Quote of the Day: The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything. -Edward John Phelps

As a homeschooler, the subject of education in general is something I follow closely. As a result, I want to be informed about all aspects of education in our country. One thing I've always wondered about are Waldorf schools. How do they teach and what are they about?

From this website I learned about their curriculum:

http://www.steiner-australia.org/other/Wald_faq.html

These lines below in green I copied from that site. I do like some of their ideas.

Some distinctive features of Waldorf education include the following:

• Academics are de-emphasized in the early years of schooling. There is no academic content in the Waldorf kindergarten (i.e. pre-class 1) experience (although there is a good deal of cultivation of pre-academic skills), and minimal academics in class 1. The letters are introduced artistically in class 2, with the children learning to read from their own writing in class 2 or 3.
  
• During the primary school years (classes 1-8) the students have a class (or "main lesson") teacher who stays with the same class for (ideally) the first eight years of their schooling.
  
• Certain activities which are often considered "frills" at mainstream schools are central at Waldorf schools: art, music, gardening, and foreign languages (usually two in primary grades), to name a few. In the younger grades, all subjects are introduced through artistic mediums, because the children respond better to this medium than to dry lecturing and rote learning. 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 their own workbooks which they fill in during the course of the year. They essentially produce their own "textbooks" which record their experiences and what they've learned. Upper grades use textbooks to supplement their main lesson work.
  
• All children learn a stringed instrument from class 3 onwards. This often includes one-on-one tuition as well as orchestra.
  
• 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.
  
• The use of electronic media, particularly television, by young children is strongly discouraged in Waldorf schools.

What is the curriculum at a Waldorf School like?

The Waldorf curriculum is designed to be responsive to the various phases of a child's development. The era of human history being studied corresponds in many ways with the stage of development of the child. For example, pre-class 1 children are presented with fairy stories matching their dreamy state of consciousness, class 4 study the Vikings and Norse mythology which suit their war-like feelings, class 5 learn of the Greeks at the time their intellect is awakening and their sense of fair play is becoming obvious, and so on.

The main subjects, such as history, language arts, science and mathematics are, as mentioned, taught in main lesson blocks of two to three hours per day, with each block lasting from three to five weeks.

The total Waldorf curriculum has been likened to an ascending spiral: subjects are revisited several times, but each new exposure affords greater depth and new insights into the subject at hand.

A typical Lower School curriculum would likely look something like the following:

• Primary Grades 1 - 3
•  
  • Pictorial introduction to the alphabet, writing, reading, spelling, poetry and drama.
  • Folk and fairy tales, fables, legends, Old Testament stories.
  • Numbers, basic mathematical processes of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
  • Nature stories, house building and gardening.

• Middle Grades 4 - 6
•  
  • Writing, reading, spelling, grammar, poetry and drama.
  • Norse myths, history and stories of ancient civilisations (e.g. Greek, Indian).
  • Review of the four mathematical processes, fractions, percentages, and geometry.
  • Local and world geography, comparative zoology, botany and elementary physics.

• Upper Grades 7 - 8
•  
  • Creative writing, reading, spelling, grammar, poetry and drama.
  • Medieval history, Renaissance, world exploration, history and biography.
  • Geography, physics, basic chemistry, astronomy, geology and physiology.

• Special subjects also taught include:
•  
  • Handwork: knitting, crochet, sewing, cross stitch, basic weaving, toy making and woodworking.
  • Music: singing, recorder, string instruments, wind, brass and percussion instruments.
  • Foreign Languages (varies by school): Spanish, French, Japanese and German.
  • Art: wet-on-wet water colour painting, form drawing, beeswax and clay modelling, perspective drawing.
  • Movement: eurhythmy, gymnastics, group games.

Apparently, they are very controversial. There is an organization called PLANS that is an anti-Waldorf crusade organization. From their homepage, www.waldorfcritic.com , I quote:

Welcome! People for Legal and Non-Sectarian Schools (PLANS) is a world-wide network of former Waldorf parents, teachers, students, administrators and trustees who come from a variety of backgrounds with a common goal: to educate the public about the reality behind Waldorf's facade of progressive, arts-based education. Waldorf is the most visible activity of Anthroposophy, an occultist sect founded by Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925).

I have no idea what Anthroposophy is about (if it's as difficult to understand as it is to pronounce, I never will), but this article explains it a little:

http://skepdic.com/steiner.html

From that article, I quote: "Waldorf schools reflect Steiner's education theories, which hold that children advance through three stages... during the first stage, birth to age 7, the spirit inhabiting the body of the child is still adjusting to its surroundings, hence lower grades in Waldorf school offer minimal academic content. Reading is not introduced until second or thrid grade." {That is true in some Scandinavian countries also, and they do have very high literacy rates- HouseMouse) "During the second stage, ages seven to 14, children are said to be driven primarily by imagination and fantasy, so students are introduced to mythology. After age 14, the third stage, an astral body is believed to be drawn into the physical body, creating the onset of puberty." The author of the article which I am quoting points out, "These anthroposophical ideas are not nescessarily taught as part of the standard Waldorf school curriculum to the students themselves, but apparently are believed by those in charge of the curriculum."

Hmmm... He goes on, "There is no question that Steiner made contributions in many fields, but as a philosopher, scientist and artist he rarely rises above the mediocre and is singularly unoriginal.... Some of his ideas on education, however, are worth considering. He was correct to note that there is a grave danger in developing the imagination and understanding of young people if schools are dependent upon government. State-funded education will likely lead to emphasis on a curriculum that serves the State..."

Well, I do see the truth of that. Is a Waldorf curriculum compatible with Christianity? That's a loaded question. Of course, the truth of the matter would depend on how much of Steiner's spiritual teachings filter down into the classroom, and that would vary from school to school, I would think. There is nothing inherently unchristian in delayed academics, lots of music and crafts, condemnation of television and-- as I have heard from a friend-- of organized sports.

The article, Is Waldorf Education Christian? adresses the issue, and doesn't reach much of a conclusion. Read it at http://www.awsna.org/renchristian.html . The author of that article writes, "In the context of anthroposphy... the Christ impulse is a universally available matrix of human aspirations..."

If you get that, you get a gold star. It certainly is  not Christianity as I know it, or as I teach it to my kids. You decide for yourself.

By the way, there is a website for people who wish to homeschool in the Waldorf spirit. I have not read the contents of this page, I am only putting it up as a reference for those who want to know more:

http://millennialchild.com

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