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why can't people umderstand

3K views 6 replies 6 participants last post by  Deborah 
#1 ·
My friend asked me what school my son will attend. I told her Waldorf and hie philosophy...she didn't get it. She was like well, you went to public school and you turned out fine, Does anyone else have this problem?
 
#2 ·
Yeah and we all ate crap and turned out fine... except wait... are dying of cancer and battling weight issues and diabetes...
Public school isn't the same anymore, our society isn't the same. we are expecting so much from our kids. I keep hearing people they used to color in kindergarten, now they ask you to do sight words and have them read 20 minutes every night on top of homework...
Tell them you want to protect them from a stressful life so early, and you are looking for a likeminded community for your family...
Sometimes the philosophy just doesn't open up to people in one sitting. I often just let people think I'm a little weird and joke about it. I tell them, that we went to regular school, my kid was doing fine, I just have this obsession about waldorf education and I really wanted to try it for my kids. If they are interested I can go deeper into reasons why... But if I start to tell them how terrible I think traditional education is for kids, they would get on the defensive and would refuse to "get" it.
 
#3 ·
I totally agree...I love the Waldorf philosophy and hands on approach. I wish our girls could still be attending Waldorf but the commute and location ended up not working for us. So muc has changed since we were kids, why not try something that more closely approaches how we grew up....Plus...It just does not matter what others think..do what you think is best for your family.
 
#4 ·
When parents say to other parents that they are using private school----really any private school---because public school isn't good enough for their kids, the 'regular' parent inevitably feels judged. Like they aren't getting it and don't 'see the light', and are perhaps even harming their child by sending him/her to public school.

I don't know any way around that. I've seen private school/waldorf/montessori parents try to state why they do it a hundred different ways and inevitably other parents just take it personally and/or think it somehow reflects on their choices not to go a special route with their child.

So I"m not sure if it is that they don't get the Waldorf philosophy as much as they think it somehow is judging them. Not sure if that is making sense at ALL!
 
#5 ·
I agree with what Lauren has said. I often find that that sometimes regardless of what "alternative" method we are using to live our lives, people who aren't secure with whatever choices they are making will immediately call into question what they are doing. And why we are doing something different. And if that says something about them. I have run into this with family members quite often. So hang in there, and just know that you're choosing what works for your family, which is what matters.
 
#7 ·
Funny but sad to see how little things have changed.

My daughter attended waldorf in the 70s and 80s. When we were living in California, one of our neighbors invited my daughter to an open house at the local public school. I'm sure she was hoping that my daughter would get all excited about the wonders of the public school and ask me to take her out of waldorf.

So, my daughter comes home from the open house and I ask her what it was like. She says, in a mildly incredulous tone, "they have machines to teach children." I think she was 8 or 9 years old at the time.

She didn't switch. My grandkids are in waldorf.

The neighbor did mean well, for sure though. It is very hard to explain choosing alternative anything without sounding like you are judging other people's choices.

I say: "I eat kale every week." Friend says: "I suppose you despise people who don't eat kale every week."
 
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