waldorf steiner

[heninthemidden]

hi,

anyone had good experience of waldorf steiner education system?

thecaty: "Steiner world is by no means perfect and it never claimed to be."

That must take the prize for the understatement of the year.

I am sure Montessori is not perfect either. But somehow it does not seem to engender whole websites dedicated to disparaging it on both sides of the Atlantic nor parents who feel strongly enough about it, despite threat of legal action, to come onto mn to warn others about it.

I read on with interest ...

blueshoes
Montesory probably attracts a less parents that are imbeded in the sueing cultre, that is definetly comming from the continent on the other side.
There is a lot less Montessory kids. There are 250'000 children being educated in Steiner schools at present and a few more in Steiner inspired schools.
Less cars less accidents !!!

Sorry got this one wrong!
"Montesory probably attracts a less parents that are imbeded in the sueing cultre, that is definetly comming from the continent on the other side."
Steiner Schools seem to attract an element of intolerant, moaning, type of parent... a know it all type.

thecaty, how does Steiner manage to attract an intolerant, moaning, type of parent... a know it all type? Do you need to change your prospectus?

Do those moany, know-it-all parents still leave their children within the Steiner schools? Must make your life quite difficult.

Perhaps your gripe is in the fact that parents, in general, (oh those pesky parents, if only children did not come with them) have their children's interests at heart and can get inconveniently vocal when they realise those interests are being compromised and swept under the carpet.

Just a guess.

Do Steiner schools accept school fees off moany parents? I see a simple solution to the problem.

Cars, Caty: accidents? Accidents?
Safer cars, better drivers, fewer accidents.

If your blood curls, does your hair boil?

Northern's children seem lucky to me to have a mother with such humour and passion. If you mean by cynical: pessimistic, sour, she sounds very far from either.

Blood curling...I imagine it would make interesting art! Alongside some hair boiling perhaps...?

I visited a Montessorri school when I was leaving Steiner. We did not go there in the end as I was a bit shocked at the rote learning (upon hearing I was a geographer, the head got the children to reel off Capital cities in bizarre locations! Nope, I did not know these names, and as I am the one doing the geog degree I would suggest that is due to it being useless knowledge in the context of just a name!). However I was very impressed by the openness to any parent, some children went to local pre-schools on other days of the week, something that would have meant a schild would not have been accepted in Steiner kg where we were.

I think it is ludicrous for thecaty to suggest people outside of Steiner /those that have taken their kids out of Steiner are bad parents, when surely common sense would dictate that parenting skills are to be questioned when a parent continues to send their children to a school systen where bullying and abuse are widely reported?????????

Oh, and I AM naive perhaps, is thecaty trying to imply I am MOANING!!!! What the....?

I am not moaning, if the school do not act then I shall ACT, not moan!!!

I never even moaned about cleaning the toilets when a cleaner was no longer financially viable (at the school that is, a cleaner has never been financially viable at home, not that I am moaning )

Hi MANATEEE.
That's interesting about montessori; my youngest went to a preschool one before Steiner; she loved it actually; the wooden sorting coloured equipment and boxes of different textured objects which they posted and sorted with tweezers and things like that fascinated her. But she was very young.
She hated Steiner kinde so much, she used to get a "tummy ache". They always said she was "absolutely fine" after I'd left; but I know now even more that wasn't so.
When I did "helper" days, seeing the way the children interacted and were left, sometimes to be cruel to each other, was revealing.

thecaty- waht is "the truth" which "lies between both sides"?
Are you implying that people's experiences aren't true?
How on earth would you know?
And why on earth would you come on a group for mothers, exchanging experience of Steiner school, try to imply this, unless you had a vested reason?

My daughter had four years of kindi and absolutly loved every minute. She did not like all children in kindi but I suppose that is one of the reasons You send your children to a one of these places, because they need to learn how to accept other children. She really adors the Kindergarten teacher even today almost 1 year after she left kindergarten. In fact for the last 5 years the Kindergarten teacher has been her favorite person in the world after Mummy of course. So this is my child speaking!!! and the majority of the 40'000 plus kindergarten children around the world.

I never said any of you have lied.

I am glad that the swear words have now almost disappeared. Because children do read these threads!!!

zazizoma-I got in touch with an admin person which took a bit longer than I expected-this being Spring Break here. Anyway, I was glad that I did as I forgot a piece of the puzzle. So, grades 6,7, and 8 still have their class teacher greeting them in the morning, and having responsibility for the class-parent meetings, etc. but the blocks can be taught by the other upper grade teachers as well as the High School teachers. For example, the H.S. Science, Math and Humanities teachers all teach a block in the lower school AND the children are taught a block or two by the other upper grade teachers rather than their own. In addition, they can have an outside teacher come in for a block. This works out to three or four blocks a year being taught by teachers other than their own class teacher.

The split being at year six seems to have had a lot of practical reasons-logistics of coordinating the program itself but also having teachers who are teaching at the High School level prepare lessons for younger children.

isen - thank you for the info!

Isenhart and Zazizoma,
I had a teacher come in to do a Fractions Main-Lesson when my class was class 4 and I had three weeks for training, it was bliss.
I went to visit schools in London and the one in Aberdeen. I also did a first aid course and read lots on anti bullying.
I think it is heatlhy to stay with the same class till class 8, the children though do love to have a different teacher for some M-L and if you can provide both you are on to a winner.

thecaty

Sorry if you've said this before, but are you a SW teacher?

zaz-you're welcome! thecaty-my daughter went through all 8 years with one teacher and my son had one teacher for 1-4 and another for 5-8. While I, as a parent, preferred the one teacher model, the new model of 1-5 and 6-8 offers the middle grade teachers a lot more support as it affords more of a team approach. I suspect that it also made the transition to H.S. easier for my son than my daughter but I don't know this for certain as they are obviously two different people.

Maria33, I think they're pretending to be normal.

Wilderduck, love those sheep! I note with unnerving familiarity the authors comment of the parents being 'blissfully unaware' to whom and what they have given their child over to.

Hemp handcuffs?? You are one wild duck

But no Barking. I used to be until I became a member of the only esoteric sect that openly encourages pesto Now I am Good. And my children don't go hungry.

Wilerduck
Please.
felt handcuffs.
An act which has often teased my fancy....

Great article on the NZ blog.

I wonder if thecaty and isenhart will acknowledge any of it, or just continue to cloud the issues with skullduggery.

lol @ Church of SFM

Please become a pastafarian. Please. We NEED more pirates!

Pirates yeah!
My class are indeed doing a sailing course for the third summer running, six sessions of sailing instruction and adventure.
They will if they choose be able to resist any pirate on or offshore with or without sails.
This year we are funding our course by selling 300 hundred kilos of charcoal, that the class chared last autumn which is a leftover of the 500 kilos we chared for our yearly visit of a blacksmith to our school.
Last autumn my class forged some blacksmithing tools, and yes I will try to involve them in the production of iron so we can close yet another cycle of production which the children learn about by doing it, observing it, note taking, evaluating and learning that actually its not that difficult to make anything they may choose.

I guess that is where the confidence comes from that many Steiner Waldorf children display.
While some of the parents of some of the children who have left the schools argue about the colour of the class rooms or what Rudolf Steiner said some one hundred years ago.
Wilderduck I hope to have answered some of your questions.

I wonder if the desire to have one's hands tied, the propensity to set up false dichotomies, and/or apparent dyslexia could indeed be common to Steiner/Waldorf detractors.