THEN COMES THE NINTH YEAR
This week, we pick up where we left off which was with a 'missing
tooth' story depicting the early years of growth an development
in the child. We remember from the last edition that the first
three years or so after the change of teeth are passed in something
of a dream. Real life for the child is an existence swimming in
feeling; preferences and dislikes are formed everywhere-the favorite
color, the greatest shoes, the best make of car, the funny place
names-and they give meaning to everything learned.
Then comes the ninth year. The importance
of feelings is not diminished, but they gain new objectivity.
Just as the second teeth signal an inner change, so now two significant
physiological changes occur: first the ratio of four heartbeats
to one breath, which will prevail for the rest of the individual's
life, is established; secondly, the brain, which developed most
rapidly in the pre-dentition years and much more slowly since
that time, reaches its adult size. the child has a new look in
the eye, a kind of perception of the surrounding world that cracks
the dream consciousness in a few places. The authority of the
adult world is still all-important, but there is a little more
distance from that authority, and the child can begin to think
of himself in the third person, as one among many. He still feeds
on myths, but they are peopled by a different race: the strong
individuals of the Norse and Greek stories-Loki the thief, Odysseus
the wily, Athena the wise, Baldur the innocent-that are the bridge
from fairy tales to history and literature. The timelessness of
the primeval story is being lost, and necessarily so, for the
child is gaining a new sense of time to replace that flexible
sense that rules the world of dream. This is the psychological
equivalent of the constant heart-to-breath rhythm. Now the child's
mind can begin to apply and absorb abstractions like the rules
of grammar; and to deal in the arithmetically flexible idea we
call a fraction, which is simultaneously a number less than one
and more than zero, and ratio, and problem in division.
Next edition: Growing from nine to ten to
eleven.
- Merrill Badger, Principal
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Happening This Week:
This week Wed., Nov., 10th—Thurs.,
Nov., 11th is the AZ Waldorf Schools Conference starting at 6:30pm
on Wed.
NO SCHOOL this week on Thursday Nov. 11th
(Veteran’s Day) and Friday Nov. 12th. Enjoy the long weekend!
Next week on Friday, Nov.,19th is our All
School Assembly at 6:30 pm held at Granite Middle School.
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MARK YOUR CALENDAR
!
FIND A BABYSITTER !
BRING OUT YOUR SPIFFIEST OUTFIT !
Saturday the 11th of December
is Teacher Appreciation Adult
Holiday Party!
Want to help organize?
Want to make sure its "done right"?
Sign up now...call Laura G. at 541-7815
Please note more details on this event will follow soon...
HEY moms, dads,
grandparents,
and or guardians...
We are looking for stage hams...anyone with
any talent at all!
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Human-I-Tee's
Please support MOCS by having your child participate in this
fund raiser. By now, every child should have brought home an ordering
packet. Please look through this and help your child take orders
from family and friends. Orders are due on Nov. 15th and items
will arrive in late November. We hope to have every child or family
order this year, so your participation is really appreciated!!
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Parents and Students:
Please check the LOST AND FOUND bucket in the office. It is located
in the Parent Room and it is overflowing with jackets, hats, gloves,
backpacks, toys and other personal belongings. Thanks to all the
parents who bundle up their children for the crisp autumns mornings.
Let's make sure all those clothes go home every afternoon!
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