I'm very interested in Waldorf Education and after reading a great book written by a teacher and social worker, Simplicity Parenting. This is an alternative school to public schools, but I just use some of the philosophy in combination with my other thoughts and ideas.
So this post is about my thoughts about this Waldorf Education approach. But first I thought I'd start with this funny list...
You Might Be a Waldorf Mama/Papa If You... (I'm going to keep adding to this, btw)
think there is no such thing as boredom
have an insatiable appetite for learning and growth
love rocks, trees, dirt, etc. more than something you can buy in a store
gardening is essential for your children to learn
love simple experiments using what you can find in nature
don't own a tv
think learning is a holistic endeavor (with their head, heart, hands, etc.)
find you eat, dress, do...according to the seasons
the "calendar in your head" comes to mind from one holiday to the next
think play time may have an inverse relationship to toy quantity (deep play with one)
your toy shelf does not look like toy store's shelves at Christmas time, but rather has a few simple favorites: something homemade, wood blocks, etc.
think teaching your 7 year old child to knit is as important as teaching him or her to read
think imagination is the fuel of greatness and are ok with gnomes and fairies
-------- So, What is Waldorf Education? Wiki-pedia says...(click link to read more details, and I've added a few of my notes below too)
Waldorf (Steiner) education is a humanistic approach to pedagogy based on the educational philosophy of the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner. Waldorf education is the largest independent alternative education movement in the world.[6] In central Europe, where most of the schools are located,[1] the Waldorf approach has achieved general acceptance as a model of alternative education.[7][8] Waldorf education has influenced mainstream education in Europe[9] and Waldorf schools and teacher training programs are funded through the state in many European countries.
Public funding of Waldorf schools in some English speaking countries has been controversial, with questions being raised about the role of religious and spiritual content in or underlying the curriculum, and whether the science curriculum, which has achieved notable results, also includes pseudoscience and/or promotes homeopathy.
The educational philosophy's overarching goal is to develop free, morally responsible, and integrated individuals equipped with a high degree of social competence. Teachers generally use formative (qualitative) rather than summative (quantitative) assessment methods (which means no letter grades), particularly in the pre-adolescent years. The schools have a high degree of autonomy to decide how best to construct their curricula and govern themselves. The approach stresses the role of the imagination in learning and places a strong value on integrating academic, practical and artistic pursuits.
The developmental approach used in the Waldorf schools is designed to awaken – and ideally balance – the "physical, behavioral, emotional, cognitive, social, and spiritual" aspects of the developing person,[28] developing thinking that includes a creative as well as an analytic component.[28]:28 A 2005 overview of research studies suggested that Waldorf schools successfully develop "creative, social and other capabilities important in the holistic growth of the person," but that more research is needed to confirm the generally small scale studies conducted to date.[28]:39
Three broad stages in child development: (though there are sub-stages too)
The early years (0-7)children primarily learn through empathy, imitating their environment, and Waldorf pre-schools and kindergartens therefore stimulate pupils' desire to engage with the world by offering a range of practical activities.[33] The educator's task is to present worthwhile models of action.[11]:389 Children are also given daily opportunities for creative, imaginative play.[34] The early years education seeks to imbue the child with a sense that the world is good.[35]
Second Stage (7-14)children primarily learn through presentations and activities appealing to their feelings and imagination. Story-telling and artistic work are used to convey and depict academic content so students can connect more deeply with the subject matter. The educator's task is to present a role model children will naturally want to follow, gaining authority through fostering rapport. The elementary years education seeks to imbue children with a sense that the world is beautiful.[35]
Third Stage(14+)children primarily learn through their own thinking and judgment.[36] They are asked to understand abstract material and are expected to have sufficient foundation and maturity to form conclusions using their own judgment.[11]:391 The secondary years education seeks to imbue children with a sense that the world is true.[35]
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Here is another lady's list she compiled that I took note of from a lecture I heard:
Top 10 Benefits of Waldorf Education
1. Nurtures Whole Child
2. Multi-cultural, World
3. Learn through arts: stories, songs, nature, etc.
4. Curriculum follows child's development (7 year cycle)
5. Gives rhythm and rituals
6. Prepares child for Life and life-skills (not just career/job-specific areas)
7. Fosters individuality, independence and problem-solving
8. Creates a sense of personal and social responsibility
9. Elevates confidence and self-esteem
10. Creates love for learning
----
Here is a video introduction about it.
