Do you know any graduates of Waldorf schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So much misinformation about Waldorf. My child is in a local Waldorf school and doing great socially, emotionally, and academically. We sort of stumbled on it while searching for an alternative to virtual school during the pandemic. We love that the program incorporates nature, movement, music, and art into the curriculum. This is really how young kids should learn, as opposed to being stuck at their desks all day doing worksheets, tapping on iPads and chromebooks, and taking standardized tests. Our school has a lot of international families, as I think other countries embrace this type of education over the current American system (which, let’s admit, is a pretty broken model).

So...you're okay with Steiner philosophy undergirding your child's education? We all agree that the nature/art aspects are great, and the day to day life looks appealing, but the way they handle special needs, reading, bullying and the general philosophy are more out there than the average parent wants.

[Anonymous]

The worst case of bullying I've ever seen in a school setting was at a Waldorf school. So sad. The entire school just ostracized the child once the bullies (siblings) put things in motion.

[Anonymous]

Wow, I’m grateful for our very nurturing, supportive little Waldorf school where the kids are all good friends and there is no bullying of the kind mentioned here (I’m not aware of any bullying issues whatsoever at our school—it’s a close knit community so we honestly would have heard about it). That is terrible to read about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, I’m grateful for our very nurturing, supportive little Waldorf school where the kids are all good friends and there is no bullying of the kind mentioned here (I’m not aware of any bullying issues whatsoever at our school—it’s a close knit community so we honestly would have heard about it). That is terrible to read about.

The issue isn't the bullying--it's the Waldorf philosophy on how to deal with it if and when it occurs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So much misinformation about Waldorf. My child is in a local Waldorf school and doing great socially, emotionally, and academically. We sort of stumbled on it while searching for an alternative to virtual school during the pandemic. We love that the program incorporates nature, movement, music, and art into the curriculum. This is really how young kids should learn, as opposed to being stuck at their desks all day doing worksheets, tapping on iPads and chromebooks, and taking standardized tests. Our school has a lot of international families, as I think other countries embrace this type of education over the current American system (which, let’s admit, is a pretty broken model).

Is your child allowed to use any color they want in their art? Are they allowed to choose subjects to paint?

[Anonymous]

I have a close friend who was educated in Waldorf schools. She went to Berkeley. She is a brilliant musician, both a performer and a teacher. But, she definitely has some issues with social skills. She is happiest at home with her music, books, husband, and cats. I adore her quirkyness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So much misinformation about Waldorf. My child is in a local Waldorf school and doing great socially, emotionally, and academically. We sort of stumbled on it while searching for an alternative to virtual school during the pandemic. We love that the program incorporates nature, movement, music, and art into the curriculum. This is really how young kids should learn, as opposed to being stuck at their desks all day doing worksheets, tapping on iPads and chromebooks, and taking standardized tests. Our school has a lot of international families, as I think other countries embrace this type of education over the current American system (which, let’s admit, is a pretty broken model).

Is your child allowed to use any color they want in their art? Are they allowed to choose subjects to paint?

Yes! They do a good bit of form drawing, used to teach math and geometry concepts, but have opportunities for free drawing and painting as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So much misinformation about Waldorf. My child is in a local Waldorf school and doing great socially, emotionally, and academically. We sort of stumbled on it while searching for an alternative to virtual school during the pandemic. We love that the program incorporates nature, movement, music, and art into the curriculum. This is really how young kids should learn, as opposed to being stuck at their desks all day doing worksheets, tapping on iPads and chromebooks, and taking standardized tests. Our school has a lot of international families, as I think other countries embrace this type of education over the current American system (which, let’s admit, is a pretty broken model).

Is your child allowed to use any color they want in their art? Are they allowed to choose subjects to paint?

Yes! They do a good bit of form drawing, used to teach math and geometry concepts, but have opportunities for free drawing and painting as well.

As a developmental psychologist I think a lot of what Waldorf says about how children learn is arbitrary dogma. Like their belief that kids need to do all that form drawing/handiwork to build deep understanding of math concepts. But they spend insufficient time actually teaching and practicing math--and don't really demonstrate that this builds this deep understanding--just claim that it does. It might do it a bit, but does it justify the number of hours they spend on it and thus the time they don't spend on other things. Likewise with reading--not in tune with what we know about learning to read (not just initially, but also the more advanced complex aspects of literacy as you grow up) for which there is considerable science. There's a reason why all the Waldorf kids have to go for so much more math and reading tutoring outside of school in Europe if they want to go on to high school. And they tend to have a lot less content knowledge because so much is imagination based. There's a belief that it's somehow more "child-like and natural" but really it's reflects a lot of the German culture at the time of its founding.

