Waldorf Education

[Deified]

Have any of you ever heard of it? If so, what do you think?

[ecoli]

Yes...a Waldorf school gives a unique educational experiance to students (http://www.awsna.org/). I think it's a fantastique idea...and a step in the right direction for the education of youth.

[Deified]

http://www.awsna.org/

 

Hehe, Actually I'm good friends with the current AWSNA chairman. He taught me a history block. I went through the entire waldorf curriculum (k-8) and am now in a waldorf high school. I really liked the education I got, although I did and do have to supplement the science curriculum a little What, if any, experience have you had? Anybody?

[ecoli]

I have not been educated at a Waldorf school...but I'm am somewhat familiar with their methods, and have been in several schools. From my experiances, the grounds and schools are very nice. And also...my mother would kill to get a teaching job at a Waldorf school.

[Deified]

Funny you should mention it, my mother has a teaching job at my school. She is currently in 6th grade (if that doesn't sound weird to you, then you really are familiar with the methods) the pay is lousy, but she says it's quite rewarding. The grounds are quite nice, we have a big sweeping view of pastures and mountains (hills really) and the main school building is quite the piece of architecture. But what is most striking, is that there are ALWAYS cows in view, if you get bored in class... Watch the cows!

[ecoli]

Yeah...that's what's appealing to my mom...they environment, not the pay. What a strange coincidence!

[brave_new_world]

It's an interesting idea but I would think the students would not be able to be exposed to many different perspectives.

 

My opinion is: by only having one teacher for 8 years,the variety of influences on the children become very limited.

[Deified]

Actually, you have one teacher for eight years, but they only teach you for two hours in the morning. In the 5 hours from 10:30 to 3:15 you have a variety of teachers teaching many subjects. The class teacher is always there to guide the class and act as a figure of authority, but you get many perspectives, because you have approximately five different teachers in an average day.

[myeditorial]

Have you ever heard of invariantology?

[Guest Optic]

I went to a Waldorf school from kindergarten through 5th grade. I have nothing but fond memories of it, and felt like it was the perfect experience for an elementary school.

 

There is, however, quite a bit of debate over the nature of the education. Some people claim that it's a form of religious indoctrination, and there are several lawsuits pending over whether Waldorf should receive government funding (in the U.S.). Do a google search for "anthroposophy" to get a great deal of information from both sides of the debate.

[ecoli]

Waldorf schools don't have a religious indoctrine, do they?

[Deified]

Waldorf schools are technically non-denominational however there is a christian slant to some things (mostly music).