Waldorf school

[MyDoorsAreOpen]

I'm exploring the option of sending my children to a Waldorf school, which is the name for schools founded on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner. There is one easy driving distance from where we're living, so transport would not be an issue. Affording the tuition would not be an issue either -- if the education and child development were top shelf, I'd be willing to make the sacrifice, because that's really not something you can put a price on. But I am not willing to annually throw away the equivalent of an average college tuition, thrice over, for anything that isn't top shelf.

Has anyone here at BL had any experience with a Waldorf school, either personally or through anyone you've known? I'd love to hear your story.

The things I'm reading online about Waldorf education, and Steiner's work in general, seems to be highly polarized. The proponents talk about the way the schools impart character, social responsibility, cooperative attitudes, optimism, imagination, and curiosity about the world, in a way that public and conventional private schools couldn't hope to match. Detractors decry an idealistic but intellectually lean curriculum that doesn't prepare students socially or analytically to compete in the workforce. There's also much talk of a covert ideological and spiritual agenda.

I just want children that become, and stay, excited about learning. I went through a gifted and talented program one day a week at my elementary school (which was slashed not long after I left), which was all based around experiential hands-on learning and cooperative group work, and in no way resembled a traditional classroom. I believe in the values of curiosity, freedom to explore, and education as a community-building exercise.

For those of you who don't know me well here, I'm hardly anti-intellectual, but I'm not a hard line advocate of Enlightenment values. Being able to think is important, yes. But being able to relate, envision, dream, build communities, and find meaning in life are at least (if not more) important, IMHO. I strongly disagree that all forms of spirituality are inherently detrimental to becoming an intellectually well-rounded and critical thinking person. While I see the value of keeping spirituality, overt or covert, out of public schools, I don't go so far as to say it has no place in any modern day school, or in the world in general. I belabor this point because I notice that most of the criticism of Waldorf schools comes from former students who lean decidedly secular/rationalist, and wish they'd been educated with such a worldview from day one. I'd hate to have one or more of my kids end up resenting me for sending them to Waldorf school, on the grounds that it never taught them how to survive out there in the big bad world, the way it really is.

Any thoughts?

 

[addictivepersona]

Send 'em. If it isn't going to be too much money, I think it is a very wise investment.

There is a Waldorf school in my neck of the woods and since it only went up to eighth grade, we had numerous students come from Waldorf into the local public high school. These students were much farther along in their studies than the other students, and the majority of them were able to graduate early in 11th grade instead of 12th.

The students who went to Waldorf school were also much farther along socially than the other students--They didn't taunt or tease others like the majority of the people in my school, and they were just genuinely good people to be around. Though much of that could have had to do with their upbringing at home, I think a lot of it had to do with the elementary/middle school education they received. :)

 

[ocean]

I have long been fascinated by Waldorf Schooling and Rudolf Steiner. (Was excited to see this thread)

They do their reading programs differently (I believe this is Waldorf School wide- not area specific)- children learn later how to read, than in public and other private schools. This was something that really turned me off of Waldorf Schooling. (I once threw around the idea of going to school to become a Waldorf teacher) I think learning to read very early is important....the students seem to catch up quickly- though if taken out of the program in say, grades 2-4ish and put in other schooling, they are typically behind in reading. (When I did my research , it was a few years ago- they may have changed, though it's doubtful)
I do like their lesson styles/plans ( mythologies, art, languages, music, nature and movement) and the idea of the students going in 'one class' throughout their education.
There are so many benefits to their program and teaching styles imo and the students seem to have great success after grade 12.

As said though, it IS quite expensive and some of the schools are very strict- requiring contracts that include no television at home.
Otherwise, from all I have read on it, it seems an incredible opportunity for children.


Oh, MDAO, you may check into the programs they offer for infants. Some of the Waldorf school have infant/mother classes

I will be checking this thread again! Hopefully seeing a few responses from people who have experienced it

 

[Cohesion]

I can relate. Because there is no Waldorf school here, I am sending my child next year to Montessori (3-6 class). From 1st grade on, she'll likely attend a private school here that is heavy in academics.

An acquaintance of mine had both of her sons attend Waldorf until age 8. After this they went to public school. Her reason I presume is that the foundation had been laid: "Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man" -Francis Xavier

One of her sons at age 10 (or so) complained that the public school structure doesn't allow time for them to go deep into the subject. So much is presented and he wasn't able to absorb it. Along with [Jagat's] home life he has a lot of self-awareness! His observation makes a lot of sense to me - Each year public school curriculum re-presents the same material in just a slightly varied fashion.

Other parents I have read their experiences online. I have read in many countries there is a definite sense of elitism and subtle sense of vanity among the parents. Though I will assert that, as with all things in this world, we have to adjust. If you choose to have TV and computers at home, or allow your child to wear clothes with characters or logos sometimes, then do it, but just be aware of the culture.

