Waldorf School Mom’s Tale.

The Waldorf school system was founded by the Austrian Ph.D., esotericist and occultist Rudolf Steiner in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its main principles are: active involvement in the educational process of the sphere of human emotions, leisurely development of children and learning from the particular to the general (from example to theory, from experiment to rule, from live activity to abstract knowledge).

From the point of view of Waldorf pedagogy, music, singing, painting, the art of artistic movement (eurythmy) are equivalent to the exact sciences: mathematics, physics, biology. The study of a foreign language begins with the simplest dialogue or poem, and physics lessons with a visual experiment on electricity or magnetism. The course of the lesson is determined not by the educational program, but by the personality of the teacher and the interest of the students. From a teacher in a Waldorf elementary school, not only knowledge of general subjects is required, but also skills in various drawing techniques and musical training. Another feature is the absence of evaluations, which eliminates destructive competition and eliminates stress in the process of free development of the child.

Of course, learning from the particular to the general was not invented by Rudolf Steiner. The principle of visibility, which involves the assimilation of knowledge through direct observation of objects and phenomena, was formulated by Jan Amos Comenius in the 17th century, calling it the golden rule of learning.

One way or another, Waldorf schools gained popularity and still exist all over the world.

Mom’s story about the Waldorf school in Germany

The reason why we sent the child to the Waldorf school was his lag in speech, as well as his complete inability to draw, in general, “left hemisphere development”: he could read perfectly, count, with a computer – on “you” without any training, but to craft or draw – only from under the stick. He does not like and does not know how. Small classes, individual approach … and finally – we ourselves were esoteric then and valued “spirituality”.

At the first meeting, the Waldorf school is simply amazing.

This school often hosts concerts for parents, demonstration lessons, in general – they like to demonstrate themselves. When I saw such a concert for the first time, it completely inspired me. Children of different ages read poetry aloud in English and French in chorus, sang songs in different languages, the younger ones blew the flutes more or less harmoniously, the middle and senior classes played the strings – somewhat out of tune, but still played something there . They demonstrated eurythmia – slow movements to the music.

In addition, the program for the first grade was very attractive, including English and French, music, eurythmy, manual labor (where children learn to knit!), drawing, sports.

The teacher willingly invited parents to the lessons – sit down and look. In general, a characteristic feature of the school is very close contact with parents. The interview with us when the child was admitted to school lasted two hours. The school is private, paid. All parents are explained in detail why the school refused on principle any assistance from the state (we do not want to depend on this terrible state! We want to raise children in our own way!)

What is required of parents

But besides tuition fees, much more is required of parents. I must say, we were very unscrupulous parents, they often looked at me like a cuckoo mother who didn’t care about the child. Conscientious parents spend several hours a day at school every day. They attend all school events, monthly – a school-wide concert, participate in “working groups”, in short – they carry a very powerful social burden in the school. This is despite the fact that all anthroposophic parents have from four to ten or more children.

So, with my bad faith, I just had to attend parent meetings every month, participate in washing and repairs, work in the garden, appear at numerous school-wide events and talks with the teacher. It is no longer possible to refuse this. For real anthroposophic parents, seminars, lectures on education, lectures on anthroposophy, all kinds of courses are still constantly held, there is still a children’s puppet theater, and so on and so forth … In addition, the teacher visited our apartment twice in a year, and visited us again labor teacher. And twice we were called for a personal conversation.

All this pursues one goal, which the teacher expressed quite frankly: “The situation for the child at home and at school should not differ. At home, you should create a similar environment for the child so that at school he does not plunge into a completely new, alien world.

For most parents, it does not differ from school! Looking closely, we realized that all the parents in our class are anthroposophists themselves and most often pupils of exactly the same anthroposophical schools. By the way, this is why some of them do not have a normal education for Germans – after such a school it is not so easy to enter an ordinary educational institution.

But they don’t need it! They live differently.

How Anthroposophists Live

I have been to the homes of several of my son’s school friends. The situation in them is very different from the usual.

Lack of TVs, computers, radio. Only natural wooden furniture, natural floors and carpets, no knick-knacks usual for an apartment. The decorations are mostly homemade, and recognizably typical. For example, angels or doves twisted from cotton wool. Children have toys – only wooden, straw, dolls sewn from fabrics, etc. Only from natural materials (one can only wonder how anthroposophists do not refuse washing machines and modern kitchens).

In principle, any mechanisms are prohibited for children, even a tape recorder and radio, not to mention a computer, plastic and mechanical toys are undesirable. And this is in Germany, consumer paradise…

I myself never watch TV and I am against the fact that children use the computer uncontrollably. Moreover, it is harmful to our son. We even, with some relief, gave up the TV and threw out all the computer games. But we never gave up normal toys… And in general, of course, the situation in our house is not very “spiritual”. Not spiritual enough for this school.

Anthroposophists have many children

In anthroposophic families, as I have already said, there are many children. This is simply nonsense for Germany – given the local low birth rate. Families with four, six children, and sometimes thirteen are typical for our school. The school actively intervenes in family education and puts pressure on parents. Either parents must obey teachers in everything and do not have the right to their own opinion, or the child inevitably feels the difference between family and school and begins to quietly hate the school (as happened in our case). We can say that we inspired this hatred in him … no, he had it even when we were delighted with the school.

Education in school is very authoritarian. As I understand it, this is the principle of the Waldorf school: the teacher is the highest authority.

At first, I liked this authoritarianism and strictness. Because in ordinary German schools – the other extreme, children often sit on the teacher’s neck. Under these conditions, you won’t learn anything. But then it began to seem to me more and more often that the teacher was somewhat overdoing it.

The attitude of ordinary Germans towards such schools

Comment from our pastor: “This is a dubious establishment. Philosophy they have, to put it mildly, strange. They believe in reincarnation. In addition, I often came across the facts that teachers put pressure on people, a ban on televisions in families – I myself am not enthusiastic about television, but there should be no ban and pressure. It’s a free choice.”

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Waldorf education is a method of education that is based on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner. It is a holistic approach to education that focuses on the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual development of each child.

The Waldorf School in NYC has a reputation for being one of the best schools in New York City. The school emphasizes creativity and self-expression through arts and crafts, music, movement and drama.

The Waldorf School’s philosophy is based on an understanding that children are born with innate wisdom and knowledge which they can develop within the right environment.