Kura Tuarua Marautanga
Upper School Curriculum
Education of the whole child
Steiner Waldorf education is an integrated and holistic education. It strives to provide for the
rounded and harmonious development of the whole human being, balancing the development of
cognitive faculties with the cultivation of social, artistic and imaginative capacities and engagement
in practical skills and experiences. The curriculum gives equal attention to supporting the healthy
development of the physical, social, emotional, intellectual, moral, cultural and spiritual needs of
each child.
Introduction
The high school continues to work with the developmental stages of the students, and the
curriculum arises out of the generic impulse of each year. Each year has its particular,
characteristic “tone” which is “sounded” by a class, and within that class, individual students either
resound above, below or in harmony with the note.
Increasingly, teachers for main lessons and subject lessons are specialists in their chosen fields. All
the main lessons, whether in Science, English, Maths, Social Science, Performing Arts or Visual Arts are themes which relate directly to the basic tone, and in this way the curriculum is both holistic and organic, with cross-references through many disciplines. This enables students to stand secure within a balanced, overall picture, and they are able to develop with confidence to the next stage. Since Waldorf education seeks to
enhance individuality, there are still many different harmonies and intervals to be heard around the
basic tone.
High School impulse/generic theme for each class
Class 8 (Year 9) Identity: harnessing new forces
Class 9 (Year 10) Polarity and contrast
Class 10 (Year 11) Balance and Process
Class 11 (Year 12) Analysis and Identity
Class 12 (Year 13) Synthesis and world consciousness
Class 8 - Identity
The generative impulse in Class 8 is one of Identity. During this important threshold year and
transition into High School, students in Class 8 are looking for authentic explanations that have
meaning for the world they live in.
There is an increasing realisation and assertion of the individual sense of self, of the uniqueness of one’s own identity.
The Class 8 experience builds self-sufficiency, through students developing skills to address fears and anxieties associated with identity, community and personal challenge. The curriculum provides opportunities for students to inquire into the relationships between people, culture and events.
The study of industrialisation, technology and innovation is an important focus throughout the main lessons.
The students are expected to further develop the capacity to reason and argue both sides of an issue, in verbal and written form.
Students use their increasing capacity for observation and critical thinking in the pursuit of academic excellence.
However, in this year, there is still a strong connection to, and care for, the outside world, and the curriculum builds on this in lessons such as environmental studies, the impact of the industrial revolution on humanity, and in responding to the biographies of notable individualities.
At this age, the concreteness of refining skills, meeting boundaries, and being able to articulate emotions are all important ways in which the young person can be supported to feel safe and interested in his or her own place in the world.
Class 9 - Polarity
This stage of adolescence is often an emotional roller coaster and life may be experienced by
students as a series of highs and lows. With adolescence, the inner soul forces of the young human being become extremely active, and with this there is a corresponding (and often disconcerting) bodily change. It is a bewildering world when the adolescent is often at the mercy of strong, uncontrolled feelings and emotions, which swing, like a pendulum, from one extreme to the other.
Students are encouraged to use both their senses and intellect; they are challenged to think deeply and observe meticulously. These critical thinking skills help the students begin to see beyond black and white polarities.
Curriculum content, concepts and ideas are grounded in authentic contexts to support students to make the necessary connections, and to become more adept at putting their thoughts into action. One approaches the adolescent of this age as much through the intellect as through the senses, presenting ones material in as tactile a way as possible, yet always seeking to refine the senses through artistic activity, and challenging the student to think accurately and observe meticulously.
The student of this age needs many physical challenges to counteract the emotional roller-coaster.
Class 10 - Balance and Process
Although the emotions are still powerful in the student of this age, there is a marked development towards greater self-control and balance. The curriculum provides opportunities for students to come to a deeper understanding of basic and underlying laws, structures and processes that relate to the place of human beings in the wider world.
Students are encouraged to refine the expression of their opinions. Hence, Class 10’s generative impulse is one of balance and process.
The curriculum is kept broad by the compulsory study of most subjects, with frequent opportunities provided within each subject area for students to select topics and learning tasks, which enable them to explore their own particular skills and interests in more depth. While students are learning deeper and more specialised thinking, they are also keeping their knowledge base wide, allowing for changes in learning direction later.
Students are much more social at this age, and far better able to work in groups. There is a marked difference in their perception of the world and their ability to comprehend and understand basic underlying laws and structures, both in themselves and in the world in general.
