Waldorf Schools

Waldorf Education is a child-centered alternative education approach that focuses on developing an individual's innate abilities throughout the schooling years. Begun in Germany in 1919 by Rudolf Steiner, Waldorf teaching methods are based on Anthroposophy, a philosophy that views each child as a threefold being-spirit, soul and body-who unfolds in three developmental stages on the way to adulthood. Waldorf's child-centered educational approach is radically different in concept and methodology from mainstream public schooling.

Keywords Alternative Education; Anthroposophy; Child-Centered Education; Independent Schools; Non-Traditional Education; Private Education; Progressive Education; Public Education; Waldorf Education

Overview

An alternative to public education that became established in the U.S. in the mid-nineteenth century to support the needs of a developing industrial society, Waldorf Education is a child-centered methodology that focuses on developing an individual's innate abilities.

Under the public school model, education is provided for children of the general public to build loyal citizens and an effective workforce that fulfills the needs of an evolving society. Characteristics of public education include compulsory student attendance (to a certain age) and government control over schooling content (the curriculum), teacher certification and achievement standards.

History

The roots of the first alternative education movement came from three European philosopher-educators-Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, and Friedrich Froebel. Their emphasis on the innate potential of human nature strongly influenced two European educational pioneers who designed teaching methods based on these philosophies-Maria Montessori was an Italian pediatrician who opened her first "children's home" in 1907; and Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher, who developed a spiritual science, Anthroposophy, which he applied in the first Waldorf School in 1919 (Miller, 2007).

Barnes (2007) describes the origination of Waldorf Education as beginning in Germany after World War I. Defeated in war, Germany was involved in economic, social, and political chaos. Rudolf Steiner was a spokesman for social renewal and promoted a new way of organizing political and cultural life. The owner of the Waldorf Astoria cigarette factory asked Steiner to lead a school for the children of the employees of the company. Steiner agreed but set up conditions which were not in keeping with current common schooling: the school would be open to all children; it would be coeducational; it would be a unified twelve-year school; and the teachers would have control of the school, with minimum interference from the state or from economic sources. The owner agreed to Steiner's conditions and the first Waldorf School was opened on September 7, 1919.

Steiner's Anthroposophy

Rooted in the philosophies of Aristotle, Plato, and Thomas Aquinas, a basic tenet of Steiner's Anthroposophy is that each individual-regardless of gender, race, or physical and mental characteristics-has innate ability that, when allowed to develop naturally, will lead to individual fulfillment throughout life (Mays & Nordwall, 2006a).

The Waldorf education model is based on a belief that when children relate what they learn to their own experience, they are interested and alive, and what they learn becomes their own. Each child is viewed as a threefold being-spirit, soul and body-who unfolds in three developmental stages-early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence-on the way to adulthood (Barnes, 2007). Though Anthroposophy is not taught in Waldorf schools, it serves as a guide for teachers to respect that each child is not an empty box to be filled with information, but a human being with individual potential to be actualized over many years (Woodard, 2005).

The goal of Waldorf Education is to produce individuals who are able, in and of themselves, to impart meaning to their lives. The focus of Waldorf schooling is to educate the whole child-head, heart and hands. Waldorf teachers are dedicated to creating a genuine love of learning within each child and to balancing academic subjects with artistic and practical activities (Mays & Nordwall, 2006b).

Characteristics of Waldorf Schooling

Academics are de-emphasized in the early childhood phase of Waldorf schooling. For example, there is no academic content in the Waldorf kindergarten experience and minimal academics in first grade. Literacy readiness begins in kindergarten with formal reading instruction beginning in grade one. Most children are reading independently by the middle or end of second grade. During the middle childhood years (grades 1-8) Waldorf students have a main lesson teacher. It is considered ideal, although not always feasible, that this teacher stays with the same class for the entire eight years. Most Waldorf students enter secondary education at about the age of fourteen. Then education is taken over by specialist teachers and focuses more strongly on academic subjects, structured to help students develop a sense of competence, to foster an understanding of ethical principles, and to build a sense of social responsibility.

