School as a Living Entity by Rea Gill

210 Pages·2011·6.13 MB·English

CMYK
2 A School as a Living Entty
a School as a Living Entity

The Growth and
Development of a School
as a Living Entty
Implementaton of a
Governance and Management Structure
Based on Living Systems and
Threefold Principles & Forming Impulses
by
Rea Taylor Gill
3
Printed with support from the Waldorf Curriculum Fund
Published by:
The Association of Waldorf Schools
of North America
Publications Office
65–2 Fern Hill Road
Ghent, NY 12075
Title: A School as a Living Entity
Author: Rea Taylor Gill
Editor: David Mitchell
Copy Editor and Proofreader: Ann Erwin
Cover: AninA Formankova
© 2011 by AWSNA
ISBN # 978-1-936367-18-1
Printed by McNaughton & Gunn
Saline, MI 48176 USA
4 A School as a Living Entty
Table of Contents
Preface 9
Acknowledgements 11
Chapter 1 Introducton: Emerging Hypothesis 13
Chapter 2 Organizatons—Dead or Alive? 21
Chapter 3 Human Systems and the Correlaton with
Organizatonal Systems 31
Differentiation of the Human Being 34
The Human Nerve-Sense System and the Pedagogical
Sphere of Activity in a Waldorf School 35
The Human Rhythmic System and the Governance
(Legal-Financial) Sphere of Activity in a Waldorf School 38
The Human Metabolic System and the Community & Resource
Development Sphere of Activity in a Waldorf School 40
Translating the Threefold Form and Function to a
Waldorf School 43
Phases of Organizational Development 45

