GREETINGS!
***
"The physical, cognitive, creative and psychological benefits of child-directed play are well-documented. Less acknowledged, though, is a secret that really shouldn’t be one: quietly observing our children playing is a magical experience for parents."
***
"If a child has been able in his play to give up his whole living being to the the world around him, he will be able, in the serious tasks of later life, to devote himself with confidence to the service of the world."- Dr. Rudolf Steiner
***
Many people think of Waldorf schools as "artsy." Well, yes. Waldorf schools have a curriculum infused with art. We don't think of art as "extra" - art is an integral part of every school day. Thank you to Eugene Waldorf Schoolfor explaining why!
The Waldorf curriculum is fundamentally an artistic curriculum. It seeks to engage the developing child as his or her capacities for thinking, feeling and…
***
***
They should be free to choose what they think is worthy of saving from the past and decide for themselves what changes need to be made.
While there is much controversy around education reform today, it is generally assumed by all parties that the education of the younger generation plays an…
***
Why I Send My Children to Waldorf School
by Joy Lapseritis, parent & president WSCC Board of Trustees
<img src="http://static1.
Waldorf School class teachers move through the grades with their students.
“You should check out the Waldorf School,” our son’s first childcare provider said to my husband and I as we lamented losing her as a “teacher” when he had grown too old for the infant room at the VNA Childcare Center in Falmouth. We had entrusted this woman with his care since he was just 6 months old, and she had helped us learn to become parents, witnessing the messiness of our first attempts at parenting. She was as much our teacher as his, and we wanted her to continue with him into the young toddler room at the tender age of 18 months. “There is a type of school where the teachers do move along with the students,” she began, and directed me to the Waldorf School of Cape Cod, then located in Bourne. Within short order I found myself sitting on the floor of a cozy, sunlit room listening to Claire Small conduct a model class and give a puppet show. At first, I was confused by the faceless dolls and strange songs, but I was drawn to learn more, to discover the specific and thoughtful intentions behind each action and object. Shortly thereafter our family moved to the Berkshires, and we had the rare fortune of choosing from among three local Waldorf schools. Our son, Morgen, spent 4 years in early childhood bliss, and daughter Mathilde and I a year in a parent-child program before we moved back to Cape Cod and joined the Waldorf School of Cape Cod. While we knew the Falmouth public schools were good enough, we actively desired for our children to experience a Waldorf Education.
Our children’s teachers are our co-parents. Every day we learn how to parent our two very different children as they present us with new and unique challenges and joys, each needing something different from us – more space, more attention, fewer interventions, new boundaries. This is true for all aspects of their lives, and it is more than reassuring that their class teachers are there to witness and guide them on their educational journeys with a long-term perspective. Waldorf teachers are specially trained to understand human development, and are well prepared for the next set of developmental challenges. Having been Morgen’s teacher for five years, Kim Allsup has a deep knowledge of his personal growth over that time, and a view into the challenges he may face. She brings this wisdom into her approach to him in the classroom, and to us as his parents so that we can be a mutually supportive team. Waldorf teachers understand that education is not an event separate from the human development of a person – it is an integration of daily and lifelong experiences, internal and external – and we all educate each other as we move through life. I shudder to think of how disconnected our children would be if they were passed from one teacher to another throughout their formative years. Parenting has made me more reflective on my own childhood, and I have a real sense of distance and separation from my own education in public schools even though I was very successful academically. Keeping a connection with a class teacher, even if only for several years in the event of a change, ameliorates that disconnection and forms a stronger bond between children and the adults who care for them daily.
Maintaining a class teacher from first through eighth grade presents benefits and challenges. Like many personal traits, the potential weaknesses of the class teacher/student relationship are closely tied to the strengths. Human relationships are seldom without conflict, and there can be anxiety around keeping a teacher for eight years. What if there are disagreements? (there will be). What if the teacher isn’t strong in all subjects? (they won’t be). What if my child has a personality conflict or is “incompatible” with their teacher? (they likely will be at some point in the journey from age 7 to 14). One of the gifts of the class teacher is that we are forced to discover and develop conflict resolution skills to cope with each of these eventualities – skills that are useful to everyone in life. Parents, teachers, and children must find ways to resolve disagreements, to reach out for help from someone else, or agree to disagree and find a new path forward. Faculty lean on each other to fill gaps, share techniques, and teach to the whole curriculum; they demonstrate to children how learning is a lifelong process and how no one knows everything. Teachers must bring their maturity and long-term vision to both embrace and overcome interpersonal conflicts; children must learn tolerance and respect for every type of person. All learn patience in this process.
Waldorf School graduates know how to learn and are successful in higher education.
