It's a sunny Sunday afternoon. Around 30 educators and some moms are gathered around a sand pit at Yellow Train in Sivananda Colony. Miriam Haenan is skimming through her red, hard-bound book on the Vedas. Her maternal warmth is apparent as soon as she begins to address the group. Smiling widely, she distributes small white handkerchiefs, and begins her session on puppetry, painting and hand-gesture plays.
East meets West
Holland-based Miriam is in town for a series of lectures and workshops on child development and education. An educator, teacher trainer and child development specialist, she has been working with children and teachers in Europe, India and the Middle East for over 35 years. Blending the Western concepts of Anthroposophy and Waldorf education with ancient Indian philosophy, Miriam researches value-based education. She has been shuttling between India and Holland for the past few years and has mentored many Waldorf Kindergarten projects in the country. “When I left high school, I realised I wanted to be a Kindergarten teacher,” says Miriam. “But people around me said, ‘You are too smart for that, Miriam.' But that did not discourage me.”
Miriam underwent training in arts, crafts and child development. She worked in a hospital in Holland where she discovered the impact of simple toys and materials on children. “I was on the lookout for something that could enable me to teach children in an unconventional way. That was when I found out about Waldorf education,” she says. She explains the Waldorf system. “In this method of teaching you try to bring heaven and earth together in whatever you do.” While Miriam's own three children were growing up, she trained in Waldorf education. “My children are my biggest gurus in the path of child development,” she smiles. She learnt puppetry, spinning and dyeing, and set up her Kindergarten at Holland.
“Around 1996, a UNESCO exhibition on Waldorf education was held in Hyderabad. Parents in the city were searching for different approaches to education. A friend of mine, who happened to be there, asked me if I could help set up a Waldorf school in Hyderabad.” So Miriam came to India. “In 1997, the first Waldorf school started functioning in Hyderabad. Subsequently, I came down every year to India to conduct teacher training sessions and set up schools. I also had to manage my children and my Kindergarten in Holland.”
In 2008, Miriam left her job and dear ones behind, and came to Hyderabad. “I instantly felt at home in India,” she smiles. “I have a deep connection with the Vedas and the Gita.” The red, hard-bound book of Vedas is precious to Miriam. “During my third or fourth visit to India, I visited a bookstore, where I found this book. I can't travel without it now. I constantly read the Vedas and the Upanishads, search for answers to questions and find them in the texts.”
Miriam now lives in Hyderabad and visits Holland thrice a year. “When I go to Holland, I carry back whatever I have learnt in India to the Kindergartens there.”
She is currently supervising a pilot Kindergarten project in Hyderabad where people can visit and understand the way a Waldorf school works. She also handles teacher training sessions in Hyderabad and Mumbai.
During her sessions, Miriam advises educators and parents to “show and not instruct” the child. “Do not interfere with a child's creative process,” she tells them. “Their actions mirror their souls. Do not prevent them from expressing their inner selves. Allow children to enjoy what they are doing. There is no right or wrong way of doing an activity.”
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore find place in Miriam's list of inspiring people. She says, “Teachers tend to think they have done a good job educating their children. Instead of finding out what a child needs and what his interests are, teachers focus on themselves and concentrate on driving a point home in the name of education.”
Miriam strongly believes that a change can happen only when one works with his hands.
“Narrating moral stories or teaching moral science is not going to help children. They should be made to experience life. Even the most beautiful curriculum becomes dark when a human doesn't live it.”
Training special children
Miriam Haenan also conducted a session for special educators and parents. The talk was on understanding children with special needs and the adults who work with them.
Special children could play with a mixture of bees wax and lanoline instead of clay
Children can use vegetable and flower based dyes instead of chemical paints. Soft pastels are a good option too
Music is an important teaching tool. Ragas such as Bhoopali can be played to these children
Cooking can be included as part of coursework in schools catering to children with special needs
