Hildegard von Bingen: An Educational Visionary for Our Time

Saint Hildegard von Bingen was a polymath who lived as a nun during the twelfth century. Her astonishing work takes on the topics of religion, music, art, theater, medicine, taxonomy, theology, science, political science, ecology, linguistics, and architecture. Her unique pedagogical techniques focused on the importance of the environment, the arts, and in finding one’s authentic voice in the service of others and making the world better. This chapter bridges the eight centuries that separate her lifetime from today and makes Saint Hildegard von Bingen a part of today’s educational discourse. Hildegard’s exemplar of reaching students by opening their minds and hearts to learning, and by teaching to the spirit of the individual with ecology, activism, and artsintegration can help today’s educators teach the whole student, nurturing their mind, body, and spirit.