The Golden Rule

Over the past several months, I have had the pleasure of touring a number of guests through Lighthouse School. As they look around, they are struck not only by the aesthetics of the school but also by its feel. While there is the steady hum of children's voices and movement within classrooms and about the school, there is also a pleasing calm and a sense of joy as children go about their work and play. Walking into classrooms, you might find children negotiating whose turn it is with a coveted object of play, or you may find students thoughtfully painting, working on "math jobs," or writing imaginative stories in their journals. There are no prize charts on walls or external rewards for "good" behavior, rather that is what is expected and modeled by the adults in the community.

Emily Miller

Interim Head of School

Human life is present only once;

the flowers it will bear in the future have not yet been there.

Yet they are present within a human being in the embryo,

even as the flowers are present in a plant that is still only in leaf.

-Rudolf Steiner

On Monday our Lighthouse teachers took an off island field trip to visit the Lexington Waldorf School. While Nantucket Lighthouse School is not a Waldorf or a Steiner school, it is inspired and influenced by Rudolf Steiner's insight regarding the development of the child and the Waldorf curriculum he established. Lighthouse teachers utilize the summer courses offered to Waldorf teachers, in particular those that focus on the curriculum of a given grade. While the Lighthouse curriculum incorporates aspects of the Waldorf curriculum, it is also different in significant ways. Looking at the ways in which we are both similar and different provides a useful means to explore who we are as a school and define what makes Lighthouse Lighthouse.

In What Ways Are We Similar?

Honoring Childhood and the Pace of Learning- Where Lighthouse differs most from the public school curriculum, and has more in common with Waldorf schools, is in the younger years. With reverence for the unique and dreamlike nature of childhood, Steiner conceived of an appropriately gentle and gradual entry into school. He recognized the genius of play and its invaluable function in the development of creative problem solving, language skills, empathy, and imagination. Play is the true work of a child and thus has a central place in the classroom of young those in the initial stage of childhood, which Steiner delineates as birth to the seventh year.

In a Waldorf school, children do not begin the first grade until they are 6 3/4-7 years old, as they enter a new stage of development and thus are ready to be introduced to more formal academic lessons. Because the public school's Kindergarten entry age is determined solely by chronological age ( in Massachusetts it is 5 years by August 31st), conventional 'first graders' tend to spend the greater part of the year as 6 year olds, ready or not. Because developmental age can differ from chronological age by several months and academic expectations have been mounting for our youngest students, the majority of first graders meet up with a curriculum that is neither meaningful or appropriate for them. Both Waldorf and Lighthouse schools agree that a meaningful academic curriculum must mirror the developmental capabilities and needs of the children it is intended to serve. Therefore, Lighthouse Small School, Kinderclass and Primary classes are similar in the way they provide a playful and gradual introduction to academic subjects, including reading, writing and mathematics. While some might characterize our younger students to be "behind" their public school counterparts in terms of academic skills in these beginning years, we are committed to honor this singular stage in human development and give children the time they need to play, grow and explore.

Art, Craft, Handwork- We share Steiner's belief in the essential place of art and handwork in the education of the child. At both schools these are not extracurricular subjects, they are integral to the curriculum. When engaged in artistic activity the whole self is involved as ideas, feelings, and physical skills merge in the process. Art involves creative problem solving and abstract thinking, exercises the imaginative faculty, and fosters aesthetic awareness. Through handwork children learn to use their hands  purposefully and thoughtfully. They work to strengthen and refine fine motor ability and eye hand coordination. They learn very practical skills, such as stitching and knitting, while developing the fundamental and critical abilities to focus and persevere.

Story and Writing in the Classroom- Story is utilized as a primary medium to convey information in a meaningful and engaging way. Both Waldorf and Lighthouse students are asked to write a good deal and across subject areas.They work through the challenging process of relaying what they have learned in lesson books. At Lighthouse, we have adopted the Waldorf use of lesson books in which students create own 'text books' in addition to the creative writing they do in their journals.

