Re: the 9th year stuff
From: golden3000997
Date: Tue Mar 9, 2004 8:12 pm
Subject: Re: the 9th year stuff
In a message dated 3/9/2004 3:58:38 AM Eastern
Standard Time, dandugan writes:
Subj: Re: the 9th year
stuff
Date: 3/9/2004 3:58:38 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: Dan Dugan
To: waldorf-critics@topica.com
madpark wrote:
Can someone please explain
the 9th year stuff they talk about?
[Childs, Gilbert. Steiner
Education: in theory and practice. Edinburgh: Floris Books, 1991,
pp. 92-93]
"The undesirability of appealing directly to the intellect
of the child before puberty has already been discussed from the
spiritual-scientific point of view, but the rationale behind
the reluctance to teach the children to read before the age of
eight or nine was not specifically dealt with. It may be recalled
that, at about the age of nine the child develops or acquires
a heightened sense of selfhood; it feels more of an individuality.
It feels less sympathetic - in the technical sense - towards
its surroundings, it feels less at one with them. Conversely,
it feels more antipathetic to its environment, and this it is
which helps to induce the enhanced self-consciousness; the child
is capable of greater powers of objectification and therefore
a sharpened capacity for the intellectual process of apprehending
concepts. It would follow, therefore, that it is most appropriate
for the child to learn to read at the age of eight or nine, and
Steiner frequently reiterated this."
-Dan Dugan
Teaching for the Two Sided
Mind
A Guide to Right Brain/ Left Brain Education
By Linda Verlee Williams
1983 Simon & Schuster, NY
Chapter 7
Multisensory Learning
Sensory Learning in the
Early Primary Grades
A child's brain is not just
smaller or less experienced than an adult's; it is different
in a number of ways. The brain develops all through childhood.
Auditory perception and discrimination, tactile differentiation,
and the ability to transfer information across sense modalities
and to interpret that information are not complete until a child
is at least eight years old. Development of visual perception
continues into adolescence. (1) Therefore, in considering the
role of the senses in learning, we must be concerned not only
with how they can help children learn skills and information,
but also with how development affects a child's ability to perform
specific tasks and with the impact of classroom activities on
sensory development and integration.
Just as the brain develops
in an orderly manner, thinking progresses in a predictable sequence
with verbal ability appearing relatively late in the process.
A task must be appropriate to a child's level of development
if the child is to succeed at it and grow from the experience.
When we force children to learn to read and to work with verbal
materials before they are developmentally ready, we are like
a builder who, eager to see results, fails to put in the foundation
before beginning to work on the house.
(1.) Raymond S. More, Dorothy
N. More, et al. School Can Wait (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University
Press, 1979) p. 153
Posted by Christine
March 9, 2004
...................................................................................................................................
From: Dan Dugan
Date: Tue Mar 9, 2004 10:57 pm
Subject: Re: the 9th year stuff
Christine Natale, you quoted this in response
to a question about "the nine year change."
Teaching for the Two
Sided Mind
A Guide to Right Brain/ Left Brain Education
By Linda Verlee Williams
1983 Simon & Schuster, NY
Chapter 7
Multisensory Learning
Sensory Learning in
the Early Primary Grades
A child's brain is not
just smaller or less experienced than an adult's; it is different
in a number of ways. The brain develops all through childhood.
Auditory perception and discrimination, tactile differentiation,
and the ability to transfer information across sense modalities
and to interpret that information are not complete until a child
is at least eight years old. Development of visual perception
continues into adolescence. (1) Therefore, in considering the
role of the senses in learning, we must be concerned not only
with how they can help children learn skills and information,
but also with how development affects a child's ability to perform
specific tasks and with the impact of classroom activities on
sensory development and integration.
Just as the brain develops
in an orderly manner, thinking progresses in a predictable sequence
with verbal ability appearing relatively late in the process.
A task must be appropriate to a child's level of development
if the child is to succeed at it and grow from the experience.
When we force children to learn to read and to work with verbal
materials before they are developmentally ready, we are like
a builder who, eager to see results, fails to put in the foundation
before beginning to work on the house.
But Williams doesn't say anything about "the
nine year change" or anything like it. In Waldorf it's considered
to be a very significant milestone in development:
"The 'nine-year change'
marks a childhood transformation no less profound than puberty
and adolescence. The curriculum for grades 3 and 4 provides the
child with a powerful reflection of this transformation... [Sunbridge College Summer '98 Summer Program announcement,
William Ward "Teaching Grades 3 & 4"]
-Dan Dugan
...................................................................................................................................
From: at
Date: Wed Mar 10, 2004 4:13 pm
Subject: Re: [anthroposophy_tomorrow] Re: the 9th year stuff
So? Just because no one has named it does
not mean that it does not exist.
Can you perhaps describe what you understand
the Nine-year change to be, so that I can be clear about what
you don't think exists?
Thanks.
Daniel Hindes
PS You also seem to have missed the point
of Christine's post. Perhaps she should have been more explicit.
----- Original Message -----
From: Dan Dugan
To: <waldorf-critics@topica.com>; <anthroposophy_tomorrow@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2004 1:57 AM
Subject: [anthroposophy_tomorrow] Re: the 9th year stuff
Christine Natale, you quoted this in response
to a question about "the nine year change."
Teaching for the Two
Sided Mind
A Guide to Right Brain/ Left Brain Education
By Linda Verlee Williams
1983 Simon & Schuster, NY
Chapter 7
Multisensory Learning
Sensory Learning in
the Early Primary Grades
A child's brain is not
just smaller or less experienced than an adult's; it is different
in a number of ways. The brain develops all through childhood.
Auditory perception and discrimination, tactile differentiation,
and the ability to transfer information across sense modalities
and to interpret that information are not complete until a child
is at least eight years old. Development of visual perception
continues into adolescence. (1) Therefore, in considering the
role of the senses in learning, we must be concerned not only
with how they can help children learn skills and information,
but also with how development affects a child's ability to perform
specific tasks and with the impact of classroom activities on
sensory development and integration.
Just as the brain develops
in an orderly manner, thinking progresses in a predictable sequence
with verbal ability appearing relatively late in the process.
A task must be appropriate to a child's level of development
if the child is to succeed at it and grow from the experience.
When we force children to learn to read and to work with verbal
materials before they are developmentally ready, we are like
a builder who, eager to see results, fails to put in the foundation
before beginning to work on the house.
But Williams doesn't say anything about
"the nine year change" or anything like it. In Waldorf
it's considered to be a very significant milestone in development:
"The 'nine-year change'
marks a childhood transformation no less profound than puberty
and adolescence. The curriculum for grades 3 and 4 provides the
child with a powerful reflection of this transformation... [Sunbridge College Summer '98 Summer Program announcement,
William Ward "Teaching Grades 3 & 4"]
-Dan Dugan
...................................................................................................................................
From: golden3000997
Date: Wed Mar 10, 2004 5:12 pm
Subject: Re: [anthroposophy_tomorrow] Re: the 9th year stuff
In a message dated 3/10/2004 7:45:29 PM Eastern
Standard Time, at writes:
Auditory perception and
discrimination, tactile differentiation, and the ability to transfer
information across sense modalities and to interpret that information
are not complete until a child is at least eight years old.
I can't do better than that if people can't
read English!
Christine
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Click to subscribe to anthroposophy_tomorrow
March/April
2004
The Uncle
Taz "Anthroposophy Tomorrow" Files
Anthroposophy & Anarchism
Anthroposophy & Scientology
Anthroposophical
Morsels
Anthroposophy,
Critics, and Controversy
