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Waldorf education is based on the principles of
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Anthroposophy by Rudolf Steiner.
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Steiner founded the first school in 1919 Stuttgart Germany
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to educate the children of the factory workers
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from the Waldorf Astoria Zigaretten Fabrik
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- hence the name.
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All kids, independent of social status or talent
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received the same instruction,
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which made the school a pioneer of social justice in education.
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The goal of a Waldorf education is to develop free,
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but morally responsible individuals
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equipped with a high degree of social competence
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and creative capabilities.
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Factual knowledge,
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homework and tests scores receive less attention.
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Storytelling and experimentation
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are the main method of instruction,
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Over the twelve-year curriculum,
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students learn math,
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literature,
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history and science
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as well as a wide variety of arts and hands-on skills.
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Elementary students paint,
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knit,
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weave and sculpt with wax.
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Older ones make patterns,
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books,
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pottery and sculpt in stone.
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Everybody learns to do music.
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First all play the flute,
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then some play string instruments
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and others join the choir.
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Students play non-competitive games
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and learn to dance eurhythmy.
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They do organic farming
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and learn two foreign languages,
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which in the first years are taught through songs,
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storytelling and conversations.
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In grade 8 and 12
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the entire class develops a classical drama
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which they perform in front of their parents and friends.
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Waldorf uses a unique
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project based approach to almost
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all main academic subjects.
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Instead of repetitive schedules,
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a specific subject,
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such as history,
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math,
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science or even gardening
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dominates the first two hours in the morning
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for a period of 4-6 weeks.
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After that, a new subject gets the main focus.
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Steiner also invented an experiential approach to science
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whereby students observe
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and later describe scientific concepts
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in their own words and drawings
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rather than learning about them in a textbook first.
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Waldorf schools therefore consider computers
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useful to children only in their teens,
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after they have mastered fundamental,
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time-honored ways of discovering
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information and learning.
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In the spirit of personal development and empathy,
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competition and grades are being avoided.
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Teachers instead assess the student's individual
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growth of character.
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Tests scores and grades are only slowly introduced to
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older students as they prepare for college
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and entrance exams.
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Today there are over
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a thousand Waldorf schools in 60 countries,
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making it one of the largest independent
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school movements.
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Waldorf has become a recognized
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educational theory in Europe
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and its schools have received state funding.
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Famous Waldorf parents include Clint Eastwood,
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Lenny Kravitz,
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the Forbes family
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and many parents from Silicon Valley's tech sector
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despite Steiner's critical view of technology
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and mass media.
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Steve Jobs once told a tech journalist
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who asked whether his children like the new iPad
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that they haven't used it and continued:
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“We limit how much technology our kids use at home.”
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Acclaimed psychiatrist William Glasser famously said
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that we learn 10% of what we read,
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20% of what we hear,
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30% of what we see,
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but 80% of what we experience.
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one could argue that despite their low-tech approach,
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the experimental learning method of
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Waldorf education is exceptionally contemporary.
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What do you think?
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Please share your thoughts in the comments below!
