College of the Immaculate Conception

In Partial Fulfillment of the RequirementsInCurrent Issues and Trends in Education

ATerm paper inWaldorf Education

ARNULFO V. SANTIAGO, JR.MAEd in GEN. SCIENCETable of ContentsIntroduction1

Background of Waldorf Education2History of Waldorf Education 4

Uniqueness of Waldorf education5

Distinctive features of Waldorf education6

Curriculum at a Waldorf school8

Real World in Waldorf education10

Future of Waldorf Education in the Philippines12

References15

1Waldorf education is an ART. The ART of AWAKENING what is actually there within the human being.Rudolf Steiner, from The Younger Generation

IntroductionEducation is indeed a necessary tool in building a strong foundation of any nation. One needs to be educated in order for him to comprehend with the fast changing environment. He must be equipped with knowledge in the advent of technological advancement so that he can use it into a meaningful mean. Furthermore, one must be educated in order for him to understand how thing works and behaves so that he can give a significant connections in the world where he is living. Hence, it is a must that everyone must be educated.In addition, Education is the most efficient and effective way of teaching and learning the basic and advanced skills and knowledge. Hence, being the foundation of our society, education encompasses our lives by stimulating our minds and molding them into intellectual ones. In simple words, education enables us to learn different ways of learning things and doing them. As compared to the past, education received by todays students is more structured and conceptualized. While there 2was no formal education system in the primeval period, the modern days have come up with different types of education classified according to a persons potential and age. These types of education present around the world may include public schools and private schools such as schools that offers Catholic education, Montessori education, Waldorf education, etc. which its primary goal in to produce an individual with purpose.One of these types of education that emerge faster around the world is Waldorf education or Steiner education.

Background of Waldorf EducationWaldorf Education is a unique and distinctive approach of educating children that is practiced in Waldorf schools worldwide. Waldorf schools collectively form the largest, and quite possibly the fastest growing, group of independent private schools in the world where there is no centralized administrative structure governing all Waldorf school. Hence, each is administratively independent, but there are established links which offer resources, publish materials, sponsor conferences, and promote the movement.Waldorf education or Steiner Education (based on Rudolf Steiner's 'Anthroposophy' or "the knowledge of the3nature of the Human Being") not only restores education but also transforms society. Furthermore, it renews education through an age-appropriate pedagogy that educates the hands (purposeful Willing/Doing), and the heart (engaged, balanced Feeling), as well as the head (creative Thinking), leading to the development of the whole human being holistically. The transformation of society is advanced through the creation of new social forms and new ways of working together in addition to creating a social space for educational freedom and the free life of the spirit.To achieve this, Steiner education fully integrates the arts into a scientifically researched curriculum finely accustomed to the development stages of childhood.Moreover such skills, subjects, and concepts are introduced when these are appropriate to the child's physiological and spiritual development. Material presented to the children is connected directly to human experience and observation, experimentation, and participation so that it awakens the student's enthusiasm and interest.Reverence for life and the natural world are cultivated through the content and process of the lessons. Fine and 4applied arts, traditional crafts, storytelling, music, and drama provide essential pathways for holistic learning, enlivening a comprehensive curriculum which includes language arts, math, science, history, music, foreign languages, fine art, movement education, and handwork. Teachers are given autonomy in using various teaching methods and educational tools at their disposal. Academic freedom is the trademark of Steiner schools so much so that they are also commonly described as "faculty-run schools."Mitchell & Gerwin (2007) found out in their research of Waldorf graduates that 94% has attended college or university, 47% chose humanities or arts as a major, 42% chose sciences or math as a major, 89% are highly satisfied in choice of occupation, 91% are active in lifelong education, 92% placed a high value on critical thinking, and 90% highly values tolerance of other viewpoints.History of Waldorf EducationIn 1919, Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher, scientist, and artist was invited to give a series of lectures to the workers of the Waldorf-Astoria cigarette factory in Stuttgart, Germany. As a result, the factory's owner, Emil Molt, asked Steiner to establish and lead a 5school for the children of the factory's employees. Steiner agreed to do so on four conditions that include the following: the school should be open to all children, it should be coeducational, it should be a unified twelve-year school, and that the teachers, those who would be working directly with the children, should take the leading role in the running of theschool, with a minimum of interference from governmental or economic concerns.Hence, EmilMolt agreed to the conditions and, after a training period for the prospective teachers, Die Freie Waldorfschule (the Free Waldorf School) was opened on September 7, 1919 and considered the first Waldorf School in the world (Mays & Nordwall, 2004).Uniqueness of Waldorf educationThe best overall statement on what is unique about Waldorf education is to be found in the stated goals of the schooling: "to produce individuals who are able, in and of themselves, to impart meaning to their lives". The aim of Waldorf schooling is to educate the whole child, "head, heart and hands". The curriculum is as broad as time will