They are more able to form deep and lasting relationships and friendships at this age, since the
relationship of the self to others and to the outer world is more harmonious. There is now a striving towards the balance between polarities, whether in Chemistry (Acids, Bases, and Salts; with salt as the mediator between acids and bases), the English lessons (Homers Odyssey & The Art of Language; where words are seen as a balanced dynamic between the creative and the functional) or in History (the study of New Zealand’s history in forging a balanced, bi-cultural society).
Class 11 - Analysis
Class 11 students engage their analytical and reasoning skills as they apply their capacity for greater objectivity and explore the world in increasing detail.
The intellect is no longer at the mercy of the inner feelings; students are able to employ a far greater objectivity with regard to themselves and the world.
They are able to comprehend the laws of the outer world in minute detail.
In language studies, the analytical and manipulative power now matches the creative power, and they are able to argue the finer points of any point of view with scholastic delight! It is precisely at this point that students may experience inner loneliness and question their value as a person within the general scheme of things; it is at this point that they have questions concerning their own journey and pathway after they leave school.
For this reason, the “Parzival” lesson in philosophical studies is of great importance; here students can explore those life questions which cannot simply be answered by the intellect.
Students are increasingly able to understand themselves both as an individual and in relationship with others, and more consciously work with their own strengths and weaknesses. They may begin to question their place in the world and pose philosophical questions about the purpose of life.
Main lesson thus engages Class 11 students through the exploration of the themes of analysis and identity.
Class 12 - Synthesis
This year is the culmination of an education which seeks to produce individuals who will work with a sound understanding of both themselves and the world. It is in this last year that one hears all the “tones” of the preceding years sounding in harmony, where the young adults of this age are themselves as members of a greater world where the moral and the scientific, the inner and the outer, form a single whole.
The lessons for Class 12 form a synthesis of their whole education over the course of the student’s school life. They focus on topics such as architecture, philosophy and world futures, with material that gives a broad overview and understanding of the world. Subject content focuses on the current world-view in each field. The students stand firmly in the contemporary age, taking the best of the past into a future that is yet to unfold. It is here that one sees the fruits of a Steiner education, in young adults who stand courageously and with integrity as free individuals.
During the year, students undertake a compulsory independent project which includes research,
practical, written and social service components. This project develops skills that are useful in future study pathways, utilising time management, self-motivation and completion of a yearlong endeavour. A successful independent project engages the student’s interest, works with their skills and abilities, challenges them to go further than they believe possible and opens doorways to the future.
Class 11 - Analysis
Class 11 students engage their analytical and reasoning skills as they apply their capacity for greater objectivity and explore the world in increasing detail.
The intellect is no longer at the mercy of the inner feelings; students are able to employ a far greater objectivity with regard to themselves and the world.
They are able to comprehend the laws of the outer world in minute detail.
In language studies, the analytical and manipulative power now matches the creative power, and they are able to argue the finer points of any point of view with scholastic delight! It is precisely at this point that students may experience inner loneliness and question their value as a person within the general scheme of things; it is at this point that they have questions concerning their own journey and pathway after they leave school.
For this reason, the “Parzival” lesson in philosophical studies is of great importance; here students can explore those life questions which cannot simply be answered by the intellect.
Students are increasingly able to understand themselves both as an individual and in relationship with others, and more consciously work with their own strengths and weaknesses. They may begin to question their place in the world and pose philosophical questions about the purpose of life.
Main lesson thus engages Class 11 students through the exploration of the themes of analysis and identity.
Class 12 - Synthesis
This year is the culmination of an education which seeks to produce individuals who will work with a sound understanding of both themselves and the world. It is in this last year that one hears all the “tones” of the preceding years sounding in harmony, where the young adults of this age are themselves as members of a greater world where the moral and the scientific, the inner and the outer, form a single whole.
The lessons for Class 12 form a synthesis of their whole education over the course of the student’s school life. They focus on topics such as architecture, philosophy and world futures, with material that gives a broad overview and understanding of the world. Subject content focuses on the current world-view in each field. The students stand firmly in the contemporary age, taking the best of the past into a future that is yet to unfold. It is here that one sees the fruits of a Steiner education, in young adults who stand courageously and with integrity as free individuals.
During the year, students undertake a compulsory independent project which includes research,
practical, written and social service components. This project develops skills that are useful in future study pathways, utilising time management, self-motivation and completion of a yearlong endeavour. A successful independent project engages the student’s interest, works with their skills and abilities, challenges them to go further than they believe possible and opens doorways to the future.