Certain activities are central at Waldorf schools and include art, music, gardening, and foreign languages (usually two in elementary grades). In the younger grades, all subjects are introduced through artistic mediums. All children learn to play the recorder and to knit. There are no traditional textbooks as in the first through fifth grades. Students produce their own textbooks which record their learning experiences. In upper grades, Waldorf students commonly use standard textbooks to supplement skills development, especially in mathematics and grammar.

Learning in a Waldorf school is a noncompetitive activity. There are no grades given at the elementary level. Rather, the teacher writes a detailed evaluation of the child at the end of each school year. The use of electronic media-including computers and television-by young children is discouraged in Waldorf schools.

Waldorf education in North America celebrated its 75th Anniversary in 2003. There are more than 800 Waldorf schools in 40 countries. Over 150 schools are affiliated with the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (www.awsna.org) that has a mission to further Waldorf education by assisting Waldorf schools and supporting Waldorf teacher certification centers.

Applications

Waldorf's child-centered educational approach is radically different in concept and methodology from mainstream public schooling. To illustrate how Waldorf education is unlike traditional education, Chauncey (2006), a Waldorf teacher for 14 years, describes how education takes place in Waldorf classrooms. Her first example relates to developing concepts and critical thinking skills in a science class. She explains that in traditional classrooms, the typical approach is that the teacher will explain a concept to be studied and then use hands-on activity to illustrate the concept.

Inside the Waldorf Classroom

In contrast, Chauncey explains, in a Waldorf science lesson, the concept comes at the end, not at the beginning. When middle school Waldorf students study physics and chemistry, the teacher does a demonstration, without naming a concept or giving definitions. The essential task for the teacher is to allow the phenomenon created in the demonstration to engage the students through all their senses and feelings. In a three-week 7th grade study of the chemistry of combustion, for example, the Waldorf teacher began by building a fire in an ash-pan set on firebricks on a fireproof demonstration table. Most students had prior experience with sitting by a fire and the classroom offered an opportunity to gain knowledge from their experience. The teacher guided them to carefully observe the smoke, the rising currents of air that could be seen to spin a pinwheel, the texture and tactile qualities of charcoal and ash and thereby to derive the essential qualities of burning.

Chuncey (2006) writes that typically in the Waldorf science class, when the demonstration is completed, the class turns to related work, such as writing up a narrative report or completing a journal entry about the demonstration. Then, in a group exercise, the class describes their observations, raises questions and might repeat the experiment to crystallize the crucial concepts of combustion. Because the science lesson begins with direct experience-rather than facts-the learner has space to reflect, to question, to create meaning from an individual experience, and to share understanding with others, rather than just accept information, memorize it, and be tested.

There are no textbooks throughout the entire science course. Instead, each student works to create and compile a personal portfolio of reports of experiments, narratives, and illustrations that reflect their learning. Portfolios-called main lesson books in Waldorf schools-are prepared for each subject of study.

Emphasis on Art, Music & Craft

Chauncey (2006) also describes engagement with the arts as another crucial component of the Waldorf model. Steiner saw artistic activity as the gateway through which a person becomes deeply engaged in sensing, feeling, and movement. In music, for example, Waldorf students sing and learn to play the recorder by ear in first grade. By third grade, everyone learns to play a string instrument. Later, middle-school students play together in class orchestras and chamber ensembles. All students gain from this approach, not just the musically gifted. Playing music together allows for a higher order of collaboration by providing opportunities for some students to cultivate a special talent while it gives everyone experience in working with others on a meaningful project.

Chauncey (2006) presents another example of how the arts provide opportunities for collaboration (and integrated content areas) comes from handwork classes. In Waldorf schools, everyone learns to knit in the first grade and by the eighth grade, every student sews an article of clothing. Developing the social aspect of a group is one of the key missions of the handwork classes. In a handwork class in a Chicago Waldorf school, for example, the seventh grade group studying astronomy was divided into three collaborative working groups. Each group read a number of folktales about the stars and selected a story that they would dramatize with their hand-sewn puppets. Reaching consensus on which story to depict, and whose puppets would play which part for the good of the entire production, became a collaborative learning project that fostered social skills.

