Waldorf 101

An Overview

The ever-elusive elevator pitch. Everyone wants to know: What is Waldorf Education? (And they want you to tell them in one to three sentences!) Like most things, Waldorf Education is difficult to sum up so succinctly, but Sunbridge Institute gets us off to a good start: In Waldorf Education, the learning process is essentially threefold, engaging head, heart, and hands, or thinking, feeling, and doing. This is the basis out of which Waldorf teachers work to nurture and engage each child through a curriculum and methodology that integrates academics, arts, and practical skills.

A Brief History

From the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America: In April of 1919, Rudolf Steiner visited the Waldorf Astoria cigarette factory in Stuttgart, Germany. The German nation, defeated in war, was teetering on the brink of economic, social, and political chaos. Steiner spoke to the workers about the need for social renewal, for a new way of organizing society and its political and cultural life.

Emil Molt, the owner of the factory, asked Steiner if he would undertake to establish and lead a school for the children of the employees of the company. Steiner agreed, and in September 1919, the Independent Waldorf School (die Freie Waldorfschule) opened its doors.

Child Development

It's not uncommon to hear catch phrases in Waldorf Education like the threefold human being or the four temperaments. What do these things mean? They're each linked to how Waldorf Education views child development and how that view is interwoven into the approach inside the classroom.

Waldorf Education divides child development into three seven-year segments: Birth - Age 7, Age 7 to Age 14, and Age 14 Age 21. These phases are each ruled by varying forces. The diagram shows an overview of those influences: