A Culture of Giving and A Culture of Participation

When asked to write about the importance of volunteerism at the VWS, I had no trouble agreeing. It is, after all, my field of study. Over the past 15 years, I have been studying, writing about, and practicing giving. As the blank page opened in front of me and the cursor blinked, I, too, blanked and blinked: is it volunteerism we are talking about when we are offering our time and knowledge for the betterment of our own community life? Well, in a traditional sense, yes. I mean, especially here in North America, most of the giving is done to the community around the donors, as opposed to where I am from, south and sunny, where giving benefits primarily others.

Even so, when I think about a Waldorf school and the importance of the relationship between families and the school, I believe we are discussing developing a vibrant culture of participation more than a culture of giving time. Participating has a “we” sense while giving has a “me to you” sense. I participate in the Board of Trustees and the Parent Committee because I want this school to be the best possible version of itself. I understand that the only way for that possibility to become a reality is when we see our part in making it happen. Collectively, we fight the modern-era standard of education as part of our economic life (as a service we pay for and demand results from) and embrace the idea of education as part of our cultural life (as an experience we participate in with our resources, engagement, and a sense of understanding that we are all living beings and, therefore, in the process of developing).

There are lots of opportunities to participate in the Vancouver Waldorf School (one could say endless…), so I encourage you to find that possible time for you to be an essential part of this vibrant community. After all, “a healthy social life is found only when, in the mirror of each soul, the whole community finds its reflection, and when, in the whole community, the virtue of each one is living” (Steiner).

Joana Lee Ribeiro Mortari