Reflections from Life 101, by Deborah Newlen, Madrona School's Head of School

The faculty and staff spent Monday engaged in conversations about their individual work and the school's. We considered two questions: 1) How can the school support your individual work? and 2) What is good and/or worthy of admiration in our school? There were a multitude of fine and interesting answers to both questions.

Responses to the first question will form the basis of ongoing work with each individual staff member to help their professional growth and the development of new capacities. Answers to the second question will be shared with the new marketing and communications committee, which is busy both improving the ways we work with current families and how we outreach to prospective families and help bring more new students to the school.

And I was inspired by answers I heard to that second question, reminded about something Rudolf Steiner addresses as of primary importance to anyone interested in a path of spiritual development. In the first chapter of How to Know Higher Worlds he says: “Our civilization is more inclined to criticize, judge and condemn than to feel devotion and selfless veneration…We must seek in all things around us, in all our experiences for what can arouse admiration and respect.”

I think Rudolf Steiner is on to something. I am not sure if it is in the nature of our brains or just our civilization and the way most of us were raised, but finding fault with things is fairly easy. I may even have a talent for it! I don't have to think very hard about what I don't like or what irritates me or what I think needs improving in my life, my relationships, our school, or our world. Those thoughts seem to pop in my head like popcorn!

When I began reversing this habit and looking at myself and others to see what was worthy of admiration and respect I started becoming a better person. Applying it to teaching writing to students was like a magic elixir. I found that if I worked initially to see what was good in their writing and reflect that to them, they had an easier time improving than if I told them only what needed fixing. They improved dramatically as writers and I as a teacher. And since then, I have had a daily practice in my personal and professional life of noticing what arouses admiration and respect in the worlds I inhabit. This is not always easy. It sometimes requires me to be saintlike and subdue many opinions. If I make a significant mistake I want to beat myself up. If there is something obviously disruptive, like a playground torn up by work on a drainage system, I am prone to find fault.

But here we all are together, working pretty hard to be good partners, parents, children, employees, bosses, human beings. There is a grace to be found in noticing what is good, what is working, what is admirable. My years in the classroom have shown me that it can actually save lives. Seeking to see the good in people, situations, and organizations helps them have momentum to learn and grow. It provides a resource for the work that must be done. Steiner goes on to say that when we criticize, we diminish our strength, and when we see what is of value we grow in capacities. Most of us our not ready to be canonized yet, but a little 'yoga' of positivity can improve our own lives and those around us. Mark Twain said: "I can live for two months on a good compliment." May we all give one another somewhat more frequent nourishment!

—Edited from Deborah’s head of school newsletter column, October 8, 2019

Climate Action in our Middle School

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Our middle school students participated in the Friday climate strike by making signs and walking out to join other area students in a march on Bainbridge Island. This important action speaks to these students, as they are newly developing their capacities for looking outward into the world to wonder about their place and purpose and beginning to think critically. And, its inspiring to see so many young leaders in the climate action movement — people like Greta Thunberg, and Autumn Peltier to name just a couple — all examples of how one person can make a difference.

Deborah Newlen, our head of school, highlighted this in this week’s school newsletter, writing:

The Difference of One: Most of us go through large portions of our daily lives not paying full attention to all the things we do (or don't) and the impacts those acts or their omission have on others and the world around us. This is not an accusation; it is a statement of fact. It is not always a willful ignoring; it is often the case that the human mind pays attention to only one thing at a time. And life has a way of firing things at us in such rapid succession that reflection time can seem unavailable.

But occasionally, it is good to take stock, to make an inventory, of actions offered and actions received, to try to hold in mind the difference one makes. It is not about thinking that if we did a particular thing we could make a difference. It is realizing that we are making a difference all the time with each thought, and word and deed.

Working in a Waldorf school regularly reminds me of this, because the way teachers bring humanities and the sciences to our students always begins with bringing striking biographies of human beings making a difference in their fields, often with major significance for the course of human life.

This past week, our own middle schoolers ventured out to the corner of Winslow and Madison inspired to join the international youth climate action now occurring around the world inspired by a Swedish teenager named Greta Thunberg. This young Swede is a remarkable illustration of the difference one makes. I am excited for our middle schoolers and teenagers everywhere that someone their own age has gained a voice on the world stage in an important conversation. I can not imagine a more powerful signal to a young person that a young person's actions matter than to see that playing out in the so called 'adult world'.

I find Great Thunberg and working here at Madrona school inspiring for many of the same reasons. And wherever the reminder comes from:

“Never forget that you are one of a kind. Never forget that if there weren't any need for you in all your uniqueness to be on this earth, you wouldn't be here in the first place. And never forget, no matter how overwhelming life's challenges and problems seem to be, that one person can make a difference in the world. In fact, it is always because of one person that all the changes that matter in the world come about. So be that one person. ” ― R. Buckminster Fuller

Happy 100th Anniversary!

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Waldorf education turns 100 today, and this international group of schools, 1100 strong, is marking the occasion all year long with a variety of celebrations. Madrona School is proud to be a part of this story in our 20th year on Bainbridge Island.