6allow, and balances academics subjects with artistic and practical activities.Waldorf teachers are dedicated of creating a genuine love of learning within each child. By freely using arts and activities in the service of teaching academics, an internal motivation to learn is developed in the students, doing away with the need for competitive testing and grading.Distinctive features of Waldorf educationIn the web site of Manila Waldorf School, the curriculum is quite fascinating where Academics are de-emphasized in the early years of schooling. There is no academic content in the Waldorf kindergarten experience (although there is a good deal of cultivation of pre-academic skills), 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 elementary school years (grades 1-8) the students have a class (or "main lesson") teacher, who stays7with the class for a number of consecutive years. Many teachers stay with their class from first to eighth grade. However, in a number of schools, teachers are likely to stay with a class for a shorter period: a class may have one class teacher for grades 1-5 and another for grades 6-8, for example.Certain activities which are often considered "add-ons" at mainstream schools are central at Waldorf schools: art, music, gardening, and foreign languages (usually two in elementary grades), to name a few. In the younger grades, all subjects are introduced through artistic mediums, use the children respond better to this medium than to dry lecturing and rote learning. All children learn to play recorder and to knit.Moreover, there are no "textbooks" as such in the first through fifth grades. All children have "main lesson books", which are their own workbooks which they fill in during the course of the year. They essentially produce their own "textbooks" which record their experiences and what they've learned.In some schools upper grades may use textbooks to supplement skills development, especially in math and grammar.8Furthermore, learning in a Waldorf school is a noncompetitive activity. There are no grades given at the elementary level; the teacher writes a detailed evaluation of the child at the end of each school year.The use of electronic media, particularly television, by young children is strongly discouraged in Waldorf schools. The reasons for this have as much to do with the physical effects of the medium on the developing child as with the (to say the least) questionable content of much of the programming. Electronic media are believed by Waldorf teachers to seriously hamper the development of the child's imagination - a faculty which is believed to be central to the healthy development of the individual. Computer use by young children is also discouraged.Curriculum at a Waldorf schoolWaldorf Education approaches all aspects of schooling in a unique and comprehensive way. The curriculum is designed to meet the various stages of child development. Waldorf teachers are dedicated to creating a genuine inner enthusiasm for learning that is essential for educational success.9Pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children learn primarily through imitation and imagination. The goal of the kindergarten is to develop a sense of wonder in the young child and reverence for all living things. This creates an eagerness for the academics that follow in the grades. Kindergarten activities include: storytelling, puppetry, creative play, singing, eurhythmy (movement), games and finger plays, painting, drawing and beeswax modeling, baking and cooking, nature walks, circle time for festival and seasonal celebrationsElementary and middle-school children learn through the guidance of a class teacher who stays with the class ideally for eight years. The curriculum includes: English that is based on world literature, myths, and legends; history that is chronological and inclusive of the world's great civilizations; science that surveys geography, astronomy, meteorology, physical, and life sciences; mathematics that develops competence in arithmetic, algebra, and geometry; foreign languages; physical education; gardening; arts including music, painting, sculpture, drama, eurythmy, sketching; and handwork such as knitting, weaving, and woodworking10The Waldorf high school is dedicated to helping students develop their full potential as scholars, artists, athletes, and community members. The course of study includes: a humanities curriculum that integrates history, literature, and knowledge of world cultures; a science curriculum that includes physics, biology, chemistry, geology, and a mathematics program; an arts and crafts program including calligraphy, drawing, painting, sculpture, pottery, weaving, block