1.
What is Steiner Waldorf education?
2.
What is unique about Steiner Waldorf education? How is it different?
3.
What is the curriculum at a Steiner Waldorf school like?
4.
How did Steiner Waldorf education get started?
5.
How many Steiner Waldorf schools are there?
6.
What is the philosophy behind Steiner Waldorf education?
7.
Why should I send my child to a Steiner Waldorf school?
8.
Who was Rudolf Steiner?
9.
How is reading taught in a Waldorf school?
10.
Why is so much emphasis put on festivals and ceremonies?
10a.
What are Michaelmas, St. John's Day, etc.?
11.
Why do Steiner Waldorf Schools discourage TV watching?
12.
What is the annual tuition fee of a Steiner Waldorf school?
13.
What kind of training do Steiner Waldorf teachers have?
14.
Why do Steiner Waldorf students stay with the same teacher for
8 years?
15.
How are personality conflicts between students and teachers handled?
16.
Are Steiner Waldorf schools religious?
17.
How do Steiner Waldorf children fare when they transfer to "regular"
schools?
18.
What is anthroposophy?
19.
Where can one get more information on Anthroposophy on the Internet?
20.
How does Steiner Waldorf deal with kids that don't get it academically?
21.
How well do Steiner Waldorf graduates do on standard tests &
in college?
22.
What is eurythmy?
23.
Is Steiner Waldorf education relevant to Special Needs children?
1. What is Steiner Waldorf education?
Steiner Waldorf education is a unique and distinctive approach to educating children
that is practiced in Steiner Waldorf schools worldwide. Steiner Waldorf schools collectively
form the largest, and quite possibly the fastest growing, group of independent private
schools in the world. There is no centralised administrative structure governing
all Steiner Waldorf schools; each is administratively independent, but there are
established associations which provide resources, publish materials, sponsor conferences,
and promote the movement.
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2. What is unique about Steiner Waldorf education? How
is it different from other alternatives (public schooling, Montessori, unschooling,
etc.)?
The best overall statement on what is unique about Steiner 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.
Steiner 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, doing away
with the need for competitive testing and grading.
Some distinctive features of Steiner Waldorf education include the following:
- Academics are de-emphasized in the early years of schooling. There is no academic
content in the Steiner Waldorf kindergarten experience (although there is a good
deal of cultivation of pre-academic skills), and minimal academics in first grade.
Reading is not taught until second or third grade, though the letters are introduced
carefully in first and second.
- During the elementary school years (grades 1-8) the students have a class (or
"main lesson") teacher who stays with the same class for (ideally) the
entire eight years of elementary school.
- Certain activities which are often considered "frills" at mainstream
schools are central at Steiner Waldorf schools: art, music, gardening, and foreign
languages (usually two in elementary 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.
- Learning in a Steiner Waldorf school is a noncompetitive activity. There are
no grades given at the elementary 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 Steiner Waldorf schools.
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3. What is the curriculum at a Steiner Waldorf school like?
The Steiner Waldorf curriculum is designed to be responsive to the various phases
of a child's development. The relationship between student and teacher is, likewise,
recognized to be both crucial and changing throughout the course of childhood and
early adolescence.
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 Steiner 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 civilizations.
- 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, American 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, pentatonic flute, recorder, string instruments, wind,
brass and percussion instruments.
- Foreign Languages (varies by school): Spanish, French, Japanese and German.
- Art: wet-on-wet water color painting, form drawing, beeswax and clay modeling,
perspective drawing. *Movement: eurythmy, gymnastics, group games.
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4. How did Steiner Waldorf education get started?
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: the school should be open to all children; it
should be coeducational; it should be a unified twelve-year school; and that 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.
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5. How many Steiner Waldorf schools are there?
Currently, Steiner Waldorf education is to be found world-wide with over 800 schools
and 1200 kindergartens in 43 countries.
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6. What is the philosophy behind Steiner Waldorf education?
