Waldorf education, Early childhood (pre-k and k), Middle school (grades 1-8), High school, Articles on waldorf education

That question refers to the Waldorf impulse here in Montana, as the impulse is quite large and thriving in other parts of the country and world. The first school in Stuttgart, Germany nearly 100 years ago, however, was in a similar mind frame then as it seems this area is now. After years of destruction by World War I, the people of Europe closely felt, because they lived it, the horrors of war in their own back yard. The destruction was visible all around them, the losses in their families deeply felt, the economic hardship as close and as palpable as the hunger pangs in the belly. My own grandfather fought in that war as a US soldier, was shot and gassed in trench warfare in France, lost a lung, and nearly died before the age of 19 years old. Today in our valley, while hardly a post-war environment, still, we see the yellow ribbons, the plaques and displays of support for our troops, and yes even some memorials for the recent combat activity in which our country is currently embroiled. The ubiquitous TV screen now found just about everywhere we go shows us constant reminders of the current destruction caused by war and other disasters. The current economic downtrend also reminds us of our fragility.

Many people flocked to Rudolf Steiner’s post-WWI lectures, in which he attempted to awaken them to idea of the underlying social chaos accompanying the war’s end. At least one among them, the director of the Waldorf factory, was able to hear Steiner’s call for moving our attention away from the preoccupation with fear of death and instead focus on the other end of life, birth.

The subsequent founding of the first Waldorf school in 1919 was based on Steiner’s philosophy that the basic task of education, indeed of all social renewal, was to overcome human self-interest, or egoism, and at the heart of this self-interest was the preoccupation with death. He contended that the best training for teachers and parents (who are also children’s teachers) was their own honest struggle for self-transformation. He also urged to view the task of the parent and the teacher as a moral spiritual task, learning how to continue the work of higher spiritual beings, done before birth, within the life of the children we have to raise and teach. The struggle for self-transformation can be reworded more simply: parents and teachers each must BE the person you wish your child(ren) to become. The view of the task of education can be better understood with the following excerpt from Steiner’s first lecture to the Waldorf faculty as part of their teacher training for opening the first Waldorf school:

“Although we can physically see children only after their birth, we need to be aware that birth is only a continuation. We do not want to only look at what the human being experiences after death, that is, at the spiritual continuation of the physical. We want to be aware that physical existence is a continuation of the spiritual, and that what we have to do in education is a continuation of what higher beings have done without our assistance. Our form of educating can have the correct attitude only when we are aware that our work with young people is a continuation of what higher beings have done before birth.”
Click READ MORE below to continue article

As a Waldorf teacher immersed in my own little magical world of the fun adventure of education with my class, I was rather shocked to hear of a program in the public schools called "Reading Without Tears." How sad! I thought. Childhood is challenging enough in this day and age. Providing our children with the best possible educational experience, one that is well rounded in helping them develop on all levels, not just as automaton readers or test takers, is essential, and really a gift: a gift of a happy childhood.

Here is some more good info about the pitfalls of pushing early reading. Dr. Johnson's website has a lot more great articles too. She went through Waldorf teacher training as a result of what she was seeing in her pediatric practice, and saw how Waldorf offered the best in education for children. Developmentally appropriate, soul-enriching, joy-filled, nature-based, artistically expressive, and downright fun! Truly a wonder-full education.

Warm regards,

Catherine Flynn
Glacier Waldorf School - Dedicated to Preserving the Wonder of Childhood

Click on Attachment below to read article

To enlarge photo, click on it.

Girls in Grades Class learn about starting a fire from friction in a Nature Studies block.

While kindergarteners learn best when taught concretely through movement and example, children in the grade school years (ages 7 to 14) learn best when they are engaged imaginatively, artistically, and hands-on. Academics need to be presented in vivid, lively pictures through music and the arts, storytelling, and direct contact with the natural world, to bring all subjects alive.

A three-dimensional approach to teaching infuses all of the educational work in grade school. Movement to promote thinking on one's feet, stories that touch the heart, and activities that kindle the imagination - these are the experiences that foster joy and love of learning in the grade school years.

In Waldorf lower grades, subjects are introduced in imaginative, lively ways, through storytelling, watercolor painting, beeswax modeling, knitting, circle and singing games, jump rope, bean bag and string games, learning to play the flute, gardening, and imaginative outdoor play. Subjects are taught in 4-week blocks, where each subject is focused on intensely during the morning Main Lesson period.

The Waldorf grade school is unique in that the class stays with the same teacher for first through eighth grade, instilling a strong sense of community within the children. The unique relationship that develops between the class teacher and each child assures depth of understanding necessary for truly productive learning, and adds to the joy and stability of these formative years.

This middle childhood phase is the time for educating the feeling intelligence, as children grow toward their individuality. As they develop their intellects and academic skills, they also develop their inner world of feelings. Waldorf education engages students through feelings by introducing academic subjects through folk tales, legends and mythologies and other artistic mediums which result in an integrated approach of feeling, thinking and doing (willing) that meets the needs of the individual child at this imaginative age.

To enlarge photo, click on it.

The transition from Kindergarten to Grades is considered a very big one in Waldorf schools, and great care is taken to ensure that each child is developmentally ready to make it successfully. Waldorf views the child as passing through three developmental stages: early childhood (age 0-7), middle childhood (age 7-14) and adolescence (age 14-21). Unique to Waldorf education is the view that a child will not be rushed from one stage to another, but given the gift to fully complete each development stage.

One sign that a child is nearing the completion of the early childhood stage is the "change of teeth" process beginning. When a child starts to lose their baby teeth, this is one signal that their life forces being used during the early childhood stage to build up their body, are now beginning to be freed up to be used in other ways, such as embarking on the world of academics.

