Comments:

Molly - 2009-01-25 13:21:15
I have to admit I was skeptical of this before I read it--I've been a Waldorf skeptic for a while. But then I read this article and it really makes good sense. And then this at the end: "It is during the early years, ages four to seven, when children's basic attitudes toward themselves as students and toward learning and school are established. Children who come through this period feeling good about themselves, who enjoy learning and who like school, will have a lasting appetite for the acquisition of skills and knowledge. Children whose academic self-esteem is all but destroyed during these formative years, who develop an antipathy toward learning, and a dislike of school, will never fully realize their latent abilities and talents." Really reinforces what we've been talking about. Thanks for the link.
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Melissa - 2009-01-25 17:31:08
It was that final passage that pulled me in as well. I am ambivalent about Waldorf. I think it must really depend on the individual school, teachers and students. In Germany I visited various Waldorf schools and met kids who had gone all the way through the system. They were incredibly self-possessed and mature and interesting. The kindergartens were so loving, warm, simple yet perfect. But we have heard some bad stuff about our local Waldorf school, and obviously it can be a really rigid system (which is just what we're trying to run from as it is!). Another great part of homeschooling is that you can combine the successful and/or appropriate and/or attractive aspects of the various approaches: I like a little Waldorf with a little Reggio Emilio and a little Classical and a little unschooling. I'm sort of bemused at myself that my favorite two are (Latin-based) Classical Schooling and unschooling - which are at opposite poles, of course. (I always loved the idea of the Classical education and if I could do it all over, I would have been a Classics and English double major.)
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Molly - 2009-01-25 18:01:38
Agreed! I think current pedagogy just reinforces mediocrity--everybody has to be the same. BLAH. I think I would have liked to have had a classical education, too. That kind of rigour would have been perfect for lazy me. Instead, we got worksheets. And I think Ossie needs to work. Like real outside work with Jeff--he's most engaged with the world and learning when he's doing that. Did I say already that I wish we could do this together? Because, you know, that would be awesome. Le sigh!
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