Consistent with his philosophy called anthroposophy, Steiner designed a curriculum
responsive to the developmental phases in childhood and nurturing of children's imaginations.
He thought that schools should cater to the needs of children rather than the demands
of the government or economic forces, so he developed schools that encourage creativity
and free-thinking.
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7. Why should I send my child to a Steiner Waldorf school?
The main reason is that Steiner Waldorf schools honor and protect the wonder of
childhood. Every effort is expended to make Steiner Waldorf schools safe, secure
and nurturing environments for the children, and to protect their childhoods from
harmful influences from the broader society.
Secondly, Steiner Waldorf education has a consistent philosophy of child development
underlying the curriculum. All subjects are introduced in age-appropriate fashion.
Finally, the love of learning, flexibility, and resourceful self awareness of Steiner Waldorf
graduates ensure that they are welcome in the widest range of schools and learning environments.
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8. Who was Rudolf Steiner?
Dr. Rudolf Steiner was a highly respected and well-published scientific, literary
and philosophical scholar who was particularly known for his work on Goethe's scientific
writings. He later came to incorporate his scientific investigations with his interest
in spiritual development. He became a forerunner in the field of spiritual-scientific
investigation for the modern 20th century individual.
His background in history and civilizations coupled with his observation in life
gave the world the gift of Steiner Waldorf Education. It is a deeply insightful application
of learning based on the Study of Humanity with developing consciousness of self
and the surrounding world.
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9. How is reading taught in a Steiner Waldorf school? Why
do Steiner Waldorf students wait until 2nd grade to begin learning to
read?
Steiner Waldorf education is deeply bound up with the oral tradition, typically
beginning with the teacher telling the children fairy tales throughout kindergarten
and first grade. The oral approach is used all through Steiner Waldorf education:
mastery of oral communication is seen as being integral to all learning.
Reading instruction, as such, is deferred. Instead, writing is taught first.
During the first grade year the children explore how our alphabet came about, discovering,
as the ancients did, how each letter's form evolved out of a pictograph. Writing
thus evolves out of the children's art, and their ability to read likewise evolves
as a natural and, indeed, comparatively effortless stage of their mastery of language.
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10. Why is so much emphasis put on festivals and ceremonies?
What are Michaelmas, St. John's Day, etc.?
Seasonal festivals serve to connect humanity with the rhythms of nature and of
the cosmos. The festivals originated in ancient cultures, yet have been adapted over
time. To join the seasonal moods of the year, in a festive way, benefits the inner
life of the soul. Celebrating is an art. There is joy in the anticipation, the preparation,
the celebration itself, and the memories.
The four seasonal festivals are Michaelmas (fall), Christmas (winter), Easter
(spring), and St. John (summer).
Michaelmas, September 29: St. Michael is known as the conqueror of the dragon,
the heavenly hero with his starry sword (cosmic iron) who gives strength to people.
Christmas: An ancient festival; celebrated when the sun sends the least power
to the earth, as a festival which awakens in the human being an inkling of the very
wellsprings of existence, of an eternal reality. It is a time when the soul withdraws
into the innermost depths to experience within itself the inner spiritual light.
Easter derives its name from pre-Christian goddess symbols of rebirth, fertility
and spring. The renewal of man's being is celebrated with that of the earth. Ancient
symbols of the hare and egg are both known as signs of the return of life after winter's
sleep.
St. John - June 24 - Midsummer Day: Ancient peoples, watching the sun reach its
high point at this time, lit bonfires to encourage it to shine and ripen their crops.
It is a time when the cosmos brings the spiritual to man - a time when the spiritual,
which animates and weaves through everything in nature, is revealed.
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11. Why do Steiner Waldorf Schools discourage TV watching?
The reasons for this have as much to do with the physical effects of the medium
on the developing child as with the (to say the least) questionable content of much
of the programming. Electronic media are believed by Steiner Waldorf teachers to
seriously hamper the development of the child's imagination - a faculty which is
believed to be central to the healthy development of the individual. Computer use
by young children is also discouraged.
