The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Fifth Lecture

[ 1 ] Today, let us consider the characteristics of fourteen- and fifteen-year-old children, so that in the coming days we can develop an approach that is more appropriate for these children from a pedagogical and didactic perspective. In doing so, we do not want to focus solely on the teaching and education of children of this age, but also consider the broader context of the entire school.

[ 2 ] We know from anthroposophical insight that this is the period during which the child’s astral body is truly born—that is, when it comes into its own. Just as the physical body is primarily active—and indeed with increasing activity—from birth until about the age of 7, so too, from the age of 7 to 14, 15th year, the etheric body is active, and then the astral body—which, of course, is in a special connection with the “I,” which does not become fully active until after the age of 20.

[ 3 ] This age of 14 or 15 is a particularly important one for a child’s development. You can see how important it is from the fact that, in a sense, there is a looser connection between the astral body, the etheric body, and the physical body. Every night, when we sleep, we step out of our etheric body and physical body with our astral body and I, so that the physical body and etheric body on the one hand, and the astral body and I on the other, are, so to speak, more closely bound together, while the astral body and etheric body on the one hand, and the I and physical body on the other, are loosely connected because they are separated and reunited every day. the astral body and the etheric body on one side, and the “I” and the physical body on the other.

[ 4 ] This is related to the fact that the transition a person undergoes around the ages of 14 and 15—and even somewhat earlier for girls—is of a different nature than the one that occurs around the age of 7. With the change of teeth and the attainment of elementary school age, we are dealing with a process that, in a sense, unfolds entirely objectively in the physical exterior of the human being—in that which, in any case, separates itself as an objective reality every day when the person falls asleep. With the transition through sexual maturation, we are dealing with a process in which the human being brings his or her entire subjective self—the “I” and the astral body—into a relationship with the objective: the etheric body and the physical body. Therefore, this transition in the course of life involves something that affects psychological development in a completely different way than the transition during the change of teeth. The transition during the change of teeth involves a physical-etheric connection, which then affects the subjective realm. In the transition through sexual maturation, the physical-etheric remains, in a certain sense, as it is, and the astral, together with the “I,” also remains as it is; but in a certain sense a different kind of interaction arises between the two, so that both the physical-bodily and the etheric, as well as that which constitutes the “I” and the astral body, participate equally in the transition on both sides. This, however, is a process in which the human being is also directly involved with his or her inner, subjective qualities.

[ 5 ] We can therefore see that, after reaching sexual maturity, significant changes in character do indeed take place in human development. These changes in character are also noticeable externally. Not only does this occur in a more general sense—namely, the maturation into love, which does not immediately manifest in its full sexual form but rather in a more general form, so that a child feels deeply drawn to another child— In particular, we see friendships between boys and girls develop in a way that, at first, has little to do with sexuality, but which testifies to the fact that the development of the power of love—the power to feel affection for one’s fellow human beings—is entering human development in a more conscious way.

[ 6 ] And we then see how it becomes outwardly apparent that, in fact, something occurs in both boys and girls at this age that is often quite inexplicable in light of their individual development up to that point—something that often even strongly contradicts their previous individual character—but which exhibits a certain commonality, a universality, and which begins with sexual maturation. We see the emergence of what we call—in the case of boys (though it exists in a different form in girls)—the “rowdy years” and the “rebellious years.” These “rowdy” and “rebellious” years have their origin entirely in this astral body, which is coming into particular inner perception, that encompasses the “I” but has not yet reached full development, and in the struggle to establish the right relationship to the experience of the physical system and, through this, to the entire environment. Precisely because it is a search for a relationship between the objective and the subjective, there is a certain struggle. And this struggle is expressed in the fact that, at this age, the person, so to speak, denies what they have developed up to that point. Sometimes one hardly recognizes the children once they have entered the “Lümmel” or “Flegel” years.