Research documents that cooperative, small-group learning encouraged students to help and support each other. Researchers have found that, especially when the task is discovery-based, group members show high levels of cooperation.

Teaching through Service Learning

Waldorf schools use service learning as a means to inspire in children a sense of ethics and a sense of themselves as part of a social collective. Students in the Chicago Waldorf School, for example, were involved in transforming a rubble-strewn lot near the school into a community garden of flowers and vegetables for the enjoyment of everyone in the neighborhood. Other Waldorf groups have volunteered their services at schools for the developmentally disabled, institutions for Alzheimer's patients, and at soup kitchens for the homeless (Chauncey, 2006).

Bringing the Waldorf Model to Public Schools

The Waldorf model exists almost exclusively in independent schools, and implements a vision for what children can learn during schooling years-judgment, critical thinking, meaningful literacy, collaboration, and service. While many educators respect the goals of the child-centered model, they question whether Waldorf methods can be incorporated in public school education which was founded to serve the needs of society at large.

In response to this concern, the Public School Institute of Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, California was established to conduct summer workshops on the Waldorf approach for public school teachers. The workshops focus on ways to integrate language arts, music, and other aspects of the Waldorf method into public school classrooms.

The Nova Institute is another effort to bring Waldorf methods into public school classrooms. Founded in 2000, the Nova Institute partnered with the Network for Enlivening Academics and the Waldorf School of Baltimore to design workshops that immerse mainstream teachers in artistic activities such as storytelling and drawing. Since offering its initial workshops in North Baltimore several years ago, Nova Institute has implemented programs in Washington, D.C. and Princeton, New Jersey (Nova Institute, 2007).

To achieve greater acceptance in public schools, Waldorf methodology needs a more prominent place in the curriculum of teacher education institutions. Very few mainstream colleges of education include any formal study of Waldorf education in their teacher preparation programs.

Difficulties with Assessment

The current focus on assessment in public education is another impediment to the Waldorf model becoming more widely accepted in public education. Some educational leaders believe that Waldorf education could contribute to a renewal of mainstream education if its educational goals could be clearly assessed. However, detailed knowledge of what children acquire in Waldorf schools is largely absent since it is difficult to design assessment instruments for such qualities as judgment or artistic expression. In terms of long-term outcomes, there are reports that show Waldorf graduates earn SAT scores well above the national average, but generally the research is scarce (Chauncey, 2006).

In 1996, the Research Institute for Waldorf Education was established to promote the Waldorf school movement and to create assessments in the early grades. The Institute also explores and documents the Waldorf approach for working with ADHD and related disorders.

Although having survived and grown and shown success for many students for nearly a century, the Waldorf method-as with other approaches to education that exist as alternatives to mainstream public education-will continue to be an option mainly for those who choose a private education for their children.

Viewpoints

Waldorf education has received positive national publicity during the last decade. Oppenheimer (1999) described it as a unique blend of progressive and traditional teaching methods. Newspapers and magazines have written largely positive reviews of the Waldorf approach. Some magnet or charter schools have accessed public funding to incorporate Waldorf methodology into their specialized education environments.

Legal Issues

Ruenzel (2001) reported on a 1998 lawsuit regarding the use of public funds for schools in California that use Waldorf teaching methods. A group of critics have asserted that the publicly-financed magnet and charter schools that have adopted Waldorf methods are in violation of the separation of church and state clause of the First Amendment. The opponents, organized under the name PLANS (People for Legal and Nonsectarian Education), claim that Anthroposophy, on which Waldorf methods are based, is a New Age, cult-like religion. At the trial, held in 2005, the court ruled against PLANS. Through appeals, the case is scheduled to be heard again in November, 2007.

Waldorf educators insist that anthroposophy is never presented in Waldorf public schools, but critics-including former Waldorf teachers-argue that Steiner's Anthroposophy is implicit in the curriculum and educational methodology (Ruenzel, 2001).

