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May 29, 2004: Waldorf Olympics

For fans who wish for a simpler Olympics... one free from lawsuits, controversy, and unpronounceable chemical compounds...we present the 17th annual Waldorf School Olympics. Waldorf Schools are private institutions based on philosopher Rudolf Steiner's educational theories, and every spring fifth graders from 500 such schools from around the world celebrate their own version of the ancient Olympic Games with running, jumping, and the throwing of dangerous objects. Last week, "Only A Game"'s Karen Given met up with fifth graders from six New England Waldorf schools in Lexington, Massachusetts.
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Cape Cod Times: Notable Articles

February 8, 2004: Learning through craft

Knitting catches on at some Cape Cod elementary schools

EXCERPT: "At the Waldorf School of Cape Cod in Bourne, where knitting has been a part of the curriculum since the school started, students learn knitting in first grade...The physical task helps students take a break from intellectual pursuits, which allows them to be more focused when they return to their academic work...Knitting also jibes with the Waldorf philosophy to educate the"head, hands and heart." That's why Waldorf students in kindergarten to eighth grade participate in a movement class, a handwork class (during which they learn knitting), and two recess periods daily..."
By K.C. MYERS STAFF WRITER
Available in PDF

February 17, 2002: In the loop

Some schools implementing a practice that keeps students and teachers together more than one year.
EXCERPT: "James Herron will never forget Christopher O'Gara. At the Waldorf School of Cape Cod, "Mr. O'Gara" has taught him English, math, history and science. He has been his only core academic teacher for eight years. And that, says the cheerful eighth grader, has been a good thing. "He's a really good teacher," said Herron. "If he was a bad teacher, it would be different." O'Gara and Herron have been united for eight years by the practice known in education jargon as "looping" or "continuity." It's when a teacher stays with a particular class for more than one year..."
By K.C. MYERS STAFF WRITER
Available in PDF

The Boston Globe

The Waldorf way

In a nation obsessed with measurement, an educational approach known for large classes, old-fashioned values, and minimal testing is holding its own.
EXCERPT: " The 26 pupils in Sarah Van Fleet's fourth-grade class are standing in a circle reciting their multiplication tables, a timeless exercise in mathematical memorization, but one with a difference. While reciting, they clap out a rhythm and pass around orange beanbags. Van Fleet hands out the bags one at a time to the child closest to her, the child then passes it from one hand to the other behind his back, and then on to the next child. Eventually, each has a beanbag. At the end, Van Fleet places a wooden basket in the center of the circle, and, upon correctly answering a math question, each child tosses in the beanbag.

According to Waldorf theory, not only does learning multiplication in this unusual manner give students practice in memorization, it also requires unison speaking, rhythm, hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, and cooperation. This pedagogical multi-tasking is typical of Waldorf education, an approach to learning that seeks to address the whole child through the integration of physical, social, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual growth.

When all her students have tossed their beanbags at the basket, Van Fleet suddenly starts counting aloud. This signals a wild scramble to replace all the desks and chairs. By the time she has counted to 40, Sarah Van Fleet is standing before 26 pupils seated in four neat rows.

"The idea is to work them up into a froth," she says. "Then they're ready to settle down and learn."...

By Edgar Allen Beem
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AWSNA

The Association of Waldorf Schools of America (AWSNA). Our school is an AWSNA "Sponsored" school: http://www.awsna.org/

AWSNA Frequently Asked Questions: http://www.awsna.org/awsna-faq.html

Other Articles on the Web

Results of a Waldorf Education

A well-rounded education provides a strong foundation for a student’s future endeavors. Waldorf students are educated so they may go out into the world ready to meet life’s challenges with knowledge, courage, enthusiasm, creativity and a solid sense of how to think and reason. While some effects of good education are measurable at the time, many of the most important facets are planted as seeds that will continue to grow and bear fruit in later years. What happens to students who receive the seeds of Waldorf Education?
http://www.waldorfschool.com/results_of_a_waldorf_education.htm

THE RESULTS OF WALDORF EDUCATION

What, really, are the results of a Waldorf (Rudolf Steiner) education? One may feel that the brochures make Waldorf look excellent, and that the goal of "Education Towards Freedom" is very sound. One may be impressed by the enthusiasm and comm itment of teachers in a Steiner school, and admire both the academic and artistic work of the students. But it is good to hear from people outside the Waldorf movement, who have worked together with---or in some other way have had experience of---Waldorf graduates and who have an objective professional basis for judging whether this form of education really accomplishes its goals. The following three short articles, coming from California, New York, and Europe, respectively, offer just this kind of professional and objective evaluation.
http://www.aurorawaldorf.org/aw-res.htm