Decolonising the curriculum.

June 27, 2021 by SWSF Editor Leave a Comment

A recent blog by the race equality think tank, Runnymede Trust, about how to decolonise the curriculum in traditional state/independent schools, focused on the fact that teachers were “important agents for change” https://www.runnymedetrust.org/blog/decolonising-the-curriculum-the-importance-of-teacher-training-and-development.

Teachers are even more important in Steiner Waldorf schools where they are empowered to shape the delivery of the curriculum to meet the individual needs of the children in a particular class.

Our annual Teachers Conference this Easter focused on issues of diversity and inclusion in relation to race, sexual orientation and neuro-diversity. Presentations by a range of UK and international contributors examined the biases and assumptions that underpin current thinking. The conference helped raise awareness, understanding and knowledge about issues or racism and discrimination and stimulated debate about how to create a non-euro-centric curriculum. There were workshops from teachers already working to de-colonise the curriculum in their classrooms and huge enthusiasm for a collective re-working that would re-fresh the SW approach and meet the needs of children for generations to come.

SWSF’s Kath Bransby is currently working with Waldorf academic, Dr Martin Rawson developing a new approach to defining and understanding the Steiner Waldorf curriculum which will enable teachers to deconstruct the euro-centric curriculum and create a much more inclusive and individualised approach. It is to be launched in the Autumn. More news to come.

See the first stage A Framework for Curriculum Practice https://www.steinerwaldorf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/1.Waldorf-Education-for-the-Future-A-Framework-for-Curriculum-Practice.pdf.

Equality, Diversity, Inclusion – Reflections

July 8, 2021

At our second on line annual teachers conference we focused on the theme of diversity, equality and inclusion. There were an array of speakers and presenters from the UK and around the world, each thought provoking and poignant taking our learning and personal development a step further.

We were able to welcome over 600 delegates mostly from UK and Ireland but also from other parts of Europe, South Africa, Kenya, Philippines, USA and Bhutan. It was a wonderful opportunity to bring together representatives of the world-wide movement to discuss these important issues that impact us all.

At the start of the conference, was an acknowledgment, that as a school movement we have not sufficiently engaged with the issues of racism and equality in our schools. We recognised that despite our good intentions to be inclusive, in practice we often were not. It was time to change and this conference was the start.

Speakers were open about the problems we need to face including having an overly Eurocentric curriculum, lack of representation of BAME teachers and pupils in our schools, issues around understanding and meeting the needs of learning and behaviour differences and being inclusive of those from the LGBTQ+ communities. It was heartening to see how many around the movement were already working hard to tackle these issues. It was a pivotal moment with almost universal enthusiasm for the need to speak out and acknowledge where there were failings, recognise our intrinsic strengths and to work together for change.

Acknowledging racism

The first big issue was the acceptance that for too many years the Steiner Waldorf movement has been undermined by assertions that it is based on a racist dogma because of a number of statements made by Rudolf Steiner in lectures which clearly read as espousing racist concepts. Although these statements are at odds with the fundamental ethos of Rudolf Steiner’s vision for the world which was to create an inclusive, kinder and whole community where each person is recognised as a unique human being, we have to acknowledge their existence and reject them.

Previously, the response to assertions that these statements were racist has largely been to seek to explain or contextualise the underlying meaning as being different from how they appear. Sadly, this has served to make the movement appear to be an apologist for racism. The mood of the conference was instead to acknowledge any racist statements for what they plainly appear to be and to wholeheartedly apologise for the offence and exclusion they have caused. Then for our energies to be focused on taking steps to examine and self-reflect (as the rest of society must do) on our biases and the reality of practices in schools which may discriminate, exclude and marginalise despite our best intentions; and to work to become anti-racist schools because this is in the nature of who we are.

Evidence that the nature of SW education is to be multi-cultural and inclusive can be found in the fact that our schools are growing at an incredible rate around the world, thriving in an array of diverse countries such as India, Kenya, China, Taiwan and the Middle East where schools bring Jewish and Arab children together. In over 90 countries these schools are a testament to how the SW ethos is about serving and bringing communities together regardless of race or culture.

Inclusion is not just about race.

The conference has also highlighted that the same work needs to be done in relation to providing a truly inclusive environment for the LBGTQ+ members of our community and in understanding children, parents and teachers who may experience and perceive the world and learn in different ways. For these issues to be approached not as “disorders” to be “treated” but as differences to be understood, respected and accommodated within the education we provide.

Action

Of course there is a long way to go in bringing about change. We are just at the beginning but our intention is clear.

For our part, SWSF is committed to supporting schools create the structural change needed to create the momentum that turns intention into action.

We have asked schools to create Racial Equality and Diversity Leads to champion this work in each school and we are supporting them with the SWSF Diversity and Inclusion Network set up last year.

A new curriculum framework will provide a basis for schools to develop a de-colonised curriculum. SWSF is providing practical support for schools in devising new meso and micro curricula that reflect not just the community in their schools but also the wider range of cultures that they will encounter in society and life.

There will also be more opportunities for Continual Professional Development around autism and other social and learning differences.

The Big Conversation

In addition to those actions we want to instigate a Big Conversation around all these issues. To understand how another might experience the world differently, we need to inform ourselves, share experiences and talk about the issues with each other. To assist in this SWSF will be sharing recordings of presentations and workshops so that schools can carry through the discussions from the conference into their own communities. Change is hard. It can be destabilising and frightening, even if it is the right thing to do, and it is important that we create safe spaces for people to express their true thoughts, feelings and fears without worry of condemnation.

As we take these steps and really listen to our colleagues, children and parents (including those who come only to open days) we will start to become genuinely more inclusive, more diverse and move further towards our goal as Steiner schools to truly serve all those in our global community.

Fran Russell

Executive Director SWSF.

Ofsted “Good” for North London Rudolf Steiner School.

July 5, 2021

Congratulations to North London Rudolf Steiner School who have received a “good” Ofsted inspection. Inspectors said – “Children arrive happily each morning and settle quickly. They enjoy daily routines, such as ‘ring time’, when they join together to sing, tell stories and share their ideas. Staff make sure that children are safe and very well cared for.”

Inspectors also praised the school’s approach to literacy and the use of story telling. “During the inspection, children listened so attentively to a story told by the headteacher, you could hear a pin drop. But their learning did not stop at the end of the story. In their own imaginative play, children used key words and phrases from the story accurately. They created their own books based on what they had heard. Children retell their own stories to their friends with enthusiasm” The full report can be found on the Ofsted website on the following link.

https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/27/1021

Steiner Waldorf schools welcome a debate on use of mobile phones in schools

June 29, 2021

Our schools do not allow the use of mobile phones during the school day and we discourage access to phones until children are much older than is the norm.

It is important children learn how to make friends in the real world before making friends on social media. We want them to be conscious users of the technology, not unconscious consumers of it. They need to be mature enough to understand the benefits and the risks. In this way they will both be safe and able to make the best of what the technology has to offer.

There is considerable concern that young people are losing the skills to socialise on a face to face basis. This is impacting on their ability to develop much needed soft skills in the workplace and make friendships that will sustain them in life. Children in Steiner schools are well known for their social skills and personable approach. We believe much of that comes from the fact they learn by doing real things and interact in real not virtual ways for the important early and primary school years of their lives.

Decolonising the curriculum.

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