[ 7 ] Everyone is familiar with the outward characteristics of the “Lümmel” and “Flegel” stages, so I need not describe them in further detail. But we must nevertheless examine their essence closely, because they are of extraordinary importance for education and instruction. What becomes apparent first of all is that the astral body plays a greater role in girls than in boys. Throughout life, the astral body plays a greater role in the female sex than in the male sex. Indeed, the entire female constitution is, through the astral body, more closely attuned to the cosmos. Much of what are actually mysteries of the cosmos is unveiled and revealed through the female nature. The astral body of the female nature is more differentiated in itself and structurally far richer than that of the man, which is, in a certain sense, less structured, less differentiated, and coarser. In contrast, a girl develops between the ages of 13 or 14 and 20 or 21 in such a way that her “I” is strongly influenced by what takes shape in the astral body. One can see how, in the girl, the “I” is gradually—one might say—absorbed by the astral body, so that when she reaches the ages of 20 or 21, a strong counterpressure actually arises within her, a powerful effort to return to the “I.”

[ 8 ] With boys, the situation is quite different. In boys, the astral body absorbs the “I” to a much lesser extent. The “I” does remain hidden, however. It is not yet fully active, but it persists—without being strongly influenced by the astral body—between the ages of 14–15 and 20–21, so that because of this persistence of the “I,” the fact that the “I” is not absorbed, and yet the “I” is still not independent, the boy becomes much more prone to timidity at this age than the girl. At this age, the girl finds it much easier than the boy to develop a sense of freedom, something that manifests in her outward demeanor. And in boys with truly deeper natures, we observe that, due to this particular relationship between the “I” and the astral body at this age, something emerges that often resembles a kind of withdrawal from life. Certainly, they seek friends and companionship; but they feel the need to be able to retreat into themselves with very special thoughts or feelings. This is precisely what characterizes deeper-natured boys: that at this age they like to retreat somewhat into themselves; and as an educator—and, of course, as a female educator as well—one will have an extraordinarily positive effect on such boys if one is willing to engage, in a truly gentle manner, with that special secret, I might say, that every deeper-natured boy’s soul actually possesses; if one does not press the issue too strongly, but engages with it in a certain way—showing, as it were, through one’s entire demeanor, that one anticipates such a tendency. There is indeed something of a certain love for withdrawing into oneself. And if this love for withdrawing into oneself does not manifest in boys at this age, one must actually be cautious. With boys who do not exhibit this distinct or subtle withdrawal—something the thorough educator will certainly notice—one must be vigilant. In such cases, one must tell oneself: there is something here that needs to be addressed, something that is not quite right, something that could lead to difficulties or abnormalities later in life.

[ 9 ] With girls—the distinctions are very subtle, but one must develop a certain keen sense of observation for these things—it is quite different: in girls, the “I” is more or less absorbed by the astral body. As a result, the girl lives less inwardly; she lives more within the etheric body—that part of the astral body which is permeated by the “I.” She lives very intensely in the etheric body, and thus even in her entire manner of movement and external mobility. And one notices, especially in girls with a true nature and proper development, that during this time the girl becomes, in a certain sense, more courageous, more assertive in her demeanor; she emphasizes her personality, stands her ground, and does not withdraw into herself. What is natural is this frank and free stepping forth into the world, which—even when combined with somewhat selfish feelings—becomes a desire to present oneself to the world, a desire to present oneself specifically in terms of one’s character and one’s entire individuality. It is quite characteristic of girls in this period that they have a free demeanor and that they place value on demonstrating their worth. In extreme cases, this degenerates into coquetry and vanity—an addiction to revealing oneself not only through one’s inner life but also through what one adorns oneself with externally. It is extraordinarily interesting to observe how, from the ages of 14 or 15 onward, precisely what in a trivial sense becomes a preoccupation with appearance can manifest in a refined aesthetic sense in girls of this age. All of this is certainly a consequence of the special relationship that the astral body, together with the absorbed ego, enters into with the etheric body, which then manifests outwardly in the following ways: the gait changes, the posture changes, the head is held more freely—and, in extreme cases, becomes haughty, and so on. One should indeed observe these things with a certain artistic sensibility.

[ 10 ] If one considers this distinction between boys and girls, one will understand that when one has the benefit of an education that treats boys and girls equally, one can achieve an extraordinary amount precisely through this tactful, equal treatment.

