Featured Article: The Study Of Sciences In The Early Middle
School Years
2-13-2009
By Marc Bruehl, 5th/6th Grade Teacher
Early
adolescence can be a time of shifting winds and rolling
waves. It is not helpful to look too closely at the deck
of the ship in such conditions, but to keep your eyes
on the horizon. The changing emotional winds of these
years will quickly take their toll on us if we do not
keep the long range picture before us. Science, during
these years, is a well appointed to meet this task.
During a study of "Light" in December, I asked
the class the question, "Can you see light?"
The students looked at one another with a skeptical eye,
wondering if they missed the trick in the question. So
I asked again very carefully, "Can you see light?"
Like water ready to boil, the statements started coming
towards me with great assertiveness. "Of course you
can see light!" So I took a flashlight and wrapped
the front in black paper and asked a student to shine
it onto the blackboard. The students were silent. Then
one by one the students noted their observation. They
all agreed that what they could see was where the light
met the blackboard, but the light itself from the flashlight
to the board could not be seen. Without further discussion,
a student was then asked to clap an eraser in front of
the flashlight, when it was turned on. At that moment
there was a genuine feeling of excitement. Something was
revealed; something was observed. One hand and then several
more shot up. What was observed could not be contained.
We saw the source of the light, but for light to be seen,
it has to reflect off of something! We then returned to
our discussion months earlier about the Sun and the planets
and the phases of the moon. We looked around the room
at objects, and shadows were now seen differently. The
students' power of observation is what brought them to
the conclusion. It was the power of the experience which
will live with them.
The young adolescents' power of discernment is acknowledged
as new critical thinking forces begin to form. These are
the capacities we hope to awaken in our Waldorf-inspired
approach to the sciences.
Students in the fifth and sixth grade years are asked
to begin to objectify the natural world around them. These
young people stand firmly on the earth and have given
little thought until now of the forces that have over
measureless time come together to form our land and seas.
They are asked now to look to the heavens and within the
context of the Greek and Native American myths that have
ensouled these celestial bodies, observe with a new exactitude
their movement through the heavens. Through how many phases
does the moon move? Where is the Big Dipper at 7 o'clock
and then 8 that evening? Where and when does the Sun rise?
How does it change over the winter months? How can the
Moon block the image of the Sun which is hundreds of times
larger? We ask our students now to sharpen their powers
of observation; to become more exact in their thinking
and language. Through art we allow our creative powers
to deepen our understanding of abstract concepts presented
in these phenomena. We are seeking in these all important
years to help young people build a relationship with the
world they live in. We strive as Waldorf-inspired educators
to bring our young people to a better understanding of
their uniqueness as individuals, and the interconnectedness
we share as human beings.
Within the young adolescent there are powerful growth
forces beginning to work. There is a shifting in their
physical landscape. Their bodies that had been somewhat
at rest and were seen in a certain proportional harmony
are now awakening. A new level of questioning and argumentativeness
now enters their dialogue. At one moment they can be thoughtful
and considerate; maybe even helpful. The next moment nothing
is good enough. The polarities experienced in the study
of geology and astronomy support this inner developmental
picture of the young adolescent. What a wonderful time
to study volcanoes, earthquakes, and the forces of gravity
and weight. As their thinking awakens to a new level of
critical thinking, arguments are transformed into questions
which often begin with "Why is it that ___?"
or "What happens if___?" Cause and effect relationships
are cast and experiments are watched with a new level
of scrutiny.
In their notebooks the students are asked to write their
observations with a striving for a new preciseness in
language. Pronouns fall away and procedural steps are
reviewed for exactness so that anyone could read a students
writing and complete the experiment. This training in
objectivity will continue throughout the middle school
years.
Through the middle school years, the Waldorf-inspired
curriculum seeks not only to build a foundation of knowledge
in important skill-based areas, but also seeks to expand
the capacities of soul and spirit nourished through studies
of the human journey through the ages. The sciences complement
the lessons offered in literature and history. The lessons
in physics, physiology, and chemistry build upon the sciences
introduced in the early middle school years. They help
shape our power of observation and deepen our capacity
as individuals to think critically. The journey of self
exploration is enriched. We move into our adolescent years
with hopefully greater self awareness and self confidence.
Our journey towards becoming free thinking individuals
has been given a firm foundation.
