Fostering Freedom Through the Imagination

Throughout one's journey in Waldorf Education, one will likely frequently encounter the idea that one of the purposes of Waldorf Education is to educate free human beings. In the early years, students are guided through their artistic work and early academic work, often following an example from their teacher or parent, which leads some to question what is meant by freedom. As the students grow and develop, however, we slowly begin to encounter individuals that are confident, creative, and naturally have questions that arise from deep within their own souls, questions that they are not afraid to respectfully voice. We encounter children who are confident in their own individuality, while simultaneously having a natural admiration for others individualities. We meet students who are not afraid to use their intellect. 

In a recent Class Twelve main lesson that I led on Philosophy and Government, these capacities in the students were abundantly clear, and they voiced their wildly divergent opinions with confidence and clarity, while at the same time listening, and listening deeply. Each of these young people were able to hold such respect for each other, while still clearly articulating their own individual thoughts, and not being swayed by others. As I listened to them conversing, I felt great hope for a future that has individuals like these in the world, who know how to think freely. They have confidence in their own ideas and thoughts. Much of this can be followed back to the fostering of imagination, which begins in the earliest stages of early childhood. 

In the early grades, the students, who are taught through images and stories, are often asked to picture, remember, and recall. This act of imagination, of the ability to truly create an “inner picture” are the first seeds of the intellect. It is through our ability to imagine and to think that we are truly free, unbound by the constraints of physical reality. Children, and then those adults, who are used to exercising their “imagination muscle” are much more likely to approach novel problems and questions with confidence. They are able to come up with their own solutions, or know how to find help or answers, because they’ve been taught that each of us has the marvelous capacity to imagine, to wonder, and to think. Steiner’s principles of education help to support the imaginative capacities of children as they develop throughout each stage of development, each stage building upon the previous stage to help foster the holistic development of truly free individuals. 

Ms. Jaia 
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