What is Waldorf Education?
Waldorf education is a unique and distinctive approach to educating children that is practiced in Waldorf schools worldwide. Waldorf schools collectively form the largest, and quite possibly the fastest growing, group of independent private schools in the world. There is no centralized administrative structure governing all Waldorf schools; each is administratively independent, but there are established associations which provide resources, publish materials, sponsor conferences, and promote the movement.
Waldorf education is a deeply insightful application of learning based on the study of humanity with developing consciousness of self and the surrounding world. There is a consistent philosophy of child development underlying the Waldorf curriculum: from Kindergarten through high school, subjects are introduced in an age-appropriate fashion. Waldorf schools honor and protect the wonder of childhood, and are safe, secure, nurturing environments. Waldorf graduates are academically advantaged with respect to their public school counterparts, and consistently gain admission to top universities.
Waldorf education is education according to the curriculum and teaching methods introduced by Rudolf Steiner in the first Waldorf school in 1919 and developed in over 900 schools in 55 countries since that time. The complete curriculum is for K-12, though many smaller schools, including our own, prepare students to transfer to other Waldorf or mainstream high schools.
A. Developed by Rudolf Steiner in 1919, Waldorf education is based on a developmental approach that addresses the needs of the growing child and maturing adolescent. Waldorf teachers strive to transform education in to an art that educates the whole child—the heart and the hands, as well as the head.
