World languages are vital to fulfilling the mission of Waldorf education, to educate children to reach their full potential as human beings who have the capacity to freely choose empathy and peace. By design, Waldorf schools offer two world languages starting in grade one. This fundamental part of the curriculum is instrumental in developing the flexibility of thinking and feeling necessary for true communication out of empathy. Including the local tongue, the three languages form a free space in the center for the individual to embody the mindset of a language and culture appropriate for the circumstances.
On this continent and particularly in this country, it is often difficult to build and sustain strong, effective world language programs in Waldorf schools. Even though it is key to the curriculum and mission, some schools struggle to fund full time positions, training and professional development for two world language teachers. The result is that these schools offer only one world language, perhaps only part time. Pervasive ideas from the dominant culture, (i.e., that learning languages is somehow non-essential and that all time should be spent on “core curriculum”) can bleed into the programming and funding choices made by Waldorf schools.
Many programs are not fully supported or even cut due to a high rate of turn-over in world language teachers. This lack of retention stems from an interlocking set of circumstances. School initiatives often begin with one very part time language program, perhaps taught by a parent or community volunteer. Then they wait and see if the program is successful before investing further. Sometimes this kind teacher is not trained in language teaching or Waldorf pedagogy and paid very little. Often, they are not welcomed into the faculty due to a lack of understanding and valuing of the subject, dogmatic ‘I know and you don’t’ attitudes, and a lack of understanding of cultural differences. In the end, these courageous teachers feel so isolated and unsupported with little or no professional development funded by the school, rare and expensive Waldorf trainings and no community of peers, that they are unable to stay with the program long enough to strengthen it and begin to advocate for more support from the school. I have heard several Waldorf school administrators say, “We haven’t budgeted for full time language teachers because they don’t seem to stick around.” In those circumstances, would you? And this is just getting the first world language program going!
In an ideal world, Waldorf schools would plan at the outset for two full time world language teacher positions with sufficient funds for mentoring, training and professional development.
This is not the case at this time on this continent.
Here is what we can do in the meantime:
Empower the teachers themselves to build engaging, efficient and sustainable programs so they can advocate for increased programming and funding based on their strong outcomes.
This can be done by offering accessible mentoring, professional development, encouragement, ideas and inspiration to all world language teachers in Waldorf schools.
I was fortunate enough to be supported at Cedarwood Waldorf School in my development as a world language teacher. I was able to attend and graduate from the Foreign Language Teacher Training at Rudolf Steiner College. I have learned so much in my 20 years as a world language teacher; from master teachers and mentors, from my students and from my own studies of Anthroposophy and language teaching methods. In 2010 I felt it was time to begin to pass on some of what I had learned and to offer practical tools and support to other language teachers in Waldorf schools. Each February, the World Language Teachers Conference has been a haven for learning and a community for teachers. Workshops have been offered on:
Anthroposophical underpinnings of Waldorf education
Developmental stages of the child
Waldorf world language curriculum
Age appropriate class content
Planning and organization
Artistic development for the teacher
Proficiency based language teaching
Staying in the target language
Movement and song in the language class
Teacher health (meditation, movement, balance)
Collegiality
Advocacy
Teachers have come away with knowledge and skills that give them the confidence and strength to continue this important work in Waldorf schools and to advocate for having two fully supported world language programs at their schools.
It is my continued mission to empower world language teachers in Waldorf schools to build engaging, efficient and sustainable programs. When schools also fully fund these teachers’ hard work, the teachers remain with the school, establishing strong programs that are vital to the greater mission of fostering the development of free human beings capable of empathy, compassion and peace.