What is Waldorf Education?
A leading aspect of Waldorf Education is to address the child in its entirety. To nurture the inner being of the child, by maintaining an awareness of his/her surrounding influences. Various characteristics of Waldorf School life exist to give the teacher a clear picture of each child. A detailed history of each child is sought before they enter the school. Parents are encouraged to develop an understanding of educational methods and the promotion of a co-operation ethic, amongst the school community, enhances the relationship between parent, teacher and child. Many strains are placed upon families today denying children and parents enough time spent together. Children increasingly suffer influences which create unnecessary insecurities that, in turn, affect their sound growth and development. Recognition of the modern family set-up leads us to seek new ways of imparting values, crucial to the life of the growing child, that are too often absent in today's world.
Many parents who choose Waldorf Education for their children know very little about this pedagogy. We encourage parents to read up on this subject so that their understanding can compliment the work of the teachers, as well as their own understanding of their child/ren. Attending open days, school meetings, class meetings and enrichment courses is strongly recommended, as they contribute further to parental understanding of Waldorf education.
Background to Waldorf Education
In the beginning of the 20th century Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher and founder of the Anthroposophical movement, gave a course of lectures and seminars to a group of teachers which has become the foundation for Waldorf teaching. Other lectures followed to deepen the insight into what is required in the teaching of children to enable them to grow up to become strong, healthy and balanced individuals.
Waldorf education is based on the deep knowledge of how the physical, the soul and the spiritual aspect of a human being are woven together. It also emphasises how thinking, feeling and the ability to act (willing) need to be addressed in a balanced way in order to give the growing child the tools for clear thinking, harmonious feeling and positive deeds. Within the teaching, this expresses itself in the fact that all children are taught academic, artistic/musical and practical subjects throughout their whole school career, regardless of their abilities.
