4.19.25 - The magical world of fungi

Last year I threw out all my lesson plans from my first round as a Steiner teacher. I had not referred to them for four years and I very much doubted if I would refer to them ever... they were taking up so much space in my cupboard and making moving each year an additional hassle. 

I was right to do so, because as this year began, already I had totally redesigned the Ancient India ML. I had intended to do the Vedas, Ramayana and Mahabharata, but as usual, when the teaching begins, the lesson plans take over.

As I drew the Vishnu image of him lying on Shesha the serpent, doing the blackboard drawings are a meditation for me, the thought came to me - this year I should do the Vishnu avatar. Which is what I did and I only did the Ramayana - because i thought, it is far more important to do one epic well than two epics poorly. This decision was the right one, because at the end of the saga, the entire class applauded when Ravana was killed by Rama. Everyone loved Hanuman and some children even fell in love with Jayatu. 

I didn't do Buddhism because I thought, it is just too much really, and anyway Buddhism is everyone these days... and we can do it later, as part of the Axial Age - as part of the story of Christ and Muhammad. 

For the Botany ML this year, I didn't start with the fungi are baby plants... and the archetypal flower which Goethe had talked about. Instead I began with the current classification of plants...  and fungi not being plants, really. But the magic was still all there -from the picking of fungi, making spore prints, drawing the fungi, smelling it even!!! Everyone fell in love with fungi and I was getting daily reports of fungi from various parts of their lives.

There are somethings in Steiner education which were written by teachers twenty years ago which don't really apply any longer I think. When I read them, I go, yeah, that doesn't make sense any more. 

Spiritual science, like science is always evolving. The thing about teaching like this is that you know where you would like to go, but you are always listening to the children and the world beyond. And you are evolving, daily.