I also don't attach ALL that much importance to the philosophy if it works for my kid in practice. It will bother me, but if he does well with it, I can deal.
I don't care about academics in preschool at all and would rather avoid them. I want him in care so he can play with other kids, get practice in doing school, and enjoy the kind of fun and creative art/play projects I don't really do much of it at home.
I think that there are no perfect situations in this world, and it might only be perfectionism that would make that attractive. A school that doesn't want 4 year olds reading is probably better than a school that wants to hold up a letter and make the kids say 'A' is for Apple and prides itself on 'academic readiness.'
If you don't have to sign a contract and agree to pay for something you may not use, then why not give the Waldorf a try? Knowing that you already have friends who send their kids is probably a sign that there will be some good, as well as some not so good.
As for the 'white lie' - I do think that our kids need to learn about it earlier than most kids. I wish that wasn't the way that things are, but I think it's better to be able to talk about that part of life where we don't share everything with everyone. Santa is a great example. My guess is that Waldorf's 'reading thing' is unusual, but no more of an issue that lots of similar things.
Best Wishes,
Grinity
