Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Education

Join the discussion on our Education forum.

Original poster

Steiner schools, loony, bonkers, the parents I mean. My sister is turning I fear.

66 replies

Quincywincy · 20/08/2007 22:27

Ok I'll preface by saying we could afford private education for our dc if we felt so inclined (we don't)So this is not a simple case of sour grapes. My sister and her dh moved away from London so (according to them) they could get their son into a good school, they even chose their house on this basis.

They put his name down good and early then just two weeks ago (he was due to start this september)they go to the school and both were freaked out about the fact that their dc would get some kind of homework.They suspect he will not be academic (their words not mine)

They decided this was not the school for them and they opted for the local Steiner school instead.

All well and good but I'm a little bit peeved that they are both refusing to come and see us at our house as we have a TV (strictly against Steiner rules?) DC has placcy sparkly toys and get up to all sorts including eating sweets and being loony every so often.

Erm, we not good enough for them now? Do you know any Steiner parents, is this the norm?

OP posts:
aloha · 21/08/2007 18:58

dd (2) did a lovely all black colouring in picture last week. 'Is night time' she proudly announced.

indiasmum · 21/08/2007 18:59

aloha, as mentioned my two dss both have HFA?aspergers. it would be so so wrong for them. not enough structure and routine. ds1 in quite a strict private school now and he is thriving and comes back happy. every day. ime steiner wouldnt be the way to go for a kid with AS

Wisteria · 21/08/2007 19:00

I think that's how the bullying thing started, the offenders don't get punished so have no reason not to reoffend -

aloha · 21/08/2007 19:01

I think a good, academic school would be good for ds. He only ever blooming kicks off when making models or being expected to wander round the room or is bored witless by 'class reps' (all about 10) talking tediously about their 'work' and asking for 'feedback'. He kept heckling, apparently.
Sometimes I just want to say, 'god, that DOES sound dull'.

indiasmum · 21/08/2007 19:02

how old is he?

aloha · 21/08/2007 19:06

He's five. Going into yr1 on Sept. We are NOT looking forward to it, frankly.

gess · 21/08/2007 19:14

depends on the steinder school though, the seiner P&T group was the only one who didn't treat severely autistic ds1 as a loon aged 2 going through his regression. Without their acceptance I would have jumped off the nearest bridge. Also good reports of one steiner school in "home educating our autistic spectrum children, paths are made for walking'- remember steiner did lots of work with SN, and they are the same group who run camphill communities, wonderful places for those with learning difficulties, including some with autism.

aloha · 21/08/2007 19:41

I think there are really good and bad aspects. There is something comforting about a school were biting is shrugged off to those of us with weird kids!

aloha · 21/08/2007 19:42

aaargh - 'where'!!

Seriously, I am so tired, bored and depressed by teachers who should know better implying a lack of morals and even a lack of proper guidance being the cause of ds's behaviour. He has Aspergers ffs!

aloha · 21/08/2007 19:43

oo-er, just realise have posted this outside of special needs.

mimsum · 21/08/2007 22:57

ha!! our experience of the way Steiner dealt with our SN child was far from comforting ... ds1 was at a Steiner kindy for 6 months - he has Tourette's, but they wouldn't accept that diagnosis, preferring to believe that he had 'reincarnation problems' i.e. his soul wasn't ready to go back into a body - as dh said, they're mostly crazy as loons ...

TheodoresMummy · 22/08/2007 08:14

Mimsum said - 'they're mostly crazy as loons ...'

Surely you mean the few people you encountered at one Steiner school ?

We have talked before about Steiner schools and I am in no way defending the school in question, mimsum.

Personally I think that state schools leave a lot to be desired, but if I started a thread calling the teachers and parents loons, fruitcakes, etc, I don't think it would be appreciated, would it ?

I too can't get my head around some of the things that Steiner schools encourage/insist on. The school I looked around for DS def had black crayons, however.

Steiner schools are no more weird in their beliefs that catholic or C of E. Prove to me that Mary had an immaculate conception or that Jesus rose from his grave 3 days after his death before you laugh at people who believe that TV shouldn't be allowed and organise their 'praise' around nature and the changing seasons.

We also looked around a Steiner Kindy which was only set up a few years ago. I was told that the teachers do not interfere with the direction of the play, but the teacher does step in with 'kind words' when there is a need (i.e. they are not allowed to batter eachother).

gess · 22/08/2007 09:07

I agree that they're not allowed to batter each other. DS1 was being battered at one session (normal 2 year old stuff) and 2 people jumped in to stop it before I even got to him.

