COURTESY OF HONOLULU WALDORF SCHOOL Honolulu Waldorf School juniors Shane Graf, Sharon Ahuvia, Sonja Cookman and Lisa Fox participate in one of many required art classes that balance and enrich the academic curriculum.

The art of thinking

Literature and fine arts hone skills
of self-expression and questioning

If science is the structure to life, then art is the substance. Painting, violin, clay sculpture and ballroom dance are some of the more obvious forms of art that we experience every day at the Honolulu Waldorf High School.

Honolulu Waldorf School Name The Breaking Wave Faculty advisers Eric Patterson and Shanti Spencer Editors Shane Graf, Rory Aaberg, Sheena Payton and Janiva Ellis Address School has two campuses in Niu Valley and Kahala. Head of School All Waldorf schools nationwide are faculty-run schools. Founded 1961 (lower school), 1994 (high school) Enrollment Total of 309 for both campuses Faculty 43

But literature, too, is art. It saturates the reader with culture and perceptions of humanity that compel us to think beyond the straightforward and structured aspects of life. This individualized act of deep, abstract contemplation is a unique human ability; it is the birth of art, without which humanity would merely be a cold, naked skeleton. It allows us to progress and to change life for the better.

That is why reading novels is so important: It encourages people to ask questions, which is the first step to improving life. The teachers at Honolulu Waldorf School recognize the value and importance of experiencing art, and that is why the reading of novels and other distinguished literature is incorporated into the Waldorf curriculum.

I have experienced three years in Honolulu Waldorf High School so far, and art has saturated every moment of each day. The literature my class has studied includes the outwardly amiable but inwardly dark "Animal Farm" by George Orwell and "Utopia" by Thomas More, which exposed us to other people's perceived idealism.

In scrutinizing the 19th-century novels "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte and "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, we explored the idea that one of the most defining human traits is imperfection, and that it is imperfection that gives people the opportunity perpetually to strive and progress.

We also read archaic epic poems ranging from Homer's "Odyssey" and "Beowulf" to Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales." This ancient literature is the most clear and direct way to understand how people of the past thought and interpreted who they were, and the essential elements of the stories are still valid and relevant in modern society.

"Hamlet" and "The Tempest," both plays written by Shakespeare, are also part of the curriculum. My class is now engaged in deciphering Dante's "Inferno," another classic literary work in verse form. The next novel in store for us is the German epic "Parzival" by Wolfram von Eschenbach.

Where literature draws us into our thinking and feelings, writing is an outlet for self-expression. Writing is action. In the same way that a musician carefully takes in the sounds of other music and a novice surfer observes the detailed style of a professional, the aspiring writer learns the skill of self-expression by reading high-quality, meaningful literature.

Reading novels is beneficial to our skill and power as a writers, and writing gives voice to the questions that allow us to change life for the better.

So why does Waldorf drench us with art in every subject? Because art influences and raises our own ability to express ourselves, and the best way to improve life is by expressively being our pure and true selves.

Small school offers giant
opportunities for students

The Honolulu Waldorf School, teaching students from preschool through 12th grade, is not like other private schools. The small size of the school makes it hard to escape from peers and, more important, from teachers. But is that a bad thing?

In such an enclosed environment you might think that students would try to avoid teachers as much as possible; however, that is not the case. Students get along with their teachers as well as they do with their peers. It's almost like having a friend teach you calculus or 20th-century history in an easy learning style, and learning a subject from a friend is always easier than from a lecturer.

I'm not saying that a teacher would "cruise" with you after school, but they do make that extra effort to know you individually, more so than teachers at other schools.

I speak from experience because I've been to other schools, where the only thing a teacher tries to learn is a student's name and grade. That makes teaching rather dull because the teacher misses the opportunity to relate the subject matter to a student's hobby or personal interest, as often happens in the Waldorf School.

So how do Waldorf teachers get to know their students when they are so busy teaching classes and grading papers? At the beginning of each school year, the entire high school goes on a three-day camping trip organized by the senior class. Tent set-up, cooking, games, discussions, teeth brushing -- everything is done by teachers and students together. During this time we get to know each other outside of the stiffer classroom structure.

In the spring we again join teachers outside the classroom during Activities Week. Every teacher organizes an activity of interest to him or her, like Chinese cooking or mountain biking. It is a great opportunity to learn a new skill, release some stress and connect with students in other grades.

It is because of all of these meaningful interactions with our teachers that there really is no need to escape from teachers on campus. Even on Saturdays, when I see humanities teacher John Chalmers on his surfboard off Diamond Head, or art and architecture teacher Val James and his wife, second-grade teacher Bonnie Ozaki-James, at the Kahala theaters, it is like seeing family friends doing what they like to do.

You Asked...

"How does it benefit you to have
alternative classes like ballroom
dancing, gardening, painting and
jewelry-making, as opposed to
only academic classes?"

Annie Elfing
Senior
"It makes you a more well-rounded person, gives you confidence in your body's abilities, and it's fun to boot!"

Keli Brooks
Senior
"You have the opportunity to experience things you wouldn't normally choose to experience, and it opens your mind."

Sean Hartnett
Junior
"It brings out your individualism and helps you express yourself. It's an expansion of your mind."

Anna Chapman
Junior
"We build skills to help us determine what we want to do with the rest of our lives."

Forrest Peck
Freshman
"All of these are good skills to have in life. Dancing gives me a break form the stressfulness of academic classes while still having fun and learning."