has anyone had a Steiner education?

[forest]

I am very interested in the Steiner way of teaching and think it would be great for young children. However, I am not sure how good it is for older children as it doesn't focus on exams and I wonder if that would be a disadvantage. Has anyone been educated the Steiner way and could tell me more about it?

I studied Steiner education on my last childcare course. I think it is a lovely way of educating young children and the kindergarten the little girl I used to look after goes to in Switzerland is based on this.

There are no pencils, they do not learn to read and write, they are only read to and books have no words. It is very arty and colourful, a lovely community feeling about it. It is very caring and about the child.

A friend sent her son to one and moved him out at nine as he couldn't read and write. The state school he went to had it's work cut out! She will only send her second son until he is about 6. She loves it but feels unless you are prepared to send them all the way through until 16 it might not be the best thing if you are concerned about academic and exam results.

I am sure there will be people on here who have sent their childrena all the way through and have great sucess stories.

If I had my time again, I would send my son, I think it suits boys very well in particular, instead of the preprep he went to but would move him the term after he was 5, rather than school entry at 4.5 which I think is too young.

Don't know too much about it myself - I plan to home-ed my two, but if you haven't found it already, this might be useful: www.steinerwaldorf.org.uk

I worked with a girl (architect) who had had a steiner education and hated it. She was a relatively quiet unopinionated person, but when the subject of steiner schools came up she was very vocal and adamant about her criticisms. This was a few years ago, but I seem to remember that her main complaint was that there was too little structure.

Hello! It's nice to see that someone in interested in steiner school here. I have the impression that very few in the UK. Even know what it is.
I went myself to a Steiner school also known as waldorf school, between the ages of 9 and 13, and I must say I really loved it! My 10 year younger sister goes also to the Steiner school, she is now 17 and she is doing very well(she really loves it too).
However I went to Steiner in Finland and she is going in Norway. They do not have any exams and I don't know how you do it here in the UK. but in the nordic countries all students from steiner schools that want to go to higher education are individually looked into.
The good thing about Steiner school is that one really remembers what one is taught, and one develops a love for the subjects. The pupils really enjoy school.
But in the steier you have to be aware of the class teachers week points, because you normally have one teacher for each class, they can not be great teachers in every subject. My teacher was weak as a maths teacher, but as long as you can help your children out they will be fine.
I want to have all my childeren in a Steiner school, that's for shure. But then again, I'd rather my childeren grew up to be happy grownups then succesfull career people. But with this it is not said that they won't be successful if they go to a steiner school, they most certainly will remain creative and happy.
Well hope you find out what is best for your childeren. But I would find out about how steiner school pupils are evaluated in the apps for higher education in your country.

Kris

My brother had a Steiner education as he has learning diffuculties and it suited him SO much better than the mainstream school or their learning support department. But his school did no exams at all so I am not sure how well it would suit a mainstream child.
That said, I marked some exams from Steiner school children in the summer and they did very well (can't say which, its in my contract, sorry!!). I don't know though how typical this school is as all the Steiner schools vary in their approach.

Susanmt. How would you charecterise a mainstream child?
I for example did not have any learning difficulties, nor did my sister and we both did well in the Steiner school as well, we just enjoyed it more.
Just wondering?
Steiner schools are not just for hyperactive kids and kids with learning difficulties, I belive they are what every school should be.

Krus, I suppose I mean a child with no learning difficulties. I know that I wouldn't have gon on to do the things I did if I had a Steiner education (university, teaching) as in the UK you don't get the same flexible approach you described for Scandinavia. Anyone wanting to do exams would have got nowhere in my brother's school. However, he has Aspergers syndrome, learning difficulties and emotional problems and so the Steiner approach suited him very well. Our way of doing things could learn a lot from yours!

Oops, Kris, sorry. Small child crawling up on my knee!

Steiner's great so long as you're prepared to dismiss exams or put your kids through them yourself. At my school we did 4 GCSEs (avoiding league tables) and everyone either went to the local 6th form or tech college. Most of my peers are pretty successful although there are a few on extended gap years. Because of close links with Steiner schools in Europe we had lots of trips esp to Germany! I think the schools can attract a certain type of parent (clapped out volvo, wellies with holes) but i think there are cliques in any playground of mums. If you want an example of a steiner educated mover and shaker, Prof Dan Jones, he's head of the Lean Research Unit at Cardiff and does high powered stuff to do with the motor industry.

Went to a Steiner School fete at the weekend. It was quite a jolly do and I like the idea of the school but the parents all looked like they'd knitted themselves out of leftovers. It did look pretty cliquey and 'more wholemeal than thou', which made me wonder what happened to people who didn't fit into that model. I'm not keen on my ds getting into a competitive school system too early but maybe this is too much the other way. Like Forest I feel it might be better for younger children. Also, of course, it's private and so will cost quite a bit of money.

