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