Wow, I'm totally freaked out about Waldorf now... - Page 9

[Rhonwyn]

Thank you octobersweethearts for hitting the nail on the head!

Originally Posted by octobersweethearts

Totally not trying to start a debate here....but I don't get how not wanting the children to wear character clothes (ie Hello Kitty) and not watching television is elitist. It is a philosophy about childhood and parenting...how they don't want their children exposed to commercialism and media. Waldorf isn't saying "we don't accept you" or "you aren't good enough" it's that they have a policy on media and commercialism and ask that parents follow this. It isn't for everyone, but I don't think it is elitist on that basis.

I guess I don't understand how this is any different than say for example, AP. Is it elitist to co-sleep, cloth diaper, etc. and want to find other moms who practice your similar beliefs? Are we elitists because we frown upon those who CIO?

Waldorf schools ask for parental support of the culture. If the parents can't support it, why do they want to send their kids there anyway? When we started my son watched TV and before we started the teachers asked us if we could give it up. We said yes we would, they took our word and my son got in. We gave up the TV. I am sure if we said 'No way!' we love TV and can't live without it!, then they would have said 'I don't think Waldorf is for you.' Every year we have more children apply than there are spaces. Naturally those parents who are supportive of the culture are given priority.

Don't get me wrong, I am sure that there are Waldorf snobs just as there are Montessori and other private school snobs. I just haven't seen them at our school. What I have seen, is a school that bends over backwards to support the family of the children with difficulities. They are often asked to have homelife that is supportive of Waldorf culture. Most comply because they see the benefit to their child.

[dewlady]

i do think that you seem to have a very beautiful community, i don't doubt that. i guess the bottom line is that of course you have a right to choose that world for your children...
i guess i don't choose that because i disagree that if a child dosen't have a family that can/will comply to these rules, that they deserve to be cast out of my or my childrens lives. they don't make those decisions...they are just little kids. '
i hear that you guys are really putting yourselves out for "poor" families, that is also awesome. i get it that $$ goes. salaries at our school are 8000$ a year. thats what we all make. we have a ramshakle old building that is well loved, and beautiful in it's own way.. i also am not trying to suggest that everyone be like us.. i am just trying to put things into perspective. i just question what is really important in life for OURSELVES. this is just ME. i reiterate.
the word ELITISM defined:conciousness of or pride in belonging to a select of favored group.
as an AP mom, i do not look down upon the way other people do thing, just as i hope they won't look down upon me. we are all doing the best we can for our little guys, i trully beleive that.

[Rhonwyn]

Dear Dewlady

You are very fortunate to have found a school like you have. 25 years ago when our school started the teachers made similar salaries to your teachers. They taught for love alone and the parents gave everything to start and build the school because they wanted a Waldorf education for their children.

In a perfect world, I would be able to go to a Waldorf Public School and all children would be accepted because the school would have the resources to help all children. Unfortunately, I don't see that happening in my children's school years. Too many people who don't understand or like Waldorf, label us cultists, religious or worse. For us, it was a choice of choosing a pubic school that totally assaulted our values of simplicity, reverence for nature, recognizing that all humans have a spirit and that children should be allowed to be children and develop at their own pace or paying for a school where we found all of these elements and a supportive parent body to build the culture. In Seattle, there is one public school that comes close to this and their waiting list is a mile long. My big question is, why don't they replicate this school program in other neighborhoods? I willingly pay my taxes for public schools and vote for all levies, why can't I have the public school that I want for my kids?

Anyway Dewlady, I don't have any angst about what you have written. As you have stated, we are both choosing what we feel is best for our children. I would like to have more diversity at our school but we all have to choose the best of an imperfect situation.

Peace.

[dewlady]

Rhonwyn...(and others),
i agree, no hard feelings, just exploring my own thoughts, actually it was a helpful dicussion. just feelin' love for all those little ones out there, regardless of who thier parents are...they deserve the world...they'll have the world...i just want it to be a peaceful, beautiful, gentle loving one for them all...especially since that is where my kiddos will be and i love them unceassingly. peace right back at you.

