pupils thought it was ajoke when I mentioned a programmeon local radio. Now things became se-rious and the excitement was accord-ingly great. We took along the sound-track of our production and alternatedin answering the questions of the pre-senter in the small sound booth. Sinceit was fortunately not a live broadcast,we were still able to iron out the oddglitch.

To top it off, the grandfather of two ofthe pupils involved celebrated hisbirthday on the day of the broadcast.The whole birthday party listened tothe radio programme. Next day class-mates from class 13 also paid a greatcompliment. They happened to hearthe announcement of the programmeand stayed listening through to theend.

Moving image media type: “Findingone’s own form of expression”

Our forms of communication and alsothe way we obtain information haveradically changed through the devel-opment of electronic media and willcontinue to do so. The changed formsof communication also include the fact that we can access moving im-ages at any time through our smart-phones. The search for information on YouTube has meanwhile overtakensearches via search engines. Thereare tutorials on YouTube on all ques-tions of practical life with the amountof uploaded content growing at enor-mous speed. On the eighth birthday ofYouTube in February 2013 it was al-ready 100 hours of new film materialbecoming available on the platformper minute.

The language of moving images isthus a highly effective form of com-munication of which we make inten-sive use. And this language has itsown particular structure, its own laws.

I have to learn this language if I wantto use it consciously and independ-ently. Not least, also to be protectedagainst deception and manipulation.“We have to approach the digitalmedia as their master, otherwise webecome their slave.” (A. Neider, Medienbalance)

And just as in the Middle Ages only afew privileged people were able tolearn to write and make use of it, sountil a few years ago it was the casethat only a few people had the oppor-tunity to communicate with a widerpublic through the medium of film, toproduce and present their ideas andvisions in artistic form. Today the de-velopment of technology with highquality cameras even in smartphonesin combination with free software andvideo portals like YouTube has madeit possible for everyone to becomescriptwriter, cameraman, actor, editorand film producer and in some caseseven to earn a living in that way.

The way in which I take in content

and, above all, also how I judge it isnot only dependent on what I see butalso on how it is presented. That in-cludes camera distance, shot length,camera angle, camera movement,zoom as well as lighting and colourtemperature during recording. Editingtechnique during postproduction thenplays a crucial role in which images,recorded at various times and in vari-ous places, are assembled into a newwhole together with sound materialfrom a great variety of sources. In thisway completely different effects canbe produced with the same startingmaterial.

And we can note that it is above allthe young generation which enthusi-astically makes use of these possibili-ties. Increasing numbers of Waldorfschools are also operating their ownYouTube channel, their own TV sta-tion we might say. The German Asso-ciation of Waldorf Schools, too, hasbeen represented here since 2012under “waldorfschulen” and pub-lishes its own films.



If we look at the results, however, it is noticeable that there is still a greatdeal of amateurism, a filmic stammer-ing and helpless stuttering. When thefirst Waldorf school was founded,Rudolf Steiner in his time demandedthat pupils should, for example, betaught the principle of the electricmotor because, after all, they used thetram. Correspondingly it applies todaythat teaching a basic understanding of the language of film should be partof the general educational tasks ofschool. And it should best be done notin the form of analyses but through reflected and repeated own doing. Itcan, for example, be incredibly illumi-nating if different groups of pupilsmake completely different films fromthe same raw material, the footage, in postproduction. After that no onehas to explain to them any longer thatalthough the reality in films makesuse of images from observed reality, it consciously and also artistically creates a new reality out of them inwhich colours, image composition,perspective, editing technique andmany other things play a crucial rolewith regard to the effect on theviewer.

Thus training in this area not onlyopens up the opportunity for pupils touse this medium in a more deliberateand successful way, so that they canarticulate themselves more compre-hensibly, it also increases the enjoy-

ment which can be experienced inwell-made works of film art.