Ruenzel (2001) has reported on the basis for the case against the publicly-funded schools in California that use Waldorf teaching methods. He begins by describing the K-8 Yuba River Charter School - like many Waldorf Schools - as a place of beauty where student displays depict the wonders of the universe and humans' role within it. He observes that outside in a grassy area, boys and girls twirl arm in arm in a medieval folk dance while a classmate plays the violin and that when it is time to return to the classroom, a teacher jingles a bell. He reports that parents who send their children to Yuba River consider the school as a sanctuary of art, music, and protected childhood and where their children learn to do everything well.

However, a different view of Yuba River was held by a former Waldorf parent who also served as one of its founding board members. Joining with Waldorf critics and the PLANS lawsuit, she asserted that her critical thinking was suspended because the window dressings were so beautiful. But once she got inside, she claimed that Anthroposophy seemed to inform every second of her son's day, including when school was over. A specific example of her discontent was a night when the family was about to say grace and her son suggested they should not pray to the same God each night. He suggested praying to Hermes, the god from Greek mythology who served as a messenger to other gods. She was appalled that he was treating as "fact" the mythology he was learning at Yuba River (Ruenzel, 2001).

In 1997, this parent joined forces with other parents who criticized Waldorf methods and thus began the formation of PLANS and the lawsuit against Waldorf methodology based on Anthroposophy. After the case was initially dismissed, a superintendent from one of the twelve charter schools who subscribed to Waldorf methods, said he hoped that the recent ruling had sent a clear signal that there was no basis whatsoever for a lawsuit against the award-winning Waldorf educational programs.

The arguments about whether publicly-funded Waldorf schools are overstepping their bounds are not likely to go away soon. Appeal after appeal could take years to resolve the dispute. An attorney representing PLANS has pointed out the significance of the ruling, stating that, if the current ruling stands, a school district could receive public funds for even a 'Catholic-inspired' charter school-staffed by priests and nuns - and no one would have the basis for challenging it (Ruenzel, 2001).

Issues with Training Methodology

Other less vocal opponents to Waldorf methodology, reported by Ruenzel (2001), include a number of teachers who say they left their Waldorf public schools because of the training they received at Rudolf Steiner College. One former teacher shared that she was drawn to the Waldorf program because of its emphasis on art and music, but she had found some of the nature-driven kindergarten training objectionable. Specifically, she described her objection to participating in a ceremony in which trainees were told to 'thank' a tree, the presumption being that there was a spirit in the tree. When she objected, she was told she would not be successful as a Waldorf teacher.

Another teacher who participated in the Waldorf training was troubled by some of the mathematics and science instruction. She felt mathematics was mostly minimized to calculation, with little time for exploring topics such as spatial concepts, or how algorithms are constructed. In addition, she believed that science instruction was based too much on demonstration when she felt students needed engagement with scientific ideas.

Other Waldorf public school educators disagree with the notion that their schools propagate Anthroposophy. The director of teacher training at Rudolf Steiner College asserts that training for public school teachers is very conservative with regard to the First Amendment. She explains that only Steiner's ideas on child development are presented and that public school teachers do not get courses on Anthroposophy unless they take them on their own. The Waldorf teachers at one of the public schools in the PLANS suit, all of whom have had extensive Waldorf training at the college, support the director's assertions, indicating that they know of Anthroposophy but that it is not part of training (Ruenzel, 2001).

Another teacher at one of the schools in the PLANS suit shared that he was thinking about leaving teaching but that the Waldorf training program rejuvenated him and encouraged him to do new things such as teaching history from his own acquired knowledge, instead of from a textbook. This is essentially the message from most Waldorf-trained teachers. They agree that Waldorf training not only provided them with a new picture of child development and innovative teaching methods, but also re-energized their teaching careers. When asked if they would teach somewhere else if they could no longer teach in a Waldorf school, a roomful of teachers responded with an emphatic "no" (Ruenzel, 2001).

