Waldorf : A alternative to traditional schooling .

 

The majority of us heard about the Waldorf school system and how it's rather "unconventional" teaching can methods help to develop children's creativity and vision about the world . The teaching methods and curriculum can be labeled as unconventional only when they are compared to the teaching methods used in traditional schools .
    Traditional schools tend to use the concept of collective learning - all the students must learn the same subjects in a well defined time period - on the other hand Waldorf concentrates more on the self development of a child , this is a result of the following idea : "Every person is different , every person is good at something , everybody will have a different career path in life " .  There are a number of  teachings that Waldorf schools promote :

1) Self development opposed to collective learning - As I mentioned earlier the traditional school system promotes collective learning - what this means is that all the students from a class/study group will study the same lessons during the time of a semester . Waldorf on the other hand promotes a more flexible education  in which students can select to a certain level the lessons that they want to study at a deeper level . This dosen't  mean that students will have the option to skip basic subjects as maths and english . This system just lets kids decide what subjects do they want to focus on and make with them a long time personal development strategy which will incorporate their future goals in life .

2) Development of community spirit and team work among students - A amazing thing that the Waldorf School promotes is the community spirit . It teaches its students the proper way to behave  with their classmates so that they can have good results when they will have to do various projects together . Students will also learn the importance of community spirit , the ways in which they can get involved and do projects that are beneficial to the communities (villages , towns , cities) in which they live.

3) Learning about diversity and acceptance - Students will learn to accept and respect people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds . They will also learn to respect the opinions thoughts of others , people with different religious beliefs , people of different sexual orientations and especially to have compassion regarding the poor , ill and who suffer from handicaps . Forming such mentalities will help them have good relationships in multicultural spaces and when dealing with  a wide diversity of people .

4) Development of artistic abilities (drawing , painting , theatrical art) - A very important objective is that o developing student's artistic talents . Art is a great way of expressing feelings and emotions in a productive way , as a result students attend visual art classes (painting , drawing , clay modeling) , movement arts (dance , gymnastics) and theatrical arts.

5) The importance of knowing a second language - Students learn a second language from a early age , knowing a second language at a advanced level will represent a major advantage when working in multicultural environments .

6) Development of good communication and argumentation skills  - Students must develop communication skills in order to properly integrate in to groups . Also developing good argumentation skills is a important part of the education process in Waldorf schools . Forming opinions and how to make others know them without offending them is a crucial part of personal development .

7) Complementary courses - Its important that schools act as a life coach , they must prepare kids for many of life's obstacles . In order to do that kids will attend extracurricular courses that will "refresh" their minds and will make them consume the extra energy they accumulate during the day . Courses like gardening , animal care or even trips to retirement homes or children's hospitals  where they can perform different artistic numbers meant to bring a smile to the people there .

8) A more personal relationship with the teachers - Teachers will take the role of friends , helping students in their educational path but also with their personal development and with the issues that they face on a daily basis. Students will call teachers by their first name , this will create a more family alike environment that will favor the development of good learning abilities .

10) Teachers working in this schools will attend  on a regular basis courses that are meant to improve their  teaching skills . 

11)  Students will attend at least a couple of time per year educational field trips .

12)  Students will learn to love and protect nature - Being nature lovers , students will help on building a cleaner and healthier planet .