Certain prerequisites are of course required if the corresponding knowl-edge and abilities are to be success-fully taught. First and foremost, thesequence is crucially important. Educationally it can be thoroughlycounter-productive to introduce thesubject at too early a stage. If I havenever drawn or sketched a picture onpaper with my own hand, if I am com-pletely unfamiliar with the pictures ofimportant artists, if I have not beenable to gather any experience in pho-tography, that is with still images, my expressive range as a cameramanor director will be very limited and,above all, unconscious. The develop-ment of imagination and creativity,the command of fine motor skills andalso refined sensory perception areabilities which develop in stages andwhich require our own body-linkedexperience. The education of the Wal-dorf school is guided in its lesson con-tent, methods and teaching methodol-ogy by the age of the pupils. Here theprinciple applies that as a first steppupils should have the correspondingexperiences directly and not mediatedby a medium. Only after that shouldsuch experiences be presented andproduced in transformation by and filtered through a medium.

Pupils are therefore to be enabled to

be involved in developing these cul-tural and social spheres in a creativeand responsible way on the basis oftheir own knowledge and practicalexperience rather than adapting in alargely ignorant way to the develop-ments in technology and science (society).

Some schools have set up video work-ing groups which document schoolevents and realise their own film proj-ects. Art lessons offer the opportunityto study the aesthetic aspects throughobservation and doing. Literary filmadaptations might be studied in Ger-man lessons. But then—just as thecharacteristics of materials and thevarious processing techniques are re-vealed in craft lessons—we only gainan insight into the function and effectsof the clearly more complex imageand sound media through our ownproduction.

We can interpret the new informationtechnologies and media as a furtherdevelopmental stage of human beingsand we are called upon to put them atour service if we are to avoid beingruled and robbed of our humanity by them.


You Tube channel of theGerman Association of

Waldorf Schools

Self-education of adults 35

In Germany alone, about 58 billiontexts were sent in 2012,1 worldwide itwas about seven trillion; for 2016 9.4trillion texts are expected.2 Telephonecalls made by mobile phone compri-sed 107 billion minutes in 20123, thatis equal to about 204,000 years. Thedata downloaded from the Internet tomobile devices increased to 93 millionGB in 2011,4 and it is still rising.

These are figures which show theamount of time which people devoteto the small devices which live in theirjacket pockets. They are changinghuman behaviour. The journalistChristoph Koch published a book in2012 which quickly became a bestsel-ler and yet all it contains is a descrip-tion of what he experienced when hedid without his mobile phone for fourweeks.5 It has not, however, just beenKoch who has described clear changesin his behaviour through the intensiveuse of the Internet and mobile phone;many other authors confirm what hewrites.6 All of them complain that theyhave lost the ability to be able to con-centrate on something for a longer pe-riod of time. They describe unani-mously how they could not payattention to anything. One scientistnoted that he had lost the ability “tothink great, deep thoughts”.7 But weare not just losing the ability to thinkin a concentrated way but also to com-municate meaningfully with other

people. The observation of an Ameri-can university lecturer makes thisclear:

“At the end of my lecture the studentsimmediately open their mobile phonesand check for calls and text messages.In the cafeteria I observe studentsqueuing and writing texts while igno-ring their fellow students who arestanding not half a metre away. Onelate afternoon I notice six studentswalking up and down the corridor making phone calls and somehow managing to avoid bumping into oneanother like ships passing in the night,lost in the fog of conversation ... Onestudent reports by email about a ‘com-puter date’ on Saturday evening wit-hout having left her room. Paradoxi-cally these students are both socialengaged and social isolated.”8

These observations are representativefor many others: in one school the parents have been invited to a pa-rents’ afternoon. While the childrenjoyfully show their parents what theycan do, six or seven fathers are occu-pied on their smartphones. Althoughthe fathers are physically present,they are mentally absent. Mobilephone technology educates us to become “absently present”. In the1990s, the advertising of the mobilephone industry promised us “unlimi-ted communication”. It is indeed truethat today every person can talk to

