wardolf steiner schools

[witt]

anyone got their gifted kids in Steiner schools?
our son has been formally assessed as gifted. We chose the school before he was born and we are now not sure this is a good choice for him.

What I liked about Wardolf was the nurturing and not rushing the child academically but our son is desparate to learn about everything......

[meemee]

claire my dd starts k next year. and if i cant hs then i am definitely putting her in the private waldorf.

the reason is because she hates academics. she enjoys projects but not going over the 3rs. we already do academic stuff at home at different grade levels in various subjects but math is her fav. what concerns me most is her spirit. and i want the school to give her all the other stuff (she enjoys gardening and cooking) rather than the academics other schools even gifted usually do. she is the kid who loves workbooks (mazes, spot teh differences) until you come across numbers and alphabets. she either makes up her own rules or skips those pages altogether.

when she gets the urge to want to do academics at school we will rethink school again. but not right now.

[Terabith]

In all honesty, I would be very hesitant to put a gifted child in a steiner school. Now, I might put them in Waldorf kindergarten, but by first grade, I think the de-emphasis on academics and the everything as a group might not be the best for a child who is very precocious. But it depends on personality. And the teacher.

[EXOLAX]

Originally Posted by Terabith

In all honesty, I would be very hesitant to put a gifted child in a steiner school. Now, I might put them in Waldorf kindergarten, but by first grade, I think the de-emphasis on academics and the everything as a group might not be the best for a child who is very precocious. But it depends on personality. And the teacher.

I agree. We looked into our local waldorf school and the one local to us did not seem a good fit for our DD. We found a Reggio Emilia school that feels like a wonderful fit for her. We did have her in a preschool program that we chose over the Waldorf as well. It was a play based preschool, a couple hours a day with emphasis on commuication. It was wonderful and I loved it as it reinforced much of the communication we do at home (open commuication, discussion of feelings etc.). But, our DD frequently complained to the teachers about how they don't teach her enough, and she challenged them to create more of an academic environment when the focus of the school was not too. As social as she is, she still had her own expectations and it was hard seeing her dissapointed at times.

[witt]

thanks everyone
we have some hard decisions to make i think

[bean0322]

Our son attended a Waldorf school for a few years. It didn't work for him. I think it'd be fine for nursery or kindergarten but I wouldn't start the grades at a Waldorf school with a gifted child (if I had to make the choice over again).

[wonderactivist]

Originally Posted by Terabith

In all honesty, I would be very hesitant to put a gifted child in a steiner school.

Actually, I have a highly intellectual child and find Waldorf homeschooling to be a perfect match. If I could not homeschool, I would put him in a Waldorf school if I liked the teacher. ANY school is only as good as the teacher.

Why? It's because of the skills our kids need in the world of tomorrow - the kind of imaginative, out-of-the-box thinking that is strengthened in a Waldorf environment. Here's an article from Wired magazine about the type of skills the future is calling for:

Revenge of the Right Brain

Sure, if I wanted for my kid to "perform" by spouting off facts and such, I would choose otherwise, but the fact is that I want my son to be stretched...and this type of education will stretch an intellectual child outside of his comfort zone over and over again.

Scientifically, Waldorf has the type of program that nurtures systematic, holistic thinking - as someone who studied economics and engineering, I really appreciate that look at the whole picture and at biodiversity before delving into the micro-level of each discipline.

In a good, established Waldorf school, it is a really great education, but still, I think that the ideal education for any intellectual child is homeschooling - if you can - because it allows the flexibility of following your child's interests much more fully than ANY other schooling method.

Best wishes,

Lucie
new to this forum, but totally enjoying your posts, so I'll be coming back

[Terabith]

Yeah, homeschooling would be fine, I think. In that context, you can follow your child's more academic strengths (i.e. not delaying reading, etc) and teach the developmental content via the head, heart, and hands approach, which is great for all kids. And with a great teacher, I think it really could work, if she or he is able to make accomodations for individual kids. In that case, it might be fabulous, a way for a child to have the right brain strengthened and utilized without sacrificing the academic intensity so characteristic of gifted kids. But without a really great teacher, I think it would be hard to accomodate the asynchronicity of a gifted kid in a Waldorf classroom, due to the emphasis on delayed academics, not being too into their heads, and group instruction. But then, it really is all about the teacher. But esp so in a Waldorf school.

[meemee]

jessica, that is why it is v. important to take into account the child's personality and interest. with my child she isnt academic. she has no interest in reading or writing (she did learn to write her name so she can book her own computer at the library herself). i already do a lot of afterschool stuff with her.

if i couldnt homeschool her i would put her in the waldorf school for now. she loves her playbased preschool she goes to now. they dont do alphabets or writing BUT instead a lot of cool science experiments and art projects my dd absolutely loves.

and that is why for my dd waldorf would be a good fit. she loves knitting and beading and gardening which waldorf does. she LOVES people/children so would really enjoy it. she is also high energy and needs lots of running around time.

[witt]

thanks again,
i was heartened to hear some pro Waldorf comments.

actually we had big meeting with teachers at his school and they are really positive about working to meet his needs.

they are considering advancing him up and also he will go to the One day school (an interschool intiative where gifted kids go to a special programme one day a week) so they are being much more flexible than I ever imagined! They will also do individual lesson plans for him where he does different things from the other kids.

so hooray - i was feeling a bit down when i last posted the other message. Now after our meeting, i feel much more positive

[meemee]

claire glad to see you found some peace and confidence. u know i really think a good teacher is the biggest key to a child's experience in school. and i have known a waldorf mom who told me (not gifted) that the school helped with her bookworm child. they didnt encourage 'reading' but if the child asked for it they met her needs.