Steiner Schools

[Heathcliffscathy]

following on from the are we putting too much pressure on our primary school aged children, I wondered if anyone has experience of Steiner schools (either becuase ds/dd is at one or even better because they went to one)...we're really interested in these schools but i'd love to hear more info from people who have direct experience: anyone?

I haven't any experience of them but do know about the schools. I just wish there was more of them and wish they were an option for all parents. Please share your experiences I would love to hear about them. larsxx

we have had at least one thread on this before - I am hopeless on the new mumsnet search facility though!!!

try looking at the Steiner Waldorf website

sm, i've looked at that (coz i is sometimes clever that way ), just wanted to hear some direct experience from people...does anyone know what the thread was called?

Havn't had personal experience but did read up all about them - think they sound great only problem is there were not any near me at all
I too would love to hear peoples experiences of them..

I was reading an American website where a very unhappy parent had pulled her children out of a Steiner school after reading about their leaders beliefs.

She didn't realise that the children were encouraged to be in touch with themselves and nature to such an extent that they 'should' be able to see fairies, wood nymphs and the like. If during their eurythmics, they didn't see little elves or swirly colours then they weren't right for the school.

The mum was very disappointed as she had loved all the wooden toys and raggy dolls - she has no idea about anthropopsy (Horrendous spelling - probably the wrong word entirely but the women put it in her post about a million times!) behind the system.

Anybody have a clue whether this is true of all Steiner schools? Sounds very odd and pressurising on the children in a very different way than Ofsted!

Sophable a neighbour of mine in Putney was moving to Surrey to send her ds to one - she seemed to think they were marvellous. I have no personal experience though.

The area I spent my teens in has a thriving steiner school and i have many friends from this system, some are 3rd generation steinerites. One friend now teaches at her old school.

As Koo has posted there is a whole life philosophy involved extending to medicine, spirituality and so on, it's not just a more relaxed teaching scheme. In many ways Steiner schools can take the playground clique to new highs as there is undeniably pressure to conform to these beliefs. Teachers are rated by each other, parents and kids which can lead to huge problems and internal clashes. TBH every steiner school varies as to how rigidly they follow the steiner principles. For example at the local school students are prepared for and sit 4 GCSEs, making it easy for them to transfer to local sixth forms (they are usually well up to standard in the necessary fifth subject and take it in the september of Y12). But others (e.g. I think the one in brighton) don't help kids to take any formal exams.

personally I would have hated a Steiner school as creative stuff makes me miserable. That said the schools are actually quite strict and have topics that kids are expected to cover and so on, it's just that they bear no resemblance to the national curriculum.

My BF's grandad was involved with importing the Steiner philosophy to the UK and her parents helped set up the local school. interestingly they are all high-fliers career wise and her dad is a renowned academic (working in a business school) who does consultancy for BMW, Toyota etc. so it's not impossible to enjoy "conventional success" when you come from this background.

My SIL has put her 4 kids through Steiner. She got a lot of jip form her parents when she embarked on this course. I dont know too much about it apart from there's no formal discipline and they dont even teach them to read until about 8 years old(i think). Theres a lot of muscic, art and learning through play. All the kids went through what I would describe as a difficult stage, argumentive, answering back etc, some would say throrougly rude. SIL was always fiercely defensive and maintained that they would end up very well rounded. Well guess what? It seems to be happening. Her eldest is now 19 and is one the most well rounded people I know, intelligent, practical, full of confidence, self esteem and talent without any hint of arrogance. SIL's second looks to heading in a similar direction. Youngest 2? Too early to say. The problem is though there are many primary schools dotted all over the country but only 1 secondary (Gloucester)so you might be faced with reintegrating them into mainstream education at a difficult age. In summary, with the right kids, it could work really well, but it's a mighty gamble IMO and it could be a very rocky road.

I used to feel Steiner was quite a benign system, but having had close contact with my cousins children who go to Steiner schools (albeit in Germany, where it's more of a mainstream choice) I've changed my mind.

I think there is quite a culty philosophy around it, which they're not very upfront about, and which very strongly informs the teaching. I also think that for a bright child (which my cousin's children are) the late introduction of reading and writing can be damaging.

Her oldest is now 8, can't read, write or add up, and since they're not allowed videos, TV or story tapes, has no input in terms of ideas or thoughts other than a diet of fairy stories and myths which manage to be simultaneously violent and quite twee. The artwork they produce didn't strike me as particularly creative, rather as quite stylised and instantly recognisable as Steiner.

In comparison with my dd1's classmates here, the Steiner children come across as very self-centred and immature and not very well socialised, either with other children or with adults.

