WALDORF PEDAGOGY

“Waldorf education is not a teaching method but an art – the art of awakening what is really there in the human being.”

– Rudolf Steiner

Founded in the early 20th century, Waldorf education is based on the ideas, teachings and educational principles described by world-renowned artist and scientist Rudolf Steiner.

Waldorf education is based on an in-depth knowledge of the child and their metamorphoses over time.

Through a rigorous and balanced mix of academic subjects, artistic instruction and practical activities, Waldorf education aims to inspire lifelong learning in students and enable them to fully develop their unique abilities.

Children are encouraged to actively experience and feel things in order to understand them. The aim is not so much to impart knowledge as to awaken the full range of the child’s faculties, in an age-appropriate way that respects the child’s developmental rhythms.

Waldorf students’ great capacity for focus is certainly reinforced by a practice that is increasingly neglected: time for observation and reflection.

Waldorf school teachers are dedicated to generating an inner enthusiasm for learning in every child. This eliminates the need for competitive tests and rewards to motivate learning, and allows motivation to come from within.

100 years after the founding of the first Waldorf school, there are now almost 1,000 Waldorf schools and 2,000 Waldorf daycares providing Waldorf education to thousands of children in over 64 countries.

Organizations such as AWSNA (Association of Waldorf Schools of North America) and WECAN (Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America) support and accredit Waldorf schools in North America.

The What is Waldorf Education video explains the main features of Waldorf education in 5 chapters.

Non-academic preschool level
Tales and legends
Arts integrated into the curriculum
Teachers stay with the group for several years

The Preparing for Life video introduces us to Waldorf education in Silicon Valley, where the emphasis is on developing creativity, resilience, innovative thinking and social and emotional intelligence, rather than rote learning.

Entrepreneurs, Stanford researchers, investment bankers and parents who run some of the world’s leading high-tech companies focus on what children need to meet the challenges of the 21st century to find success, purpose and joy in their lives.