Waldorf in the News
The Creativity Crisis by Po Bronson and Ashley Merriman
How do we keep the current "drill and kill" approach to education from ruining our next generation's problem-solving abilities?
Source: Newsweek July 10, 2010
Soul Man by Douglas Brenner
A new retrospective of the work of Rudolf Steiner opens May 13 in Wolfsburg, Germany. This exhibit gives a personal glimpse into the life and achievements of a man who shaped everything from architecture to agriculture to education and more.
Source: New York Times March 30, 2010
Tech gets a time-out by Dan Fost
Charges of hypocrisy be damned: Some Silicon Valley tech wizards are quietly raising their kids outside the lurid digital landscape that their own industry calls childhood.
Source: San Francisco Magazine Online, March 2010
Playing to Learn by Susan Engle
Author Engle, a senior lecturer in psychology and director of the teaching program at Williams College, specifically eschews the education trend of teaching to tests, advocating instead for a short period of each school day being focused on reading skills (specifically immersion through storytelling, listening and conversation) and basic math skills, then having the children spend the rest of their time in free play. Research continues to show that free play is critical to "the development of higher-order thinking skills, like generating testable hypotheses, imagining situations from someone else's perspective and thinking of alternate solutions".
Source: New York Times, February 1, 2010
For Forest Kindergarteners, Class Is Back to Nature, Rain or Shine by Liz Leyden
The new forest kindergarten, which opened in Sarasota Springs in September, is an extreme version of the outdoor learning taught at more than 100 Waldorf schools, all but a handful of them private, scattered throughout the United States. The children's "classroom" is 325 acres of state parkland known as the Hemlock Trail, and a long-empty farmhouse, which the state has licensed Waldorf to use for the year. The school also has regular indoor classes at its main building.
Source: New York Times Magazine, November 29. 2009
Kindergarten Cram by Peggy Orenstein
A survey of 254 teachers in New York and Los Angeles the group commissioned found that kindergartners spent two to three hours a day being instructed and tested in reading and math. They spent less than 30 minutes playing. “Play at age 5 is of great importance not just to intellectual but emotional, psychological social and spiritual development,” says Edward Miller, the report’s co-author. Play — especially the let’s-pretend, dramatic sort — is how kids develop higher-level thinking, hone their language and social skills, cultivate empathy.
Source: New York Times Magazine, April 29, 2009
Schooling the Imagination by Todd Oppenheiner
Waldorf schools, which began in the esoteric mind of the Austrian philosopher Rudolph Steiner, have forged a unique blend of progressive and traditional teaching methods that seem to achieve impressive results -- intellectual, social, even moral
Source: The Atlantic Monthly Digital Edition, September 1999
Struggling School-Age Boys by Peg Tyre
A new study says parents are right to worry about their sons. This article explores how free play affects everything from social skills development to classroom success.
Source: Newsweek.com, September 8, 2008
The Serious Need for Play by Melinda Wenner
Free, imaginative play is crucial for normal social, emotional and cognitive development. It makes us better adjusted, smarter and less stressed.
Source: Scientific American Mind February 2009
Three Approaches from Europe: Waldorf, Montessori, and Reggio Emilia by Carolyn Pope Edwards University of Nebraska at Lincoln
Waldorf, Montessori, and Reggio Emilia are three progressive approaches to early childhood education that appear to be growing in influence in North America and to have many points in common. This article provides a brief comparative introduction and highlights several key areas of similarity and contrast.
Source: Early Childhood Research & practice Vol.4 No.1 Spring 2002
Waldorf Education
Waldorf education, sometimes called Steiner education, is a world-wide movement based on an educational philosophy first formulated by Austrian Rudolf Steiner and which grew out of his spiritual science, anthroposophy. With a goal of educating the “whole child”, Waldorf educators place a strong emphasis on balancing the child’s natural stages of development with creativity and academic excellence. There is a strong emphasis on the arts, social skills, and spiritual values.
Source: The Catalyst, April 21, 2006
Sir Ken Robinson on rethinking our education focus to include creativity
Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.
Source: YouTube live conference clip 2006 http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
What is a "Waldorf School" (and why do we love it so much?) by Kenny Felder
One man shares his experiences and learnings as he moves from the public school system to a new role as a passionate Waldorf supporter (and teacher)