Roy Wilkinson and the "How-To"
Books
From: Robert Flannery
Subject: Roy Wilkinson and the "How-To" Books
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 1999 21:58:14 -0400
Bruce writes:
There are many who write books and publish
them themselves (well many is maybe an exagerration), and those
wanting to glean things from them can and do. As I know Roy it
is easier to see what he meant, but in some sense almost anything
tends to become dogmatic when it is written down. I like reading
Wilkinson to make me think! The best books and lectures, for
me at least, are those where one comes away with more "question"
than "answer".
The "how-to" books can be relied
on for a lesson in a pinch. Consequently, every teacher who falls
back on such a crutch has missed an opportunity to work the material
through for themselves. Under such conditions, Wilkinson's books
promote dogmatic behavior and thinking (apart from any consideration
of the quality of his suggestions).
If reading Wilkinson makes you think (especially
if it makes you think of alternatives), it's effective enough.
That said, I find these particular books to be the most dangerous
guides on the market because the boundary between anthroposophy
and lesson plan is quite blurry.
Given the wide circulation of these titles,
I'm amazed that more examples of miseducation of the type described
by Micheal Kopp and Dan Dugan aren't in evidence. I strongly
suspect that most waldorf teachers recognize this material for
what it is, as well as what it isn't.
Robert Flannery
New York
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