Steiner Waldorf teachers are not, by the way, alone in this belief. Several books
have been written in recent years expressing concern with the effect of television
on young children. See, for instance, Endangered Minds by Jane Healy, Four Arguments
for the Elimination of Television by Jerry Mander, or The Plug-In Drug by Marie Winn.
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12. What is the annual tuition of a Steiner Waldorf school?
This will vary significantly from school to school, but most Steiner Waldorf schools
have active tuition assistance programs and many offer "sibling discounts".
Some have a stated principle that they will not deny a child a Steiner Waldorf education
based strictly on financial considerations.
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13. What kind of training do Steiner Waldorf teachers
have?
While requirements within individual schools may vary, as a rule Class Teachers
will have both a university degree and teaching certification from a recognized Steiner
Waldorf teacher training college or institute. Some Steiner Waldorf training programs
can also grant B.A. degrees in conjunction with Steiner Waldorf teaching certification.
Typically, the course of study for teachers is from two to three years and includes
practice teaching in a Steiner Waldorf school under the supervision of experienced
Steiner Waldorf teachers. Teachers must also satisfy whatever credential and licensing
requirements might apply.
Rudolf Steiner, speaking in Oxford in 1922, defined "three golden rules"
for teachers: "to receive the child in gratitude from the world it comes from;
to educate the child with love; and to lead the child into the true freedom which
belongs to man."
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14. Why do Steiner Waldorf students stay with the same
teacher for 8 years?
Between the ages of seven and fourteen, children learn best through acceptance
and emulation of authority, just as in their earlier years they learned through imitation.
In elementary school, particularly in the lower grades, the child is just beginning
to expand his or her experience beyond home and family. The class becomes a type
of "family" as well, with its own authority figure -- the teacher -- in
a role analogous to parent.
With this approach, the students and teachers come to know each other very well,
and the teacher is able to find over the years the best ways of helping individual
children in their schooling. The class teacher also becomes like an additional family
member for most of the families in his/her class.
It's worth noting that this approach was the norm in the days of the "little
red schoolhouse".
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15. How are personality conflicts between students and
teachers handled?
This is a very common concern among parents when they first hear about the "Class
Teacher" method. However, in practice, the situation seems to arise very rarely,
especially so when the teacher has been able to establish a relationship with the
class right from the first grade. Given the sort of person who is motivated to become
a Steiner Waldorf teacher, incompatibility with a child is infrequent: understanding
the child's needs and temperament is central to the teacher's role and training.
If problems of this sort should occur, the faculty as a whole would work with the
teacher and the family to determine and undertake whatever corrective action would
be in the best interests of the child and of the class.
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16. Are Steiner Waldorf schools religious?
In the sense of subscribing to the beliefs of a particular religious denomination
or sect, no. Steiner Waldorf schools, however, tend to be spiritually oriented and
are based out of a generally Christian perspective. The historic festivals of Christianity,
and of other major religions as well, are observed in the class rooms and in school
assemblies. Classes in religious doctrine are not part of the Steiner Waldorf curriculum,
and children of all religious backgrounds attend Steiner Waldorf schools. Spiritual
guidance is aimed at awakening the child's natural reverence for the wonder and beauty
of life.
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17. How do Steiner Waldorf children fare when they transfer
to "regular" schools? Is it true that once you start Steiner Waldorf schooling
it is difficult to "make it" in public schools?
Generally, transitions to public schools, when they are anticipated, are not problematical.
The most common transition is from an eight grade Steiner Waldorf school to a more
traditional high school, and, from all reports, usually takes place without significant
difficulties.
Transitions in the lower grades, particularly between the first and fourth grades,
can potentially be more of a problem, because of the significant differences in the
pacing of the various curriculums. A second grader from a traditional school will
be further ahead in reading in comparison with a Steiner Waldorf-schooled second
grader; however, the Steiner Waldorf-schooled child will be ahead in arithmetic.
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18. What is anthroposophy?
