The Jury is still out for me.My sons first Month
in 5th grade was a challange.The bad weather days the students are sent
out in the rain. A bully pulled my son shirt to get his attention about
his Violyn playing. The teacher said oh the bully was so helpful to the
others in the class before.My son does not feel safe or trusted. Health
reasons he has missed 10 days so far. I took him from a school in NYC
for this?
I did not care for this school at all. The
environment was not fun or friendly. It was more of an environment for
discipline. The problem with this approach is that the teacher (s) did
not first establish any relationship or any sort of trust with the child
and before you know it, they are repremanding the children and sending
them out of the room.
Simply awful! This is quite possibly the worst school
and education available. The methods are antithetical to the latest
educational research, and the "huggy" mumbo-jumbo reeks of cultishness.
The administration and faculty, in our experience, were severely lacking
in professionalism and regard for the well-being of all the children.
The teacher we were forced to endure in the year and a half our child
spent at Waldorf was the most inept, humorless, banal, and
ineffective person I have ever encountered. He allowed the "in" kids to
walk all over their classmates, and the administration did nothing but
try feel-good classroom exercises that the children completely
misunderstood. Shame on Waldorf and shame on every single person associated with it. Don't waste your money here. You're better off in the public schools.
- 3 years ago
My daughter has a profound interest in both the fine and performing arts. Far more than a passion, it is linked closely to her identity and sense of self. Consequently, the structure of coursework at a traditional school would probably be too limiting since she would be required to choose between the electives she loves dearly and advanced academic classes that would challenge her intellectually. In contrast, Waldorf is a "breath of fresh air," since it infuses the arts into regular academic subjects to make learning more meaningful and relevant. At Waldorf, we are excited to see students in the high school singing the elements of the periodic table, staging plays in Spanish, drawing in Math, producing short videos for Shakespeare lessons and conveying, through abstraction, the history of language through circus arts and acrobatics.
ReplyDeleteIn a typical public school, my daughter might be forced to pursue one art form at the expense of another - i.e. music over visual art. Simply put, there's often not enough room in your schedule to take art and music in the same year. Even though our local district has a well established theater department, rehearsals take place for many hours after school for months at a time. This can be disruptive to homework, family life, and other important extracurricular activities. Bottom line: my daughter is a thinker who needs down time to read, write and decompress - living at school 24/7 is not an answer.
ReplyDeleteMoreover, I worry that students who manage to cram everything into their tight schedules, often do so at the expense of a nutritious lunch with friends and their overall physical and emotional health. In contrast, Waldorf offers a balanced curriculum which fosters holistic and wholesome eating and social habits. It sends a powerful message to students and families that we must make time for the things that count most - refueling our bodies and minds, and making time for friendship. Human beings are not "machines" that can work endlessly without rest and relaxation.
As a parent and educator, I cherish the fact that Waldorf teachers prepare students to sit and think by preceding more sedentary periods with physical exercises. Fresh air, sunshine and movement are also interspersed naturally throughout the day with gardening, eurythmy and social dance. As an aspiring thespian, it is intriguing how Waldorf emphasizes public speaking and brings poetry to life by connecting it to gesture and movement in the eurythmy curriculum. How emancipating it must be to spend one or two weeks a year outdoors at Camp Glen Brook instead of the mind numbing routine of filling in bubbles on scantron sheets! Prior to coming to WSGC my daughter yearned for an educational environment that rejected a testing and worksheet culture - which paralyzes learning by making it stale and mundane.
ReplyDeleteNurturing the whole human being - the hands, mind and heart - is an appealing concept to my family because we are complex individuals who possess multiple dimensions and facets to our personality. Sadly, conventional education diminishes our humanity by fostering only the logical and intellectual side. It shortchanges us by ignoring our unique talents and emotional/spiritual needs. Ideally, these seemingly disparate components should fit together like the pieces of a puzzle to create a human being that is happy, healthy and well balanced.
ReplyDeleteToday's busy, hurried and over stimulating world of obsessive multitasking is slowly tearing us apart. Instead, we need ample quiet time to think and reflect, move and exercise, socialize with friends and family, and eat nutritious meals which fuel our bodies and soul. Although this is my wish for my daughter, I can't quite say that I've been able to fully achieve it on my own. Waldorf, however, fosters a refuge from the distractions of mainstream contemporary society. I am forever grateful to the Waldorf School for its ability to instill these values and priorities into the rhythm of my child’s typical day.
ReplyDelete