Personally I now feel I would not consider Steiner unless I had a child with very particular needs for whom the State sector was demonstrably not suitable.

No, there are loads of Steiner secondaries and a boarding school too.

They start teaching them to read when they lose their milk teeth, it's tied up with the philosophy thing and the idea that kids have different strengths at different ages.

Weirdly all the Steinerites I know are lovely people, but as a parent you'd have to be pretty open-minded about what you allow your teenager to get up to.

Our local school also encouraged exchanges with a Steiner school in heidelberg and some very good relationships were built up and most pupils are near bilingual by 16.

When they lose their milk teeth!?!?!

I'm sorry but things like that would put me off immediately, how silly and faddy is that?

(sorry don't mean to offend anyone with that comment, it was just my first (and continuing) reaction!)

Don't like the sound of "culty philiosophy" bit Frogs - think you may have put me off a bit..

I think what attracted me it is based on 'learning through play'. After reading an article on steiner school I understood the milk teeth theory is that the child has reached a certain stage of development and ready for another stage like reading- moving on from pre-school. After reading the article it did make kind of sense. I supposed it all ok as long as it not 'cult' like. Theories are fine as long as they stay that way and children can develop with out the pressure of this. larsxx

S'All right CD, not offended at all. I find the whole thing fascinating, but in a very detached way. I know I would have been miserable in such a setting and suspect DD would be too.

One friend has a massive, deep scar covering his elbow. he fell over in a playground at his steiner school and rather than taking him to A&E they traeted in line with their philosophy (no phone call to mum). The scar is dreadful and he's very self-conscious about it, although not preventable the damage would have been minimized by conventional treatment. Steiner medical philosophy doesn't allow vaccinations either which causes a lot of tension at the village GP's office.

did not know that bit about vaccination- surely a parent's choice. What is the philosophy behind this? larsxx

Can't remember exactly although have had it explained. In Austria and Germany Steiner hospitals are nothing out of the ordinary. Treatment seems to be based more on homeopathy IIRC.

after reading about the learning through play and the outside natural environment, organic food, teaching children to grow their own veg etc. we took our ds1 to the parent and toddler group. in my experience there was definately a feeling of it being a cult. there was no laughter, everthing was taken very seriously including making pixies and gnomes every week,no television-even radio is frowned upon as the sound isn't authentic for the child, there was lots of talk about anthroposophy - which i still don't understand - i always felt the outsider, they seemed to prefer quiet girls, there were no wheeled toys just lots of pink (spirit???) fabric, pebbles, and a mini kitchen to 'model mother'. the last straw was when one of the children pushed my ds1 backwards off a small climbing frame and all the mothers carried on sewing their bloody gnomes. to give the children this much freedom without boundaries made me feel uneasy for the long term. i still take some of the original philosophies on board especially about learning about the world through nature which gives real meaning rather than 'chalk and talk'. i still know people that have sent their children there and they talk about it being a very supportive community though they are encouraged to only mix with other steiner families which to me means cult! but i have been told all steiner schools are different.
what we have ended up doing is going to a small school which is based on 'human scale education'.it shadows the national curriculum but doesn't test the children, lots of parental input, outdoor activities - even the 5 year olds camp overnight!. there might be one based in your area - where are you sophable?

Shrub, it sounds great where abouts is the school and are there others around? larsxx

we'll either be based in sw london or hopefully dorset by the time ds is of the age where we have to start really looking at this...v helpful of people to post on this, please keep them coming...

I looove Steiner schools. We used to go to the greenwhich parent and baby group. I went there when we were having a really hard time, ds1 having been chucked out of things like sports club (for not following instructions- he was 2 for f sake- and as we now know autistic!) anyway they were lovely, incredibly welcoming and just wonderful. I will always be grateful.,

If we lived in Exeter I would send ds2 to the steiner school there- our closest is totnes but I think logistically it will be impossible.

anthroposophical doctors do allow vaccination- in fact they recommend some including tetanus, polio and MMR if your child hasn't caught measles (and rubells for a girl) by age 9.

A lot of parents who send their children to Steiner schools don't vaccinate their children- but probably because of their philosophy on everything. At the group I went to a GP's wife was there (and very into the whole steiner movement) and her 3 children were all vaccinated.

I think it is worth treating each school as a separate case though. I loved Greenwich- less keen on Totnes- but maybe just becuase it's bigger and I don't really know it.

oh park school! I'd like ds1 to go there. Was it the totnes shcool you had a bad experience of then? I found it less welcoming than greenwich- (and terribly unorganised).