To mark this special day, our national organization released a new short video, An Education for the Future. Please take a look and share it widely with your family and friends!

And, review the video offerings from the international Waldorf100 committee too — they do an excellent job of highlighting some of what makes this educational model special and relevant: Waldorf100: Learn to Change the World and Becoming.

Words from a Madrona School Friend

Last spring, we were fortunate enough to hear from Seattle Waldorf School’s Tracy Bennett at our spring fundraiser. We’re reprinting her words here, as they offer a voice in our greater community in support of Madrona School and Waldorf education:

Good evening. It is truly a pleasure and honor to be with you tonight, celebrating Madrona School — your children, your teachers, and your wonderful community. I was delighted when Missi asked if I would offer some thoughts tonight, as it gives me an opportunity to say thank you. In my eight years as Head of Seattle Waldorf School, many of our most talented, committed and inspiring high school students have begun their journey in Waldorf education here, in the parks and beaches of Bainbridge Island. We have the luxury — and yes challenge — of adding the finishing touches to these extraordinary works of human development, before they head out into the world. Whether your children’s Waldorf experience spans a single year or more than a decade, I would offer that it is invaluable, and opens their eyes and hearts to the world in ways you may not see now. Trust me — our alumni and Waldorf graduates around the world are a testament to the staying power of Waldorf education.

The internet and papers (I still read hard copy!) are filled with research and reports about the skills today’s employers are seeking — creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving. This is a familiar list to Waldorf schools, who have long believed in the importance of educating children into capable, competent, and compassionate human beings. I believe we offer something more than requisite skills for success in the workplace, and of far greater importance in the long run — the capacity to find purpose and meaning in one’s life.

As a parent of five children, I realize that what I want more than anything else is for them to find that purpose. I want them to be passionate about their pursuits and to love what they do each day. I am guessing you share similar hopes for your children.

In his book The Path to Purpose, Stanford professor William Damon writes, “To have purpose is to be engaged in something larger than the self; it’s often sparked by the observation that something’s missing in the world that you might provide. Having a sense of purpose is the long-term, number one motivator in life.” Yet, according to his research, “only about 20 percent of high school students report being purposeful and dedicated to something besides themselves. The majority are either adrift, frenetic with work but purposeless, or full of big dreams but lacking a deliberate plan.”

As a result of these findings, schools are now offering programs geared toward nurturing a sense of purpose in students — Future Project, The QUESTion Project, Project Wayfinder, and more. I applaud these efforts to move education away from content-driven curriculum and traditional measurements. At the same time, I cannot help but smile. In Waldorf education, helping students find purpose in their lives is not a separate curriculum or an add-on class. It is what we do. As Rudolf Steiner wrote, “Our highest endeavor must be to develop free human beings who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives. The need for imagination, a sense of truth, and a feeling of responsibility — these three forces are the very nerve of education.”

A couple of years ago I sat with a group of SWS alumni sharing their experiences in college and beyond. Listening to these articulate, earnest and balanced young adults was an uplifting affirmation that we are doing it differently here, and need to stay the course despite societal (and occasionally parental) pressures.

What do they value most about their Waldorf education?

• Self-directedness,

• A curiosity about the world,

• A healthy relationship with technology,

• A keen interest in learning,

• An appreciation for authentic friendships.

One of our graduates offered a moving analogy. Pursuing her passion for theater at Cornish College, Alyssa shared, “When you are preparing for a play, you do what’s called invisible work. It’s everything that’s done before the performance, and it’s really hard. It’s where you deal with your stuff and work through everything so that when you get on that stage it all just happens. I feel like my Waldorf education has been the invisible work of my life. It’s there to support me and allows me to shine on life’s stage.”

This invisible work extends beyond your children. I know this personally, and in closing will share my experience with the magic of Waldorf education.

I have worked in an array of schools in the area, and consulted to dozens of schools more across the country. I was not looking for a position at Seattle Waldorf School in June 2011; it literally appeared before me. I now realize that in fact I was called to come here and join this community to do this incredibly important work. My initial curiosity (with a healthy dose of skepticism) about Waldorf education has grown into a deep commitment to an educational approach that is holistic, nurturing, rigorous, and firmly grounded in what we know about brain research and human development. I believe our world needs strong Waldorf schools more than ever.

But that’s not why I write a check to SWS each year that is larger than any other gift I make by a magnitude of ten. It’s because this education and this community have changed my soul. In the eight years that I have been part of this work, I have learned so much about who I am and how I want to show up in the world. I have made mistakes and been forgiven. I have accomplished tasks and been thanked. I have shared sadness, joy, anger, and anxiety, and been met with compassion and understanding. I have been supported in being human, in a community of other human beings. Every day, as a 60-year old woman, I personally experience the powerful impact of Waldorf education deep within my soul. For this, I am grateful, and for this I give.

I hope you will join me in giving generously to Madrona School, where the seeds of passion, of purpose, and of magical invisible work are planted, and take root not only in our children but in each of us as well. Thank you!