Things I've noticed they do:
celebrate other cultures, holidays and festivals as a major part of their curriculum
value nature: eat whole foods, use raw materials to make crafts and for their environment, even gardening as class "work"/play and using outdoor classroom time regularly
feel rhythm is important in how they celebrate seasons and in daily routines so there is flow
emphasize virtues and positive character attributes
value community and sharing
use story and song in everything to bring life and animation to what could be mundane in public school
teachers continue with their students through the grades 1-8 to grow together
don't teach letters and math the same way: letters come later and more as an art, while math is taught as whole-to-part (frequently with division and multiplication right along with addition and subtraction--seems more holistic and totally makes sense--from an intuitive math-lover like me!)
encourage imagination and rarely have exact crafts to imitate
there are no textbooks. Students create their own Main Lesson Books of learning to summarize concepts for themselves.
example of main lesson book page: Student summarizes and artistically represents lesson from wiws.org
I found this great curriculum chart if you want to get a feel for how they break down learning by stage...
If you think you're interested, there is a Utah Waldorf facebook group where like minded people can learn from each other. And a Waldorf Utah Homeschoolers, if you are in Utah. People post helpful information, waldorf blogs, etc. or you can ask questions there. They also share and create local events for homeschoolers or community members varying from festivals, to story-telling conferences, to farm tours, to basket weaving classes, etc. It is not just for those that attend Waldorf groups/schools. And they are currently getting a charter to open an official school in Utah in 2016 for those that don't homeschool. Help join the effort, or at least find out more.
I’ve read a few great books about alternative
educational philosophies. I’ve compiled some of my thoughts from this last book
I read. (I will then post thoughts on the Waldorf Philosophy and another
separate post of a comparison/summary of the two.) So, beware, my notes are choppy. The comparison post will be more polished.
Thomas
Jefferson Education: Teaching A Generation of Leaders…
by
Oliver DeMille
KEY:
Excerpts from the book
Other peoples' quotes from book
My Thoughts
-------
The
Essential Question in my mind:
Is the education we are receiving on par
with our potential?
Every
person you have ever met is a genius.
And greatness is the
purpose of each of us.
Two
types of teachers: mentors (present) and classic (past) -
Teacher get students attention and starts them on the way and involves them
Deeply. Students puts in the work to educate themselves.
Three major types of schooling 1. Conveyor belt education 2. professional education 3.
leadership education: inspires
self-education and ability to think for themselves, based on character
Thomas Jefferson Education Model is Leadership Education
And I would add that so is the Waldorf Method, from a more creative/intuitive approach, but that is another post...
“Teaching, like farming and healing, is a
cooperative art. Understanding this, Comenius in The Great Didactic again and
again compares the cultivation of the mind with the cultivation of the field;
so, too, Plato compares the teacher’s art with the physician’s.”
“…only
when teachers realize that the principal cause of learning that occurs in a
student is the activity of the student’s own mind do they assume the role of
the cooperative artists. While the activity of the learner’s mind is the
principal cause of all learning, it is not the sole cause. Here the teacher
steps in as a secondary and cooperative cause.”
“Like
the farmer and the physician, the teacher must be sensitive to the natural
process that his art should help bring to its fullest fruition – the natural
process of learning. It is the nature of human learning that determines the
strategy and the tactics of teaching.”
– Mortimer J. Adler -
Individualized Education Phases
Core phase (0-8 years of age): Happy, interactive, confident child naturally
playing and working in family setting. The meaning of tasks gains context
through experiences with a rich learning environment.
Love of learning phase(8-12ish): Play
at projects and skills which build understanding. Involvement is exploratory
and interest driven With time to allow personal expression without negative
feedback.
Scholar phase(puberty/12-16): Readiness to apply greater level of effort
to personal and academic achievement through a process of commitment and
accountability. Defined responsibilities that are agreed upon. Exposure
to variety of materials and ideas in the spirit of passion and excitement for
learning. A time to work hard at learning because you love it and to ponder,
think, read, write, listen, debate, analyze and learn. It is the time to
lose yourself in study.
Depths phase (16-22): Profound hunger to prepare for on-coming
responsibilities and future contributions in society. To acknowledge
limitations both personal and in current mentoring arrangement, and to submit
to expectations of a mentor at a new and higher level. To network with those
who are mission-oriented and involves the challenge of having your grand ideas
revealed to be limited or ineffectual with the opportunity for exposure to
peers with new and thought-provoking solutions to age-old problems. it is the
ideal combination for the years of earlier training and must be individualized.
"Since
learning is essentially a process of discovery the teachers Art consists
largely in devices whereby one individual can help another to lift himself up
from a state of knowing and understanding less to knowing and understanding
more. left to his own devices the learner would not get very far unless he
asked himself questions, perceived problems to be solved, suffered puzzlement
over dilemmas, put himself under the necessity of following out the
implications of this Hypothesis or that, made observations and weighted the
evidence for alternative hypotheses."