[ 11 ] A teacher who is mindful of his or her role will, even when teaching boys and girls side by side, nevertheless differentiate between the two in a certain way. One must also differentiate with regard to what becomes particularly important at this age—which I have just described—namely, the way in which the subjective has taken shape in relation to the external world; for at this age, one is supposed to relate the subjective to one’s own body—the etheric body and the physical body. This presupposes that one has already developed an appropriate relationship to the external world. And this is something one can work toward throughout the entire school years. Thus, what is important for this stage of life is something that concerns the teacher throughout the entire school years. During the time we are teaching, we must also ensure that the children develop feelings, first of all of a religious and moral nature—something that has often been discussed—and also that they develop certain feelings and mental images relating to beauty, to the artistic, and to an aesthetic perception of the world. This becomes particularly important in the 13th, 14th, and 15th years of life, so that we stimulate such feelings and mental images in the child throughout their entire school career.

[ 12 ] For a child in whom no sense of beauty has been awakened, who has not been raised to view the world through an aesthetic lens—such a child becomes sensual and perhaps even erotic at this age. There is no better way to bring eroticism back to a healthy balance than through the healthy development of an aesthetic sense for the sublime and the beautiful in nature. If you guide children to appreciate the beauty and splendor of sunrises and sunsets, to appreciate the beauty of flowers, if you guide them to feel the sublimity of a thunderstorm, in short, if you cultivate their aesthetic sense, then you are doing far more than with the sexual instruction—sometimes taken to the point of absurdity—that people today feel cannot be taught to children early enough. A sense of beauty, an aesthetic engagement with the world—that is what brings eroticism back to its proper measure. It is precisely by perceiving the world as beautiful that human beings repeatedly come to relate to their own bodies in a free manner, without being tormented by them—which is, in fact, what eroticism consists of.

[ 13 ] At this stage of life, it is therefore of particular importance that the child has developed certain moral and religious feelings. These moral and religious feelings always serve to strengthen and invigorate the astral body and the ego. The astral body and the ego grow weak if religious and moral feelings and impulses are poorly developed. The child becomes listless; the child becomes paralyzed, even physically, if this does not happen. And this becomes particularly evident when the stage of life we are now discussing begins. A lack of such moral and ethical impulses also manifests itself in irregularities in the child’s sexual life.

[ 14 ] However, one must take the differences between boys and girls into account in a certain way, even when considering the age group we are now discussing. One must strive to shape girls’ moral and ethical sensibilities in such a way that, in a certain sense, they are oriented toward the aesthetic. Particular attention must be paid to ensuring that girls take special delight in what is moral, good, and religious; that they derive aesthetic pleasure from what is moral, good, and religious—from the mental images they have internalized as religious ideas. The girl should take pleasure in the transcendent pervasiveness of the world, and her imagination should be particularly richly endowed with images that express the divine presence in the world and that express the beauty inherent in human beings when they are good and moral people.

[ 15 ] With boys, it is necessary that we awaken in them mental images that lean more toward the strength at work in religious and ethical life. With girls, we should instill religious and moral values deeply; with boys, we should primarily instill religious and aesthetic values into their courage—that is, into the sense of strength that radiates from them. Of course, we must not take things to extremes and believe that we should raise girls merely to be “aesthetic cats” who view everything solely through an aesthetic lens, or raise boys merely to be bullies—which is what happens when we stoke their egoism through all manner of expressions of that sense of strength we are indeed meant to awaken, but always in accordance with what is good, beautiful, and religious.

[ 16 ] We must prevent girls from becoming superficial and developing a distorted sense of beauty during their rebellious and rowdy years. And with boys, we must prevent them from becoming bullies during their rebellious and rowdy years. This is the danger that looms, in a sense, on both sides. And one must realize that this tendency toward both extremes is very much present, so that we really must be mindful throughout the entire elementary school years to guide girls in such a way that they take pleasure in what is good, and that religious matters also make a certain aesthetic impression on them, while with boys we should work to always teach them: “Look here, boy, if you do that, your muscles will tone up, and you’ll become a capable young man.”—In boys, this sense of being imbued with the divine must even be actively cultivated in this way.

