The Morning Handshake and Its Deeper Meaning

At the Vancouver Waldorf School, the morning handshake is more than a greeting—it’s a quiet, intentional moment that sets the tone for the day. In this thoughtful reflection, former VWS teacher Phil Fertey explores the meaning behind this daily ritual and how it supports connection, observation, and right relationship in the classroom. Originally published in Renewal: A Journal for Waldorf Education (Fall/Winter 2017), the article continues to speak to the heart of this Waldorf practice.

By Phil Fertey, MBA

One of the signature aspects of life in a Waldorf school is the morning handshake. At the start of each day, the class teacher stands at the door of the classroom. As each student enters, teacher and student shake hands, look each other in the eye, and exchange greetings. Ideally, the student speaks first. “Good morning, Mr. Fertey,” is met with “Good morning, John,” and perhaps a comment such as “It’s good to see you” or “I read your composition yesterday. You are becoming a strong writer.” Only when all the students have entered and all have been greeted by the teacher does the school day begin.

It is generally assumed that Rudolf Steiner instituted the morning handshake in the first Waldorf school in Stuttgart, Germany, almost a century ago. However, that is difficult or impossible to verify. In any case, the morning handshake, now a basic feature of Waldorf Education around the world, is an effective pedagogical diagnostic tool that teachers use to assess the physical, emotional, and mental state of each child on a given morning. Is the hand dry or clammy, cold or warm, firm or soft? Does the child pause and make eye contact or try to slip by quickly? Does she have something to say that can’t wait to be expressed, or is there a more sensitive issue that is being manifested nonverbally? Is his gaze alert, foggy, or sleepy? Does she seem ready for learning or dishevelled and unprepared?

At this moment at the start of each school day, each student has the undivided attention of the teacher, and much can be gleaned from the interaction. The impressions gathered can guide the teacher as she relates to a particular child—and the entire class—as the school day unfolds. For example, if a child seems out of sorts upon entering the room, the teacher might give that child some individual attention or special encouragement. Or, if the children in general seem lethargic, the teacher might start the day with the class singing some vigorous, inspiring songs.

The morning handshake, accompanied by eye contact and the exchange of a few words, also recreates and deepens the connection between teacher and student. It fosters in the child the sense that school is a good, welcoming, enjoyable, and optimistic place. Sincere, positive remarks from the teacher can help open up a child’s soul and perhaps elicit a smile or a courteous response. The morning interactions foster a sense of belonging. Researchers Gabor Maté and Gordon Neufeld, authors of Hold On to Your Kids, assert the importance of regularly collecting (or gathering) one’s children, “of drawing them under our wing, making them want to belong to us and with us… We can no longer assume… that a strong early bond between ourselves and our children will endure for as long as we need it.”* In a school setting, the morning handshake and its greeting is a form of collecting. The teacher’s warmth, concern, and recognition convey that the teacher cares about and is interested in the child and will seek to meet their needs at school.

The practice of the morning handshake in Waldorf schools is based on Steiner’s understanding of human development. One of my Waldorf mentors, the late Georg Locher, helped me understand the meaning and importance of the “right relationship” between teacher and student. Around the age of six or seven, coinciding with the first change of teeth, a child’s focus and interest naturally turn away from the home environment and the parents. For proper development, the child needs a loving, external figure of authority, just as a plant needs the sun for proper growth. The class teacher, who greets the child each morning hand in hand, eye to eye, provides that loving authority. According to Rudolf Steiner, a child who has not had the experience of genuine authority in the grade school years will have difficulty as an adult developing a natural respect and tolerance for fellow human beings.

