Tag: spirituality
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Don’t Praise Your Children
Don’t praise your children. Well, don’t praise your children for what they are but for what they do. So many of us trap ourselves in the habit of telling our children, “You’re so smart. You’re so good at this and that, etc.” Research and experience, however, show this is the wrong way to praise our…
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Growth Mindset in Education
How do we ensure our children will succeed in life. The key to unlocking this mystery starts with asking, what is the difference between a stone and a plant? Stop and consider that for a moment. A stone is inert and has no will of its own. It makes no choices, has no ability to…
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Fourth Week of Advent: Human Being – Wisdom
In the fourth week of Advent, we honor the human being, a being of wisdom. We humans are said to have the other three kingdoms of nature within us. We share a mineral body with the stones. With the plants, we share the ability to grow, respirate, and heal. Together with the animals, we have…
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Secular vs. Spiritual Education
In this post, we discuss secular vs. spiritual education and what matters most in this conversation. First of all, Enkindle Academy offers a secular curriculum. That means different things to different people. What we mean by “secular” here is a non-religious, non-sectarian, curriculum inclusive of diverse worldviews. In other words, it does not pressure students…
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Mission Statement
In charting new directions for Enkindle Academy, we have begun asking ourselves a few questions. Whenever starting something new, we’ve learned to start with the end and work backwards. Thereby, the ends weave themselves into the means. We can’t imagine a more sure method to ensure success. Who do we serve? This is the first…
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The Meaning of Advent + Week 1: Stones, and Week 2: Plants
Advent refers to the four weeks leading up to Christmas. In this post we’ll explore the meaning of Advent. However, this is not intended for Christians only because the principles herein are universally applicable. I use the symbolism of Advent as useful imagery to make important points, but my intention is to speak beyond the…
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The Science of Gratitude
The science of gratitude is getting much research attention these days. In an era where increasing many are plagued by a meaning crisis, this is a blessing. In this post, we’ll explore the demonstrated benefits of a gratitude practice and what it means for your children. Herein, what we mean by “gratitude” is doing a…
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What is Educating for Freedom?
All parents want their children to become free human beings. Before we consider educating for freedom, however, we have to distinguish what human freedom is and is not. There are different definitions of freedom, some more outer and others more inner. (Although outer freedom from exploitation, racism, etc. is vitally important, it’s not the focus…
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Michaelmas, 2025
Today is Michaelmas, otherwise known as the Day of Courage. It is the time in the year when the cooling forces of autumn sober the party of summertime growth. It is also the harvest time. In most Waldorf schools, stories are told, songs are sung, and a pageant features the Archangel Michael taming the terrible…
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The Four Temperaments in Education, Part I
In this first of two posts, we will examine the four temperaments in education. For Part I, we will characterize each of the four temperaments. In Part II next week, we will look at how to work skillfully with them. To begin, what is a temperament and where does it come from? To answer that,…