The Rudolf Steiner Archive

6. Speech at a Monthly Celebration

[ 1 ] Now I am returning to you from the land of high mountains; Mr. Molt picked me up in Dornach, where our building is under construction, and so here I am with you.

[ 2 ] We have a lot of work to do in Switzerland and don’t have time there to climb the beautiful mountains that your dear teachers have described so beautifully to you, and to gaze at the sun from there. But it’s also like a ray of sunshine when we can come here to Stuttgart from time to time, because we love the mountain that’s here. Although it is physically easier to climb than the Swiss mountains, there is above all spiritual joy in climbing this mountain—the mountain on which our beloved Waldorf School stands. One receives this spiritual joy because here, dear children—as you are, as children of the Waldorf School—here you are to be shaped into capable people in life.

[ 3 ] It has always been a joy to my heart to spend quite a bit of time in Stuttgart at the beloved Waldorf School. I’m sorry that it hasn’t been possible to do so as much this time, because other work has kept me from it. But I hope to be able to join you in the next few days, even if only for a short time. I wanted to extend a warm welcome to you today, as you celebrate your school festival, since this festival falls during the season of Advent and the beloved Christian holiday.

[ 4 ] I would like to once again greet your dear teachers, who, at first, have many worries about you—worries about how they can turn you into capable people. But if you are diligent, if you follow everything well out of love for your teachers, then these worries will fade from the hearts of your dear teachers, and joy will fill their hearts—joy at the fact that we are turning the children who have been sent to us from the spiritual world into many capable people for the future!

[ 5 ] Well, now that I’ve had a chance to greet your teachers, I’d like to greet you as well. My first impression of you was that you’re quite good at shouting and making noise. I thought to myself, “They could probably make a little less noise.” You have to look at things from the bright side: While they’re making all that noise, they aren’t having any useless thoughts. You shouldn’t be brooding over useless thoughts in general, either. I hope to see you in class, but I do hope you won’t be shouting like that. There are also times when children need to behave differently than just chirping like birds.

[ 6 ] Now there is one thing I must always tell you: You should become capable people. But you can only become capable people if you strive to develop three qualities within yourselves and keep them constantly in mind. What you absorb here at school must remain with you for life; but what you absorb here will only be able to remain in your memory and in your entire vitality if you pay close attention in class to your teachers—your dear teachers. This attentiveness carries what you learn during your childhood into your later years. What your teachers say—born of immense diligence, of devoted energy, and of love for you—must also be able to flow to you from this love; and that is why I must tell you the same thing again and again: Love your teachers, for this love will carry what comes from the teachers’ hearts into your hearts and into your minds; it is through love that what the teacher gives flows most effectively into the student. That is why I ask you again today: Do you love your teachers? Do you always love them? [The children shout: Yes!] That is the second point: love for your teachers. Third: diligence. Without diligence, nothing can be achieved. You must be diligent; then what you have learned through your love for your teachers will become a true life force within you.

[ 7 ] If you wish to cultivate these three qualities, you must develop the right feeling. You are now living in anticipation of the time when the Spirit came from distant worlds—the Spirit who has become the Spirit of love. As Christmas approaches, remember that Christ spoke many beautiful words. One such beautiful word is this:

[ 8 ] “I will be with you always, even until the end of the world.”

[ 9 ] In the same way, the Spirit of Christ is always with us. Every Christmas and every Easter reminds us to reflect on how the Spirit of Christ is with us. This Spirit of Christ is also the great Teacher of your teachers. Through your teachers, the Spirit of Christ works within your hearts.

[ 10 ] Cherish all that your beloved teachers accomplish through their work—all that they instill in you through their care—by cultivating these three qualities: attentiveness, love for your teachers, and diligence. Then, from your youth into your later years, you will carry forward what humanity needs: human labor. You will become capable people, and that is what the Waldorf School is meant to help you become. Become such people through attentiveness, through love for your teachers, and through diligence!