Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Waldorf Schools?

hi everyohne
thanks for all teh great info! I will khow a lot more about what to ask when i go on the rour. My liitle girl is really into movement, crafts, etc. so it might end up being a good fit. We are already aa 99% tv free family and don't have video games so that part actually sounds good to me . I am also a programmer but find it just something i want to leave at work.. i'm really curious now how the tour will go.

irene

I have a friend who had her daughter in a Waldorf school. She pulled her daughter after she noticed her child went from a fun-loving kid to very self-concious, shy one. Apparently, at this particular Waldorf school, they choose one kid to be "it" all semester. The teachers encourage the other kids to pick on the "it" child. My friend's child happened to be "it" that semester, and my friend had no idea. It was explained to my friend by the school administrator that they did this for two reasons - 1) the "it" child learned to take teasing and bullying and how to stand up for him/herself and 2) the other kids learned how to work in a group dynamic, etc. My friend was appalled and pulled her child immediately.

Again, I am sure that not all Waldorf schools do this, but there are some out there. Like Montessri schools, Waldorf schools come in many different flavors. I don't know how you'd go about asking if they have a habit of doing something similar to what I described above, but it would be a good thing to ferret out.

Best of luck,

MM

We have some friends who absolutely LOVED the Waldorf school and it fit their life perfectly. Another set of friends found it was a great school for their older child but not so much for their middle son. As as the older child got older, the fit became less... they are now homeschooling taking a bit of the waldorf experience and complementing with other methods which work well for their children. Frankly, for me, it was less about the tv/computer stuff - while we're not 100% free, we're a pretty light household on the screen time so that would not have been too difficult - but i have two major concerns:
1) i agree with Val that when a philosophy at school dictates your home life to such a degree, it makes me a bit leery. I am all for engaging parents in education - i think it's critical - but... i think there's a limit to how much you can tell a family how to *be*
2) and i think this was most critical for us - the reading thing. My son self taught to read before turning 4. We never pushed it, it was just something he did. He has ALWAYS been a bookworm and loves nothing more than to curl up with a good book (or two or 10...) and read. To be in an enviornment where reading isn't encouraged AT ALL until 7 (which he just turned), would have been crippling to him. That was enough of a reason for us to search elsewhere...

Good luck to you! it's such a blessing to find the place where your child *fits* and is happy. I wish you the best!!!

Sheesh! School-sanctioned bullying. How fabulous.

I don't think this is the norm at Waldorf schools. Thank goodness for that, huh?

Ever seen an angry redheaded mother? I'd have to give that teacher a private lesson on bullying!

i'll have to ask about the "it" game when i go to tour. That would be a deal breaker for sure.
irene

My friend who loves Waldorf has had her son in 3 different Waldorf schools (b/c of geographic moves) - none of them played the "it" game. I can't imagine that's part of the global philosophy or the curriculum.

Me either! I got the feeling warm, fuzzy, and inclusive would be more typically Waldorf from the school we visited.

I don't think it's the norm. Then again, neither did my friend. At least, now Irene can know to look for and/or ask about it. I have also found that this type of bullying, turning a blind eye to it by the teachers isn't unheard of; it depends on how the school interprets and applies the Waldorf pedagogy.

Please go into this with your eyes open. Before you make a decision I encourage you to read more. Google waldorf bullying you'll find it is fairly widespread. I also encourage you to read more about Waldorf and science. http://www.waldorfcritics.org/active/articles.html And, to find out more about anthroposophy to find out if it will fit with the philosophies of your family.

This is anecdotal and may sample size is small, but every person I know who put an early reading gifted kid into a Waldorf school was told that the child had developmental problems. There was no positive acknowledgment of giftedness.