by Stephen Sagarin, 10th grade advisor – 09 Mar 2004

Teaching ancient history to the Tenth Grade followed immediately by Modern History to the Ninth Grade, I was struck as I have not been in the past by the recurrence of dialectics in history. Perfected by Socrates as the true ìSocratic methodî (not simply asking questions, which can be as tedious as any other teacher-centered form of education), dialectics is a striving toward truth in conversation. The ìconversationî may be a friendly discussion, an argument, or a war. It may involve one personóThomas Aquinas studying alone in a room, positing imagined responses to statements or questions. It may involve two peopleóSocrates and Glaucon discussing education in the Republic. Or it may involve a nation divided against itselfóadvocates of slavery at war with opponents of slavery in the newspapers, the courts, and the battlefield. Dialectic begins with a statement, a thesis. Luther wrote 95 theses, in Latin, to provoke conversation among his colleagues at the University of Wittenberg; these were translated into vernacular German by an unknown person, kicking the Protestant Reformation outside university walls. Dialectic continues with an antithesis, an apparent contradiction of the thesis. It proceeds until a new statement, a synthesis, arises. This synthesis becomes a new thesis, enters a new dialectic, and the conversation continues.
In Karl Marxís dialectical materialism there is a lifeless assumption of inevitability; history proceeds like a chemistry experiment through to equilibriumóthe dictatorship of the proletariat. But true dialectics involve contingencies, points of view, modes of expression, accidents, coincidences, unintended consequences, and differences of interpretation. These inevitably lead to living conversation and novelty. They allow for change, innovation, and inspiration. Looking back, the past can rush toward our present with the apparent force of an avalanche. But, despite all our knowledge and learning, who in 1988 could have predicted, and on what evidence, the fall of the Berlin Wall the next year, and the death of soviet socialism soon after? Living in the conversation of the present, we must know that we provide the possibility for the future to be what we imagine it can be. As Joseph Wiezenbaum of MIT says, ìwe must live as if the future of the world depends on us. To do less is to abdicate responsibility for our actions.

by Rick Shrum – 09 Feb 2004

On the evening of January 15, one of the coldest nights of the year, nearly 50 people eagerly squeezed into the school library to be fired up by the topic of Waldorf high school education. Carol Bartges from the Rudolf Steiner School in New York City gave a clear picture of how the high school curriculum completes the educational process begun in the lower grades. She showed how the inward moving spiral of the lower school experience brings the child from a state of oneness with the outer world to an inner threshold of self-awareness by the 8th grade year. She explained that the high school curriculum transforms this into an outward moving spiral, which recapitulates the work of the lower school and then reunites the adolescent with the outside world with a clear sense of purpose.

As living evidence of this process, a panel of 10th grade students enthusiastically and eloquently answered questions about their experiences with Waldorf high school thus far. To finish the evening, I spoke about the progress toward the opening of the new Great Barrington Waldorf High School. In summary, the school has now been successfully incorporated as a separate entity and is seeking its non-profit status. Many students from the current 8th grade are visiting the 9th grade and the school has received numerous inquiries from previous students and others from outside schools. Two possible locations being considered as the site for next year’s program are the Christian Science Church in Great Barrington and the Friends Meeting House on Rt. 23. Negotiations are in progress with both groups.

All in all it was a highly successful evening, which generated a great surge of enthusiasm for this important initiative.

We’ll never forget the day when Mr. Shrum bounced into our midst, more excited than usual, and said: “A letter is being mailed this week announcing that the high school is going forward.” He wanted us to be the first to know about our future at our school, our home of learning. We all responded with cheers of joy.

It was like a dream come true. The whole room was filled with happiness. We’d been hoping and praying for this to happen, and all our efforts, our letters, our pleas were finally answered. We were going to have a high school.

We all knew it was happening, somewhere in the back of our minds, but the announcement was the final brick in the wall. Now our curriculum can burgeon out from being just for elementary-age kids to include a whole new world. We were told that we would probably be located at a beautiful site, in addition to continuing to use the wonderful facilities of Simon’s Rock. Now we have to decide: do we escape to new adventures abroad, or do we stay with true and well-loved friends and explore the temptations of continuing with this fabulous curriculum? Can any of us afford to abandon the rest of the Waldorf high school curriculum? No, we don’t dare miss any part of it. Our future is now secure, and we can fully immerse ourselves in learning and having fun too. We are so lucky to be able to continue our education in this way.

Just in time for Thanksgiving, we give thanks for our continuing high school. We can’t be grateful enough for this opportunity. To be able to continue with our great teachers and subjects in a place that is like a home. Who could ask for more?