ZOOLOGY

First Introduction in a Steiner-Waldorf School

The Human Being and the Animal Kingdom

Practical Advice to Teachers - Rudolf Steiner (1919):

“......you ought to make use of what this special age of the children offers you, because if you employ natural science lessons in the way I have described to you, you will then later implant into their souls moral concepts that are very firm and do not falter. You cannot instil moral concepts into the children by appealing to their intellect; you have to appeal to their feeling and their will. And you will appeal to the feeling and will if you guide the children’s thoughts and feelings to an understanding of how they themselves are only fully human when they use their hands for working in the world and how it is through this that man is the most perfect being,..... By feeling himself placed in the natural order of things.....the child absorbs feelings that later help him/her to know him/herself as a human being.”

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The approach to teaching the Grade Four child about the human beings relationship to the animal kingdom, contrasts markedly from that promulgated by followers of the Darwinist theory of evolution. However, the Waldorf approach does not disregard or belittle the discoveries or theories of scientific research and observation, but rather views evolution from a different perspective. Thus Darwin’s descent of man is transformed into an ascent of man. Having descended from cosmic realms, our task is to guide the human being along a re-ascending path to attain what is noble, moral and imbued with spirit.

L. Francis Edmunds wrote(1): “..........It is important for children to be taught in such a way, that when they look at a human being, they may feel there is much more than they can see - in the human being are assembled all the powers of worlds visible and invisible. The human form is not earthy, but is born of heaven. What the sun does for the plants, lifting them away from the earth, that, the spirit of humanity does for the human being, raising us to a free upright position. ...”

The presentation of the first lesson program on the Human Being and Animals, is the culmination of work that was first started in Grade One through the telling of folk tales, followed by animal fables in Grade Two and finally the main lessons on farming in Grade Three. Throughout my years of teaching, it has been apparent that this main lesson is the one which gives rise to the greatest interchange of ideas and experiences between colleagues. It is a lesson which is also much anticipated by the children.

Rudolf Steiner gave various indications regarding the directions which teachers can follow when presenting this subject.(2)(3). He especially draws our attention to the lack of understanding of the child before the ninth year and that it is therefore advisable to delay introducing the animal kingdom until he/she has crossed this Rubicon. Such an observation caused me to consider the age range within my class, especially as I have a fifteen month gap between the eldest and the youngest! However, taking the average age

as being around nine and a half years, I felt that my class was ready for this main lesson. The ninth year is of course completed with the celebration of a child’s ninth birthday. NB: Rudolf Steiner refers to the “9th year” not to the “9th birthday”.

Thorough preparation is of no less importance with this subject than it is when preparing for other lessons. If anything, the expectations of the children and the great responsibility carried by the teacher, demand an even greater knowledge and understanding of just “what” it is that he or she wishes to bring before the class.

Rudolf Steiner laid great importance on the central position of the human being in relation to the animal kingdom, and that it is the balanced development of the human being which distinguishes us especially from the higher animals. In any teacher’s preliminary studies, it is important to come to an understanding of the threefold-ness of the human organism, a brief summary of which follows:

We can view the organism of the human being as being comprised of three separate organisms: the head, trunk and limbs.

As if still part of the cosmos, the spherical head raises itself above the rest of the body, to be carried in regal state almost totally divorced from the movement and activity of the rest of the body. Even within itself, the head has little free movement. The head makes it possible for the rest of the organism to orientate itself to the surrounding environment, for in the head are the important senses of sight, sound, balance, smell and taste, our “windows on the world”. The nerve/sense system has its center in the brain.

In contrast, the limbs and internal organs of the abdominal area, which comprise the metabolic/limb system, are in a state of perpetual movement through physical activity with our arms and legs, or in the process of active metabolism. Within the metabolic system, food is transformed into actual bodily substance enabling the human being to exist in the world in a state of “freedom”.

Maintaining the balance between these two profoundly different systems, is the middle realm of the rhythmic system located in the chest region. Here the heart and lungs work in a constant rhythmical pattern of expansion and contraction, of tension and relaxation. Although we are able to give a primary location in different parts of the human body to each of these systems, they do, nevertheless, have an interrelationship with one another throughout the body. Our nerve/sense system is present over the entire body in that we can experience hot or cold, a caress or pain, etc.,

The metabolic/limb system is present in our head in the first stages of digestion, where the jaw’s activity in masticating our food can be compared to the similar activity of the limbs. Our saliva begins the actual digestive process, whilst mucous membranes lining the mouth are able to absorb salts and sugars for direct assimilation by the blood.

Finally, elements of the rhythmic system can be found in the circulation of air through our nasal cavities and mouth.(4)(5)(6)

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Taking the human being as the focus for the starting point of this lesson program, the teacher could bring to the children an imaginative picture of the place of the human being in relation to the world, with special attention being given to the inanimate objects, such as rocks and stones, and how they are devoid of any “life force”. If one were to let a stone fall to the earth, it would remain where it had fallen until such time as some other outside force moves it from that position. It is unable to move of its own accord. Compare this to a seed, which in many respects resembles a stone or pebble. If this falls to the earth, then there is a chance that it will fall upon fertile soil and eventually send out two shoots, one downwards into the earth and the other upwards towards the sun. However, the plant is unable to voluntarily move from where it has sent down its roots.

Mammals have the ability to move across the face of the earth, but nearly always in a parallel position to the earth. Only for short periods of time are they able to raise themselves into an upright position. The human being on the other hand, has the ability to stand upright upon the face of the earth and to move at will.