Self-education of adultsDr. Edwin Hübner

someone else by telephone at anytime of the day or night in any placeall over the world. This grandiosetechnical achievement is countered by the fact that real communication inthe here and now is declining. Atten-tive observers notice that directhuman conversation is declining to be replaced by communication viatechnical networks. It has been possi-ble to observe such erosion of directhuman conversation in favour of vir-tual contacts since mobile phones andthe Internet have become everydaythings.9

It is not a matter of wanting to abolishthe Internet and mobile phones again—that, as Rudolf Steiner already cor-rectly noted with regard to the techno-logy of his time, would be reaction-ary—but only of drawing attention tocritical aspects so that an individualcounterbalance can be created. Wehave to learn to set times of innercalm against being overpowered inour everyday lives by mobile phones,the Internet, radio, TV, etc. We do not have to do without the benefits of communication technologies butsome recommendations can be madefor their more competent use, whichcan of course be added to:

• Establish times at which the Internetand mobile phone are at rest. Atleast one day in the week should be“non-screen” and “non-web” time.

In families with children it might bethe motto: “On Sunday Mum andDad belong to me!”

• Create technology-free zones in thehome, at least the bedroom shouldbe free of TV, computer, telephone,mobile phone, etc.

• Devices should be switched off during meals together.

• Take care that conversations are notinterrupted by the ringing of yourown mobile phone or, indeed, by atelephone call in the middle of aconversation. It is possible to make


Self-education of adults 37

others politely aware that we do notthink it a good thing if a conversa-tion is interrupted by a telephonecall.

• Emails are practical but they canalso be an enormous source of dis-traction. Hence: never start the wor-king day by looking at the emailsbut first start with own tasks. Onlyonce the important own work hasbeen done should the emails be re-trieved and dealt with.

• Don’t constantly check for emailsbut only at fixed times.

• If you find yourself spending toomuch time on the Internet—set an alarm clock.

The American communications expertHoward Rheingold points out that di-gital media and networks can only beusefully deployed if we develop andmaintain certain abilities. That inclu-des first and foremost the basic abilityof sustain attention. Training our at-tentive ability assumes mental disci-pline which allows us to use the digi-tal “thinking tools” without losing ourconcentration.10 But such mental disci-pline can only be practiced in periods

and spaces without media. Concentra-ted and continuously fostered medita-tive work each day is one possibilityto train inner discipline. It is crucial toestablish times and places in whichwe concern ourselves with thingswhich provide a counterbalance to theurgency of communication technolo-gies. This is the only way to streng-then our inner sovereignty in our dailydealings with the Internet and mobilephones. Being able to set an exampleto our children in practicing such so-vereignty contributes more to the theirdevelopment of media competencythan many verbal instructions.11

Because, as the cabaret performerKarl Valentin already said: “We caneducate our children as much as welike, they always end up copying us.”


1) http://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/3624/umfrage/entwicklung-der-anzahl-gesendeter-sms-mms-nachrichten-seit-1999/ 2) http://blogs.informatandm.com/6454/media-alert-happy-20th-birthday-to-the-sms/ 3) Bundesnetzagentur Jahresbericht2011, p. 87,http://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/4) Bundesnetzagentur Jahresbericht2011, p. 87,http://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/ 5) Christoph Koch, Ich bin dann mal offline: EinSelbstversuch. Leben ohne Internet und Handy,München 20126) Nicolas Carr, Wer bin ich, wenn ich online bin ...und was macht mein Gehirn solange?—Wie das Internet unser Denken verändert, Munich 2010; Alex Rühle, Ohne Netz: Mein halbes Jahr offline,Munich 2010; William Powers, Einfach abschalten:Gut leben in der digitalen Welt, Munich 2011, John Brockman, Wie hat das Internet Ihr Denken verändert?: Die führenden Köpfe unserer Zeit überdas digitale Dasein, Frankfurt/M 20117) Paul Kedrosky in Brockman 2012, p. 918) Robert Provine in Brockman 2011, p. 242 9) Sherry Turkle, Verloren unter 100 Freunden: Wie wir in der digitalen Welt seelisch verkümmern,Munich 2012; Franziska Kühne, Keine E-Mail fürDich. Warum wir trotz Facebook & Co. vereinsamen.Aus dem Alltag einer Therapeutin, Cologne 201210) Howard Rheingold in Brockman, 2011 p. 202ff11) See also the commendable book by ValentinWember: Willenserziehung, 60 pädagogische Anga-ben Rudolf Steiners, Tübingen 2014

