On the 5th March, Camphill Foundation UK & Ireland Trustee, Peter Bateson, returned to Urlați, Romania, to further support the Samaria Hub Association Project, working to strengthen social pedagogy, inclusive education, and community development through workshops and collaboration.
The week began with a whole day workshop at Corabia Special School in Bucharest. This is a state-run school for children with special educational needs but its whole educational ethos is derived from the background of Rudolf Steiner’s work and indications. All the rooms in the huge building are beautifully painted in the classroom colours indicated by Steiner for the Waldorf Schools and it looks like any major Waldorf School you might see in Britain, Europe or North America.
As in Camphill schools, an adapted form of the Steiner-Waldorf Curriculum is offered to the pupils in their general or ‘Main’ lesson, alongside the individual and group work in literacy and numeracy and any applicable individual therapeutic work. This is all made possible by maintaining a good professional relationship with the school’s appointed manager, the state authorities and other regulators. The teaching team are all deeply committed and devoted to the work and the children.
Peter gave a talk and led a day-workshop on the theme of “The Spiritual and Social Renewal of Education – an Ongoing Task”. The participants were teachers from Corabia School, other Waldorf and special education professionals and members of the Urlați Hub team.
The subject matter covered essential aspects of Rudolf Steiner’s course of lectures on “Education for Special Needs” 1924, including the significance of developing a direct one-to-one relationship between teacher and child; issues of responsibility, commitment and professional boundaries; the unique individuality of the child; learning to ‘absorb’ challenging behaviour as a prerequisite for real progress; how to develop imaginative and effective skills in this field of teaching; the ‘medical model’ and the ‘social model’; knowledge of the human being and childhood development; syndromes and symptoms; experiences of training, and the value of “child conferences” and the “College Meeting” in Camphill; the inner preparation of the educator; adapting the Waldorf curriculum in special education; the experience of what is known as the ‘class spirit’, and the ‘Genius of Language’ and also the ‘Spirit of the School’ which people, including parents, can experience; the founding of St. John’s School in Camphill; and Karl König’s “Teachers’ Memorandum” 1951. With warmest thanks to Aleodor Lazarescu, our tireless translator.
The second day was partly a continuation but with added emphasis on developing good teaching practice and class and school management. Peter gave a second talk and led the workshop once again. Aspects included: specific challenges of our time in class teaching and special education; Rudolf Steiner’s 1919 call to teachers regarding their own personal commitment; how to prepare for lessons and the relationship of teacher, class and individual pupil; understanding the seven-year life periods of child and adult development and the “teacher as artist”; inner attitudes to the past, present and future of the child; a ‘republican’ model for school management – not democracy; the challenge of creating and maintaining an effective teachers’ group and “Teachers’ College”; and strengthening mutual recognition, respect, understanding and support between all teachers and staff.
On Friday evening the venue switched to Casa Rudolf Steiner, headquarters of the Anthroposophical Society of Bucharest (Chairman – Christian Lazarescu). Peter gave a talk and led a conversation on the theme: “Encounters of Destiny in our Time – the Living Soul of the Contemporary Community”.
Aspects covered were: a possible new concept of meeting the other person; true knowledge of the human being; empathy, the after-image, openness and readiness, and the “attitude of soul care” as described by Karl König, founder of the Camphill Movement; no direct path from the ‘old community’ to the ‘new community’ other than through the ‘eye of the needle’ of the individual; taking stock of past achievements and looking to the future; the biography of the nineteenth century figure of Kaspar Hauser and his relevance for understanding the person in need of special care and support.
On Sunday the venue was back in Urlați, the first gathering to take place in the actual building called Casa Samaria, the home and centre for the new inclusive social and community building project. Considerable tidying up and cleaning had been undertaken, along with minor renovation work to make the place operational, for which the help of Camphill Foundation UK & Ireland is being requested, in a carefully staged development plan, along with funding for the legal procedures to establish the new Association on a firm footing, independent from the previous, now state-controlled organisation, Casa Rozei.
This was the first common gathering and meeting of all concerned in the Association Hub Samaria project, which is attracting a lot of interest and already has several ‘spokes’ and connections and will develop many more in future. It was a truly inclusive gathering, including four supported residents who live with John and Roxana Byrde and are employed by Casa Rozei. Friends and colleagues also joined us from Bucharest and Ploești.
Peter introduced the day by summarising relevant themes and challenges and a wide-ranging dialogue ensued, looking forward to the next important steps to be taken. Part of the afternoon was spent in a social-artistic activity, experienced through speech, eurythmy and singing. Preliminary conversations have begun on the principle and practice of initiating an “alternative economic community”, familiar in Camphill, to administer personal finances according to Rudolf Steiner’s Fundamental Social Law.
During the week, a visit was made to premises in the main street of Urlați which could potentially become a café, shop and social hub for the project. Regular weekly Zoom meetings of the Hub team will continue as before, and a further substantial series of working days is planned for November, which should include a special festive foundation or inauguration event.
The Camphill Foundation UK & Ireland remains committed to supporting the Samaria Hub Association Project, and our friends in Romania have expressed their gratitude for the ongoing collaboration and knowledge-sharing efforts.
