Are Waldorf Schools the Antidote For Tech-Saturated Families?
Knitting is only one of the creative methods used to teach children at a Waldorf school.
Waldorf schools have been in the U.S. since 1928 and are currently the fastest growing independent educational movement in the world. The Waldorf school philosophy believes in teaching children through experiences and creative teaching techniques, eschewing testing and more traditional grading systems because they don’t view testing as a productive teaching method. A typical Waldorf School’s mission is to teach children in a way that “honors every child’s enthusiasm for initiative, creativity and social responsibility.”
And then there is the knitting. Invariably when a Waldorf school is mentioned, you hear that all students have to learn to knit as part of the curriculum. Which allows many to write it off as some hippy-dippy schooling alternative for ultra-liberals who have neither the time nor the inclination to home-school their children.
An article in this weekend’s NY Times has convinced many to give the school another look, however. The piece, titled “A Silicon Valley School That Does Not Compute,” highlights a Waldorf school in California whose roster is primarily filled with the children of high-tech industry executives. Which is astonishing for the crucial fact that computers are not allowed in the school and parents are encouraged to limit screen time at home, as well.
Waldorf method proponents believe that computers “inhibit creative thinking, movement, human interaction and attention spans.” And while some believe that not teaching computer literacy skills will put those children at a disadvantage, the parents at this particular school who are steeped in technology don’t seem too concerned that their children won’t pick it up quickly later, making it a non-factor.
Being one of those parents who is constantly on a computer or checking in on my smart phone, I look back on my less computer-dependent childhood through some pretty rosy lenses. I was allowed on our computer as a child just enough to love it for all the amazing things it could do, but not so much that it ever could be taken for granted. I wonder if a school like that brings back paper dictionaries and encyclopedias combined with a curriculum that is designed to ignite the creative soul in its students is actually doing a huge favor to these kids and allowing them to view technology when it is introduced at a later age with a fresh view untainted by the blasé, entitled attitudes that so many teens seem to hold about their phones and laptops.
One of my favorite quotes in the article comes from a father named Alan Eagle, whose daughter attends a Waldorf elementary school, “I fundamentally reject the notion you need technology aids in grammar school. The idea that an app on an iPad can better teach my kids to read or do arithmetic, that’s ridiculous.”
I wonder, in particular, if backing off of technology, especially for tech-oriented parents, would be a boon to the whole family. We are more likely to sacrifice times spent with our beloved gadgets for our kids than anything else, and there really isn’t anything more important to put our time into than our children, is there?
I’m not sure that Waldorf schools have all the answers, but in a world where it is increasingly common for children under two to have televisions in their bedrooms and an ease with iPads and smart phones that used to be reserved for teens, I can’t help but feel like they are on to something.
Photo Credit: Springwools via flickr.
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You forgot to mention one of the key points of the article: there is no evidence that computers in the classroom lead to better educational outcomes. So why not ban technology? It’s not going to hurt and may help, especially if the school is good, which this school apparently is.
@michelle So I did! Shame on me… That is key to argument and should be highlighted. This article was one of those that started one place and ended somewhere else entirely in my first draft and then I somehow cut that fact in my editing.
Oh, and my kids’ private school also doesn’t have technology available to the primary school kids, in the classroom or the library. I love this. The high schoolers, yes, but by then the damage is done.
I’m down with limiting computers but, especially in lower-income and/or less tech saturated areas, giving kids familiarity with high tech they might not get at home and that they *will* encounter in the workplace and other venues makes sense.
My unscientific opinion on Waldorf? There’s a deep vein of crazy there, but of the mostly benign variety (though their founder, Rudolf Steiner was a whack job who thought all children can be pegged as one of 4 personality types according to their bodily humors) and they seem to do a nice job of educating whole children. Despite the fact that their parents tend to be the most judgmental, holier than though, scolds I have ever encountered.
I love technology. Our 10 yr old is inquisitive and natural at it- fixed his DVD burner himself the other day. Google is like a member of the family for those things we don’t know- and even though I have a library of history books, cant answer without outside resources.
To each their own- and I’d not tell a person to send their kids to Waldorf, I won’t buy that I’m not doing exactly what our family needs either
@goddess Absolutely! I am usually full of praise for the advances that make our lives so much easier, but as my boys are getting older and the draw to various screens seems to get more magnetic, I am filled with dread. Hopefully, I am just being an awful-izer and will find *and be able to maintain* a happy medium in our lives.
Just FYI – “The goals of Waldorf schooling are inseparable from the goals of Anthroposophy, although Waldorf teachers generally deny this, for fear of a public backlash”
http://waldorfcritics.org/active/concerns.html
Waldorf is weird if you look into it. The kids mostly do fine because they all come from well educated families (and kids from well educated families are likely to do fine in any sort of environment) however the lack of reading instruction in the early years is a problem. As for taking away technology, that’s all nice and fine unless you want your kids to be successful in a world that demands that one be proficient in technology. Not learning to type or research on a computer for example can put a child far behind.