Connecting with the Natural World- In both schools children are encouraged to develop a close relationship with the natural world, from the child's first years. We have adopted the overarching Waldorf story of Mother Earth and the Root Children, which personifies the cycle of the seasons. Lighthouse classrooms, like Waldorf rooms, have a 'Nature Table' with a seasonal display, establishing a connection to the outdoors within. The animal and plant kingdoms figure largely in class studies and stories. Both schools seek to cultivate a sense of wonder, respect and responsibility in relation to the natural world.

T.V. and Technology-  Parents are asked to sign an agreement that their children will not watch television at many Waldorf schools. Videos and computers are not used in the classroom. At Lighthouse we provide parents with information about television and its detrimental effect on children and suggest that parents limit 'screen time' (time spent watching T.V. or videos, playing video games, or using a computer). Video is rarely used in the classroom. Computers are not introduced until the Primary 5/6 classroom when students practice keyboarding skills, use word processing programs, and utilize the Internet for research purposes.

Narrative Reporting- Looking at Waldorf reports, it seems that we have both arrived at the use of the narrative form which, while much more time-consuming, allows for a more comprehensive and in-depth portrait of the whole child. Both Waldorf and Lighthouse reports reflect the schools' shared focus on the growth of the teachers's in depth knowledge of the individual not only as a learner but also as an individual and a social being.

In What Ways Do We Differ? 

Class Size- Waldorf classes are single grades and traditionally the preference is for larger classes (18+) for social reasons. At Lighthouse, we have both multi-age as well as more homogeneous age groups. We strive for smaller classes, especially for our youngest, to allow for more individualized instruction and reporting, and to engender a sense of family and community.

Teacher and Student- While unconventional in many ways, Waldorf classrooms are very traditional in that the teacher instructs the class from the front of the room while the children sit in desks lined in rows. The desks are moved aside when space is necessary. Lighthouse classrooms are composed of areas, group work tables and places for an individual to work alone. Floor space is reserved for Circle, block constructions or for stretching out to play a game or read a book. Class materials and supplies are within reach. Teachers, for the most part, do not have desks and circulate throughout the room. Lighthouse classrooms encourage cooperative work, social interaction, and autonomy. Teachers certainly lead lessons, orchestrate class activity, and provide individual and group instruction. At the same time, children are encouraged to work and help one another, pursue their own interests, make choices, and exercise autonomy.

Class Teachers- Waldorf students are intended to remain with the same classroom teacher from 1st through the 8th grade. Until recently, the majority of Lighthouse students remained with a teacher for two years before moving on to the next class, and usually the next teacher. As the school has grown, and because we re-configure our classes to reflect the needs of the particular student body, this has been less the rule as children move into the Primary classes.

The Printed Word/ Writing and Reading. Like in Waldorf schools, reading instruction at Lighthouse begins with the interrelated and more active mode of writing. We adopted the Waldorf practice of introducing letter forms and sounds through stories and images which lend context and meaning while emulating the very origin of these abstract forms.    However, we introduce these stories and letters in the Kinderclass wherein this would wait until the First Grade in the Waldorf curriculum. Historically, Waldorf Kindergartners (who range from 4+ through 6+ years) are not presented with the printed word, meaning that teachers tell stories rather than reading them from books to encourage the use of the imagination.

Social Studies/History- The traditional Waldorf history curriculum focuses on the origins and development of Western civilization. At Lighthouse, we integrate the idea of 'place-based' education.. We begin with the unique story of our own Nantucket Island, learning about the Wampanoag and then the Quakers and Whalers of Old Nantucket. We then expand our scope to discover that of our own American history, from the Westward Expansion to Slavery and the Civil Rights Movement, which is a story of the evolution of an idea- freedom. In the upper grades we rejoin the Waldorf upper grades as they reach back to trace the beginnings of Western civilizations. At Lighthouse we too approach history through story. We elaborate upon the use of handwork by illustrating any given study through meaningful projects.

Lizbet Carroll Fuller

Co-Founder and Faculty Advisor