39

“A different kind of thin-king probably arises at thescreen than in a library. Butit can be just as complexand it can train creativityand the ability for teamwork.”

Cornelia Funke* in re-sponse to the questionwhether she thought thatchildren learnt different cultural techniquesthrough books thanthrough the use of computers.

* Cornelia Funke is a German author ofbooks for children and young people whosefantasy novels have achieved internationalsuccess and have been translated into 37languages with 20 million copies publishedin total.


Literature on media education

Edwin Hübner: Individualität und Bil-dungskunst: Menschwerdung in techni-schen Räumen, Heidelberg 2010, 488 pages

Paula Bleckmann: Medienmündig—Wieunsere Kinder selbstbestimmt mit demBildschirm fertig werden, Stuttgart, 3rdedition 2013, 251 pages

Rudolf Steiner, Andreas Neider (ed.): Derelektronische Doppelgänger und die Ent-wicklung der Computertechnik, Basel, 2ndedition 2013, 176 pages

Andreas Neider: Medienbalance, Stuttgart2008, 148 pages

Rainer Patzlaff: Der gefrorene Blick: Diephysiologische Wirkung des Fernsehensauf Kinder, Stuttgart, 7th edition 2013, 143 pages

Heinz Buddemeier: Medien und Gewalt:Wie und warum wirken Gewaltdarstellun-gen? Heidelberg, 2nd edition 2012, 48 pages

Wolfgang Bergmann, Gerald Hüther: Com-putersüchtig? Kinder im Sog der modernenMedien, Landsberg, 4th revised edition2013, 183 pages

Thomas Mössle: dick, dumm, abhängig,gewalttätig? Problematische Mediennut-zungsmuster und ihre Folgen im Kindesal-ter (Interdisziplinäre Beiträge zur krimino-logischen Forschung, Volume 42).Baden-Baden 2012, 541 pages

Eike Rösch, Kathrin Demmler, ElisabethJäcklein-Kreis, Tobias Albers-Heinemann(eds.): Medienpädagogik Praxis Handbuch:Grundlagen, Anregungen und Konzeptefür aktive Medienarbeit, Munich 2012, 416 pages

Manfred Spitzer: Digitale Demenz: Wie wiruns und unsere Kinder um den Verstandbringen, München 2012, 368 pages

Edwin Hübner: Medien und Pädagogik.Gesichtspunkte zum Verständnis der Me-dien, Grundlagen einer anthroposophisch-anthropologischen Medienpädagogik.Stuttgart, 2015, 489 pages

Eike Rösch (Herausgeber), Kathrin Demm-ler (Herausgeber), Elisabeth Jäcklein-Kreis(Herausgeber), Tobias Albers-Heinemann(Herausgeber): Medienpädagogik PraxisHandbuch: Grundlagen, Anregungen undKonzepte für aktive Medienarbeit, Mün-chen 2012, 416 pages

Henning Kullak-Ublick: Jedes Kind einKönner. Fragen und Antworten zur Wal-dorfpädagogik. Stuttgart 2014, 149 pages

Diane E. Levin: Beyond Remote-ControlledChildhood: Teaching Young Children in theMedia Age. ISBN 978-1-928896-98-2

Lowell Monke: The Human Touch (2004),Unplugged Schools (in Orion Magazine,September/October 2007), The Web & thePlow: Putting the Computer in Its Place(Teacher Magazine, October 1997), Charlotte's Webpage: Why ChildrenShouldn't Have the World at Their Finger-tips (Orion Magazine, September/October2005).