[ 17 ] Well, the specific characteristics that arise here are in fact very deeply rooted in human nature. If we consider the girl: the “I” is absorbed by the astral body. Of course, this is all put rather radically and extremely, but this is precisely how you can best create a mental image of it. There is something in this process in the soul-spiritual realm that we can compare to blushing—to physical blushing. In fact, the entire development during this period is a soul-spiritual blushing. This penetration of the “I” into the astral body is a kind of blushing. With boys, it’s different. In boys, the “I” is less restless, but it doesn’t become absorbed, and we’re dealing with a spiritual-psychic paleness. This is very clearly noticeable. It’s always present. We must not allow ourselves to be deceived by the physical aspect here. If a girl becomes anemic, this corresponds entirely to her blushing in a soul-spiritual sense. If a boy becomes a bit of a rascal and is therefore often stimulated, this does not contradict the fact that he pales in a soul-spiritual sense.

[ 18 ] This is, in essence, an expression of human nature for that which arises in a way that engages the whole person: the sense of shame. The sense of shame is what pervades the whole of human nature; the sense of shame that consists in a person feeling that they must now incorporate into their individual existence something that they do not reveal to the world; they must carry secrets within themselves. That is, after all, the essence of the sense of shame. And this occurs even in the most unconscious phase of psychological and spiritual life.

[ 19 ] When we, as educators and teachers, carry within us the feeling that we should respect such things—even if only for ourselves, in our own inner lives—and when we approach boys and girls with that tenderness that respects their inner, quiet sense of modesty, it already has an effect. No words are needed here; the unspoken influence of one person on another becomes evident as we consciously walk among the children, feeling that there is something within them that they wish to preserve like an unopened flower. The mere fact of living with this sentiment has an immense educational impact.

[ 20 ] And now it is particularly strange that all these outward manifestations of childhood at this stage are, in essence, nevertheless nothing more than a sense of shame modified almost to the point of becoming its opposite. The girl, who blushes emotionally and spiritually out of a sense of shame, who hides her true nature, carries herself boldly, reveals herself, lets the world see her face, and so on. It is precisely the peculiarity of human nature that, at this stage, a person outwardly does the opposite of what is inherent within them. That bold, spirited demeanor, that self-assertion, that refusal to put up with anything, that insistence: “I must be treated fairly.” Anyone who has ever taught at a girls’ boarding school will know how the girls start out: They won’t put up with it; they must be treated fairly. — Now they can step forward freely: They’ll show him. — They have their own thoughts: “And so we don’t need you—.” All of this that is happening is, when you get right down to it, merely—I would say—the flip side of what still lies quite unconsciously deep within their inner lives as a kind of sense of shame.

[ 21 ] And in the case of boys: the slovenly behavior in the first phase of this age and the boorish behavior in the second phase of this age—that is, the slovenly and boorish behavior that manifests so strongly—is nothing other than this: one does not want to project who one really is into the outside world. One seeks a connection to the outside world. One therefore moves as awkwardly as possible, slouching about; one is not as one is, but rather different. One should certainly take into account that the boy at this age, due to his particular nature, is different from who he really is. He now imitates entirely outwardly. Whereas the child is a natural imitator during the first seven years, he now imitates this one and that one. He particularly enjoys it when what others demonstrate stands out. He walks like another person. He speaks like another person, is coarse like another person. He strives to be refined like another person. This is a search for connection with the world, which is particularly evident during the “rascal” and “lout” phases. And it is, fundamentally, a sense of embarrassment at revealing one’s true nature to the world—a withdrawal into oneself—that makes one appear different from who one really is.

[ 22 ] The worst approach is when the educator lacks a sense of humor in dealing with the boy’s boorish and rowdy behavior during this phase; for it is precisely with the boy at this stage that a certain kind of humor is necessary—one that consists, on the one hand, of addressing the issue, and on the other hand, of showing that one does not take the matter entirely seriously. One must have self-control to develop precisely these two aspects of behavior. In any case, anyone who lets himself get riled up by the remarks of a rascal or a hooligan has failed as an educator, just as the educator has failed who, when the students behave improperly and run amok, starts yelling all the more and then says: “If you don’t quiet down right now, I’ll throw inkwells at all of your heads!”—The children then lose all respect for him.

