Between Form and Freedom

Betty Staley

Informations

• Publié par: Hawthorn Press Ltd
• Date de parution: 01 janvier 0001
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781912480760
• Langue: English

Extrait

BETWEEN FORM AND FREEDOM
All involved in the support of adolescence will be delighted to find a new edition of Between Form and Freedom with updated references and revised sections. The author’s warmth of understanding for this turbulent and often mystifying phase of development is still as strong in this third edition, tackling new and changing challenges, including questions of genderfluidity, eating disorders and media addictions. The author describes how adolescents present either the mask or the volcano as they struggle with identity and self-esteem. There are references to the Waldorf approach to child development and curriculum, but the focus remains on addressing, in an accessible way, the complex landscape of teenage years and the polarities it contains.
Jill Taplin , author of Understanding the Steiner Waldorf Approach: Early Years Education in Practice
I found the first edition of this book extremely helpful and have recommended it to many during my years as a consultant… A very good reason for reading this book is that Betty Staley has opened up the window to the changing inner life of the developing child.
Tessabella Lovemore Ph D. Development Director at Elysia Therapeutic Centre
You have a teenager lurking in your house. ‘Who stole my child?’ You haven’t been able to find good advice. Here it is. Thirty-three years since its first edition, this guide is updated by someone who observes, listens, and finds out what’s going on in this time of form and freedom. Here is a combination of scholarship with references AND wise-elder advice based on experience AND poetry — as sometimes the turn of phrase of a poem is exactly what will bridge between adult and teen. And Betty Staley understands that these sometimes troublesome characters are there not only to learn from you, but to teach you as well. May your relationships deepen as a result! You might start with the ‘In a Nutshell’ sections at the ends of each chapter for an overview — very compact summaries, very helpful.
David Tresemer, Ph.D. (Psychology), past president of the Association for Anthroposophic Psychology, editor of The Counselor… As If Soul and Spirit Matter , and presently teaching through The StarHouse, Boulder, Colorado
Betty Staley’s book is a must have for all parents of teenagers. Her calm wisdom about teenagers and the incredible depth of her knowledge will reassure any parent perplexed or struggling with their teenager. She can enable parents to know how to help their teenager navigate the complex world of adolescence and come out the other side strong in their own identity, participating in life and contributing to others.
Caroline Penney , systemic family therapist and author of The Parenting Toolkit: simple steps to happy and confident children
It’s a rare book about children or teens that becomes more and more relevant as time goes on. This is not just one of them, it is the one. Whenever I am asked by parents trying to unravel their teens behaviour, ‘Is that normal?’ I have recommended Between Form and Freedom with a confidence that it will give them the understanding they need, to open up a path toward deeper and enduring connection with their child.
Kim John Payne M. Ed Author of Games Children Play II , Waldorf Games for the Early Years , The Soul of Discipline , Simplicity Parenting and Being at Your Best When Your Kids Are at Their Worst
An excellent book, that is enlightening, inspiring and an essential guide for parents and teachers of adolescents. With a wide range of experience and expertise, Betty Staley offers a wise and practical approach in how we can support developing adolescents to tackle the many changes and current issues facing them in these challenging times of learning to become an adult, such as—power, relationships, self-esteem, alcohol, drugs, body image and social media. Examples from adolescents, nutshell summaries for each chapter, and study questions are interesting and helpful, promoting reflection, discussion and guidance for action.
Robin Steele PhD. Mother of adult children, grandmother of adolescents, retired early childhood teacher, parent educator, psychophonetics psychotherapist and trainer
BETWEEN FORM AND FREEDOM
RAISING A TEENAGER
Betty Staley
Between Form and Freedom © 1988, 2009, 2022 Betty Staley
Betty Staley is hereby identified as the author of this work in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act, 1988. She asserts and gives notice of her moral right under this Act.
Published by Hawthorn Press, Hawthorn House, 1 Lansdown Lane, Stroud,
Gloucestershire, GL5 1BJ, United Kingdom
Tel: [phone] Email: [e-mail] web: www.hawthornpress.com
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means (electronic or mechanical, through reprography, digital transmission, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Cover design by Jason Conway
