I try my best not to listen when school folks talk about why they do what they do. Most people just aren't self-aware to have any idea what they are doing anyway.
I think a Waldorf inspired school can be great for certian gifted kids, there is a lot to like. And I can squint my eyes and agree with 99% of what they are saying. Imagine for example, a typical bright child. Is that child really benifited by a parent who drills reading with flash cards at age 4? We aren't 'those' parents but those parents really do exist, and in large numbers, right?
There is a lot to like about the ideas and expertise that Waldorf folks have developed - helping kids develop physical maturity, cook, do handicrafts, sing, playing the recorder, good interpersonal skills, appreciate and interact with nature. Waldorf teachers seem, as a group, to like children.
I used to try and send my son to the local schools summer camp for at least a week or two each summer. He hated it! He's a very fact orriented person, and wants the 'real' answer, as fast as possible. Whenever I walked in the school and saw the art supplies and smells, I would instantly get a happy feeling, a feeling like 'ah...this is where I should have spent my elementary school years.'
If you child is already reading, and could handle the idea that school is for playing and he isn't allowed to read there, then I'd give it a try. Schools have lots of strange rules, and we expect kids to follow them (asking permission to use the bathroom?) so if your family can treat the reading thing as just another quaint school rigidity then I would encourage you to give it a try. If your child hasn't yet learned to read, I wouldn't worry that a few years delay in teaching is going to do any long term damage - our kids catch up fast as long as there aren't any other issues.
Just like I wouldn't allow a conventional school's ideas about when it's too soon for what level of reading affect what I did at home, I wouldn't allow this school's ideas to influence me to somehow try and prevent a child from teaching themselves to read. I'd even give what every assistience the child actually wanted afterschool.
I think it's a huge advantage to have a preschool that doesn't try and 'teach' reading to a gifted child and focusing on the important things - play and learning to enjoy people of all ages outside the family.
Smiles,
Grinity