If we consider the development of animals to that of the human being, we cannot help but notice that the development of the animals is frequently very one-sided. The forces of growth have been focused almost entirely on developing one aspect of an animal’s body. Some animals, such as a pig, could imaginatively be described as a digestive system on legs! There are those animals to which nature has given long, slender legs, obviously meant for running. Or creatures which would appear to be nothing more than “head” or others with an extremely nervous disposition . And then there are those which have a one-sided development in the chest region where the activity of the heart and lungs are paramount.

The human being however, is so created that there is no one-sidedness with regards to his/her development. Our bodies are perfectly proportioned. The peak of perfection lies in our ability to use our limbs, in particular our hands, to live creatively upon the earth and to serve the world.

Human beings have been given the special gift of thought which enables us to freely decide how we use our hands. With them we can create beautiful works of art, cultivate the land, construct buildings and monuments and use them in the service of other human beings.(7)

Alternatively, we could use them to destroy what is beautiful, to create tools of destruction or to cause hurt and harm to the earth, to creatures and to fellow human beings. Our hands give us the ability to do good or evil during our life. This is a gift given only to human beings and one which we must learn to use wisely in the service of all of creation.

Such a contrasting picture of the difference between the human being and the animal kingdom could be the basis for an introduction to this main lesson.

Rudolf Steiner suggested(3) that the teacher begins by describing the cuttlefish and its environment, and later move on to speak about the mouse. I however chose to begin by describing animals which had a close relationship to our 3-fold system of Willing, Feeling and Thinking.

A ruminant, such as pig or cow could be chosen as the archetypal animal to illustrate the over-development of the metabolic system. Followed by an introduction to the deer family as a picture of animals where the limbs are designed for speed, unlike the thick, stocky legs of the bison. This also involved comparing the legs of the human being and animals. It comes as some surprise to the children to learn that most animals actually stand upon their tip-toes rather than on the flat of their feet like the human being.

Moving our attention to the nerve/sense realm in the head (which is also present in the deer) the teacher could focus on the eagle with its ability to raise itself above the earth, to fly freely across the open sky and to see for great distances. The eagle could be complemented by the owl which, although able to see in the dark, relies to a greater extent on its highly developed hearing when searching for food.

A balance can be brought about between the metabolic/limb animals and the birds with their head orientated nerve/sense system, by the introduction to the lion as representative of the cat family (carnivore). Here we have an animal with a strong rhythmic system. It has the ability to be ferocious when confronted by its enemies or warm hearted and gentle with its offspring. (NB. the lion and lionesses generally hunt together, but the final assault and kill is usually made by the lion) .

A complementary animal for this part of the main lesson could be the wolf which also has a strong rhythmic system, but unlike the lion, lacks courage. Seldom do lone wolves attack their prey, but rather rely on the joint effort of the pack when hunting and killing their prey. It should be mentioned that the wolf has a very highly developed sense of smell - why else does it have such a long nose!! Children can be encouraged to discover for themselves other instances of over specialization in the animal kingdom. A trip to the local zoo can be most useful at this juncture. But I would advise against using the zoo’s standard school pack for this visit. If one wishes the children to work with a questionnaire, then it would be more appropriate for the teacher to formulate his/her own.

On such a visit, attention could be directed to animals such as the giraffe with its long neck enabling it to reach the top-most branches. The ant-eater with its elongated nose for foraging in the ant hills, or the hippopotamus who prefers to spend most of the time in the water so as to disperse the weight of its incredibly large body.

A later main lesson may perhaps focus on molluscs (including the octopus and cuttlefish) , dolphins and the albatross. Finally, the year could conclude with a third session of this lesson program, discussing amphibians (such as the frog), reptiles (turtles, tortoises and snakes) and insects (the cockroach is worth attention). It would also be good to give some attention to the animals of Australia, which are unique to that continent It would be good if the final insect were to be the butterfly (such as the ‘Monarch’ and its incredible journey), thus making a direct connection to the teaching of Plant Biology in Grade Five.

This main lesson in particular brings new inspiration with regards to the children’s art work. The teacher is also called upon to bring their skills to bear on the drawing of the various animals presented to the class. Denis Klocek’s book “Drawing from the Book of Nature” is very inspirational from the artistic perspective, as well as containing succinct descriptions of various animals.

Classroom decoration could reflect the Animal Kingdom theme throughout the year. I recommend a goodly selection of reproductions of paintings by Franz Marc (incidentally, art postcards reproduce and enlarge extremely well on professional color photocopiers! But beware of copyright restrictions!) . Dr Hans Jenny (Dornach) has also painted a large number of impressive animal illustrations, although these are not easily obtainable.

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References:

1. Animal Teaching in the Fourth Class. L. F. Edmunds. Child and Man Extracts – SWSF. UK

2. Foundations of Human Experience Rudolf SteinerRudolf Steiner Press. London. UK

3. Practical Advice to Teachers Rudolf SteinerRudolf Steiner Press. London. UK

4. Das Tier zwischen Mensch und Kosmos Frits H.JuliusVerlag Freies Geistesleben Germany

5. Man and Mammals Wolfgang SchadWaldorf Press. New York, USA

6. Zoology for Everyone (#’s 1,2, 3 and 4) Eugene KoliskoKolisko Archive Publications. UK

7. Man as Symphony of the Creative Word Rudolf SteinerRudolf Steiner Press. London. UK