An Education for the Future
"Our highest endeavor must be to develop free human beings who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives. The need for imagination, a sense of truth, and a feeling of responsibility – these three forces are the very nerve of education."
– Rudolf Steiner
Creative Expression
Creative expression is the ability to make oneself heard by using one's mind and imagination. The arts are integrated into all academic lessons from preschool through eighth grade. Through a rigorous and thoughtful curriculum, students develop the ability to think outside the box, problem-solve, experience different points of view, and explore their individuality. Students develop the confidence and voice to express themselves through various artistic media.
Holistic Development
At the heart of Waldorf Education is the understanding that education is an art. Each lesson must live, whether it is science, a second language, mathematics, or history. Each lesson must speak to each child. To do this, the teacher must reach the child's heart, will, body, and mind, thus instructing the whole child.
Technology & Media
Waldorf schools have a "slow-technology" approach. Waldorf education prioritizes movement, experiential learning, teacher-student interactions, and important social-emotional learning opportunities in every classroom. Only when children have discovered their place in the real world do we introduce the virtual world of technology and media. In the upper grades, there is a gradual and intentional introduction to technology so that our students are mentally and emotionally mature enough to work with it consciously and responsibly.
Nature & Sustainability
Recent studies in mental health have validated Waldorf practices of outdoor learning, the study of the natural world, and the importance of a child-nature relationship. Not only are the students allowed to explore and experience the natural world in their play and in their lessons, but they begin to see the importance of protecting the environment and of becoming stewards of its resources. All day Forest Days, the study of botany, class gardens, camping trips, nature walks, trash collection, recycling, compost making, farm trips, and shelter building are some of the opportunities that Waldorf students have to embrace and sustain the natural world.
