Rudolf Steiner's extraordinary ability to perceive the inner nature and development of children provided insights at many levels and areas of the creative learning process. He spoke of this ability as a precondition for all forms of healthy childhood education - including special education - and suggested that teachers should develop such a capacity within themselves.

This process involves the recreation of the child within oneself, based on what we are able to observe in the child’s physical appearance, temperament, ways of moving, and environment. In The Therapeutic Eye, Dr. Peter Selg discusses Steiner's views on childhood development, how teachers can look at children, and ways that these approaches can be used to develop lessons and classroom activities to deal with behavioral extremes and learning challenges.

The Therapeutic Eye is a valuable resource for teachers and parents.

The Therapeutic Eye is a translation from German of Der therapeutische Blick: Rudolf Steiner sieht Kinder.

Peter Selg was born in 1963 in Stuttgart and studied medicine in Zurich and Berlin. Until 2000, he worked as the head physician of the juvenile psychiatry department of Herdecke hospital in Germany. He works as a youth psychiatrist at the Ita Wegman Clinic in Arlesheim, Switzerland, lectures extensively, and is the author of numerous books. He is married with three children.

Jan 2009; SB; pb;