Waldorf Education is a world wide system of schooling from preschool through the high school level which was created and implemented by Rudolph Steiner, an Austrian anthroposophical mystic educator and philosopher of the early 20th Century. Since the 20's Waldorf education has been expanding and growing around the world. The curriculum in any one Waldorf school will be virtually identical, so it is possible for children to move to a different country yet continue to receive the same education.
What makes Waldorf education so unique as an educational system is its focus on the integration of the whole child. Whatever is taught at a Waldorf school is taught as a whole learning experience--art, theatre, math, science, history, grammar and literature are all employed in introducing the child to a new subject, usually a major aspect of the human experience.
For example, in studying a unit on the Greeks the child will draw Greek God's faces in lesson books along side the stories of each one, read about their adventures in poetry or literature leading to a study of grammar and composition, followed by perhaps a study of some basic Greek vocabulary, famous sayings and the alphabet; then they might examine, draw, model and even create ancient Greek architecture, pottery and art which would include the geography and history of Greece. Further activities might include a little mini-play of a Greek mythological story with each student studying a character and playing a part; they might even play certain instruments or music from Greece. Math studies might include Greek mathematicians such as Pythagoras with his Pythagorean geometry. At the end of the learning period, usually 3 weeks, the child will have a total experience of the Greeks.
This experience is embedded deeply into the child and becomes a whole and integral part of his being. Later when he is in college and studying a Greek play in depth , all this bone-deep experience allows him to make connections to everything he is studying in a way that is not merely intellectual, but soul level. This may be why Waldorf students are great actors. They know through acting out the lives of the heroes and heroines of history in their classrooms how it feels to be many different people. Holistic learning experiences allow the child's imagination and his whole body to become actively involved; it is a total experience which becomes part of the child's very cells.
In my opinion this is the essential missing element in modern education. In our modern public schools too much emphasis is put upon the intellectual skills of reading and writing and math...even in kindergarten and the soul, spirit and heart are left out. Children do not have the experience nor developmental skills to relate to much of what they are taught at this age, and this causes damage to their innate learning abilities. In my daughter's case, her eyes were not capable of focusing upon words on a page of print until she was almost eight. According to my research, only 50% of children are able to do this at age seven... yet is there a first grade classroom in this country where six year olds are not being given print material to read well before their eyes may be ready? In my day it was all written on the blackboard in large print. This too is how it is done at a Waldorf school with colored chalk and drawings along with anything written.
At a Waldorf school, reading is not taught until the child is ready. It is a process dictated by the child rather than the curriculum. When my daughter switched from public school to a Waldorf school in 3rd grade, she was not reading at grade level although she had been in the gifted and talented program. The reason she was evaluated below grade level was because she could not read every word; she had a form of dyslexia where she could not see every word--a problem which could have been a result of or aggravated by being forced to read before her eyes were ready. However, she proved over and over again that, although she did not read every word, she still understood what she was reading with a very high rate of comprehension. Unfortunately in this public school, this was not good enough. At the Waldorf school she immediately began reading stimulating books at a 4th and above grade level with good comprehension and much pleasure. Why? Because she was allowed to select her reading material from a wide, interesting selection and there was no pressure to read every word. No one was evaluating her or scrutinizing her skills. She was able to read for the sheer joy of reading.
Which is another feature of a Waldorf school, there are no grades and no pressure to achieve. The child is allowed to develop and grow at his own pace in line with his development and inclination. At the end of every year, a portfolio analysis is rendered by the teacher to the parents in the form of a book, outlining and detailing the child's progress. No child is ever labeled as 'A' or 'F' for example. There are no grades. Parents who are anxious to have their child succeed in college, often get worried about how their child is faring compared to the norms. In all the years I have been associated with Waldorf, no student I know of failed to enter any of the colleges or even high schools that they applied for. Waldorf graduates succeed and exceed no matter what their level of skills.
Besides the developmental stages that a child's body goes through, there are, according to Steiner, soul stages. These stages are extremely important if the child is to grow up whole and undamaged. According to Steiner the soul must adapt to the body it inhabits, and if there are shocks and traumas to the soul as it comes into the child's body, then damage in learning ability occurs. I remember vividly my math class when I was ten; our math teacher would make us stand up and do our times tables on demand. He would scream at us if we failed to answer immediately, and his face would go red with anger. My mind would turn blank in shock at this violence, and I have consequently spent years overcoming my fear of having to do a math problem on demand without a pencil and paper. Such traumas are no part of any Waldorf classroom, in fact the opposite is true. Since the soul's vulnerability is understood, great care is taken to allow children to open their learning interest when they are ready without force or pressure. It requires faith in the innate abilities that we are all born with.
I love a quote by Joseph Chilton Pierce that says in effect, "Waldorf education is the least damaging" system of education available today. In my opinion, this educational system which is now 70 years old and thriving, is the education of the future. We can no longer afford to raise our children as damaged and half developed. As a college instructor, I see the results every day in disinterested, undeveloped, unstimulated, intellectually handicapped students. We must look at the human child as fully capable of growth and learning; we simply nurture the child as we would flowers in the garden. We trust the child and his/her abilities, provide the quiet, ordered, safe, and nurturing environment and let nature do the rest. The result is children who are curious, able to solve problems, highly creative, socially adapted, connected to their world in an integrated way, growing and continuing to grow throughout their lives. Waldorf education has the answers. I hope this article helps you understand how.
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Post Script: There is so much more about Waldorf Education than I have been able to convey in this short article. However, I do hope that this gives you some idea of why it is such a wonderful system. For further information about Waldorf Education in Hawaii, please contact The Honolulu Waldorf School at 377 5471 in Niu Valley at 350 Ulua Street, Honolulu, Hawaii.