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ONCE UPON A TIME…

A water bearer in China had two large pots; each hung on the ends of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it. The other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer carrying only one and a half pots of water to his house.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, but the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, the cracked pot spoke to the water bearer.
“I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.”
The bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side? That is because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path. And every day while we walk back, you water them. For two years I have been able to pick beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.”

“Storytelling is one way in which people find meaning about who they are and where they come from. Stories carry within them wisdom and knowledge,’ says Nomsa Mdlalose, a South African storyteller. “In the past our ancestors used to tell us stories that molded us to be respectful and responsible people. The stories were not just for purposes of entertainment, but also to help guide and teach us good social and moral values.”

Stories and storytelling are such an integral part of the Waldorf curriculum – from fairytales in kindergarten, bible stories and Norse Mythology in Primary School to history and geography stories in Middle and High school - precisely for the above reasons. The stories are not chosen only as entertainment for the children, but also for the genuine, deep values they convey. Such stories bring to children, in images, aspects of themselves, their lives and the road ahead of them.

A well told story is deeply satisfying as it resonates with that part of us where our truest self lives. Our soul drinks in the story and thereby brings healing to our wounds and wings to our dreams.

With the impact of globalization, western civilization has become aware of its roots through exposure to cultures that have remained true to more natural rhythms. The art of storytelling is being revived: there are digital story gathering sites (e.g. www.storycenter.org); stories are used in the workplace to make people and organizations more aware of their stories and then to facilitate them in creating more interesting, useful, empowering and rewarding stories (www.storytelling.co.za ); stories are used as medicine for healing physical and psychological scars; medical students are taught to appreciate the value of listening to stories told by their patients; there is an international day of Telling Life Stories (www.ausculti.org).

It is the story you tell and the way you tell it that motivates people to believe in, buy, invest in, work for, engage with, accept, reject and do whatever it is you want them to do.

The story at the beginning of this article gives a picture of what the McGregor Waldorf School and College are all about. Flaws come in many different seizes and shapes but as teachers we learn to recognize them in our children and in ourselves. We plant seeds every single day and water them carefully so that one day the inner beauty, the innate qualities, the specific gifts of any and all of our students can flower. Because of them being the way they are and will be their families, their communities, their country and the world are and will be a better place.

Every community has a memory of itself. Not a history, nor an archive, nor an authoritative record…A living memory, an awareness of a collective identity woven of a thousand stories.

Here are some of the stories making up the memory of our school community….Listen deeply.

The 8th World Teacher’s Conference
Goetheanum, Dornach – Switzerland

Being at the Goetheanum with over a thousand Waldorf Teachers was an enlightening experience that was spiritually uplifting.

During the day the teachers attended daily artistic activities and informative lectures focussed around the central theme of “Educating the will - awakening the spirit in the mind.”

The issue of ‘dead thinking and blind doing’ is a world-wide problem in this day and age. Too much emphasis on intellectual stimulation in education can result in blockages, learning difficulties, disorders and child development problems. These can also arise from our social and environmental developments such as computer-techno games, abstract robotic city life, etc.

Waldorf teaching methods of awakening the will of the child through activity based learning exercises has to be further enhanced. Because of the rhythmical therapeutic qualities of these exercises they reach the heart of the child and entice the mind through their stimulating imagination-provoking thinking.
The Music, Eurythmy and Play performances by Waldorf Students from Thailand, Japan, Holland, New Zealand, Switzerland and Brazil were awe inspiring, a soul-refreshing reflection of Waldorf Education.

I express my deepest gratitude to Dorothy Prangle from the Goetheanum who financed my attendance at the Conference and made it possible to me to represent and present the McGregor Waldorf School for international fundraising.

This five-day inter-cultural Teacher’s Conference was instrumental in promoting Steiner’s Waldorf education in our present ‘academic age’.

-Oona Naute

Student Profile - Nokulunga Mdluli

Nolulunga Mdluli, a grade 12 learner, won top honours by being placed first in the Cape Winelands District’s ‘Anglo-American and Sowetan Young Communicators Awards Speech Competition’ held on 7 March 2008 with her prepared speech ‘Reflections, Reality, Renaissance’.

This is Nokulunga’s Life Story (so far)

Born on the 21st of February 1991 in the Kingdom of Swaziland I was placed in my grandmother’s care when I was only two weeks old. My mother Busi was 18 years old and wanted to study further (she works for an insurance company now) and my father Nhlanhla moved to Cape Town in 1997. I am an only child but until the age of 14  grew up surrounded by at least 6 to 7 cousins, all in the care of my grandmother, who is now 69. Lots of parents in my culture prefer that the children grow up with the grandparents in order to instil a sense of tradition. As a result we are not close to our parents. My grandmother used to tell us old African folktales about the girl fetching water from the river and how she met her future husband. Also, sad stories were told about youngsters losing their way. These stories gave me a sense of values and helped me decide how I do and don’t want to live my life.

In 2005 my father decided that I should move to Cape Town in order to have a better life, a better education and more opportunities. When you finish high school in Swaziland you either go to work or attend the one university. My primary school education I received in a Girls Only Missionary school. My English and Maths are good because I was surrounded by two aunts who were like my mothers to me. The one was an English teacher who encouraged me to converse in English at home and who called on me whenever she needed help. The other aunt works in a bank and was good with numbers.
When I arrived in Cape Town I attended the Alexander Sinton High School in Crawford. Since this was a ‘mixed gender coloured’ school and I was the only black girl who had attended a girls-only school, it took some time to adjust. But I made friends quite quickly and the teachers were very nice. I even received an award for ‘The Most Improved Student in Afrikaans’ which was great as my Afrikaans was non-existent when I arrived there. But as my father works long hours and is often absent during weekends running his consultancy business as a quantity surveyor, I was most of the time alone at home. He did not think this a good idea and looked around for a high school with a hostel.

Ntabiseng, the grade 4-5 teacher, is a friend of my father and she told him that the high school and hostel here in McGregor are great. The move here is the best thing I have ever done in my life. Before I came I was shy and self conscious but now I am more confident and have improved my social skills as well as my marks. It is great to get to know people from different backgrounds and different cultures. Because the school is quite small the teachers can give more individual attention.

After Matric I intend to apply to study ‘Bachelor in Business Science’ at UCT or Stellenbosch. You need to pass Maths and English for this and they happen to be my best subjects. After that I wish to study Actual Science.


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