Parents looking for education options — especially for kindergarten — have likely come across the term Waldorf. But what exactly is a Waldorf school?
Waldorf education is based on the ideas and teachings of Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian educator and philosopher who opened his first school In Stuttgart, Germany, in 1919. Steiner’s schools focused on “whole child” development, rather than the narrow academic focus popular in German schools at the time.
Today, there are almost 1,200 Waldorf schools and more than 1,900 Waldorf kindergartens around the world, according to the Alliance for Public Waldorf Education. Roughly 130 Waldorf schools, both public and private, are in the United States. The Association of Waldorf Schools of North America says its schools offer a “developmentally appropriate, experiential, and academically rigorous approach to education.”
Parents touring a Waldorf school will see classrooms with open space, supplies made from natural materials, natural light and a palette of muted colors. Students might participate in whole-group lessons directed by their teacher and move on to collaborate with peers while they explore the lesson topics with materials and activities.
The learning environment often extends outdoors because Waldorf schools embrace hands-on learning and engagement with nature. Through all grades, essential values include respect for the changing stages of each child’s development and the importance of relationships.
“The Waldorf classroom is a safe space where faculty and staff honor the innocence and imagination of early childhood; support a developing grade school child’s stages of growth, curiosity and empathy; and inspire the young adult’s capacities and engagement in the world,” Samantha Cosentino, marketing director at the San Francisco Waldorf School, wrote in an email.
[Read: What Is a Montessori School?]
What is Waldorf Education?
Central to Steiner’s philosophy was his belief that three developmental stages–early childhood, middle childhood and adolescence–were crucial to optimal learning. Steiner believed that schools should introduce certain subjects at certain stages.
Experts in Waldorf education say that these schools emphasize teaching the whole child. A main lesson is taught in a block of time lasting for several weeks. Creative arts like drawing, painting, language studies, music and drama support the main lesson and give students a variety of avenues to learn the material. Students then continue an exploration of the lesson through movement and motor skills, with activities like physical education, building, dance and gardening.
The model is a thematic approach. Students immerse in their learning and have time to adequately explore and understand the content.
“This allows different entryways for each student to access material,” says Kimberly Vachon, a Waldorf school alum and a former Waldorf teacher who is now doing doctoral work in education at the University of California–Santa Cruz. “Students have to really engage and participate in their education.”
What to Expect in a Waldorf School
Parents can expect Waldorf schools to place an emphasis on relationships and nurture opportunities to explore. Teachers in Waldorf schools typically stay with the same class of students for many years, rather than teaching a specific grade. Cosentino says this design has proven benefits.
“With a new teacher each year, expectations and personalities take up class time to sort out,” she says. “As the child changes and new capacities and interests form, the class teacher, having known the student through the years, is quicker to pick up on these and offer support.”
Observation also takes the place of many standardized tests, though public schools must still comply with state and federal requirements. Rebecca Moskowitz, executive director of advancement for the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America, says observation is a solid foundation for student assessment.
“Teachers have the ability to accurately assess their students in a holistic and comprehensive manner,” she says. “These assessments are supported by teacher conferences and class meetings throughout the year.”
Unlike most traditional schools, computers and technology are not a part of the everyday learning experience in many elementary and middle school Waldorf classrooms. Moskowitz says that technology is used later on. “In high school, computers and digital aids are used in the classroom as teaching tools across disciplines, and computer-specific courses may be taught,” she says.
[READ: What Is Reggio Emilia Education?]
Waldorf Pros and Cons
Like all educational philosophies, Waldorf schools have both positives and negatives. Advocates like Moskowitz say its holistic approach — balancing academic subjects with artistic and practical activities — helps foster a love of learning.
“Activities that deepen and round out one’s understanding of the world in which we live stand side by side with traditional core academic subjects,” she says.
Cosentino says the fluid and multifaceted nature of Waldorf education helps send students out into the world ready to engage with the community and with further education.
“While traditional education might involve teaching … toward certain benchmarks, Waldorf education relies on a time-tested curriculum whose graduates have consistently been described as perceptive, thoughtful, extraordinary, skilled and kind young people,” she says. “They are proof that academic standards will be met if a student’s whole needs are met.”
Some common drawbacks mentioned in connection with Waldorf schools are the same things that many parents like, such as the lack of emphasis on technology and standardized testing, and the focus on imaginative play in early childhoood (formal reading instruction does not begin until first grade). Some families may also have issues dealing with the same teacher year after year, though that too is often seen as an advantage.
Because many Waldorf schools are private, tuition may also be an obstacle for some parents. At the Waldorf School of Baltimore, for example, tuition for the 2021-22 school year was more than $20,000, according to its website, although financial aid is available.
Still, supporters say that Waldorf education allows children room to discover. “The well-rounded curriculum is designed to honor childhood and support the interests of each student,” Cosentino says.
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What is a Waldorf School? originally appeared on usnews.com