Design and typesetting by Mach 3 Solutions Ltd ( www.mach3solutions.co.uk )
Printed by Severnprint Ltd, Gloucestershire
Printed on environmentally friendly chlorine-free paper sourced from renewable forest stock.
Every effort has been made to trace the ownership of all copyrighted material. If any omission has been made, please bring this to the publisher’s attention so that proper acknowledgement may be given in future editions.
The views expressed in this book are not necessarily those of the publisher.
The excerpt from Another Brick in the Wall © 1979 Pink Floyd Music Publishers Ltd is reproduced with permission.
The Logical Song by Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson from Supertramp: Breakfast in America © 1979 Almo Music Corp — Delicate Music, is reproduced with permission from Rondor Music (London) Ltd.
The excerpt from Mending Wall from The Poetry of Robert Frost edited by Edward Connery Lathem © Estate of Robert Frost, is reproduced with permission from Henry Holt and Co Inc NY and Jonathan Cape Ltd, London.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data applied for
ISBN 978-1-912480-72-2
eISBN 978-1-912480-76-0
Contents
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Preface
Foreword
Introduction
Part I The Nature of Adolescence
1 How do you get to be an adolescent?
2 Stages of adolescence
3 The search for the self
4 The birth of intellect
5 The release of feelings
6 Strengthening the life of will
7 Understanding our sons and daughters
8 Temperaments and soul types
9 The development of character
10 The needs of teenagers
Part II The World of Adolescents
11 Teenagers and family life
12 Teenagers and friends
13 Teenagers and school
14 Waldorf education
15 Teenagers and the arts
16 Power and loyalty
17 Love, relationships, and sex
18 Self-esteem
Part III The Challenges of Adolescence
19 Teenagers and alcohol
20 Use of tobacco and drugs
21 Sex and pregnancy
22 Teenagers and food
23 Teenagers and the media
Conclusion
Notes and References
Appendices
I Bibliography
II Study questions
Betty Staley is an educator, international lecturer, and author of eight books. She pioneered bringing Waldorf education into public schools in the United States, as well as helping to found six high schools.
At the heart of her work is her interest in child and adolescent development, curriculum development, teacher education, and biography.
Dedication
I dedicate this book to the Sacramento Waldorf School, particularly the first graduating class, the class of 1978.
I met these students as first graders when I was their handwork teacher. When I became their seventh-grade teacher, it was not a difficult transition since we had a history of warmth and familiarity. They responded enthusiastically to the curriculum and creatively took up each challenge. The class wrote their eighth-grade play based on the story ‘The King of Ireland’s Son’. We took it on the road and performed at the Vancouver Waldorf School and on Vancouver Island. At the end of eighth grade, they and their parents wanted the school to begin a high school. I agreed to take up that challenge.
The class was convinced, and probably correctly, that I could not successfully establish the high school without them. They still remember that I gave them an Art History test that took eleven hours. I tried to stop them from finishing it, but they insisted. It took them several days to complete it. I learned an important lesson, and they got to impress me with all they had learned. Toward the end of ninth grade they presented me with a petition that had many questions that I had to answer on the spot. The last one was, ‘Do you know what you are doing?’.
They were an exciting group, not always easy, but clearly there to sharpen my skills in teaching and working with adolescents. During their Junior year (11th grade), along with the tenth graders, we traveled to the East Coast by bus. We toured nine Waldorf schools and performed music at each school. It awakened the students to another part of the country, and several now live on the East Coast.
Each year we had a camping or back-packing trip in the beautiful Sierra Nevada, including a terrifying one during their senior year when the brakes on the bus failed as we were driving downhill on a twisting road. Thanks to Kenneth Melia, our beloved science teacher and bus driver, the bus was brought to a stop, leaning against the side of the hill right before the road continued on without side rails. We sang our way down to a bar, where the students and I stayed while Kenneth and Leon Matthews drove carefully to Visalia to deliver the damaged bus and return with a new one many hours later.
The first graduating class, ‘The Pioneers’, now 60-years-old, set many traditions at the Sacramento Waldorf School. We have continued to meet for reunions and share our lives, including honoring the passing of two members of the class.
I continued at Sacram