Faculty Meetings with Rudolf Steiner
GA 300
Seventh Meeting
6 March 1920, Stuttgart
Mr. Oehlschlegel was in America and his teaching responsibilities had to be divided among the others.
Dr. Steiner: Dr. Kolisko will take over the main lesson in the sixth grade. Mr. Hahn will take over the advanced classes in independent religious instruction. Since, with the language classes in the third and fifth grades, he will have a total of twenty-five hours, he needs some relief. Eighteen hours would be a normal amount. Miss Lang will take over the English and French classes for her third grade. In the fifth grade, Dr. von Heydebrand will teach French, and Dr. Kolisko, English. Mrs. Koegel will take over English for her fourth grade and Dr. Kolisko, the remaining English instruction until summer vacation.
Questions are asked regarding how to arrange the Sunday services and the music in them.
Dr. Steiner: The Sunday services are only for those children taking the independent religious instruction. They offer a replacement for the children and parents who are not members of any church. The services should close with something musical, in particular, something instrumental. We should offer refreshments for invited guests only when I am here.
A teacher reports about a student in the fifth grade who left the independent religious instruction and returned to the Catholic instruction.
Dr. Steiner: We should avoid allowing the children to leave the independent religious instruction. However, we will need to accept that the minister giving the Lutheran instruction is leaving.
A question is asked about the eurythmy instruction.
Dr. Steiner: Eurythmy is obligatory. The children must participate. Those who do not participate in eurythmy will be removed from the school. We can form a eurythmy faculty that will take care of advertising eurythmy and the eurythmy courses for people outside the school.
A teacher: Should the gardening class continue to be voluntary?
Dr. Steiner: The gardening class is an obligatory part of the education.
A teacher asks a question.
Dr. Steiner: The general rule at the school is that those children with many unexcused absences will be removed from the school.
A teacher complains about the presentation of ethics.
Dr. Steiner: We shouldn’t teach anything abstract, but teach the children respect.
The children should not raise their hands so much.
We will have to allow the state medical examinations.
A teacher: Should we set up a continuing education school for those children graduating from the eighth grade at Easter?
Dr. Steiner: We could call it a “School of Life for Older Children,” and we could call the kindergarten, “preschool.”