[ 23 ] With girls, when they express their other side, it is necessary to respond—I must use a certain terminology here—with gentle grace even to their more coquettish misbehaviors, but, figuratively speaking, to turn away afterward. So, respond to these things with a delicate grace, but under no circumstances let on that you’re taking it to heart. Let the girl blow off steam. Let a girl who acts a bit snappy blow off steam. Then let the girl be left to her own devices in her outburst.

[ 24 ] With boys, one pays more attention to their rowdy and boisterous behavior; but one shows that one doesn’t take it entirely seriously, that one laughs a little—but in a subtle way—so that the boy doesn’t get particularly upset.

[ 25 ] The point is to develop a certain sense of how to treat children at this age, since every child is different. The phenomena that emerge here are those of a transformed sense of shame that permeates the whole person. And we must prepare the child in the right way for the onset of their twenties, bearing in mind that the subjective aspect, together with the astral body, is now developing independently. Just as the human body needs a healthy skeletal system if it is not to stagger about, so too does the astral body—with the ego enclosed within it—need ideals at this stage of life if it is to develop properly. This must be taken very seriously. Ideals—those concepts that have a volitional character, ideals with a volitional character—are precisely what we must now provide as a firm framework for the astral body.

[ 26 ] It will be easy to see that, during this period, the boy in particular develops a strong need—if only we can discover it and approach it from the right angle: Each boy must choose his hero, following in whose footsteps he will work his way up to Olympus. - And it is of particular importance to present the boy with a real ideal—some figurative personality, or perhaps even a mythical or imaginary figure—which one shapes together with the boy, or from which one crafts the elements of such a figure. When taking such children on a school field trip, one speaks with each of them according to their individual character. One speaks to them: “How do you imagine you will do this, how will you do that?” — One points toward the future, incorporating the idea of purpose, the idea of a goal, into their lives. In a certain sense, we strengthen the astral body, and it is important that we do so in this way at this age.

[ 27 ] The same must also take place with girls. When we apply such methods, we will also raise girls properly, provided we take into account that girls are more inclined toward the cosmic, while boys and young men are more inclined toward the earthly. Girls are more inclined toward the cosmic; that is to say, we must guide them toward the ideal by telling them about the deeds of heroes—what heroes do, what happens—and by teaching them more about real-life experiences. We must teach the boy more about the well-rounded human figure, the character. That is what is important. In this regard, we must already differentiate between boys and girls.

[ 28 ] But it is essentially important that, at this stage of life, students transition to an external understanding of life. And this is particularly important for us; we are now setting up the 10th grade. — We must also incorporate into our lessons elements that enable the subjective to connect with the objective. We cannot do this at all if we were to limit ourselves, for example, to including in our curriculum only what is currently taught in high schools, secondary schools, or combined high schools and secondary schools, for these curricula have arisen entirely under the influence of an intellectual worldview.

[ 29 ] You see, the education of the college student, which is so completely geared toward mere formalities—to which is then added some knowledge of physics and so on—or the education of the Realgymnasium student or Realschule student, which is, after all, also directed solely toward intellectual knowledge—that is something we really, should no longer maintain in our curriculum—without compromising our civilizational progress. Precisely at this age, we should incorporate into the curriculum those elements that lead the boy to grasp the practical—that which connects him to the outside world. And that is why, in our 10th-grade curriculum, we will do the following: we will say to ourselves that, in order to properly take social aspects into account at this age, we must have boys and girls mixed together; but we must still introduce a differentiation in their activities. However, we should not separate the boys from the girls. The boys should see what the girls are doing, even if they do not participate in it, and the girls should see what the boys are doing: socially, the two should be in communication with one another. But we should also include that which leads the thought out of the head, that which engages the inner activity of the hand—even if it is merely learned, even if it is only something theoretical. It must simply be a theory of practice. Therefore, to ensure that boys at this age receive instruction appropriate to them, it is necessary that we teach them something about mechanics. Not merely theoretical mechanics, as we study it in physics, but practical mechanics, which then leads to mechanical engineering. The basic elements of technical mechanics must be included in our curriculum.