Well that's true, but it is a great shame that you don't get the same chances in this country!! I think if the situation is so rotten, steiner should still have the exams, just everything else should be as it is. Or they won't attract parents.
I have to say I think the way kids are pushed today in this country is dreadful, I think there are so many more important lessons to learn for kids then their abc's...
Even now whenever I walk into a steiner shool I feel so at home. The smell of biwax and natural watercolores.

One of my colleagues went to a steiner school (here in the UK) and she loved it and defends it absolutely (in the face of much laughing at the thought of dancing to poetry). She went on to a good mainstream university and got a good degree and MA (I assume she got good Alevels although I haven't asked).

The bit that I can't understand is the way they have one teacher all the way through their schooling. Surely one teacher can't be skilled in all ages, all subjects?

Phillipat, tha tis what I don't understand. If they were my class their Geography would be excellent (my 1st Subject), their Modern Studies (think that is a Scottish thing, mainly politics and economics) would be great, I could probably manage their English and History and a good bit of Biology given my Highers and Uni courses, but I could't bet on them being able to count up to 10!! (maths is NOT my strong point!!!)

Of course, given my spelling on Mumsnet you would worry about their English too!!!

aloha, I think the fees at our local Steiner school are based on a contribution which is comfortable for the parents, rather than a set level. Which sounds appealing to me, given our last few years of feast and famine wrt to income.

Thanks for the feedback about Steiner education. I think ideally I would like a combination of Steiner (I love the atmosphere and the emphasis on the child rather than passing exams) and mainstream (I really love reading for example and want my dd to enjoy reading). There isn't a Steiner school near me so I don't actually have the choice to send dd to one - it is just because I have been doing some courses at a Steiner school that I was interested in hearing what people thought of it.
There is quite a bit of interest round here about home schooling - I would be interested to know what your plans are Anais for home-ed.
I find it a bit weird that I am becoming so interested in schooling as dd is only 8 months!!!

Forest, IMO it's never too early to start thinking about education. The eaelier you start thinking, the more time you have to plan and make choices.

I spent a long time looking at local schools, for ds, and thought I'd made a decision. Then by chance I picked up a book on home-ed in a charity shop. I bought it out of interest and just for the sake of looking at any option. By the end of the book I wanted to know more and after a few months I knew it was the right route for us. I am quite happy to discuss any aspect you like

Anais - I really don't know anything about home-ed as I haven't looked into it. How long would you plan to teach them? How would you get all your resources? Do you plan to do it alone or with some other families? What about the social side of school would they miss out on that at home? What sort of lessons would you plan? That is maybe enough questions for the time being!
I guess you are right that it is never to early to start thinking about the education.

There is a Steiner Homeschooling site:
www.steinerhomeschooling.timsellers.net/ We may end up home edding ds1 and sending ds2 to steiner........ don't really know about ds2 actually as he's only 11 months but there's no way ds1 will cope with mainstream yet. I used to take ds1 to a steiner mother and toddler group in Greenwich - it was lovely. Now we've moved to Devon I'm planning on taking ds2 to the local stener school's parenting group after xmas.

Thanks for the link Jimjams, I haven't come across that site before, so will be interested to have a look.

Forest, what a lot of questions!

Firstly, I plan to HE right through. Obviously at any stage we can see how it goes and reassess, but I am doing it with the intention of doing it for as long as necessary. At the same time we can utilize any other resources - after-school type clubs, correspondence courses, college etc. There are lots of home-ed groups around. Some of them are very informal get-togethers, others are more themed with activities and lessons. I have a friend with a little boy the same age as ds, and she has suggested that they could do work book type activities together. There are loads of free resourses on the internet, the library, of course, andyou can buy stuff from most of the school supplies companies (some even offer discounts for HE families!)

The other thing is that HE styles can vary very widely. They range from really formal 'school-at-home' types to completely autonomous styles where no formal lessons are planned, but the activities are dictated entirely by the child. I aspire more towards the latter, but I think for my own peace of mind I would want to have a certain amount of activities prepared that I could suggest at any time. To my mind, one of the nicest things about HE is that you can plan any learning to fit in with your child's specific interests. There's a huge amount of learning opportunities for any given subject. And with HE - without the need for more formal written work (which is basically required so that a teacher knows whether each child is understanding what is being taught) there is far more flexibility in the way that you learn. You also have the advantage that if the child likes the subject they can continue and explore in more depth, if not you can move on, rather that having an interest cut off, or a child bored by something whcih doesn't catch his imagination.

Right, the socialisation issue is the thing that everyone without fail questions when you mention HE. Since when has sitting in a classroom (often in silence) with 29 other kids aged within about 6months of your own age, been socialisation? Is that how you, as an adult, socialise? No, thought not. School is not a social expreince. The children probably vary widely in experience and ability, and may have little, other than age, in common. It's not really ideal is it?