The change of teeth is only one of many things a Waldorf teacher is observing in each child to signal his or her readiness to move into first grade. There are other physical signs besides the loss of the baby teeth, as well as emotional, social, and large and small motor development skills. To understand more, talk to a teacher at Glacier Waldorf School.

A recently released study of 550 Waldorf graduates reveals a profile of a typical Waldorf graduate that should be interesting to parents who are seeking an educational path for their child that results in a happy, well-educated, well-rounded adult who has a sense of service for their community and global view of themselves as citizens of the world.

The survey, based on a sample of around 550 participants spanning some sixty years, suggests that a majority of Waldorf graduates share many characteristics, of which three are predominant:

• Waldorf graduates value the opportunity to think for themselves and to translate their new ideas into practice. They both value and practice life-long learning and have a highly developed sense for aesthetics.
• Waldorf graduates value lasting human relationships and they seek out opportunities to be of help to other people.
• Waldorf graduates sense they are guided by an inner moral compass that helps them navigate the trials and temptations of professional and private life. They carry high ethical principles into their chosen professions.

  From the survey:

  "Regarding aspects of Waldorf education initially rejected but now viewed differently, the graduates express new appreciation for the value of bringing form and discipline to the classroom, for restricting exposure to media (especially television), and for providing a multi-faceted curriculum, particularly in the arts.

  The graduates surveyed demonstrated that they are capable of achieving what they want in life and are happy in the process of pursuing their goals. The majority consider life-long learning as a significant part of their life journey. They are devoted to their families, both to their own parents as well as to the families they are part of creating. In short, they know how to make a living, but more importantly they know how to make a life."

  Profile of a Typical Waldorf Graduate

  • After graduating from a Waldorf high school, attends college (94%)
  • Majors in arts/humanities (47%) or sciences/math (42%) as an undergraduate
  • Graduates or is about to graduate from college (88%)
  • Practices and values life-long learning (91%)
  • Is self-reliant and highly values self-confidence (94%)
  • Highly values verbal expression (93%) and critical thinking (92%)
  • Expresses a high level of consciousness in making relationships work - both at home and on the job
  • Is highly satisfied in choice of occupation (89%)
  • Highly values interpersonal relationships (96%)
  • Highly values tolerance of other viewpoints (90%)
  • At work cares most about ethical principles (82%) and values helping others (82%)
    

The below excerpt is from the book Music with the Brain in Mind, by Eric Jensen (also author of Teaching with the Brain in Mind)

THE WALDORF MODEL
Perhaps one of the best long-term models for examining the process and results of integrating music into the curriculum is the Waldorf school. For more than fifty years, learners attending Waldorf education programs have had the opportunity to explore their musical interests through standard curriculum activities. As an independent, arts-centered learning institution, the Waldorf school is one of the fastest-growing education enterprises in the world: Today there are 130 in America and 700 worldwide.
(To continue article, click "read more" below)

A Waldorf educator, somewhere along the way, will inevitably get asked a question by a newcomer, really a concern expressed, over hearing from somewhere that Waldorf, while strong in the arts, is weak in the sciences.

The following is a response by a Professor of Pathology at Duke University Medical School which should dispel this myth quickly.

Daniel J. Kenan, MD and PhD, writes:

“I want to relay an observation. The Waldorf student workbooks (note: also known as Main Lesson books) were unbelievable! The one image I kept staring at as I sat on the front row was from a page entitled, The Nephron. As a biologist and physician who has spent countless hours studying the beastly nephron, I can tell you that this one beautifully drawn image captured the essential anatomical and physiological essence of this unit of function of the kidney. The attention to detail in the subtleties of the vascular interconnectivities could only have been made by someone who really “got it.”
(To continue article, click "read more" below)

by Martha Sadler

The following article was published in The Independent of Santa Barbara, California in April 30th, 1992. While some things have changed since it was printed, Martha Sadler's report is still accurate and reflects much of the essence of Waldorf education, seen from an outsider's view.

In a vague way, Waldorf School has been familiar to me for a long time. My editor's daughter, Elizabeth, entered Waldorf kindergarten at the age of five, and at times when my editor was unable to find her car keys I have driven her to pick up Elizabeth, who is now in the sixth grade, and more recently, her little brother Justin, who is now in kindergarten.

Since our editor's idea of on-site child care is having employees' kids and their friends take over the newspaper's conference room, my colleagues and I have had a front-row view of many Waldorf children. We have been treated to impromptu string concerts, and to their singing as they frolicked up and down the hallways, and have occasionally become the targets of their raffle-ticket selling drives. I even willingly attended a couple of their plays.
(To continue article, click "read more" below)

In this article written for Teacher Magazine in 1995, David Ruenzel describes Pine Hill Waldorf School in New Hampshire. He describes the holistic nature of this Waldorf school, talks with teachers and students, and provides a comprehensive picture of the nature of Waldorf educations.

In American education, the notion of developing the "whole person" has been around forever. This is why our schools have long encouraged students to do everything from excel in math and play in the band to climb ropes and sing in musicals. At the Pine Hill Waldorf School in Wilton, N.H., however, the idea of educating the whole person hasn't led to an exhaustive string of extracurricular activities but is instead seamlessly integrated into every aspect of daily practice. Everyone at Pine Hill does most everything well--from playing the recorder to freehand drawing of geometric patterns--and all with a sort of contemplative reserve that seems, in its absence of competitive striving, almost un-American.
"A Waldorf education is like a toolbox for life," one Pine Hill teacher told me. Another Waldorf teacher who is also a Pine Hill alumnus said, "Confidence is the greatest gift my schooling gave me. Once you find your way into something, be it pottery or auto mechanics, you feel like you can find your way into anything else because you've learned that everything is interrelated, even if it appears otherwise."
(To continue article, click "read more" below)