With Waldorf schooling, so come juntas (meetings), lots of them. (Lots of birthday parties too which I am proud to say, they all get character pinatas loaded with candy, it is solidarity my friends.) Today I had a junta with Sebastian´s maestro so we can address Sebastian´s mid-line issues and now the word dyslexia has been said, once. Personally I´ve had my suspiscions about dyslexia and Sebastian for a time but gave up freaking out about it because what good has it done any of us? Nada, we are looking for creative solutions to help Sebastian learn the written language.
While I was waiting for the end of school and the beginning of my meeting this is what I observed at Colegio Los Charcos: the wind in the trees, a piano being played, children laughing in a classroom, cuentos en Español en la ronda (circle story time), a Blue Jay (1 meter away) squaking and pecking a beetle on the tree, a flute joining in with the piano, ki-ki-ki-a-ri from the gallo in story circle, and finally the old-fashioned school bell rung by hand. How I felt afterwards: calm, quiet, sure of my decision to live here and participate in Waldorf schooling as a family. The world is collapsing around us but in the space of the Colegio, there is safety, wonder, love and hope. Like a delicious, silky rebozo where you are wrapped into it´s embrace.
The meeting today with Maestro Thomas is the 2nd in a yearlong series for us. Maestro has decided to "make a study of Sebastian" and find alternative ways to help him when he reverses his letters, help him become a reader in a low-impact, low-freakout, no stress fashion. When I told the maestro how difficult it was to read with Sebastian at home he said stop, stop reading, stop pushing, let´s find a different approach. Whoa, I couldn´t believe my ears, education isn´t about struggle? It´s not about sitting down until you finish the miserable task of homework reduced to a puddle of tears? As a path of least resistance gal, I was in love. More importantly I was in wonder. My ideas of progress always contain an element of pain, struggle, conquer, I have to re-learn my ideas which I am gladly doing.
My homework, given to me by Thomas is; get Sebastian on his bike more often, enroll him in the Gravity Works class here (not gymnatics, but a "circus" class on trapeze artistry), have Sebastian mold the letters out of clay in print and cursive, massage his feet in the morning to wake him up and wash his face with cold water in the morning to help him enter his body. I said "Is that it? I feel like I should be doing more?" The response; "We are here to help you do the rest. It is a long aggrivating process alone, but it is not unmanageable if we work together." You know I´m crying don´t you? My children are so well cared for in their whole person the moment they step into the space of Colegio Los Charcos, they are cared for the way I strive to care for them and sometimes fail, but the message they receive is consistent: you are loved, you are important to me, to this world and I will help you always. Today I am breathing a big sigh of relief but hoping the calendar is free of juntas for just one week.
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2 comments:
Wow. Different country, same story. We are in the investigative stages with D at school to find out why he writes right to left mirror images all the time. And I'm relieved as well that I can remove the heavy hand at home a bit and just let him relax into school. But I am glad to hear about the face washing, bike riding, foot rubbing aspects of all of this. Thanks for sharing that Waldorf education.
if that school were here I would be walking down the street to enroll right this moment.......
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