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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Have family whose kids attend Waldorf. Their third grader was not able to read when he was in second grade. His teacher kept insisting that he would “get there” and apparently the students get to pick other things that interest them if they don’t like reading as much. Another family member who’s an educator in public had to assess his reading skills and found them to be at the kindergarten level while he was in second grade. Waldorf was going to do nothing about this. My family member had to obtain private tutoring to remediate. I am sure some people have good stories and experiences with Waldorf but wanted to share my second hand story. It didn’t leave a good impression after hearing all they went through [/quote]

Our experience was similar. We observed that our son fell behind academically during the early grades at that school. It was disheartening to tour other schools and realize he wasn't keeping pace with his peers. Other schools had suggested that he repeat a grade. We agree that significant supplemental tutoring and summer programs became necessary for him to catch up. Based on this, we are skeptical of the highly positive high school reviews. While we initially accepted the 'gentle education' philosophy, we ultimately found it fostered passivity and somewhat misguided thinking in students rather than challenged engagement. We were relieved we could transfer schools before becoming too deeply invested in what quickly became apparent to us that was an unhealthy academic environment.
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This is an issue with any school that practices a rigid pedagogy, particularly one designed before kids with special needs were mainstreamed, and before breakthroughs were made in understanding how children learn. The truth is that for some kids, it does all work out in the end. They learn to read in 3rd or 4th grades, they take to it easily, and they can translate that ease into higher level academic achievements.

But those were kids who would have been fine in ANY school. Just because they were fine in Waldorf does not actually mean the pedagogy is right for every kid, and in fact we know it's wrong for a lot of them but the devotion to a certain approach means those kids are counseled out.

This is not to mention that part where kids are taught that there are inferior and superior races, and that one ascends through the races, gaining enlightenment with each incarnation. This teaching seeps into history, social studies, and literature selections.

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