THE WALDORF PEDAGOGY
"A healthy social life is found only, when in the mirror of each soul the whole community finds its reflection, and when in the whole community the virtue of each one is living."
- Rudolf Steiner
WHAT IS THE WALDORF METHOD?
Waldorf education is a unique and distinctive form of education for children, practiced worldwide at Waldorf schools. Waldorf schools now form the largest independent school chain in the world, and probably the fastest growing in recent years. There is no centralized structure that “runs” all Waldorf schools in the world. Each is administered independently. But there are associations that provide resources, publish materials, sponsor conferences and promote movement. We are a family owned and operated business. There are currently more than 700 Waldorf Schools, spread across 32 countries. But the network of Waldorf Schools is one of the fastest growing today.
QUAL THE ORIGIN OF WALDORF EDUCATION?
In 1919, in Stuttgart, Germany, Rudolf Steiner – an Austrian philosopher, scientist and artist – was invited by Emil Molt, the owner of the Waldorf-Astoria cigarette factory , for a series of talks for workers in his factory.
As a result, workers asked Steiner to found and run a school for their children. Emil Molt, supported and financed the realization of the idea. Steiner agreed, but – to do so – placed 4 conditions: the first was that the school would be open, without distinction, to all children; the second that the school should be co-educational; it should also be a school with a unified 12-year curriculum and, lastly, that the school's teachers should also be the directors and administrators of the school.
WHY IS WALDORF EDUCATION DIFFERENT?
If it were possible to sum it up in one sentence, we would say that “our highest commitment must be to develop human beings capable of, by themselves, giving meaning and direction to their lives”._cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_The main goal of a Waldorf school is to develop the child's “head, heart and hands” through a curriculum that balances school activities.
This curriculum includes music (recorder, alto, orchestra and choir); arts (watercolor, carpentry, modeling and sculpture in clay, drawing in black and white and perspective, photography, batik, stamping, mosaic, knitting, crochet, weaving and tapestry) as well as subjects such as: gardening, agricultural techniques and horticulture. Through this methodology, teachers seek to awaken a taste for learning, making it a non-competitive activity.
WHAT IS THE PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION WALDORF?
According to his philosophy, called Antroposophy, Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Steiner he designed a curriculum that had the stages of child development79_cc1 as a backdrop. -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_He thought that the role of the School was to provide for the needs of children, not to meet needs imposed by a Government or economic forces.
DOES IT HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH RELIGION?
Not in the way that a “religious” school is commonly understood. Although it has Christian foundations, no particular religious doctrine is defended or taught. Throughout the year, festivals such as Easter, São João, São Miguel, Christmas and Spring Week are celebrated. They aim mainly at awakening in children values and feelings of understanding, admiration and reverence for the beauty of life and nature.
These and other parties, according to Waldorf Education thinking, serve to reconnect or connect humanity with the rhythms of nature and the cosmos. These parties have origins in the most ancient cultures, and are an art form. They are filled with the joy and enthusiasm of children, both in preparation and in celebration.