With HE, if you choose to do more formal type learning, you can cover sufficient in an hour or two. Because it's more intense, one on one learning, you don't need more than that. That leaves a lot of hours free. Therefore HE kids usually have great social lives! They can do: sports clubs; brownies/guides/cubs/scouts; music groups; art clubs; computer clubs; church groups; volunteering; HE groups etc, as well as socialising with school friends outside school hours. So, you see, socialisation is not really an issue when it comes to HE.

Right, I'm off to check out that link. Any more questions???

Anais I've got q's,I'm intreagued(sp?).I'm sitting here thinking how I can put it across without it sounding a bit hostile.I think what I'm trying to say is I'm quite sceptical that HE is a good way for a child to learn.What arguments can you put forward that this is a positive thing?The majority of children get on ok at school,socially they learn how to cope with many different people.This is good.Academically it's good.I thought people only HE when their child is having problems at school.What convinced you this was the way?What is bad about the primary schools near you?How will you go out to work ,or will you share the teaching with others,how practical is it.And do I sound like your mother now?Ok ignore the last one-I'm just interested.

No Star, you don't sound like my mother - you are asking and making an effort to understand, but we won't go there....

You don't sound hostile, and I am only to happy to spread the HE gospel!

People HE for a huge variety of reasons, sometimes because of problems at school, but sometimes just because they feel, for whatevr reason, that school is not the right environment for their child.

I have a link somewhere where people list all the advantages of HE and I can't find it right now. I'll try and find that and post it later. In the meantime I will mention just a few as I see them.

• The child's interests can be catered to (as I mentioned before if a child is interested in a subject it can be explored in more depth, if he isn't you move on to something else)
• A child learns better if they are interested in a subject.
• In a school environment it is very difficult to cater to the different levels and abilities of all the children - some get left behind, others struggle to keep up (I have been in both situations with different subjects at school). No such problems with HE
• You know your child better than any teacher, which puts you in a very strong position with regard to educating him.
• You CARE about your child and don't have to balance his needs against maybe 30 others.
• You get to spend lots of time with your kids
• You get lots of time out - no rushing to get to school, pick up from school etc.
• You can take holidays outside of school holidays and therefore save money!
• No bullying
• You can mould the 'curriculum' to suit your beliefs (ie I am v into animal rights/environmental issues, an area which I believe is severely neglected in school
• No peer pressure
• No tests and exams - and therefore less pressure
• Much of a teacher's job is 'crowd control' - something which obviously doesn't apply
• Much of what is done in school is done so that the teacher can guage what level each child is at, and whether he has understood. You don't need to do this at home.
• HE children are often confident and independent. They learn to interact with adults and children alike on an equal basis, rather than a submissive teacher/pupil relationship.
• HE kids tend to get on well with siblings.

My god, there are loads of advantages. For my ds I think school would just kill his spirit. He is a lively, active little boy and doesn't sit still for very long (except when he chooses to look at books or draw or whatever). He hasn't wanted to do the joining in bits at playgroup - sitting down and singing or being read to when told. I know, it is important that he learns that there are some things he has to do, but he is only 4 years old. I want him to have a childhood first.

Kids learn to deal with many more different people ouside of school than in. Just think about the range of people you meet on a day to day basis - and they can interact with these people as equals.

The local primary schools aren't particularly good. They are town schools, underfunded and underachieving. The pupils leaving my son's designated scholl aged 11 are described as being "well below average." Well, sorry, but that's just not good enough for my son (or my daughter, for that matter). I want them to have the very best opportunities I can offer them. There are a couple of village schools nearby which are good, but then there is secondary education to consider, and again the quality is not good. There are some Montessori schools nearby which I might consider, but it's not an option anyway as I can't afford it.

The work issue is a difficult one. I'm ashamed to admit that I am currently on benefit (single mum). It's not a situation I am happy with, but one I am trying to rectify. I have heard that some people HE whilst working full-time, plenty do so whilst working p/t.

I hope that has answered some of your questions. If I've missed anything please let me know and I'll do my best! I'm going to try and find that list I said about. Oh and Jimjams, that site is great, just spent ages looking, and like it very much, thanks

I have found your comments very interesting, and some I agree with 100%. I am not trying to start an argument but am interested in the subject, so, how will HS work in the secondary phase? I can see it working very well up to 11 but what happens after that. Are you expected to follow the national curriculum? And how do you organise exams, marking coursework etc or will HE not have those? And how will you cover subjects you don't like?? That would worry me. And if that is the case how do HE kids get to go to further ed if that is what they want? I take my hat off to you, you are doing an amazing thing for your children, I wouldn't have the guts!

Anais - you are definately convincing me about HE. I did start teacher training (secondary) and your comment about crowd control is so acurate - that is the reason I left as I wanted to teach not discipline kids all day. No time to write more but all you have said is very inspiring.