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Waldorf
Education
In
1919, Rudolf Steiner, the Austrian philosopher, scientist and artist,
was invited to give a series of lectures to the workers of the Waldorf-Astoria
cigarette factory in Stuttgart, Germany. As a result, the factory's owner,
Emil Molt, asked Steiner to establish and lead a school for the children
of the factory's employees. Steiner agreed to do so on four conditions:
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The school should be open to all children. |
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It should be coeducational. |
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It should be a unified twelve-year school. |
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The
teachers, those who would be working directly with the children, should
take the leading role in the running of the school, with a minimum
of interference from governmental or economic concerns. |
Molt
agreed to the conditions and, after a training period for the prospective
teachers, die Freie Waldorfschule (the Free Waldorf School) was opened
September 7, 1919.
Waldorf
education is a unique and distinctive approach to educating children that
is practiced in Waldorf schools worldwide. Waldorf schools collectively
form the largest, and quite possibly the fastest growing, group of independent
private schools in the world. There is no centralized administrative structure
governing all Waldorf schools; each is administratively independent, but
there are established associations which provide resources, publish materials,
sponsor conferences, and promote the movement. AWSNA
(Association of Waldorf Schools of North America) is the organization
which fulfils this function in the United States.
The best overall statement on what is unique
about Waldorf education is to be found in the stated goals of the schooling:
"to produce individuals who are able, in and of themselves, to impart
meaning to their lives".The aim of Waldorf schooling is to educate
the whole child, "head, heart and hands". The curriculum is
as broad as time will allow, and balances academics subjects with artistic
and practical activities.
Waldorf
teachers are dedicated to creating a genuine love of learning within each
child. By freely using arts and activities in the service of teaching
academics, an internal motivation to learn is developed in the students;
they learn through their thinking, feeling and willing. Most Waldorf schools
only introduce testing and grading in the upper grades when students are
preparing to move on into a more traditional classroom.
Some
distinctive features of Waldorf education include the following:
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Academics are de-emphasized in the early years of schooling. There
is no academic content in the Waldorf kindergarten experience (although
there is a good deal of cultivation of pre-academic skills). The letters
are introduced artistically in first grade. The children learning
to read from their own writing in grades 2 or 3. |
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During the primary school years (grades 1-8) the students have a class
(or "morning lesson") teacher who stays with the same class
for (ideally) the first eight years of their schooling.
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Certain activities, which are often considered "frills"
in traditional schools, are central in Waldorf schools: art, movement,
handwork, music, cooking, gardening, and foreign languages (usually
two in primary grades), to name a few. All children learn to play
recorder and to knit. There are no "textbooks" as such in
the first through fifth grades. All children have "main lesson
books", which are workbooks (journals) which they create, with
the teacher's guidance, for each lesson block. They essentially produce
their own "textbooks" which record their experiences and
provide a record of what they've learned. Upper grades use textbooks
(usually only in math) to supplement their main lesson work. Upper
grades also write research papers, finding their own source materials.
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Learning
in a Waldorf school is a non-competitive activity. There are no grades
given at the primary level; the teacher writes a detailed evaluation
of the child at the end of each school year.
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The
use of electronic media, particularly television, by young children
is strongly discouraged in Waldorf schools. Social interaction and
discovery through play (imaginative exploration) are strongly encouraged. |
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For
Latest Program Information
Phone:
Michael Imes at
262-524-2124
Or Email:
Michael Imes at
mimes17@hotmail.com |
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