- Mortimer j Adler -
Thomas Jefferson Education Basic Tenets:
classics and mentors
depth and breadth
quality and application
No
education is complete or even particularly valuable unless the student uses
what he or she has learned to serve the community, family, society, and God.
A good
mentor is someone of high moral character who is more advanced than the student
and can guide his or her learning
Education
makes a people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern, but
impossible to enslave.
---
Seven
keys of great teaching or mentoring
Classics not
textbooks: Bible, Shakespeare, etc.
Mentors not
professors
Inspire, not require:
Force in learning dampens the passion, kills the spirit and destroys the
zest and life of learning. Force trains followers not leaders. Inspiring is
finding out what the students need and then creatively encouraging them to
engage it on their own with excitement and interest
Structure time, not
content
Quality, not conformity
Simplicity, not
complexity (Read, write, Do projects, discuss--not quick to point out
answers or personal feelings....explore)
You, not them
(Mentors set the example and are continually learning and pushing themselves.
They commit to study and ponder think about it and pay their own price in
studying along with.
------------ Teaching Parable: Baby Learning to Walk
Observe
Walk and smile: Try and have mini successes
Totter and look alarmed: run into difficulties and get worried
Fall and cry: Fail and feel bad
Start over again
Mentors'
roles
Smile throughout
Shower advice
Warn
Encourage
Praise
Most importantly...set the example
The
Mentor who shares her love for learning and willingness to submit to the labor
that is the process of acquiring mastery will communicate the value of
persevering through difficulties and trusting that ignorance and confusion must
ultimately give way to knowledge and understanding.
You
were born with potential.
you
were born with goodness and trust.
you
were born with ideals and dream.
you
were born with greatness.
you
were born with wings.
you
are not meant for crawling, so don't.
you
have wings.
Learn
to use them and fly.
-Rumi-
-------------------------------
In Summary:
“A sensible man watches for problems ahead and prepares to meet them. The simpleton never looks and suffers the consequences.”
- Proverbs 27:12 -
Our Educational system has a problem...is the problem. Too many cooks in the kitchen trying to decide what our children need to learn and how to do that. There are tons of alternative educations out there that are worth exploring.
After reading much, I have come to view my children’s’ education as needing at least these three things:
Inspires students to think for themselves
Based on good and true principles/values
Encourages their individual greatness (aka God-given potential/talents)
All types of education
will change if parents lead the charge.
What can you do as a
parent to help truly educate your children?
(regardless of whether or not you homeschool, charter school, public education,
etc.)
I heard a fabulous talk at an LDS Holistic Living Conference by Vern Cox about how to be mindful without having to spend hours meditating. Basically he said the outcome of meditation is to focus, so we have to clear ourselves from distractions.
Here are my notes:
Top Benefits of Meditation 1. Improved Body Regulation/Control (balanced fight vs. flight reactions so body doesn't react so easily to stress) 2. Attuned Communication: two people feel they are both being understood by each other 3. Improved emotional balance (not so many extremes) 4. Response Flexibility: not stuck with one response, but being able to choose from a variety of responses 5. Increased Empathy 6. Better Insight: ability to connect with past, link to present and how it may influence future 7. Better Fear Regulation 8. Enhanced Intuition: being aware of input from internal organs (heart, lungs, intestines, etc.) and other body sensations--body's wisdom/deep way of knowing. Our integration center of bodytakes this input and then influences our reasons and reactions. 9. Greater Sense of Morality: how our actions influence others
------ Now let's explain some things... Emotion: the meaning we give to an event (emotions don't have a life of their own, but are tied to our reactions to new events). The action/urge that results is then how we deal with that meaning (not the emotion itself).
We first consciously create meaning as we have a new experience, but then we store those meanings into our internal storage bank (let's say our heart, though not literally)--and tend to categorize these meanings into general areas--which then become a habit pattern which we react to unconsciously when we repeat similar experiences to that first one. This allows us to have an auto-pilot of sorts (which is helpful for repetitive things that don't sap our energy, but not for situations we don't react well to which can re-emerge often if not taken care of). If we need to change bad habit patterns, we need to change first in our head and hearts to break those initial meanings we gave those experiences.
