Waldorf Research Paper

The Benefits of a Waldorf Education

In the year 1919, Rudolf Steiner opened the first Waldorf School in Stuttgart, Germany. He was asked to create this school for the Waldorf-Astoria cigarette factory worker’s children. Steiner was a philosopher prior to this endeavor, and sought out to create an educational foundation based upon his theory of anthroposophy (Wardle, 2009, pg. 96). H. Barnes (1991, pg.52) explains this theory, “Man is a threefold being of spirit, soul and body whose capacities unfold into three developmental stages on the path to adulthood: early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence”. These stages are meant to occur through natural progression, while mindfully “developing the whole child” (Wardle, 2009. Pg97). The

Incorporating different styles of learning for the many different types of children, allows more opportunities for success (Morrison, 2010, para.17).

Another strong belief associated with Waldorf teachings is the disassociation from technological and media influence. Technology is not used in Waldorf schools, and at home use of computers or television are strongly discouraged. According to G. Chen (2012), “The lack of media exposure may also reduce attitudes of consumerism in younger kids” (para.10). A concern in Waldorf educators, is that exposing a young child to technology will hinder the development of their imagination. It is also believed, that the programming’s content itself could cause a negative impact on a child’s development (“whywaldorf faqs”, date unknown,

(pg.54)

In Waldorf schools, teachers follow the children from grade 1, all the way through to grade 8. One of the reasons behind this is helping to encourage feelings of trust and security associated with forming a long-term relationship. In forming this long-term relationship between student and teacher takes into appreciation, the needs of the individual child. A Waldorf teacher possesses a better understanding of a child’s learning styles, abilities, interests and strong communication with the child’s family (Chen, 2012, para.6).

According to a recent study completed by whywaldorfworks.org (date unknown), on graduates of a Waldorf program:

94% attended college or university; 47% chose humanities or arts as a major; 42% chose sciences or math as a major; 89% are highly satisfied in choice of occupation; 91% are active in lifelong education; 92% placed a high value on critical thinking; 90% highly values tolerance of other viewpoints