I wonder if we saw the same place theodoresmummy, as the place I went to was new and also had black crayons.

Routine & strcuture is quite important to the Steiner day, which is why the schools can sometimes suit sepctrummy children. Like anything it will depend on the actual school. Lack of headteacher could potentially be a problem in trying to sort out issues as well.

nailpolish · 22/08/2007 09:21

i rather like steiner
particularly learning to make soup, having their own allotment in the school grounds (oh joy!) and doing wood
dh doesnt though, and i decided it wasnt worth the arguments
his entire family would laugh their arses off at me tbh
and also someone told me i wouldnt get my children into steiner because i wear make-up

KTeePee · 22/08/2007 09:44

Re the OP, I think your nephew will find it harder to "go along" with the Steiner ethos if he is still "exposed" to the things they frown on outside achool - he will want to know why he can't have the plastic toys too, for example, so I sort of see your sisters pov (have they just got rid of their tv btw or have they never had one?)

I do like a lot of the stuff at Steiner schools but personally could never be doing with a system that was too rigid to allow for an individual's interests or abilities (and the founder sounds like a loon tbh)

fedupwasherwoman · 22/08/2007 09:53

nailpolish

an acquaintance has just got her child into a nearby steiner school and she wears the most amount of make-up I've ever seen anyone wear unless involved in a theatrical production.

nailpolish · 22/08/2007 09:54

really ?

TheodoresMummy · 22/08/2007 09:54

Gess - Kindy was just outside Leamington Spa and school was Elmfield in Stourbridge.

Where did you look ?

Nailpolish - Lady who showed me around the Kindy was def wearing make-up !! She was not 'hippy like' at all.

nailpolish · 22/08/2007 09:58

dh just cant see it
the one beside us is lovely too

nailpolish · 22/08/2007 10:00

i think we all do the best we can fpr our chhildren
outside influences do take a part, unless child is in isolated boarding from as early as can be done, even then...
you have to be realistic

just wafflling here...

TheodoresMummy · 22/08/2007 10:21

Waffle away.

To the OP, I doubt that your sister feels you are not good enough for her.

DS will be 'school age' next Sept and people ar constantly asking which school he's going to. I am just fobbing them off for the moment with "we've not decided yet", because I feel that I can't be honest and say that we may send him to a Steiner or Home Ed. I told a couple of friends and got surprising responses (although not unsupportive).

People tend to get very defensive, as if you are directly criticising their choice.

alycat · 22/08/2007 10:22

SIL runs a Stiener nursery and BIL is a p/t Steiner teacher.

Yes they are a touch lentilly, regular church goers etc but deffo have plastic toys for their DCs (plymobile etc) although they do prefer wooden/knitted/felt ones. They also have a TV, visit us and we have a VAAAST LCD on our wall. Really lovely family and children, kind, helpful, involved in community etc Although the serious sweet rules (only 1 thing, x day per week) would finish my dd off!

Their son has some SN too, but this was not picked up until he left Steiner school to go to state primary in yr 2 or 3 as they do not push/compare children from what I can gather.

KTeePee · 22/08/2007 10:33

alycat, how did your nephew fare with the transition fron Steiner to state? I know a child who also moved in yr 3 and he struggled because in the Steiner system he was just learning to read whereas his peers in the state system had been learning since reception - thought it might have been better for him if he'd waited for another year or so before moving...

alycat · 22/08/2007 10:41

Worried about being too specific, although SIL prob too busy baking and doing 'good works' to come on here!

It was dicovered when he moved, by the state school SENCO, that he had dyspraxia (I could have told them that!) - or Development Co-ordination diorder as the posh folks call it I don't think he could hold a pen/write but don't know how much of this is to do with being (not) taught at Steiner or the dyspraxia.

He is a very bright boy, but has some behaviour traits that I (imho)think are a little unusual - but again how much down to very protected environment vs SN.

I know that after several years in State he is not very happy, one reason is he finds the way of teaching slow and uninspiring. They would like to move him but cannot afford to at the moment.

KTeePee · 22/08/2007 13:28

That's interesting - the child I know has also been diagnosed with mild dyslexia

Swipe left for the next trending thread