The term "anthroposophy' comes from the Greek "anthropos-sophia"
or "human wisdom". Steiner expanded an exacting scientific method by which
one could do research for her/himself into the spiritual worlds. The investigation,
known also as Spiritual Science is an obvious complement to the Natural Sciences
we have come to accept. Through study and practiced observation, one awakens to his/her
own inner nature and the spiritual realities of outer nature and the cosmos. The
awareness of those relationships brings a greater reverence for all of life.
Steiner and many individuals since, who share his basic views, have applied this
knowledge in various practical and cultural ways in communities around the world.
Most notably, Steiner Waldorf schools have made significant impact on the world.
Curative education, for mentally and emotionally handicapped adults and children,
has established a deep understanding and work with people who have this difficult
destiny. Bio-dynamic farming and gardening greatly expand the range of techniques
available to organic agriculture. Anthroposophical medicine and pharmacy, although
less widely known in the US, are subjects of growing interest.
It should be stressed that while anthroposophy forms the theoretical basis to
the teaching methods used in Steiner Waldorf schools, it is not taught to the students.
"Anthroposophy has its roots in the perceptions, already gained, into the
spiritual world. Yet these are no more than the roots. The branches, leaves, blossoms,
and fruits of Anthroposophy grow into all the fields of human life and action."
Rudolf Steiner
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19. Where can one get more information on Anthroposophy
on the Internet?
The Anthroposophical Society in America
is a good place to start.
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20. How does Steiner Waldorf deal with kids that don't
get it academically?
Steiner Waldorf schools hesitate to categorize children, particularly in terms
such as "slow" or "gifted". A given child's weaknesses in one
area, whether cognitive, emotional or physical, will usually be balanced by strengths
in another area. It is the teacher's job to try to bring the child's whole being
into balance.
A child having difficulty with the material might be given extra help by the teacher
or by parents; tutoring might also be arranged. Correspondingly, a child who picked
up the material quickly might be given harder problems of the same sort to work on,
or might be asked to help a child who was having trouble.
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21. How well do Steiner Waldorf graduates do on standard
tests? How well do Steiner Waldorf high school graduates do in college?
To the best of our knowledge, no controlled studies have been done on these questions,
but anecdotal evidence collected from various sources would seem to suggest that
Steiner Waldorf graduates tend to score toward the high end on standardized examinations
such as the Scholastic Aptitude Tests. As far as higher education goes, Steiner Waldorf
graduates have been accepted as students at, and have graduated from, some of the
most prestigious colleges and universities.
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22. What is eurythmy?
Most simply put, eurythmy is a dance-like art form in which music or speech are
expressed in bodily movement; specific movements correspond to particular notes or
sounds. It has also been called "visible speech" or "visible song".
Eurythmy is part of the curriculum of all Waldorf schools, and while it often puzzles
parents new to Waldorf education, children respond to its simple rhythms and exercises
which help them strengthen and harmonize their body and their life forces; later,
the older students work out elaborate eurythmic representations of poetry, drama
and music, thereby gaining a deeper perception of the compositions and writings.
Eurythmy enhances coordination and strengthens the ability to listen. When children
experience themselves like an orchestra and have to keep a clear relationship in
space with each other, a social strengthening also results.
Eurythmy is usually taught by a specialist who has been specifically trained in
eurythmy, typically for at least four years. In addition to pedagogical eurythmy,
there are also therapeutic ("curative") and performance-oriented forms
of the art.
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23. Is Steiner Waldorf education relevant to Special Needs children?
The Anthroposophy-based Camphill Movement has a particular focus on special-needs
individuals. The social, cultural, and economic principles of the International Camphill
Movement were developed by Dr. Karl König (1902 - 1966). In Pennsylvania, for
example, Camphill Soltane attempts, ""To build healthy social relationships
in an environment dedicated to personal and social renewal, healing, and caring for
the land. In these activities, both independence and interdependence are fostered
by recognizing the full potential of each individual. This enables each person to
grow into the life of the community while allowing the community to grow within the
individual".
