It was very jarring for me to learn how to navigate and succeed in a school where you were just another kid to educate and not viewed as a person.
Although this is more of a negative comment on public education, not Waldorf.
I must say, I understand why people are drawn to Waldorf. Our local school gives the kids something like 1.5 hours a day of outdoor time (some of which is lesson-based, but still). Compare this to my 5th-grader's 15 minute-recess. The materials are lovely and the homework is quite limited/nonexistent until the children are fairly old. You don't have to deal with the insane standardized test culture. If you are hippie-ish/non-mainstream, you are surrounded by others who share your values. I have days where the school looks nice to me, especially since I pass by it often and see the children playing in the fields and trees. But then I think about the root beliefs which I consider bizarre and how much of the curriculum would drive my exact-minded, impatient children insane...
TNC, I'm curious as to how you would rate the overall learning experience at your school. Do you feel you were adequately educated in the basics a child should know by that age? It seems to me that Waldorf spends vast amounts of time on religious mythology and the ancient world, for instance. OTOH, the math curriculum looks rather good.