Terms & Concepts

Alternative Education: This term, also referred to as non-traditional education, describes approaches to teaching and learning that differ from those supported by mainstream public education.

Anthroposophy: This descri Anthroposophy: This describes a spiritual philosophy based on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner and is applied in the teaching methodology of Waldorf schools.

Child-Centered Education: This term describes an alternative education philosophy that focuses schooling on the development of an individual's innate abilities.

Independent Schools: This term describes schools that are not dependent on government financing for their operations but instead are supported by tuition, gifts, or other philanthropic funding. The term usually excludes parochial schools and other that have financial dependence on outside organizations.

Non-Traditional Education: This term, also referred to as alternative education, describes approaches to teaching and learning that differ from those supported by mainstream public education.

Private Education: This term describes schools that are not administered by local, state or national government. They have the right to select students, do not receive public funds, and are funded in whole or in part by charging tuition.

Progressive Education: This term generally applies to an alternative education movement that is based on the principle that children are social animals who learn best in real-life activities that facilitate the development of their innate potential.

Public Education: This term refers to education that is mandated by the government for all children of the general public; in the U.S., K-12 public education is paid for, in whole or part by local, state and federal taxes and is commonly overseen by an elected school board of the local community.

Waldorf Education: This term describes an alternative education pedagogy based on the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner that supports interdisciplinary learning, the integration of practical and artistic elements, and is coordinated with the development of individual innate talents throughout schooling.

Bibliography

Barnes, H. (2007). Waldorf education…an introduction. Retrieved October 11, 2007, from http://www.awsna.org/education-intro.html

Barnes, H. (1991). Learning that grows with the learner: An introduction to Waldorf education. Educational Leadership, 49. Retrieved October 11, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=9111183570&site=ehost-live

Chauncey, B. (2006). The Waldorf model and public school reform. Encounter, 19. Retrieved October 11, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=22713614&site=ehost-live

Larrison, A.L., Daly, A.J., & VanVooren, C. (2012). Twenty years and counting: A look at Waldorf in the public sector using online sources. Current Issues in Education, 15, 1-23. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=88843605&site=ehost-live

Mays, R. & Nordwall, S. (2006a). What is anthroposophy. Retrieved October 20, 2007, from Waldorf Answers http://www.waldorfanswers.org/Anthroposophy.htm

Mays, R. & Nordwall, S. (2006b). What is waldorf education. Retrieved October 20, 2007, from Waldorf Answers http://www.waldorfanswers.org/Waldorf.htm

Miller, R. (2007). A brief history of alternative education. Retrieved October 5, 2007, from http://www.educationrevolution.org/history.html

Nordlund, C. (2013). Waldorf education: Breathing creativity. Art Education, 66, 13-19. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=85691456&site=ehost-live

The Nova Institute. (2007). Mission and vision. Retrieved October 20, 2007, from http://www.novainstitute.org/

Oppenheimer, T. (1999). Schooling the imagination. The Atlantic Monthly, 284 , 71-81. Retrieved October 11, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=2248771&site=ehost-live

Ruenzel, D. (2001). The spirit of waldorf education. Education Week, 20 . Retrieved October 11, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=4775635&site=ehost-live

Sobo, E.J. (2013). High physical activity levels in a Waldorf school reflect alternative developmental understandings. Education & Health, 31, 26-30. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=89152315&site=ehost-live

Woodard, J. (2005). Head, heart and hands: Waldorf education. Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy, 2. Retrieved October 5, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=19992174&site=ehost-live

Suggested Reading

Barnes, H. (1985). An introduction to Waldorf education. NY: Mercury Press.

Finser, T. (1994). School as a journey: The 8 year odyssey of a Waldorf teacher and his class. NY: Anthroposophic Press.

Miller, R. (2006). Reflecting on spirituality in education. Encounter, 19 . Available from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=21723977&site=ehost-live

Ruenzel, D. & Seward-Mackay, K. (1995). The Waldorf way. Teacher Magazine, 7 . Available from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=9510095091&site=ehost-live