The teacher/student handshake is not unique to Waldorf Education. Other mainstream educators have promoted the practice as conducive to a positive, warm, communal school environment. In many quarters, it is considered a “best practice.” An adult’s typical impulse in shaking hands with a child is to bend down toward the child and initiate the exchange, to make it easier for the child. However, in a handshake that reflects and fosters the right relationship of teacher and student, the child is the initiator. The young child, out of their own volition, has come to school. They approach the class teacher at the classroom door. The role of the teacher is to remain in place, upright, as a representative of the adult human being, and not bend and pre-empt the child’s effort. It is the child who then looks up to meet the teacher’s gaze—with a stretch and considerable effort in grade one—and who speaks first: “Good morning, Mr. Fertey.” After the child speaks, the teacher returns the greeting. This is the healthy, archetypal gesture of the grade school years.

I did not become aware of this handshake archetype until the third year of my first cycle of class teaching. Georg Locher had observed how my practice of the morning handshake lacked depth and meaning. The children came in hurriedly, preoccupied with connecting with their friends, while I, anxious to get on with the class, let them slip by with a peremptory handshake. We were merely going through the motions. There was little or no experience of a threshold moment. It was a wasted opportunity to re-set a right relationship every day and work with that elusive principle of authority.

Mr. Locher, with his deep, resonant voice and British accent, said, “You are the hardest-working person in the classroom, but you are not very effective. It needs to begin with the handshake.”

Heeding his advice, I changed my approach and made each handshake with each child a conscious and meaningful moment. A subtle but profound shift occurred. The children became more alert and present. They had to make the effort to greet me first, thus bringing them into their uprightness and closer to their higher selves. It was as if they were saying, “Now we have a teacher worth looking up to.” They began growing up each morning. I became a more effective teacher. The children were still interested in their peers, but it was a more modulated interest because I had found an effective way to “collect” them and renew my healthy relationship with each of them each day. This healthy relationship led to more collaborative work and productive learning.

Seeing the child grow up each morning  

After that class graduated from grade eight, I had the opportunity to take a class from grade one. Before the first day of school, the children came by the classroom informally for a “preview.” This included seeing where they would store their outdoor shoes, where they would find their desk… and how we would greet each other! I told them, “Every morning, we will shake hands like this. We’ll look each other in the eyes, and you will say ‘Good morning, Mr. Fertey’ and then I’ll greet you. Let’s practice it.” And we did practice it, even before school had started.

Now those children and I are in seventh grade. The children no longer need to crane their necks to make eye contact or reach way up to grasp my hand or be prompted to begin the exchange. They greet me in an assertive, forthright manner, with a strength and clarity of intention that is impressive for children their age.

The Waldorf difference  

Years before becoming a Waldorf class teacher, I met Waldorf graduates and was struck by their confidence and self-assurance. They looked me squarely in the eye and spoke honestly and directly. That experience was striking and unforgettable. It was one of those initial observations that made our family, and no doubt many others, give Waldorf Education a closer look.

Now, twelve years on, I am more convinced than ever that the morning handshake is where it all begins. The idea of being in right relationship—with one’s self, with others, and with the world—begins with a simple handshake. James P. Comer, professor of child psychiatry at Yale University, famously noted, “No significant learning occurs without a significant relationship.” The morning handshake, with its kinesthetic, verbal, and visual aspects, is an important ritual. When carried out with the conviction of its archetypal gesture, it is both an expression of the spirit of Waldorf Education and one of its foundational aspects.

* Gordon Neufeld, PhD, and Gabor Maté, MD, Hold On to Your Kids (Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 2004), p. 217.

About the Author

Phil Fertey was born in Switzerland and grew up in France, Australia, Turkey, Canada, and the United States. He is a certified Waldorf and BC public school classroom teacher with over 20 years experience.

Prior to teaching, Phil spent eleven years in advertising as a writer, creative director, and corporate speechwriter. He holds a BA from Northwood University in Michigan and an MBA from York University in Toronto. He completed his Waldorf teacher training at the Rudolf Steiner Centre in Ontario.

Phil and his wife, Joanne King, moved to Vancouver in 2010 so that their daughter, Charlotte, could attend the high school at the Vancouver Waldorf School, where he carried a class from Grade 1 through Grade 8.

Photo by Ronaye Ireland.