printing and bookbinding; a performing arts program offering orchestra, choir, eurhythmy and drama; a foreign language program; a physical education program Preparation of children in real world in Waldorf educationIt is easy to fall into the error of believing that education must make our children fit into society. Although we are certainly influenced by what the world brings us, the fact is that the world is shaped by people, not people by the world. However, that shaping of the world is possible in a healthy way only if the shapers are themselves in possession of their full nature as human beings.11Education in materialistic, Western society focuses on the intellectual aspect of the human being and has chosen largely to ignore the several other parts that are essential to our well-being. These include our life of feeling (emotions, aesthetics, and social sensitivity), our willpower (the ability to get things done), and our moral nature (being clear about right and wrong). Without having these developed, we are incompletea fact that may become obvious in our later years, when a feeling of emptiness begins to set in. That is why in a Waldorf school, the practical and artistic subjects play as important a role as the full spectrum of traditional academic subjects that the school offers. The practical and artistic are essential in achieving a preparation for life in the "real" world.Petrash (2002) believes that Waldorf Education recognizes and honors the full range of human potentialities. It addresses the whole child by striving to awaken and ennoble all the latent capacities. The children learn to read, write, and do math; they study history, geography, and the sciences. In addition, all children learn to sing, play a musical instrument, draw, paint, model clay, carve and work with wood, speak clearly and act in a play, think independently, and work harmoniously and 12respectfully with others. The development of these various capacities is interrelated. For example, both boys and girls learn to knit in grade one. Acquiring this basic and enjoyable human skill helps them develop a manual dexterity, which after puberty will be transformed into an ability to think clearly and to "knit" their thoughts into a coherent whole.Preparation for life includes the development of the well-rounded person. Waldorf Education has as its ideal a person who is knowledgeable about the world and human history and culture, who has many varied practical and artistic abilities, who feels a deep reverence for and communion with the natural world, and who can act with initiative and in freedom in the face of economic and political pressures.There are many Waldorf graduates of all ages who embody this ideal and who are perhaps the best proof of the efficacy of the education.Future of Waldorf Education in the PhilippinesThere are numerous schools offering Waldorf education in the Philippines. These include Manila Waldorf School13(Pioneer school of Steiner education in the Philippines) in Timberland Heights Filinvest Land San Mateo, Rizal with a branch in Quezon City. Another school offering Waldorf education is located in Hacienda Sta. Elena Sta. Rosa, Laguna that is known as Acacia Waldorf School. Furthermore, Kolisko Waldorf School in De Jesus St. Heroes Hill, Quezon City offers this kind of Education.In dealing with the tuition fee of these schools, Manila Waldorf School on its website posted the list of their fees annually. For Paslitan it cost P22,500.00. While for Palaruan (3 days) and Palaruan (5 days) the tuition fee are P63,800.00 and P74,800.00 respectively. On the other hand, Grades 1-3 has a fee of P89,100.00. Furthermore, an amount of P96,800.00 is applied in grades 4-7. Moreover, for grades 8-12 the fee will cost P103,400.00. Upon looking with the tuition fee, we may assume that only students who are rich can be enrolled in this type of education due to its relatively high tuition fees. This might be confusing and it may sadden us because Waldorf education should be open to all learners regardless of its economic and social status. Yet, in reality in our country,

14only students who are capable to pay that tuition fees will experience Waldorf Education.

15References

Manila Waldorf School. Http://www.manilawaldorfschool. edu.ph.

Mays, R. and Nordwall, S. 2004. Waldorf Answers on the Philosophy and Practice of Waldorf Education. http://www.waldorfanswers.org/index.htm.

Mitchell, D. and Gerwin, D. 2007. Survey of Waldorf Graduates Phase II. Research Institute for Waldorf Education. Retrieved on February 10, 2015.

Petrash, J. 2002. Understanding Waldorf Education Teaching From the Inside Out. Gryphon House, Inc. Retrieved on February 16, 2015.