Monday, July 23, 2012

Learn More About Waldorf Schools!

Why are so many people hesitant to learn more about Waldorf Schools? Years ago this educational philosophy was completely new to me too. It was. But somewhere along the way I didn't think it was entirely "out" or "other," nor did I lump it in with other educational philosophies as if it was simply a copycat. I gave it a look. Six years later my oldest son is about to be a 3rd Grader, my baby is about to start her first year in the 3 & 4 year-old Nursery class and I couldn't be more grateful for this wonderful school.

The mythology surrounding Waldorf schools continues to surprise me. It seems that in this time of internet research, there should be very few urban legends surrounding Waldorf education. In fact, with books like A Whole New Mind and Creating Innovators, I am more surprised we don't hear more about Waldorf schools. This article was great, but it is almost a year old. So, I'm feeling like Snopes-Meets-Waldorf and want to share what I know.

First, I have to share a couple of videos here that the new-to-Waldorf parents might like to see:

Then also, if you want to know what I think about not introducing the alphabet in Kindergarten, please read my earlier post. Here are two pages of my son's 2nd grade writing work:



Any other questions? Please ask and I will answer in the comments. Please note these questions will be answered specific to the Charlottesville Waldorf School in mind. It is the only Waldorf school I know well. 

If you would like to learn more about American Waldorf Schools, I highly recommend going to the AWSNA site and even reading The Story of Waldorf Education in the United States. It will debunk quite a bit of things you might be too shy to ask me. Even easier than reading that book is to read this interview with the author and Waldorf alumnus, Stephen Sagarin.