Lower Secondary
(classes 6ª–8)
"Respingo l'idea che la scuola debba insegnare direttamente quelle conoscenze specializzate che si dovranno usare poi nella vita. Le esigenze della vita sono troppo molteplici perché appaia possibile un tale insegnamento specializzato nella scuola. La scuola dovrebbe avere come suo fine che i giovani ne escano con personalità armoniose, non ridotti a specialisti. Lo sviluppo dell'attitudine a pensare e giudicare indipendentemente, dovrebbe essere sempre al primo posto."
— Albert Einstein —
Classes 6, 7 and 8 correspond to the three years of Italian middle school. This is an age at which young people change a great deal: they begin to think in terms of cause and effect and ask the world for more precise explanations. The path accompanies them through this transition, setting alongside the academic subjects scientific observation, critical thinking and projects that test responsibility and cooperation. Teaching remains organised in main lesson blocks - the same topic for several weeks - and in these years the science blocks come into play: plane and solid geometry, physics, chemistry, astronomy and mineralogy.
Languages: English and German
The two foreign languages begun in the primary years - English and German - continue and deepen. Learning two languages from an early age helps children open up to other cultures and trains both ear and mind; in these years more careful work is done on conversation, reading, grammar, and on poems and songs in both languages.
History, geography and science
History covers a long road: from ancient Rome and the Middle Ages in Class 6, to Humanism, the Renaissance and the great revolutions in Class 7, and on to the history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and the present day in Class 8. Geography widens out from Europe to the other continents. The sciences become subjects in their own right - geology and mineralogy, botany, astronomy, physics and chemistry - always starting from experience and from experiment, with real practical work, before arriving at the rule. The human being is studied too: how the body works, healthy eating and hygiene, so that young people learn to look after themselves. In Class 8 the study of mathematics and geometry becomes more rigorous.
Astronomy
The study of the sky runs through these years: the Sun, the Moon and the stars are observed, culminating in a full astronomy trip, in which the young people spend a whole day and night observing constellations and planets.
Work with the hands, and with wood
Doing remains central as the children grow older. Handwork continues, as far as making one's own stage costume, and woodwork takes its place: with real tools young people learn to work wood and build objects that are both useful and beautiful, testing precision, patience and the ability to plan.
Art, music and the Notedoro Orchestra
Art accompanies the academic work through drawing, painting and modelling, in dialogue with history and the other subjects. Music continues with part singing and instrumental study, leading to the Notedoro Orchestra: those who play an instrument take their part and the others join in with recorders and percussion. It is a training ground in listening to one another, and it performs outside the school as well. In Class 7, moreover, the class takes part in a special choral experience: Gia cantai allegramente, the national concert of Waldorf Class 7 groups held in Florence, where hundreds of young people from all over Italy sing together on the same stage.
Drama and the Class 8 play
Drama is an important part of these years and culminates in the Class 8 play: a production cared for in every detail - text, music, set, costumes, lighting - which the class builds together and brings before an audience. It is a milestone of the whole path, in which everyone finds their own place.
Throughout the three years physical education and movement continue, and trips around the area and into nature complete and bring to life the work done in class.