|
Waldorf Schools (also known as Steiner schools) state as their mission educating the "whole child", with a strong emphasis on balancing the child's natural stages of development with creativity and academic excellence. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...
Description
Based in the work of Rudolf Steiner, Waldorf schools employ a curriculum that addresses subjects on three levels: - the intellect, as in thinking and logic
- the heart, as in feeling--art and spirit
- the hands, as in craft and practical work.
The attempt is made to integrate art into all aspects of the curriculum, including the teaching of science. A conscious effort to build a sense of community and environmental responsibility is fostered at every level. Movement, sport and drama are employed throughout, in fact, a type of body movement called Eurythmy (beautiful or harmonious movement), is taught to every age group. Intelligence is a general mental capability that involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend ideas and language, and learn. ...
The traditional heart shape appears on a 1910 St. ...
A human hand typically has four fingers and a thumb The hand (med. ...
Resources Great Museums in the World (Louvre, Metropolitan Museum, MoMA, Picasso …) CGFA: A Virtual Art Museum Art-Atlas. ...
// What is science? There are different theories of what science is. ...
Eurythmy was created by Austrian Rudolf Steiner in the early 20th century as a way of expressing music and language in movement. ...
They are comprehensive and co-educational. There is no headmaster, but are run co-operatively by a college of teachers. A comprehensive school is a secondary school that accepts students of all abilities, as opposed to a grammar school. ...
Coeducation is the integrated education of men and women. ...
In the UK and elsewhere, a head teacher is the most senior teacher in a school. ...
Co-operation refers to the practice of people or greater entities working in common with commonly agreed-upon goals and possibly methods, instead of working separately in competition. ...
The schooling is divided into 3 stages (see Pedagogy below) of Kindergarten (early years to 7), Middle school ( 7 to 14 ) and Upper school, (14 to 19). Kindergarten (German for garden for children) is a name used in many parts of the world for the first stages of a childs classroom education. ...
Pedagogy Steiner's 3-stage pedagological model of child development is utilized in Waldorf education. These three stages are based on anthroposophy. Pedagogy is the art or science of teaching. ...
Anthroposophy, also called spiritual science by its founder, Rudolf Steiner, is a philosophy (or, as some opponents claim, a religion) that sprung from the Theosophy movement. ...
~ Until approximately age 7 a child learns through imitation, so it is best to surround him with the goodness of the world and caring adults to emulate, children are not taught academic subjects at this time and are sheltered from the media and even stories which include violence.
~ After age 7 and until puberty, academic instruction is integrated with arts, religion, craft and physical activity. The curriculum is highly challenging, structured, and creative.
~ After puberty, the child should begin a guided, but independent search for truth in himself and the world around him.
Specialist Waldorf education teacher training colleges based on these principles are in operation through-out the world.
History Waldorf education was developed by Rudolf Steiner as an attempt to establish a school system that would facilitate the inclusive, broadly based, balanced development of children. His first opportunity to open such a school came when Emil Molt of the Waldorf Astoria Cigarette Company asked him to do so in 1919 in Stuttgart, Germany. Steiner insisted upon four conditions before opening: Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Steiner (February 27, 1861, Murakirály, Hungary (today Donji Kraljevec, in Medjimurje county in Croatia) – March 30, 1925) was an Croatian-Austrian philosopher, literary scholar, architect, playwright, educator, and social thinker, who is best known as the founder of Anthroposophy and its practical applications, including Waldorf School...
1919 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...
Stuttgart, a city located in southern Germany, is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg with a population of approximately 600,000 as of May 2005. ...
- 1) that the school be open to all children;
- 2) that it be coeducational;
- 3) that it be a unified twelve-year school;
- 4) that the teachers, those individuals actually in contact with the children, have primary control of the school, with a minimum interference from the state or from economic sources.
Within a few years, many other Waldorf schools modeled on the Stuttgart school opened in other cities. Most of the European schools were closed down by the Nazi regimes but were later reopened. Today (2005) there are over 900 independent Waldorf schools worldwide, including over 150 in the United States, a growing Waldorf charter public school movement, and a large homeschooling movement utilizing Waldorf pedagogy and methods. 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ...
Homeschooling (also called home education and sometimes spelled home schooling) is the education of children at home and in the community, in contrast to education in an institution such as a public or parochial school. ...
Praise Many hail Waldorf schools' pedagogy and practice for their creativity and intelligent design. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...
- "The advent of the Waldorf Schools was in my opinion the greatest contribution to world peace and understanding of the century".