[ 30 ] With girls, we must teach them in such a way that they gain clear mental images and mastery of spinning and weaving. The girl must learn to spin and weave; she must learn how yarn and fabric are produced; she must understand what it means for something to be a fabric—that it has been produced mechanically. The girl must be introduced to the technical process of its creation; she must develop a relationship to it. This is appropriate for this stage of life.

[ 31 ] On the other hand, the boy must—even if only the basics, to the extent necessary for understanding the subject—be taught the fundamentals of field surveying and site sketching at this age. The boy must be able to simply draw a pasture or a deciduous forest on a site plan. At this age, the boy must be taught the basics of field surveying and site drawing.

[ 32 ] And the girl must be taught the basics of health care, health education, and how to combine this and that. Both genders must participate in both areas. So girls must be introduced to spinning, weaving, and health education; for boys, the time to put these things into practice comes later. And the girls, in turn, must see how the boys can handle surveying instruments. We can already do this in the Waldorf school: taking a difference in elevation into account and drawing a small site plan of a specific area. In short, everything that enables people to understand what actually must happen in life if life is to continue should be awakened. Without this, people actually always live in an environment that is unknown to them.

[ 33 ] That is, after all, the defining characteristic—this infamous defining characteristic of our time—that people live in a completely unfamiliar environment. Go down to the street where the tram turns, look at the people standing there waiting for the tram, and consider how many of these people know how this tram is set in motion, how the forces of nature are at work to set the tram in motion. Yes, do you believe that this has an inner effect on the constitution of the human being—spiritual, soul, and physical! It makes a great difference whether one goes through life knowing at least the basic elements of the world in which one lives, or not knowing them. For the spiritual and soul, using public transportation or other means without knowing the basic elements means being blind. Just as a blind person walks through the world without knowing the effects of light, so today people walk blindly through the cultural world because they do not see—they have not been given the opportunity to understand things. This is a spiritual-psychic defect. And these are the damages that arise in civilized humanity: that people are blind to what is around them.

[ 34 ] There’s one more thing to keep in mind: Even if you’re learning a trade—say, field surveying or leveling—I think the earliest you’d learn it is at age 19 or 20; these days, you simply don’t have the opportunity beforehand to gain even a basic understanding of leveling and field surveying, or how to handle a measuring rod and so on; you don’t know any of that at all—yes, it makes a world of difference for one’s entire life whether you’ve been doing these things since the age of 15 as a boy, or whether you’re only introduced to them at 19 or 20. At 19 or 20, it leaves a deeper impression than just a superficial one, compared to when you’ve done it at the age of 15. It becomes so much a part of one’s spirit that one truly possesses it as one’s own, not merely as part of one’s profession. And so it is with the elementary principles of mechanics, and also with the things I mentioned regarding the education of girls.

[ 35 ] We must insist that we instill in the child such feelings and such inner experiences that then live just as the limbs live. People do not develop organically in such a way that two arms are simply attached to them in their third year and then remain that way; rather, they grow. So we must teach concepts and feelings that will then grow. Today, people make a special effort to teach children things that do not come alive, things that they will still carry within themselves in exactly the same way even when they have become very old. Things must live with us. They do so only if they are taught at the right age. And we must realize the immense significance of the fact that someone who, by virtue of their particularly specific qualities, is truly placed in a particular profession for the sake of that profession, then learns it all over again; this building upon something one already knows is of immense significance.

[ 36 ] I have always appreciated that the anatomist Hyrtl, who still belonged to the old guard—he lectured on descriptive and topographical anatomy—made it a requirement for his audience to first read in his books, which, incidentally, were excellently written, the material he was lecturing on, and that he made a point of not lecturing on anything the audience had not read. And Hyrtl made this request with such amiability and knew how to make the benefit of it so plausible that even the university pranksters complied; they read through the material for Hyrtl’s lecture, and that—as some of you will know—means a great deal.