Study of Man

This week, the eighth graders are wrapping up their anatomy main lesson studies. Why do we bring anatomy to this age group?

 Steiner says, in Study of Man, “If you want to study how the world reveals itself in the outer bodily forms of the world, you must study the arms and legs, hands and feet. If you want to study how the intelligence of the world is revealed, then you must study the...skull.” The eighth graders are beginning to look out into the world in a different way, with a newly forming intellect. They are at a transition point in their lives, and we help to support this by studying the interconnections of the world in many different ways. Studying anatomy is one of them. 

 The students can also relate to anatomy on a more personal level. The ossification process of one's bones begins in the teenage years. Their limbs, suddenly, feel heavier and unwieldy, and students become aware of their physical body in a new way. They are no longer as balanced and as flexible as they once were. Randomly tripping and falling over is not uncommon (it even happens in a Zoom classroom). 

 So, we study the bones, muscles, ligaments, and tendons that hold us upright, that allow us to move freely in this world, that protect us, and give us our physical form. We study the bones not as dead things, but as structures that are literally full of life. We look at the connections, our joints, and consider how their form allows for efficient movement. We study our skeletal structure, as it is one of the things that makes us uniquely human.

 If you were wondering why there is an image of a skeleton on your feed in the spring, think not of the skull as an image of death, but of life and rebirth, of protection, the crown that is carefully carried, upright, out into the world.

~Mrs. Jaia Jenkins~ Seasons of Seven Class 8 teacher

Learn more about Class 8 HERE.