- "My parents...felt that the Waldorf school would be a far more open environment for African Americans...I think the end result of Waldorf education is to raise our consciousness...It taught me how to think for myself, to be responsible for my decisions. Second, it made me a good listener, sensitive to the needs of others. And third, it helped (me) establish meaningful beliefs".
Many other celebrities, including George Lucas, have sent their children to Waldorf schools. Willy Brandt (December 18, 1913 – October 8, 1992) was a German politician and Chancellor of Germany from 1969 to 1974. ...
1971 is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ...
Nobel Peace Prize (where Nobel is pronounced with the stress on the second syllable) is one of five Nobel Prizes requested by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel. ...
Kenneth Chenault (born 2 June 1951) is a former president (1997-2001) and current CEO (2001-present) of American Express. ...
American Express (NYSE: AXP) is a diversified global financial services company headquartered in the United States. ...
African Americans, also known as Afro-Americans or black Americans, are an ethnic group in the United States of America whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Sub-Saharan and West Africa. ...
African Americans, also known as Afro-Americans or black Americans, are an ethnic group in the United States of America whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Sub-Saharan and West Africa. ...
Waldorf Schools were developed for Emit Molt of the Waldorf Astoria Tobacco Company in 1919 by Rudolf Steiner. ...
Consciousness is a quality of the mind generally regarded to comprise qualities such as subjectivity, self-awareness, sentience, sapience, and the ability to perceive the relationship between oneself and ones environment. ...
Criticism Waldorf educators are most often questioned about not teaching reading and academics until approximately age 7. Critics claim that a "window" of intellectual opportunity is lost; while proponents believe that the literacy-building techniques they use at this time—storytelling, music and singing,games, speech and movement exercises—help to nourish imagination and a love of language which will be carried long after the child learns to read.
Waldorf schools have been criticized for their spiritual nature, which many interpret to be religious. Some critics feel that the teachers influence the children with Anthroposophy, Rudolf Steiner's spiritual science which all Waldorf teachers study. Some even go as far as to say that the schools are front organizations for indoctrination into Anthroposophy, although in a genuine Waldorf school the method is never taught. Anthroposophy, also called spiritual science by its founder, Rudolf Steiner, is a philosophy (or, as some opponents claim, a religion) that sprung from the Theosophy movement. ...
Anthroposophy, also called spiritual science by its founder, Rudolf Steiner, is a philosophy (or, as some opponents claim, a religion) that sprung from the Theosophy movement. ...
David Gilmour, a member of the United Kingdom rock'n roll band Pink Floyd, had his first four children attend a Waldorf School. Gilmour, commenting to the media on their education, called it "horrific". [1] David Gilmour, as photographed for the Pink Floyd album Meddle. ...
Pink Floyd circa 1971. ...
In 2005, a UK government funded study praised the schools' ability to develop students through closer human relationships rather than relying purely on tests, but reported that the state sector could provide guidance to Steiner schools in teacher training and management skills. [2] In education, certification, counselling, and many other fields, a test or exam (short for examination) is a tool or technique intended to measure students expression of knowledge, skills and/or abilities. ...
State school is an expression used in the United Kingdom and other countries apart from the United States to distinguish schools provided by the government from public schools which are in fact private institutions. ...
Management (from Old French ménagement the art of conducting, directing, from Latin manu agere to lead by the hand) characterises the process of leading and directing all or part of an organization, often a business, through the deployment and manipulation of resources (human, financial, material, intellectual or intangible). ...
See Also List of Waldorf Schools A list of Waldorf Schools from around the world, organized by country: // Australia Castlemaine Steiner School Lorien Novalis Orana School for Rudolf Steiner Education Rodney Neighbourhood Kindergarten Samford Valley Steiner School Shearwater Steiner School Canada Alberta Calgary Waldorf School British Columbia Sun Haven School Nelson Waldorf School Vancouver Waldorf School...
External links
Waldorf Resources
Finding a Waldorf School
Criticism of Waldorf Schools
Waldorf School Advocacy - On PLANS Inc. A site that describes PLANS Inc. as publishing and promoting misinformation and defamatory demonstrated untruths about Waldorf education and anthroposophy as its philosophical basis.
- On "What's Waldorf?" in Salon.com An article that, based on references to the works of Rudolf Steiner, describes the Salon.com article as untruthful and libelous on three points based on what are described as myths cultivated by PLANS Inc.
- Waldorf Answers Adherants of Waldorf Education tackle common criticisms.
|
Feeds |
Contact