There is a high degree of congruence between what the world demands from people and what is promoted in Waldorf pupils. The reproduction of finished knowledge is becoming less and less important. Nowadays you can pass most exams just with the help of a smartphone; if you want your child to be smarter than a smartphone then he or she has to learn other skills.
Andreas Schleicher
OECD education expert and coordinator of the PISA studies in GermanyLearning to change the world
Film for the commemoration of the centenary of Waldorf education (1919 – 2019)
Myths and realities
Do children do what they want?
Waldorf-Steiner education prepares children to become adults in freedom, but this freedom is not achieved until the human being is mature enough. From the moment we are born, we need limits, which start with our own body, and which are modulated as we reach milestones in our development. In the day-to-day classroom there is a rhythm through which activities are developed with a timetable where moments of expansion alternate with moments of concentration. Educating with limits based on respect and affection satisfies the needs of childhood and adolescence.
Is it an elitist education?
No. It is a public school that is supported by family fees without public support or subsidies. However, the International Waldorf School Valencia is not a for-profit organisation; the aim of this project is to create a space that is a place of social transformation, far removed from an elitist education. For this reason, the school is run by a non-profit foundation. The fees are adjusted in such a way that the project is viable and the teachers receive a remuneration in accordance with the vital work they carry out in accompanying children.
Is it a religious school?
The human being is a whole in which the mind and spirit are as important as the body, and for this reason Waldorf-Steiner education accompanies children in their evolution towards maturity in all its dimensions, from the physical and intellectual to the spiritual and creative. Waldorf-Steiner schools are nourished by the historical and religious basis of the place where they are located in the world, taking from it figures or characters that allow them to work on values without indoctrination and welcoming and respecting any religion or belief.
Is it an education focused only on children?
Anthroposophy is the basis on which Waldorf schools are built. This discipline, created by Rudolf Steiner, is based on the profound knowledge of the human being from birth to adulthood. Therefore, the Waldorf school adapts like no other to the needs of the human being from childhood until he or she emerges as a young person ready to follow his or her path, at university or outside of it.
Is it difficult to adapt to traditional education after leaving a Waldorf school?
In Waldorf-Steiner classrooms, children develop skills thanks to their experiential and arts-based methodology, which preserves not only their innate creativity and curiosity for learning, but also their attention span and memorisation skills. In fact, although there are no exams in primary school, it has been shown that those pupils who leave a Waldorf-Steiner school do as well or better in a ‘traditional’ school than the rest.
Is it a school only for children with special educational needs?
Waldorf-Steiner education is very respectful with the individuality of each child, with his or her evolutionary rhythm, and the methodology used allows us to discover the capacities that every human being has inside, without ever losing the illusion of learning. In this way, any child, whether he or she has specific needs or not, benefits from a pedagogy that puts him or her at the centre of learning.
Is it a pedagogy that is in fashion?
Waldorf-Steiner pedagogy was created by Rudolf Steiner more than a hundred years ago, and it was only during Hitler’s government in Germany that schools based on his methodology were banned. Since then, Waldorf schools have continued to grow all over the world. It has even been shown that, despite the years that have passed since the foundation of the first school, its premises have recently been endorsed by neuroscience. Respecting the child’s developmental rhythms and not skipping stages is the basis for healthy childhood development.
Is it a school where technology is forbidden?
At Waldorf-Steiner schools, we believe that before the use of technology, children should get to know themselves and their environment directly, without the use of screens. This approach does not compromise the development of technological skills in the future. In fact, from secondary school onwards, children have access to technology in the classroom. However, it is essential to work previously on skills, values and attitudes that are essential for a healthy and balanced development that allows them to discern the appropriate use of the content and technologies available to them. For this, they need to have previously developed a healthy capacity for judgement and abstraction. The gurus of Silicon Valley have understood the dangers of technology used before its time and take their children to Waldorf schools.
Becoming…
No age has a more profound impact on all of life than the early childhood years.
