Kildare Steiner School Vacancy for a Primary School Teacher

Kildare Steiner Waldorf School is a vibrant and growing school set in four acres of beautiful Kildare/Wicklow countryside. The school includes a Parent & Child Group, Kindergarten and Primary School up to Class 6. We are experienced in working with the pedagogical needs of combined classes. The small size of our classes allow for a warm and positive learning environment. The school is now recruiting a Primary School Teacher to start in August 2017. The ideal candidate will be a qualified Steiner Waldorf Class teacher who is enthusiastic and committed to the philosophy and methods of Steiner Waldorf education. Previous experience is beneficial. Applicants must be fluent in English. What we can offer the successful candidates An opportunity for creativity and practicing the true art of teaching—promoting the full and

balanced personal development of the child; Small classes with active and enthusiastic children;

Supportive parents and staff, and a high quality, deeply rewarding, working environment; A school where the negative influence of electronic media and consumerist culture on children is

minimised; An independent school following the international Steiner Waldorf curriculum. How to apply Email your application letter and CV for the attention of The Secretary, Job Application: recruitment@kildaresteinerschool.org or post to: The Secretary, Job Application, Kildare Steiner School, Rathargid, Gormanstown, Dunlavin, Co Kildare, Ireland.

Deadline date for applications – Friday 24th March 2017. For further information email recruitment@kildaresteinerschool.org

Today we climb a tree

By Hanna Tuuri Burke, primary school teacher in the Kildare Steiner School in Co. Kildare

Not far from our school, in the corner of a green pasture, grows an ancient magnificent horse chestnut

tree. Its crown reaches to the skies. And adorned with gold in autumn light, the tree shares its treasures of

a thousand shining conkers. This is a special place, regularly visited by all our classes. Under the shelter of

the leafy crown the giant boughs hang down like limbs inviting the children to swing and climb. The roots

form a maze of bridges and tunnels; perfect to build into conker hotels or amusement parks with slides

and obstacle courses. The children can play here for hours. They swing and hang from the branches; they

crawl up and jump down again. The children welcome a new boy, just moved in to our school; he is

introduced to climbing techniques and is helped up to a branch. Among the roots the little engineers are

in action; with creation day vigour they measure and plan and build their new worlds. As a teacher I step

aside. I don’t interfere. I am there only for comfort, if someone gets a scratch or for pondering together,

when a child has a question. I observe. I see the social structures of the group; how the children deal with

each other, how they solve their problems, both social and practical. Most of the time they are able to find

good solutions. I also notice who has gained balance skills since we were last here and that in some

children the ability to balance on a branch has transformed into an inner ability to understand

structural needs of even more daring bridges and slides for conkers. And I know,

that these skills will not only lead to a better understanding of mathematics

and physics, they will also help the children to learn about balance in general:

in their social behaviour, in the way they judge themselves and the world,

in their experience for what is right or wrong, what is morally just.

I am originally from Finland. I went to the Helsinki Steiner School

for 13 years, both primary and secondary levels. Now in my forties,

and as a teacher, I look back to my childhood and youth

education with a great gratitude towards my parents. Their choice

of school was possibly the greatest gift I have ever received.

A school should be a place, which inspires you to learn: the

teacher, somebody, who opens up new worlds, which you

might not be able to imagine alone. School should make

you feel wanted and needed as a person, and through that,

it should teach you how to treat others and the world with

the same empathy, understanding and respect. School should

build up stamina through meaningful work and true

experiences. It should give us tools for creative, out-of-the-box

thinking, strength to endure difficult times and courage to

make necessary changes, to find unexpected solutions and

new ways onwards in life. It should make us ready for the

world. These skills are not gained easily. They cannot be

learned from a book or by repeating something only for an

exam. As human beings we need practice. And if we are trained

in a way, which gives us tools to work within ourselves, we will

never stop developing. That is what the Steiner Education is about.

There were 33 pupils in my class when I went to

school. Today my school friends work in many walks

of life: we are teachers, nurses, vets, coast guards,

doctors, horse trainers, psychologists, bankers,

beauticians, researches, lawyers, artists and much

more. We still keep in touch. We have come through

many kinds of destinies: marriages and divorces,

children and childlessness, working places we loved

and work we lost. We are very different from each

other. But there is something in common to all of us:

like an inner flame of courage. We have not become

disillusioned or bitter; we have not given up. We are

still creating, making changes and trying out new

things.

It is time for us to return from the conker tree to our

school. Tired but happy the children ramble over the

fields. Back in the classroom they unpack their

lunches and sit next to each other in peaceful

conversations. Next day we pick up with maths: –

Today is a practice day, I say. – I will write down

some problems on the black board. Please, count in

your own pace as many as you can.

I hear no muttering, the children take out their pencils

and books, and the classroom is filled with silent

concentration, lasting for a long time and only broken

by occasional question to confirm: - I am doing this

right, am I not? – Yes, you are, I say or – No, look, can

you see where it went wrong? – Oh yes, the child

laughs, of course! And corrects the work. I sit down

and observe. My pupils are climbing a tree again,

rather independently and secure, learning from their

little falls and mishaps. Only this time it is not the

conker tree, it is the beautiful, inspiring tree of

fractions.

The Kildare Steiner School is part of the international

Steiner School movement, which practices their own

curriculum, a method of teaching and learning proven

effective for nearly a century. The first Steiner school was

found in Germany in the year 1919. Since then the

movement has spread throughout the world and today there

are over a thousand Steiner schools in 64 countries.