The Spiritual Task of Classroom Management

Being a teacher in 2024 is no small feat. In the last five years, teachers across the country, in all types of schools, of all subjects, are experiencing more challenging behaviors in the classroom. Over the last six months, I led a study and change process around Student Support at The Hartsbrook School, in Hadley, MA, where I teach. This process revealed many interesting details, namely a discrepancy between class teachers and subject teachers’ relationship to classroom management. While disruptive classroom behaviors were identified by all teachers, subject teachers experience some unique challenges. Subject teachers receive students in the middle and end of the school day, and don’t necessarily have the same ongoing continuity with the children, given that they only see classes 1-2 times a week, typically. In Waldorf schools, class teachers are often positioned as the “ultimate authority,” as the connective tissue between home, school, and other classes, which can leave subject teachers feeling out of the loop and even powerless when it comes to enacting discipline. It is not easy to teach in these conditions!

News from the spiritual world

I recently listened to a podcast interview with Roberto Trostli, a long-time Waldorf Educator. He reminded me of an important concept from Rudolf Steiner: the children in our midst are bringing us the “fresh news from the spiritual world.” What are these increased challenging behaviors telling us? What are children asking from us? 

Before we can explore what children's behaviors are communicating, let’s consider the context in which they are incarnating. The children in front of us have been exposed to the complexities and hardships of the adult world in deeply impactful forms. They have experienced a worldwide pandemic, filled with fear, illness, and unpredictability. For most children, this experience turned the rhythm of their daily lives upside down. Political division and unrest is rampant. Inequities abound. These are only a few of the myriad of conditions that are presenting hindrances for today’s children. Whether or not children are directly conscious of these facets of our society, they can feel the tension. We see this in growing levels of anxiety and discomfort in children. 

So what do we do with this information? What are children telling us? What does this mean for earnest, dedicated subject teachers who simply want to bring the joy of their craft to children that desperately need the beauty and challenges of specialty subjects? 

More so than ever, children are asking to be “received in reverence” as they are. The spiritual holding today’s children are calling for cannot be done by one teacher. Children are asking our schools to hold them collectively. 

In this summer’s session: Refreshing Classroom Management in Today's Waldorf Schools : Relational and Sensory Based Tools for Supporting Students, we will explore what it really looks like to receive children in reverence, as they are, in a collective manner. A few salient principles will guide our work:

• Children need spiritually grounded adults in front of them, to assure them it is safe and worthwhile to be here on earth. In an increasingly neurodiverse makeup of classrooms, this includes offering children models of authenticity and emotional regulation. 

• The environment we create for our teaching has an impact on children’s learning experience. This can be especially challenging for subject teachers, who may not have control over the physical space. 

• Preparedness and a clear imagination for expectations lay a stable foundation for success. The more consistently this is held across the learning environment, the greater the impact will be..

• We, as teachers, must be artists. We must develop our capacities for reading the children in the room and have tools at our fingertips for reaching them in the moment. Routine and rhythm are important AND we can’t be stuck when the moment is asking for playfulness, humor and flexibility. 

• Collective holding should always include parents/caregivers. These relationships are critical. 

• Children need compassion and unconditional love. They need to know we love them and they can rely on us, even in their moments of struggle. AND accountability is a principle of love. 

These principles support the reality that classroom management is a deeply spiritual task. Providing children with a stable, reliable learning environment requires complete intention and presence from the teacher. It is not easy work, and must be taken up in community. I look forward to jumping into this new community with you all this summer: subject teachers working all over the world in homes, schools, forests, etc! It is a remarkable opportunity for us to take hands (metaphorically speaking!) around our globe and gather tools for holding the children in our care collectively, receiving them in reverence, together. 

To learn more about sensory based classroom management from Rebecca Hipps join us online this July for the ALL subjects conference - Building Supportive Networks: Teaching Special Subjects in Waldorf Schools