***
“You should check out the Waldorf School,” our son’s first childcare provider said to my husband and I as we lamented losing her as a “teacher” when he had grown too old for the infant room at the VNA Childcare Center in Falmouth. We had entrusted this woman with his care since he was just 6 months old, and she had helped us learn to become parents, witnessing the messiness of our first attempts at parenting. She was as much our teacher as his, and we wanted her to continue with him into the young toddler room at the tender age of 18 months. “There is a type of school where the teachers do move along with the students,” she began, and directed me to the Waldorf School of Cape Cod, then located in Bourne. Within short order I found myself sitting on the floor of a cozy, sunlit room listening to Claire Small conduct a model class and give a puppet show. At first, I was confused by the faceless dolls and strange songs, but I was drawn to learn more, to discover the specific and thoughtful intentions behind each action and object. Shortly thereafter our family moved to the Berkshires, and we had the rare fortune of choosing from among three local Waldorf schools. Our son, Morgen, spent 4 years in early childhood bliss, and daughter Mathilde and I a year in a parent-child program before we moved back to Cape Cod and joined the Waldorf School of Cape Cod. While we knew the Falmouth public schools were good enough, we actively desired for our children to experience a Waldorf Education.
Our children’s teachers are our co-parents. Every day we learn how to parent our two very different children as they present us with new and unique challenges and joys, each needing something different from us – more space, more attention, fewer interventions, new boundaries. This is true for all aspects of their lives, and it is more than reassuring that their class teachers are there to witness and guide them on their educational journeys with a long-term perspective. Waldorf teachers are specially trained to understand human development, and are well prepared for the next set of developmental challenges. Having been Morgen’s teacher for five years, Kim Allsup has a deep knowledge of his personal growth over that time, and a view into the challenges he may face. She brings this wisdom into her approach to him in the classroom, and to us as his parents so that we can be a mutually supportive team. Waldorf teachers understand that education is not an event separate from the human development of a person – it is an integration of daily and lifelong experiences, internal and external – and we all educate each other as we move through life. I shudder to think of how disconnected our children would be if they were passed from one teacher to another throughout their formative years. Parenting has made me more reflective on my own childhood, and I have a real sense of distance and separation from my own education in public schools even though I was very successful academically. Keeping a connection with a class teacher, even if only for several years in the event of a change, ameliorates that disconnection and forms a stronger bond between children and the adults who care for them daily.
Maintaining a class teacher from first through eighth grade presents benefits and challenges. Like many personal traits, the potential weaknesses of the class teacher/student relationship are closely tied to the strengths. Human relationships are seldom without conflict, and there can be anxiety around keeping a teacher for eight years. What if there are disagreements? (there will be). What if the teacher isn’t strong in all subjects? (they won’t be). What if my child has a personality conflict or is “incompatible” with their teacher? (they likely will be at some point in the journey from age 7 to 14). One of the gifts of the class teacher is that we are forced to discover and develop conflict resolution skills to cope with each of these eventualities – skills that are useful to everyone in life. Parents, teachers, and children must find ways to resolve disagreements, to reach out for help from someone else, or agree to disagree and find a new path forward. Faculty lean on each other to fill gaps, share techniques, and teach to the whole curriculum; they demonstrate to children how learning is a lifelong process and how no one knows everything. Teachers must bring their maturity and long-term vision to both embrace and overcome interpersonal conflicts; children must learn tolerance and respect for every type of person. All learn patience in this process.
Waldorf School graduates know how to learn and are successful in higher education.
***
Kiss turkeys.....dont eat them.
***
During my student teaching I remember telling my mentor teacher that I was nervous about the responsibility of teaching a whole room full of children "how to read". She let me in on the secret when she said "This is going to sound corny, but it just sort of happens magically." Of course, for the magic to happen, there needs to be a strong early childhood foundation! Take a look at this great article if you're interested to hear "the Waldorf way" smile emoticon
This is a guest post written by Barbara Dewey of Waldorf Without Walls in which she describes learning to read the Waldorf way.
***
Waldorf education shared a link.
It's one reason children during the Great Depression and World War II were…
***
CONFLUX CAFE
"An association is not an organization and not a combination. It comes into being through the conflux of the individuals within the economy. The individual does not have to adopt something handed out from a central body, but is able to contribute the knowledge and ability he has in his own field. From a collaboration in which each gives of his best, and where what is done springs from the agreement of many — only from such associations does economic life in general derive.
Associations of this kind will come into being. We can foster them and make them arise more quickly, or we can wait until they arise from necessity"....Rudolf Steiner.
***
Anne Perry.
***