I don't disagree with everything about Waldorf--I think the emphasis on experience of nature, movement and imagination is good for kids. I think the emphasis of developing a relationship with the teacher is good. They have strange and often damaging practices around peer relationships/conflict resolution IMO--and for a "progressive" approach there are a lot of arbitrary ways that kids have to do things led by their teacher year after year. Overall, I think the approach is fine for early childhood, but after 2nd grade I personally think it's missing out on a lot of important foundational learning. Some schools likely blend with more contemporary and empirically supported approaches, but I'd want to know how and why they are rooted in Waldorf and what they have let go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So much misinformation about Waldorf. My child is in a local Waldorf school and doing great socially, emotionally, and academically. We sort of stumbled on it while searching for an alternative to virtual school during the pandemic. We love that the program incorporates nature, movement, music, and art into the curriculum. This is really how young kids should learn, as opposed to being stuck at their desks all day doing worksheets, tapping on iPads and chromebooks, and taking standardized tests. Our school has a lot of international families, as I think other countries embrace this type of education over the current American system (which, let’s admit, is a pretty broken model).

Is your child allowed to use any color they want in their art? Are they allowed to choose subjects to paint?

Yes! They do a good bit of form drawing, used to teach math and geometry concepts, but have opportunities for free drawing and painting as well.

If they're allowed to use black, then they're not doing the full Waldorf thing, which is an improvement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So much misinformation about Waldorf. My child is in a local Waldorf school and doing great socially, emotionally, and academically. We sort of stumbled on it while searching for an alternative to virtual school during the pandemic. We love that the program incorporates nature, movement, music, and art into the curriculum. This is really how young kids should learn, as opposed to being stuck at their desks all day doing worksheets, tapping on iPads and chromebooks, and taking standardized tests. Our school has a lot of international families, as I think other countries embrace this type of education over the current American system (which, let’s admit, is a pretty broken model).

Is your child allowed to use any color they want in their art? Are they allowed to choose subjects to paint?

Yes! They do a good bit of form drawing, used to teach math and geometry concepts, but have opportunities for free drawing and painting as well.

If they're allowed to use black, then they're not doing the full Waldorf thing, which is an improvement.

Reporting back that my son brought home a picture he drew today at his Waldorf school today and he used black crayon all over!

Don’t believe everything you read on the internet, as there are many misconceptions about Waldorf. While Steiner may have believed kids should t draw or paint with black, it’s not on the ground reality at all (maybe not even most) US Waldorf schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So much misinformation about Waldorf. My child is in a local Waldorf school and doing great socially, emotionally, and academically. We sort of stumbled on it while searching for an alternative to virtual school during the pandemic. We love that the program incorporates nature, movement, music, and art into the curriculum. This is really how young kids should learn, as opposed to being stuck at their desks all day doing worksheets, tapping on iPads and chromebooks, and taking standardized tests. Our school has a lot of international families, as I think other countries embrace this type of education over the current American system (which, let’s admit, is a pretty broken model).

Is your child allowed to use any color they want in their art? Are they allowed to choose subjects to paint?

Yes! They do a good bit of form drawing, used to teach math and geometry concepts, but have opportunities for free drawing and painting as well.

If they're allowed to use black, then they're not doing the full Waldorf thing, which is an improvement.

Reporting back that my son brought home a picture he drew today at his Waldorf school today and he used black crayon all over!

Don’t believe everything you read on the internet, as there are many misconceptions about Waldorf. While Steiner may have believed kids should t draw or paint with black, it’s not on the ground reality at all (maybe not even most) US Waldorf schools.

Your perception of the "on the ground reality" though reflects what you want to believe about your school too (I assume you're not in the school building day-to-day) if your the PP who talked about your 'wonderful Waldorf school,' I have to admit that you seem to echo some of their "talking points"--assuming public schools have kids on screens all day (my public ES kid has computer class 1x a week and isn't otherwise on screens) or just doing worksheets (they do plenty of other things) and starting to talk about "how kids are meant to learn" --which is rooted in a very particular Steiner philosophy. Your defensiveness about "misinformation" from people who are not just looking up on the internet, but who have direct experience/knowledge. Just encouraging you to talk a little deeper with the teachers about how they handle social conflicts when they arise, what they do if their methods don't work, how they will teach reading and math, what they do when children struggle with it etc. and make sure that this lovely school you happened into really aligns with the education you want. Also, I would keep in touch with parents of similar aged kids outside the school as your kid gets older and compare things like where they are at in reading and math in specific terms if you're planning on eventually re-entering public schools (or a non-Waldorf private) at some point.

[Anonymous]

Thank for your concern, but I’m well aware of what goes on at my child’s school. He was previously in public school and we had two older sons go through public elementary school as well. The reality is they were on screens a lot and we were looking for a different learning environment for our third child after our experience. I’m not defensive about it at all, we’re happy with the decision. I just find it odd that so many people without Waldorf experience like to give their opinions on it. As with any school or educational pedagogy, every family should do their own research and find the right fit for them.

[Anonymous]

I think quite a few Waldorf student succeed despite Steiner philosophy, and certainly not because of it, because his philosophy is nutballs.

[Anonymous]

Nope to the gnomes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank for your concern, but I’m well aware of what goes on at my child’s school. He was previously in public school and we had two older sons go through public elementary school as well. The reality is they were on screens a lot and we were looking for a different learning environment for our third child after our experience. I’m not defensive about it at all, we’re happy with the decision. I just find it odd that so many people without Waldorf experience like to give their opinions on it. As with any school or educational pedagogy, every family should do their own research and find the right fit for them.

SO what do you think of Steiner? You never really answered that.