In Class 9 we take a different journey altogether. The students are now firmly established in the conceptual phase of their education and are standing very solidly in their new world; so solidly in fact that the generative impulse for this year is "opposition". Students come into a measure of intellectual 'power' at this age and start testing themselves against the world. Rather than see this phase as difficult, here at Cape Byron Rudolf Steiner School we seek to channel this very real energy into constructive activity. Yes, Class 9 students do test boundaries sometimes; they do start to define themselves by opposing what doesn't suit them, but it's a wonderfully rich process. This world of 'Polar Opposites' calls on teachers to set tasks which require students to: Argue, Campaign, Contend, Contest, Compete, Debate, Question, Refute … During the English Main Lesson entitled 'Support Your Opinion' for example, students are asked to get out into the 'real world' and actively campaign for something they believe in. This often includes agitating for change to the status quo. The natural surges of opposition experienced by students of this age can then be directed into positive action, not just negative reaction. The generative impulse for Class 9 is "conflict". This word conjures up the worst of the teenager stereotype – conflict with parents and society about "sex, drugs and rock'n'roll". However seen in another more positive light, 'conflict' means the struggle between still being a child and becoming an adult and of establishing new types of relationships with parents, teachers and other authority figures of childhood. Their bodies have, by Class 9, well and truly started or completed puberty (sexual maturity) but have not yet gone into what Dr. Steiner terms "earth maturity".
Students of this age are very self- conscious about their creative work – they are no longer happily expressing themselves as a child would, but are consciously striving for 'adult' standards. A lot of half finished works end up in the bin if the student cannot be convinced of their 'worth'.
To compare this stage of development to the world of nature, this is the time when the butterfly is fighting to get out of its cocoon but has only managed a few bits of wet wing. However what emerges by 'Class 10' is a butterfly (harmony) – worth waiting for!
More information to come on the link between our Main Lessons and how they achieve the Board Of Studies Key Learning Outcomes...
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