Education as Preventive Medicine

This is a great reference book on how teachers and doctors can work together to foster good health from birth through the teen years. The contributions to this book come from school physicians. They point in the direction suggested by Rudolf Steiner, while modern research into salutogenesis and resilience has provided validation and corroboration for those ideas. Salutogenesis refers to “inquiry into the origin of health.” This thinking and approach represent a new paradigm and a fresh direction for research.

How and when something is taught affects a student's lifelong disposition toward health or illness. The Waldorf curriculum is based on understanding the development and physiology of children, as well as the healthy development of a child’s physical body. This forms the basis for healthy development of a young person’s soul and spiritual individuality, suggesting the great importance of doctors, teachers, and parents working together.