Weblinkswww.erziehung-zur-medienkompetenz.de

www.klicksafe.de

www.bildungsserver.de/medienkompetenz-2924.html

www.bildungsserver.de/konzepte-der-bundeslaender-zur-medienerziehung-2884.html

www.ipsum-institut.de

“Blickpunkt”is an occasional series of introductory publications, which cover different aspects of Waldorf education. (German)

Published so far:

Blickpunkt 1: Was bedeutet Waldorfschule? Eine Orientierung

Blickpunkt 2: Die Wissenschaftlichkeit der Lehrerbildung an Waldorfschulen

Blickpunkt 3: Lehrerbildung anHochschulen und Seminaren im Bundder Freien Waldorfschulen

Blickpunkt 4: Waldorflehrer werden –Bildung fürs Leben

Blickpunkt 5: Prüfungen und Abschlüssean Waldorfschulen

Blickpunkt 6: Erlebnispädagogik undWaldorfschulen

Blickpunkt 7: 21 Fragen – oder was Sie schon immer über die Waldorfschule wissen wollten ...

Blickpunkt 8: Waldorfpädagogik und Inklusion

Blickpunkt 9: Sieben Kernforderungen an die Bildungspolitik

Blickpunkt 10: Salutogenese –gesundheitsfördernde Erziehung an Waldorfschulen

Publisher:Bund der Freien WaldorfschulenPresse- und ÖffentlichkeitsarbeitResponsible: Henning Kullak-UblickKaiser-Wilhelm-Str. 8920355 HamburgTel. 040 . 34107699-0, Fax [email protected]/waldorfschule


Die Wissenschaftlichkeitder Lehrerbildung an Waldorfschulen

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Was bedeutetWaldorfschule? Eine Orientierung

Waldorflehrer werden – Bildung fürs Leben

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Prüfungen und Abschlüsse an Waldorfschulen

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Erlebnispädagogik und Waldorfschulen –mit allen Sinnen Menschwerden

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Salutogenese –gesundheitsförderndeErziehung anWaldorfschulen

Struwwelpeter 2.0Medienmündigkeit

und Waldorfpädagogik


Struwwelpeter 2.0


Media competency and Waldorf education

Shockheaded Peter

Readers on topics of our time:Stuwwelpeter 2.0Media competency and Waldorf education (German or English)

Die «Reichsbürgerbewegung»A critical discourse about neo-nationalism in Germany (German)

Orders:www.waldorfschule-shop.dePhone: +49 (0)40.34107699-0

Die «Reichsbürger-

bewegung»Eine kritische

Auseinandersetzungmit dem Neu-Deutschtum

Bund der Freien Waldorfschulen

Publisher:Henning Kullak-Ublick,Arbeitskreis Medienmündigkeit und Waldorfpädagogikim Bund der Freien Waldorfschulen e. V. in cooperation with Aktion mündige Schule e. V.(www.freie-schule.de)Design and production: Studio Lierl Photos: Charlotte Fischer, Fotolia, Karl Lierl Translation: Christian von Arnim2nd edition 03.2015

Dear Readers_1

Clarification of concepts_3

Media education in the light of our understanding of the human being_6

Indirect and direct media education_10

Media curriculum_14

Class teacher period_18

Young people on the web_24

Media as vehicles for education_27

Self-education of adults_35

Literature and web links_40

Contents_Media competency and Waldorf education

Documents

Struwwelpeter 2 - Waldorf Resources...Struwwelpeter 2.0 Bund der Freien Waldorfschulen B Media competency and Waldorf education Shockheaded Peter This reader is published as a collaboration