Chapter 4 Acton Research: Implementaton of a Threefold Structure 51
Review of Hypothesis, Research, Development Methods
and Methodology 51
Implementation of a Threefold Governance Structure at the
Vancouver Waldorf School 57
Step I: Beginning the Re-differentiation Process 60
Step II Revisiting Vision, Values, Mission, Goals,
Aims and Objectives 71
Step III Re-differentiation of the Pedagogical Realm:
Establishing the Organizational ‘Nerve-Sense System’ 74
Step IV Re-differentiation of the Governance (Legal-Financial) Realm:
Establishing the Organizational ‘Rhythmic System’ 79
Table of Contents 5
Step V Reorganization of Administration 79
Step VI Differentiation of the Community & Resource Development
Realm: Establishing an Organizational ‘Metabolic System’ 83
Step VII Consolidating, Redefining and Expanding Legal-Financial
Functions 87
Step VIII Real Time – What Was Next … What Is Next? 95
Chapter 5 Conclusions and Next Steps 102
Appendices 116
Endnotes 199
References 207
6 A School as a Living Entty
Appendices
Appendix A Summary of the Five Disciplines of a Learning Organization
Detailed in The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge (1994) 116
Appendix B Summary of Old Board-Mandated Mandate System 117
Appendix C Hub Coordinating Committee Mandate – Old Mandate System 119
Appendix D Mandate System Review Committee Mandate 123
Appendix E Initial Review Process Findings and Recommendations 125
Appendix F Nine Propositions in Search of the Threefold Social Order 128
Appendix G Community Forum Envisioning Conference Agenda 136
Appendix H Vision, Values, Mission 139
Appendix I Goals 141
Appendix J Pedagogical Carrying Group Constitution – Example 1 143
Appendix K Pedagogical Carrying Group Constitution – Example 2 149
Appendix L Pedagogical Carrying Group Membership Selection
Process – Example 154
Appendix M1 Faculty Meeting Agenda – Hypothetical Example before
a Pedagogical Carrying Group is established 157
Appendix M2 Faculty Meeting Agenda – Hypothetical Example after a
Pedagogical Carrying Group is established 158
Appendix N1 Pedagogical Carrying Group Agenda – Hypothetical Example 1 163
Appendix N2 Pedagogical Carrying Group Agenda – Hypothetical Example 2 165
Appendix O Pedagogical Administrator Job Description 167
Appendix P Pedagogical Committee Mandate – Example 170
Appendix Q The Cult of Personality 177
Appendix R1 Tuition & Fees Terms and Conditions of Agreement – Example 179
Appendix R2 Tuition & Fees Agreement – Terms & Payment
Requirements – Example 181
Appendix S Parent Council Mandate – Example 185
Appendix T Development Committee Mandate 195
Appendix U Good Governance Committee Mandate 197
Appendices 7
Table of Figures
Figure 1 Threefold Social Order – Threefold Human Being 28
Figure 2 Co-evolutionary Transformative Effect of Waldorf Education
on the Macro-sphere of Society 37
Figure 3 From Collection of Cells to an Identifiable Human Form and
Face 46
Figure 4 Embryo at 50–60 Days and Fetus at 22 Weeks 48
Figure 5 Full Term Baby 49
Figure 6 Threefold Principles at Work in Life 55
Figure 7 Threefold Social Order 56
Figure 8 Threefold Human Being 56
Figure 9 Threefold Organizational Structure 57
Figure 10 Steiner’s Threefold Social Order 58
Figure 11 Threefold Human Being 58
Figure 12 Threefold Organizational Structure 59
Figure 13 Threefold Organizational Structure Threefolded 59
Figure 14 Dynamic Human Systems 64
Figure 15 Dynamic Organizational Systems 64
Figure 16 Threefold Social Order 67
Figure 17 Threefold Human Being 67
Figure 18 Threefold Waldorf School 68
Figure 19 The Impulse of Freedom and the Pedagogical Structure of
a Waldorf School 68
Figure 20 The Impulse of Equality and the Governance (Legal-Financial)
Structure of a Waldorf School 70
Figure 21 The Impulse of Brotherhood and the Development Structure
of a Waldorf School 71
Figure 22 Pedagogical Realm Threefolded 75
Figure 23 Dynamic of the Pedagogical Realm Compared to the
Dynamic of the Whole 78
Figure 24 Dynamic of the Whole 78
Figure 25 Pedagogical Committee Structure Threefolded 78
Figure 26 Human Resources Committee Structure Threefolded 79
Figure 27 Organizational Structure Imagination 82
Figure 28 The Transformation of Money into Capacities 90
Figure 29 Organizational Structure before Restructuring 92
Figure 30 Organizational Structure after Restructuring 93
Figure 31 Revenue & Expense Comparison over Three Periods of Operation 94
Figure 32 Dynamic of the Pedagogical Realm 112
8 A School as a Living Entty
Preface
by
Torin Finser
Within a few short years, we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Waldorf education
on this earth As we prepare for 2019, it might serve the Waldorf movement to use the occasion
to self-assess and reflect as well as celebrate How can we characterize the past 100 years of
1
Waldorf education in terms of phases, whether looking at decades or 33 /3-year intervals?
Where have our schools succeeded? Where have we come up short?
Already in 2011 we can sketch some tentative characterizations regarding the last two
questions:
1 The curriculum in most of the 1000 Waldorf schools around the world is well
established In most instances, when I visit schools I find many of the common characteristics
of the Waldorf curriculum are fully evident
2 This is of course connected to the steady improvement in teacher education programs
Most schools I visit are fully committed to teacher education and professional development,
despite the challenges of money and adequate time
3 The publications available to Waldorf teachers and parents have increased
significantly, although higher quality translations and foreign language editions are still limited
4 At least in the schools in the United States with which I am most familiar, basic
business and administrative practices have improved in recent years In many cases volunteer
boards have devoted countless hours to supporting schools financially
5 Although it has been a struggle to prepare and support eurythmy teachers, for
instance, one can also acknowledge that in most Waldorf schools, teachers as a whole are
practicing “the art of education” in a way that appeals to the full spectrum of sensory experience
6 Perhaps most important, I have visited many classrooms filled with eager, engaged
students who are thriving, learning and working as a social unit
This is just of the beginning of a list that might spur further additions in the years
ahead But now I would like to turn to the one area in which many would say the Waldorf
movement has not yet met expectations: the ideals set forth by Rudolf Steiner in regard to
threefolding of the social organism
Preface 9
Many have spent years working to simply understand what was intended in books and
lectures such as “The Threefold Social Order,” “The Social Future,” “World Economy” and so
forth And some have taken the indications further than others Most worthy of mention in this
brief paragraph are the efforts of Gary Lamb, Michael Spence, and the many colleagues who
have participated in the growth of RSF Social Finance Yet despite these efforts, it is hard to
find a single school about which one can say, “Here is an example of the full implementation
of these social ideals ” One has a sense that the work in regard to “threefolding” remains
incomplete, unfinished
This is of course not a bad thing in itself, as the quest alone can spur people on to
further understanding and the crucial change in consciousness that must precede any outer
change There are many also working outside the Waldorf movement, such as in biodynamic
farms and Camphill Communities, who are striving toward the realization of Rudolf Steiner’s
social ideals
But imagine my surprise and joy when I received a masters project submitted by Rea
Gill as part of her degree completion at Antioch University! Here, in 200-some pages, was not
just a theoretical rehashing of familiar concepts, but a step by step documentation of a real
life implementation of the threefolding principle she led for 9 years at the Vancouver Waldorf
School Along the way Rea takes the reader through an overview of organizational dynamics,
“kindred spirits,” and a rigorous examination of the original intentions set forth by Rudolf
Steiner
What comes across most clearly in my reading of the text which now merits AWSNA
publication is the sense of lived experience The pages of this book have been forged on the
anvil of real life, in a Waldorf school with real parents, teachers, budgets, challenges and
success Out of life experience and constant reflection and further deepening, Rea was able to
develop a system of governance that was both living and clear, flexible and transparent I had
an opportunity to visit the school during both an early stage of implementation and a later stage
of full development, and the excitement was palpable It really happened!
Of course, nothing remains the same for long, and Rea herself has now moved on,
recently taking up a lead role at the High Mowing School in Wilton, NH She has entered
another stage of her biography, and so has the Vancouver Waldorf School A visitor to the
school today may or may not recognize any of Rea’s past work That is the nature of all living
systems, and who carries the work is as essential in administration as in the classroom Yet now
schools all over the world can learn from her experience, careful research and enthusiasm for
the social challenge This book can serve as an inspiration for others, not to copy, but to do the
work It is in the doing the work together that we realize our social ideals
10 A School as a Living Entty