Customer Service 703-661-1594

Grammar Teaching

Why, What, When, How

Paperback
June 2018
9780956412638
More details
  • Publisher
    Wynstones Press
  • Published
    18th June 2018
  • ISBN 9780956412638
  • Pages 80 pp.
  • Size 8" x 6"
$9.95

It would be rare if a class teacher within a Waldorf school allotted the full, 28-day main-lesson rhythm to the teaching of grammar, in any one class in the Lower School. The 'family' of main-lessons each year, other than grammar of the mother tongue, clamors to claim the precious time available and is so colorfully attractive that, by comparison, it can make grammar appear like a so-called country cousin: manners a bit gauche, dress decidedly out of fashion and the spectrum of conversation rather limited. Looked at from Rudolf Steiner's standpoint of child development, however, that country cousin has some of the family's noblest blood to offer the incarnating Self.

In this concise booklet, Dr Brien Masters, with his lifetime's experience of teaching, teacher training, and teacher education, presents the rationale behind Waldorf grammar teaching. Along the way, he offers numerous practical examples for teachers to follow or use as springboards for their own creativity.

Impelled by such an approach and taught in a lively fashion, the nearly month-long grammar main lesson can then make its way through the main lessons and extra main lessons that make up the enticing constellation of each year. Moreover, it will have important implications for foreign language teaching and for the foundations of literacy, on which work in the upper grades can be securely built.

Brien Masters

Brien Masters, Ph.D., was qualified as both a state and a Waldorf teacher and taught everything from music to math to map reading. He taught around the world and acted as a consultant to government ministries. He wrote numerous articles and several publications for use in schools. His doctoral thesis is a critical appraisal of Waldorf praxis in the light of Rudolf Steiner’s original educational ideas. Brien Masters was director of the London Waldorf Teacher Training Seminar, as well as a seminar in Gran Canaria, the Canary Islands. He died in October 2013.