Principle: Meaning determines emotion Be careful with how you judge and give labels to things, people, events. Tips for Moving Forward:
allow your brain to have time to tell you things it is trying to tell you--make time to sit still and let them come--instead of running around and keeping yourself to busy to listen (to yourself or others). Acknowledge them, then organize them as needed. Pen and paper to write essential ones to prioritize.
don't judge self for having distractions by trying to force your brain to shut off--or it will get use to shutting off. All of your history is important, but acknowledge which ones are self-defeating, negative, and try to change them. Judgmental-ness is always in the past--and you will close up/prepare for fight or flight/muscles tense/blood pressure increases--therefore your brain switches from the front/thinking part of your brain to the rear/storage part (where all your previous habit patterns were stored)
be open (honest with yourself), accepting, loving and even curious to new opportunities, people, events (within reason) and don't try to guess and calculate too much. If you feel you have some degree of uncertainty--that you don't already know everything--you are more humble and willing and easy to be taught. Therefore your frontal brain/creative part will be more active and engaged, rather than the rear, patterned, logical part habitually taking over).
live in the present. This doesn't mean to ignore the past. But the past doesn't mean it's fact, so take it as input, not truth. Instead, value present situations for what they are, without being devalued by the past, or other's perspectives. Be objective in the present.
imperturbability: try to live without feeling perturbed or irritated
read scriptures daily write personal thoughts and notes each time (to develop greater focus)
pray regularly (i like kneeling away from my bed--so I can't lean--or I get lazy in my thoughts)
write things down: to help brain let go of thoughts and feelings, official or not (journal or outline to teach--in teaching/sharing we retain more info and learn more deeply. So approach learning with that frame of mind/accountability)
Principle: Pure in Heart: When our emotions and impulses are Christlike "Blessed are the Pure in Heart, for they shall see God" Matthew 5:8 As we seek to become a little better and a little more grateful let's first look in our hearts and find those habit patterns that don't uplift and encourage and help us reach our Divine potential. Then we can greater see God's hand in our lives...and gratitude can fill our hearts with His love. Let's seek for the pure love of Christ, even Charity--the greatest of all gifts (moroni 7).
Hippocrates said "Let food be your medicine." And that's how I feel we should approach healing our bodies. Start with a good diet and supplement your diet with plants/herbs in other ways. After reading this great little book, (My Home Pharmacy, Tracy Gibbs) I've outlined some essentials for our own home pharmacies.
Here is a list of the 5 main, simple ways to use herbs: 1. Teas
Liquid solutions of plants (we only use herbal infusions instead of actual tea leaves)
Infusion: pour boiling water over herb and let steep about 10 minutes (leaves and flowers)
Dedoction: boil for 20-30 minutes and simmer for 10 minutes (hard woody plants)
2. Tinctures
Concentrated extracts of plants (like "pickling" them)
alcoholic: generally vodka or something similar
non-alcoholic: glycerin or vinegar (we use these, instead of alcoholic versions)
carrier oils: solvents used to draw out active chemicals in plants. Herb or essential oils are typically combined in these to dilute potency and for applying on body via massage oil, balm or salve, soap, etc.(ex: extra virgin, cold-pressed olive oil, grapeseed oil, etc.--the least processed is the best.)
herbal oils: like herbal infusions, but put fresh leaves in carrier oil in glass jar completely covered and closed tightly so no air gets in. Let sit somewhere sunny for at least 2 weeks, then strain and keep indefinitely. (If the fresh herbs inside are exposed to any air then they get moldy, so be careful.)
4. Salves and Lip Balms
For rubbing easily onto skin/lips/etc. In order to make your own, melt on low in a double boiler. Check consistency by dipping wooden spoon in--add more oil to make it softer or beeswax for harder. Add essential oils at the end. Place in dark glass jars away from light.
Salve: 1/4 cup beeswax to 1 cup oil (herbal oil or carrier oil).
Lip Balm: 3:2:1 is a rough ratio (carrier oil, cocoa/shea butter, beeswax)
5. Poultices
Warm, moist mass of powdered or cut herbs applied directly to external wounds (burns, cuts, inflammation, rashes, bites, infections, etc.).
Decoction: dip cotton into luke warm decoction and place on wound
Paste: crush or grind fresh herbs and add water/olive oil/alcohol to form paste; apply on wound and cover with warm cloth or gauze and tie/tape in place
---------- List of most common fresh Herbs to treat most common ailments:
* antibiotic
** antifungal
***antiviral
**** dieuretics
***** relaxants
garlic*/**/***
oregano*
ginger root**/****/*****
cayenne pepper (stops bleeding)
dandelion roots****
lemongrass*/***/****
echinacea*
sage**/***
peppermint*****
aloe vera****
rose hips (high in vitamin C)
cinnamon
raw honey
lemons or limes rosemary** chamomile*****