[beautifulaltadena]

Sorry- I am new to this and still learning to use these boards- just wanted to comment on my (brief) Waldorf experience...

[beautifulaltadena]

Sorry- I am new to this and still learning to use these boards- just wanted to comment on my (brief) Waldorf experience...

[Rhonwyn]

Sigh.

Not all schools are the same. My children have black and brown crayons available to them and they had them avalible in Kindergarten. Their teachers said 'How can we exclude those colors when we have children of those colors who need them to draw people like themselves?' This is paraphrased. Also, parents are allowed in my son's main lesson. Several parents help during the day because it is a large class.

I must say beautifulaltadena that your responses are rather trollish especially since this is a thread that has been dead for sometime. Makes me wonder why you bring it up?

[beautifulaltadena]

Wow! A racially diverse Waldorf school! Where do you live? You can just say the general region if you are comfortable! That sounds awesome.... we chose a different school here in the greater Los Angeles area rather than the Waldorf school... even though we liked some of what we saw at the local Waldorf school we decided against it- due to weirdness we saw and weirdness we just heard rumors of from others. The Waldorf school here is more culturally diverse than some in SoCal but that ain't sayin' much-- it definitely DOES NOT reflect the demographics of the neighborhood in which it is located.

[beautifulaltadena]

Sorry if you consider me trollish... this thread is on the first page of topics towards the very beginning of the posts on education outside the home. I am new to your forums and don't know about the etiquette of replying to "dead" threads etc. I will try to exercise more care in the future. As for my motives, having just been through an agonizing process choosing a school, and having visited three local Waldorf schools and heard secondhand stories about others, I suppose I am rather passionate about the subject. Excuse me if I have offended you in any way. I have deleted my comments about the black crayons and issue of rote imitation and memorization-- two "red flags" from our Waldorf visits. I am very sorry to upset you. I am sure that you are much like me, a loving and devoted mom trying to do the best for our kids in a very complicated and difficult society!

[lauren]

Hi there--just a clarifying point. A thread is never "dead" until a moderator pulls it or sends it to the pen for review. In fact, many times I will pull up an old thread if a member is asking for more info or repeating a question that already had a 6 page thread on the topic! If you haven't read the guidelines on the opening boards, they are pretty simple, and I encourage you to do so. However, I don't think you were in violation. This thread was clearly started for those who wanted to discuss some unhappinesses about Waldorf. When I read your post (I read all posts for Learning at School as mod) I didn't consider it trollish in context of the whole thread. If you had posted on a thread called "reasons why I love Waldorf" it would have been different. Does that make sense?

[Rhonwyn]

Sorry for jumping to conclusions beautifulaltadena.

Perhaps a better term than dead thread would be a dormant thread. The whole Waldorf thing had been pretty well thrashed out so I was surprised to see it surface again. As a Waldorf parent, I have a real problem with the Waldorf Critics site and the accusations they throw around. A person gets tired of being told they are in a cult. I don't see the same level of animosity toward Montessori, Catholic or other private schools but I may not be as sensitive to that. Being a Waldorf parent can be a constant struggle against the mainstream much like being an AP parent.

The school my children attend is in Seattle WA and it is not as racially diverse as I would like it to be but then again, Seattle has a pretty low African American population especially in the north end where the school is located. We do, however; have several African American children, several Hispanic children and a good population of Asians children in the school. Crayons and pencils of all colors are available to the children. My son regularly used a black crayon for rigging on his pirate ships he drew in Kindergarten. He also used brown and black to draw Martin Luther King Jr. for the January page of his calender he made this year.

Anyway, don't judge all Waldorf schools and Waldorf education by what you have seen in one or two other schools. We have 3 schools in the Seattle area, 2 I like and 1 I do not. Had that 1 been the only one in the area, we would probably be in public school now!

Again, I am sorry for jumping on you beautifulaltadena.