Let me introduce myself and in the full spirit of disclosure, tell you my personal beliefs. (Ha! As though you haven't picked them up already from other pages on this website!)
- I prefer to research what others are doing (and why) and then choose my own path. Sometimes this means that I join things. Shockingly, this is rare.
- I am not in any way religious. My garden has statues of Buddha and Ganesha in it and I have taught my son to be as respectful as possible of religion, but I started him off learning Greek mythology, and we moved on to teach him that every group of people makes up stories to explain the world.
- My mother used Waldorf techniques to teach juvenile delinquents for years. This is the best of both worlds, because she and her teachers went to classes, learned what the Waldorf people do and why, and used parts of the Waldorf approach. They also watched to see what was effective and threw away what wasn't.
- I once went to a Waldorf party and couldn't stand the people. I found them insular, lacking in any social skills, and irritating.
- On the other hand, I have run into some wonderful, smart, caring teachers who teach the Waldorf things.
- My best friend sent his kids to a Walforf school. His brilliant little boy was undiagnosed as dyslexic until he was in middle school. His teachers just thought that he was stupid. Nice, huh?
- I thought about sending my son to Waldorf school but he was a bit too hyperactive. Later on, he was too interested in science.
- We are very impressed with the level of creativity that we see at our local Waldorf school, but like most things, the quality of your schooling is very dependent on the school, and on your individual teacher. Amazingly enough, this rule of thumb applies in every school and with every teacher that I know of. I'm sure that when they perfect the "implant a chip" techniques, education will be consistent. Until then (thank goodness) it's not.
- I have tried to read some of the Waldorf books but find them impenetrable. They are full of obscure terminology. I have no patience for this.
So that's who I am.
Why did I tell you that? Because there is some strange, sticky "vibe" around Waldorf schools. Some people think that they are a cult. Many people are afraid of them.
Rubbish.
A technique is a technique. Get over your bad selves. User your own personal ethical metric-o-meter for looking at each technique to determine whether or not it is proper and good for your child. I sent my kid to one of the top 7 preschools in the country. His teacher sucked and the experience was terrible for him. So I yanked him and found somewhere better.
