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This page is designed to help answer some of those questions you may have about the Waldorf School and education. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions that you would like answered and feel may help others, as we can add them to this page.
What does Education of the Head, Hands, and Heart mean?
The Head - thinking and knowledge
Waldorf education fosters high academic standards. The emphasis is not on what to think but on how to think. It embraces complexity rather than simplified facts. To be truly prepared for the future, it will not only be necessary to discover unknown answers to a given problem. It will be necessary to define the problem, ask the right questions, and envision many different solutions.
The Heart - feelings and motivation
Waldorf education touches the hearts of the children in order to help them care about their fellow human beings, to reassure them that there is beauty and goodness in this world, and to show them that they play a role in preserving it. Artistic activities (painting, drawing, drama, music, and handcrafts) are part of the school experience each day. They foster a heartfelt connection between the student and the subject and make education more meaningful and more memorable.
The hands - purposeful activity
Children develop self-discipline over time through repetition and gentle insistence on good habits. The Waldorf curriculum instills confidence and fosters self-esteem in order to find a meaningful path in a complex and confusing world where self-determination and strong character are needed. Without self-discipline, our children's hopes and dreams will not translate into action.
What is the Waldorf School Curriculum?
To find out more information on the school curriculum please click here
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Please could you recommend some useful books on Child Development, Parenting, and Education
- Aeppli, Willi Rudolf Steiner - Education and the Developing Child
- Baldwin, Rahima - You are Your Child's First Teacher (Check out Rahima Baldwin's article on Waldorf Education in Mothering Magazine.)
- Bruno Bettleheim - The Uses of Enchantment; On Reading
- Carroll, Lee and Tober, Jan - The Indigo Children
- Coloroso Barbara - Kids are Worth it! Giving Your Child the Gift of Inner Discipline
- Dyer, Wayne - What do you Really Want for your Children?
- Egan Keiran - Imagination in Teaching and Learning; The Educated Mind
- Elkind, David - The Hurried Child; All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go; Miseducation
- Gatto, John Taylor - Dumbing Us Down
- Gardner Howard - Frames of Mind; The Unschooled Mind; Multiple Intelligences
- Goleman Daniel - Emotional Intelligence
- Hannaford, Carla - Smart Moves: Why Learning Is Not All in Your Head
- Harrison, Steven - The Happy Child, Changing the Heart of Education
- Healy, Jane - Endangered Minds; Your Child's Growing Mind; Failure to Connect
- Large, Martin - Who's Bringing Them Up?
- Lievegoed, Bernard - Phases of Childhood: growing in body, soul and spirit
- Miller, John - The Holistic Curriculum
- Miller, Ron (ed) - Educational Freedom for a Democratic Society: A Critique of National Educational Goals, Standards, and Curriculum
- Moore, Raymond and Dorothy - Better Late Than Early; School Can Wait
- Palmer, Parker - To Know as We Are Known: Education as a Spiritual Journey
- Pearce, Joseph Chilton - Magical Child; Evolution's End; The Biology of Transcendence
- Postman, Neil - Amusing Ourselves to Death
- Schwartz, Eugene - Waldorf Education: Schools for the 21st Century
- Winn, Marie - Children Without Childhood; The Plug -in Drug; Unplugging the Plug-in Drug
Please could you recommend some useful Websites on Child Development, Education, and Waldorf Education
- The Alliance for Childhood. This site promotes policies and practices that support children's healthy development, love of learning, and joy in living.
- The Waldorf School Association of Ontario has registered the name "Waldorf" in Canada. Together with the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA), this association assists striving young school initiatives and supports the growth of established schools.
- The Association of Waldorf Schools in North America has set for itself the task of encouraging and furthering Waldorf education. This includes assisting schools and teacher training centers in the United States, Canada and Mexico to improve the quality of the education they offer.
- The Website Waldorf Answers is a private site, intending to provide answers about Waldorf education, in depth, to questions that parents and prospective parents may have, and to clear up some of the misconceptions that may exist about Waldorf education.
- The Online Waldorf Library has been created to provide useful information to English speaking Waldorf teachers, parents, homeschoolers, and anyone interested in Waldorf education. Their aim is to make visible all the appropriate resources on Waldorf education that are currently available and to provide information about where these resources can be purchased or obtained.
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