Waldorf Question - Need Answer ASAP!

I don't have any statistics to offer. DD just started at a waldorf-inspired pre-school and she loves it. We don't watch tv or watch videos and gameboy for 3 year olds? Hmm, I must be a bit out of it. I started kindergarten at 3 years old and was actually taking tests in math and writing(spelling) when I was 4 (it was a 3 year kindergarten program). All I can say is I can still remember feeling like a total failure at 4 when I got a 20 on my "math test". My parents were disappointed! Believe me, I don't think those extra years of "studying" helped! I wasn't exposed to a computer until 12 and I graduated with a MS in Computer Science. Peer pressure is hard especially for new parents and I think it might help if you can find some waldorf playgroups in your area. Check out your local waldorf school's school fair,... and see what you think about the environment and the kids. They have workshops or seminars at school as well, so maybe you and dh can attend together. Anyways, just my 2cents.

I have been at various times a waldorf student, parent, business manager and a teacher of waldorf teachers (handwork). Over the years I've encountered a lot of waldorf children and graduates. I've never met one who said that they were unprepared for the modern world or college.

That aside, I have encountered some who were weak in particular academic areas. You do need to keep an eye on the school and on your particular teacher to make sure that the teaching and subject coverage are up to par. To simply assume that all waldorf schools cover all subjects effectively is to be unreasonably optimistic.

My daughter, now 36, supported herself through college and completed a degree in engineering (water quality). She has worked on apple computers, unix systems (at the US Geological Survey) and a wide variety of IBM clone systems. She feels strongly that her waldorf experience made her more flexible, thoughtful and creative and did not leave her unable to cope with the "real" world. In fact, she is running a waldorf inspired day care in her home, and serving on a waldorf school board, indicating a certain positive feeling about her education!

There was a large study of waldorf graduates done in Germany, I think in the 70's. It is probably too remote from the U.S. in the 00's.

You could try contacting AWSNA to see if they have done or are going to do such a study. (Association of Waldorf Schools of North America) They have a web site.

Deborah

Two things:

One -- as with ALL schools, it is important to remember that each Waldorf school is different. The quality of instruction, the social setting, the school culture, all depend on the teachers and families that comprise the school community. As a result, as with everywhere, parent involvement and vigilence is of the utmost importance -- being sure the school is attending to what you perceive are your daughters' needs.

Two -- I went to a Waldorf school from preschool until I graduated high school. I believe that it trained me to be a thinking person in the world, to make informed choices, to listen, and to look for and respect the good in everyone (in addition to teaching me two languages, calculus, all number of sciences, literature, singing, stone sculpture and more...). I definitely have achieved traditionally defined academic success (I'm getting a doctorate at Harvard right now). While that is important to many, I am also constantly struck by the amazing and NON-TRADITONAL successes enjoyed by Waldorf graduates. Many begin ventures intended to better the world or consciously choose to tread paths in life that are not clearly mapped out.

Bottom line -- I believe you should trust your gut about this school and continue to be aware of your daughters' and their needs. Choosing any school means choosing it again and again, not just once in the beginning.

Good luck!
megin

My school is about to graduate 12 eighth graders; of that group:

four attended our school from grades one through eight, and a fifth started late in her first grade year.

two began in fourth grade (when the school changed locations)

two began in sixth grade

two transferred into the class in seventh grade from a smaller local waldorf school that ended its class in sixth grade, another started in seventh grade when his stepmom began teaching full-time there.

One child left the class after seventh grade for financial reasons, another child joined in sixth grade and left after one year.

Is this data useful? Have you seen such data published for other private schools?

Thanks, David

You are truly wise to look for the evidence. I have been intrigued by Waldorf yet can't find any studies that show that Waldorf education is really successful by traditional measures. I attended two open houses at our local Waldorf and pointedly asked the director and admissions counselor if their students took the standardized tests that are administered in our state. Well, yes they do but the school would NOT release any information on the results of the tests and were quite evasive. I did not want any individual student data, just aggregate. Not good in my book. I mean, I want my ds to love school, eat healthy and have an active imagination but for 8-9k$ per year I want him to be successful on the sat's and be able to get into a good college.

On the other hand, I WAS able to find many research studies on the effectiveness of Montessori presschool (esp. for boys) that document long term iq and sat gains even into 8th grade after attending Montessori. My ds is now in a MOntessori school that is $255 less per month.

Our Waldorf is very closed to parents visiting or droppping in. The classes are in the back of the school and have curtains so you can't see in. Makes me nervous not to be able to see/hear how the teachers are interacting with the kids spontaneously. ANy visits to our Waldorf are scheduled and timed so they are prepared for parents. Their rationale is that it interupts the class. Montessori is open and not secretive at all.

The waldorf school where I worked recently went through the accreditation process. It was done simultaneously with the regular private school regional association and the Assoc. of Waldorf Schools of North America. By the time the process was completed I had moved on to graduate school so I don't know the details of how it came out, but I do know that soon after we started the process our accreditation "manager" mentioned to me that our attrition rate at about 7 or 8% (I'm not sure I remember the number right) per year was lower than most of the private schools in the region.

Attrition happens for a lot of reasons: people move, finances change, child/teacher mismatch, commute turns out to be harder than expected and many other reasons. Only a few have to do with the actual academics of the school. So the attrition number alone won't tell you much. You need a survey that asks "why did you leave?" to a few hundred parents from a school over several years.

I was working at this school for 3 years. One thing I observed was the 8th graders being eagerly accepted by area high schools. I found this a bit bizarre because all of the other grade schools pushed computers, but the waldorf non-computer using students were still considered great finds by the high schools. So exactly what was being accomplished by all this computer use in elementary school? The kids didn't actually seem to be ahead of children who had minimal exposure to computers. You have to realize that putting computers into a school is a very expensive undertaking. Besides buying the computers and software, you have to have a network and a mass internet connection and access to databases and then somebody to manage the whole mess. What I would like to see are the studies proving that exposure to computers in elementary school improves children's education. I have this dreary suspicion that everyone roared ahead into computers for children thinking that they were an obvious "good" without doing any serious research at all. Billions of dollars wasted? Who knows? Are there any studies comparing children educated without computers to children educated with computers?

End of rant,
sorry!
Nana

Someone already posted it but the Seattle Waldorf School starts standardize testing in 6th or 7th grade so that when the kids are exposed to it, either for high school application or in high school, the kids will know what it is and how to handle it. The kids are told to take the test seriously but not to stress out about it. I am not sure how many years this has been going on (3 or 4) but the administration is collecting the data for comparison. Specifically the school takes the California Achievement Test (CAT). Not sure why that one over others.

One thing that needs to be remembered is that a good Waldorf school will have a mix of kids. Some gifted and some struggling. The teacher works to meet each child's level and enhance the areas they are gifted in. Every child has a talent and they are all considered equal. The kids learn to appreciate all talents not just math, reading, and academics. Everyone is good at something positive and no one gets put on a throne. Occasionally, you will get a child who is gifted in all areas and the kids learn to appreciate that too.