Thanks for sharing this blog post. I am a Waldorf parent and would like to offer some responses to a few of the comments on this post, as well as mention something that never seems to come out in regard to the knitting. While I have met some holier than thou Waldorf folks, in my experience that has not been a fair characterization of all Waldorf schools and families. Our school and its community are very open and non-judgmental, which I am grateful for. The four humors concept is not one that originated with Steiner, but has been discussed and developed by a number of well-known and well-regarded philosophers (see wikipedia). Anthroposophy is not taught in the school but the trained Waldorf teachers do study it in their training. I think this is something one can get hung up on, or freaked out by, but personally it doesn’t bother me as it’s not being taught to my children. I am an atheist, and while I see soulful components and reverence in our school, I don’t feel in any way that our family’s values or perspectives are infringed upon by what is happening at the school.
One of the reasons that Waldorf education is so big on knitting is the development of motor skills. Studies have shown that activities such as knitting are near the language center of the brain so while our kindergarteners and first graders are not in hard core reading yet, they are still developing their hand muscles and brains for linguistic skills. This is important when you consider findings like in The Nun Study, which found that knitting staves off Alzheimer’s and memory loss. The Waldorf curriculum does teach more advanced math in 1st grade, however, and Waldorf students are considered to be “caught up” with public school in reading by third grade.
I am not trying to convince anyone to go to a Waldorf school, although I am a fan, I just want to add some clarifications to a few misunderstandings that are prevalent out there.
We are seriously considering sending our child to a Waldorf school next year. I am always surprised at how many people get upset about the technology thing. Waldorf kids do use computers from 8th grade on, just not in elementary school. What “computer skills” are first graders learning in traditional schools? How to use a mouse and a keyboard? These will be quickly picked up when kids are older. (In fact my 4 year old has already mastered them). In the lower grades I want him to be interacting with his peers and teachers, not sitting in front of a screen. The one concern I do have with regard to technology, is making sure that kids learn how to distinguish credible sources from BS when researching online. But again, I think that is a skill to develop in older grades anyway.
What about the clairvoyance? What about the segregation by personality type? What about the racism and treatment of children with special needs. Anthroposophy is a religion and a cult. Ask a Waldorf Science teacher about what the heart does. And Atlantis. Go ahead.
I’m not a big fan of the Waldorf philosophy in general (especially the part that actively discourages children from reading until they start losing their baby teeth), but I absolutely agree with the discouragement of “screen time”. As the parent of a 9 y.o., I am absolutely appalled at the media that many parents allow their ‘tweens to watch. Since so many families are obviously unable to demonstrate an understanding of what is age-appropriate and what is not, maybe a blanket ban is the way to go.
@Ella I do not have anwers to your questions unfortunately, as in my 6 years of exposure to and involvement with Waldorf education, I have not encountered those issues, instances or anyone claiming to be clairvoyant. I will keep an eye out though, thanks for the tip!
I am what you could call a Waldorf parent alumni, having put both my children through Waldorf education from pre-school through High school. My youngest is now at a very prestigious university and thriving, and my oldest is applying to grad schools after finishing up a BFA. What misses the mark in all of the discussions is the real beauty of Waldorf. Waldorf schools are usually started through a grass roots movement, that is initiated by a small group of parents and teachers. Waldorf schools are only successful through the combined efforts of parent volunteers and dedicated teachers. This combination creates a wonderful community where families share in the responsibility of educating the children. I have sanded desks, taught astronomy, built stage sets, painted buildings, etc. My involvement in my childrens’ education has taught them by example. Public schools could do the same, and the arguments about what works or doesn’t work in the classroom would slowly dissolve.
Rudolf Steiner’s philosophy does have elements that strike us as odd today. However, in the 15 years that our family has been involved in Waldorf education, I’ve never seen anything of the type described by @ella and @jen. Anthroposophy is not taught in Waldorf schools. Children are not segregated by temperament. The science content is the same as at any other school (but presented in a holistic Waldorf manner). And if there were even a hint of racism, my bi-racial children would have been out of there in a microsecond.
I’ve always been big on Montessori vs Waldorf, as they encourage the independent learning. That said, Ipads will never be apart of the Montessori classroom. What happened to the old age of being book smart? Do we still consider this, yet only call it…..WEB SMART? I’M NOT SO SURE ABOUT THAT?
When one considers that these children are likely to have computers at home already, what is the problem? I can look up someone’s name in an old-fashioned telephone book, while today’s children are dependent upon computers to do this. I am much more independent, because I, too, can look up information on the computer.
Computers have their place; they are not a panacea. Somehow, people perceive children, who use computers, to be so sophisticated, because they know how to operate these idiot boxes. Unfortunately, they cannot write properly. Spell-check is merely a screening tool, and even older people forget this.
I wholly support a classroom, which lacks computers. They are just a tool. They are not the tools inside our skulls. We need to get back to the basics.
I consider myself a very careful and critical thinker, blessed with good quality (not perfect!) public education in the Northern Europe, which in many ways resemble the education offered through a Waldorf style of learning, solid principles for acquisition of basic skills (without any ‘aid’ of computers), plenty of healthy outdoor/sense based experience that all begins with the natural impulse and joy of play and exploration. This is turn, all in good time (which comes relatively early to the young of today, whether you shelter them or not, it is all around and they become aware of it anyway) can turn into cabable manipulation and usage of these media, with proper ability to think clearly yourself, and remain in charge as a creative and conscientious user of technology. When you see the children, never mind us parents, you see what the education teaches them. They’re free thinkers, empowered and fuelled by a healthy sense of self, social sensibilities and responsible attitude. Waldorf rocks!
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