Understanding How Waldorf Education is Unique
Developmental Approach Makes Waldorf Schools Different From Others
Oct 1, 2008
Waldorf education was developed in Germany in 1919 by Rudolf Steiner, a scientist and philosopher. Today, there are Waldorf schools that serve children from babies through high school. There are more than 900 schools worldwide and more than 400 Waldorf schools in North America; most are independent, private schools, but some are part of the public school system.
Based on Developmental Learning
One of the primary ways Waldorf differs from mainstream education is that it is developmentally based. Steiner developed this education to align closely with the stages of childhood.
“In any school, you will have the three Rs, but what’s different about Waldorf is when and how they are taught,” said Susan Love, administrator of Water’s Edge Waldorf School in Wauconda, Ill., during an Oct. 1, 2008 interview at the school. “We don’t teach reading until first grade, because that is when children are ready.”
The first seven years are a time of imitation and physical learning. According to Waldorf pedagogy, children’s minds are not ready for academic subjects until they reach the age of 7. This approach is supported by recent brain research.
Teaching Through Story
During the next seven years, children learn primarily through their feelings. “From 7-14, everything is brought forward through story. In first grade, children hear fairy tales, because that is where they are – seeing the world as black and white, good and evil,” explained Love. “By sixth grade, they hear biographies. They learn physics through the biography of Galileo and they actually do the experiments he did.”
Children Learn Practical Skills
Waldorf schools are different from other schools because children are taught practical skills. In Waldorf schools, children learn to knit and make their own knitting needles. They also learn woodworking, gardening, farming,basketry and other traditional skills. Class projects often involve building a structure, such as a gazebo or even a birchbark canoe. Practical work teaches students such skills as coordination, patience, perseverance and creativity.
Social Relationships are Important
One major way Waldorf schools are unique is that, ideally, the class teacher stays with the class from first through eighth grade. Steiner developed this form of education after World War I, and was particularly interested in teaching people how to get along with each other.
“The children learn how to work together in a group and to develop relationships with a loving teacher and with each other,” said Love.
A teacher who stays with the class gets to know each child in-depth and can work to balance their strengths and weaknesses.
Schools Teach Art and Music Every Day
In Waldorf schools, all children participate in art and music everyday. Painting and drawing are woven into the curriculum. Children make their own textbooks, recording what they learn each day with beautiful pictures and writing. Singing is a daily activity; children start playing the recorder in first grade and by third grade they are playing stringed instruments.
In his book, Understanding Waldorf Education [Gryphon House 2002], Jack Petrash explains that art and music involve the emotions, which makes learning more meaningful.
Beautiful Waldorf Surroundings
Visitors to a Waldorf school will notice a striking difference in the aesthetics of the school building. Waldorf schools will have walls painted in lively colors and the rooms are decorated with students’ watercolor paintings as well as natural objects. Oftentimes the school halls are bathed in the aroma of fresh bread baking in the early childhood classrooms.
Another difference between Waldorf and mainstream education is that Waldorf students are taught two foreign languages, which enables more flexible thinking.
The broad, yet balanced Waldorf curriculum is designed to develop people with the capacity for flexible thinking – creative people who can meet the challenges of the future, whatever they may be.
For more information on Waldorf education, visit Why Waldorf Works.
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