 

[Cyc]

Edit: This thread isn't about me. Sorry for threadcrapping. Bad day yesterday.

 

[Cohesion]

Cyc, I was thinking to respond but it looks like topic's off the table

 

[addictivepersona]

Edit: This thread isn't about me. Sorry for threadcrapping. Bad day yesterday.

No, but your opinion is still valid, and I think it added another valuable viewpoint. :)

 

[thujone]

Detractors decry an idealistic but intellectually lean curriculum that doesn't prepare students socially or analytically to compete in the workforce. There's also much talk of a covert ideological and spiritual agenda.

That's how I found the situation to be. I grew up in the viscinity of a Waldorf school and went to the school on Saturdays for the market and just generally spent a fair deal of time hanging around there in my youth when I didn't have as stiff paradigms as I do today and was more willing to just accept what was going on. There was a strong hippie-commune feel to the whole place and naturopathic medicine was held in high regard and practitioners were on campus. In retrospect, a lot of the adults there had values that did not correlate with what was happening in the outside world. It was sort of like an alternate universe that was fun to escape to for an hour or two but even as a kid I realized I would probably grow up insane if I was a student there.

I've done some work at a Montessori school and would definitely recommend that over Waldorf. In the Montessori system the kids are exposed to basic concepts in a lot of high-level shit in a way that encourages curiousity and creativity. By 5th and 6th grade the kids are programming video games and learning physics and chemistry and are encouraged to learn about a wide variety of subject matter instead of being force-fed some curriculum-mandated garbage like in most schools.

So in conclusion, if you want your kids to be taught an ideology they may someday resent you for, send em to Waldorf. Hell, go to a Waldorf school yourself and get involved in events there and just see if you can agree with the philosophy of the people there. Obviously it's Valhalla to some people but personally I think they're maladjusted. It's your kids who will be moulded by your choice so you should see what's up yourself and use your sound judgment. I'd just recommend planning a visit to a Montessori school as well.

 

[P A]

Though I am well aware that an individual's capacity to discern geometric patterns in rectangles may not be as intimate a measure of "giftedness" as many people would prefer, it remains to be said whether IQ scores are significantly impacted by 'alternative schooling' in childhood. If intellectual development is indeed one of your foremost concerns, I would think twice before dishing out that much cash for what could easily be a well-hyped waste of human effort and resources. Though I'm sure you're already familiar with the whole nature-nurture controversy, I think it's worth (re)stating that intelligence and personality may turn out to be affected more by polygenetic inheritance and other biological factors (toxic exposure, infectious disease, etc.) than by any particular brand of rearing. However, there does appear to be a strong correlation between IQ and wealth, with some (non-twin) studies indicating differences of ten points or more. But the jury is still out with regard to what causal factors may account for this disparity. My money is on improved access to healthcare and a generally safer, more nurturing environment (i.e., more hugs than beatings, more vitamin supplements than neurotoxins) as the deal-breakers here. If you're interested, read this article. Here's the link to the study to which it refers.

That being said, I take it that you're just as interested in your children's development as human beings as you are in their capacity to achieve good test scores - w.r.t. that, I can only offer my own experiences with such schools, which is admittedly limited in depth. Like thujone, I live near a handful of similar schools - none of which, however, (to my knowledge) employ a Steiner curriculum. Nevertheless, the basics are all there: exorbitant monetary expense; greater emphasis on 'hands-on' learning than public schools, and with a comparatively 'creative' focus to boot; a vague, secular 'mission statement' of sorts, usually with a liberal-artsy kind of feel; and an eclectic assortment of programs and requisites that you would surely never find in a public institution. Having lived near three of such secular private schools, I naturally happen to be familiar with a handful of their alumni, most of which are in my age group. Even without adjusting for socioeconomic status, health, and psychological well being, I cannot discern any particular difference between these alumni and any of my other (publicly educated) acquaintances in terms of intelligence, creativity, or real-world competence; with, perhaps, a distressing negative trend regarding the latter. More importantly, none of them have ever demonstrated any exceptional qualities over and above the norm - in other words, they're not necessarily better people than most, unless you count being able to play both the fiddle and the accordion to be a noteworthy attribute. Mind you, most of my fellow public school acquaintances were in AP or IB programs, and so don't fit squarely within the mean in relation to their 'non-gifted' peers either. But if they were my kids, I would think thrice before sacrificing large quantities of my income and time for what might amount to nothing more than an inconvenient change of venue.

TL;DR - Watch your wallet. There exists a good chance of this venture turning out to be a complete waste, and that would be a tragic loss indeed.

And yeah, that 'anthroposophy' thing sounds dangerously close to an ideology, or at least much closer than anything you'd ever get in a government-sponsored institution (or even some religiously based private schools, for that matter). I mean, its Wikipedia article is longer than the one on mathematics for Christ's sake.