My mind is blown reading this thread. My friend mentioned looking at a Waldorf school. Yeah she will be getting a call from me tomorrow.
As with "Montessori" and "Reggio Emilia" it might just be branding to get white people to pay more. But it might be a cult. Just make sure your friend makes sure which one it is.
Post by turtlegirl on Dec 19, 2014 23:24:18 GMT -5
We actually have a friend who is sending her daughter (and her son next year) to a public charter school near by that is "Waldorf inspired". So it seems like just more free flowing, less textbooks, etc. But still has to be all tied back to public school standards/common core, etc.
There was a school in my neighborhood (moved to a bigger school last summer) & they put on an awesome winter festival. I love their emphasis on art but they have some extreme views (no learning to read until teeth fall out, big into fairies, dictate things at home (aka no TV, etc) for example). I wouldn't actually send my kid there because I have different beliefs.
There's one a couple of hours from us that threw a kick ass winter festival as well. But with more research, I wouldn't even consider sending DD there. DH calls them "dirty hippies"
And now I'm side-eyeing her current teacher for suggesting it. This school search is awful! Grrrr, I have a feeling we are going to end up driving 15 mins to a catholic school.
LOL, we drive 30 min each way for Montessori. I would kill for 15.
My mind is blown reading this thread. My friend mentioned looking at a Waldorf school. Yeah she will be getting a call from me tomorrow.
As with "Montessori" and "Reggio Emilia" it might just be branding to get white people to pay more. But it might be a cult. Just make sure your friend makes sure which one it is.
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
And now I'm side-eyeing her current teacher for suggesting it. This school search is awful! Grrrr, I have a feeling we are going to end up driving 15 mins to a catholic school.
LOL, we drive 30 min each way for Montessori. I would kill for 15.
But with traffic, it might be an hour. No telling. I WAH, so 15 really means a work hour lost each day. Same for you? Or do you drop off and then go to work (closer?)
Also, I like knitting, sewing and textiles! As long as you aren't teaching my kids gnomes and math using them!
To be fair, i had a couple of good friends as a teenager that went to a waldorf school in Chicago. They were cool kids and have turned into successful adults. I'd do my own research and have a look at the school if it were such a tempting option. Just use this thread to pool your questions to ask.
LOL, we drive 30 min each way for Montessori. I would kill for 15.
But with traffic, it might be an hour. No telling. I WAH, so 15 really means a work hour lost each day. Same for you? Or do you drop off and then go to work (closer?)
Also, I like knitting, sewing and textiles! As long as you aren't teaching my kids gnomes and math using them!
I just started WAH. DH used to drop her off on the way to work, but that meant waking her up earlier and rushing around. Now I drop her off and get back to the house about the time everyone else gets to the office. Win-win
DH was oddly fascinated by our Waldorf festival experience. He was telling me about DD's visit through some sort of fairy forest and the lady who smelled like patchouli
I don't think it's horrible. It's not for my kids. The lunch baskets my DD and I might make fun of a little. The playground looks a bit like a plaintiff attorney's dream. The kids seem pretty peaceful. There is obviously no standardized testing.
Go visit. I know people who send their kids to the one here. I think they are more sane than the people whose smart kids are failing in the public school, but they "would never do private school".
There are two boys in my DS's public kinder I want to rip out of there and put in private school, Waldorf or anywhere were they are sensitive and flexible toward kids.
I know several families who sent ther kids to the same Waldorf school you are taking about and every one of them pulled their kids within a year, and these are very hippy, crunchy, out there families, and they all said it was too far out for even them.
It is not a good style of learning for most children, and I would wager that those who send their kids there are not aware of the depths of craziness that is a true Waldorf school. You aren't ever allowed to color with black. You get to add a new color to your coloring evey year. They don't read til like 9. It's not a sustainable way to learn and then transfer into a non Waldorf school or university. There are sites full of "Waldorf survivors". The creative part is good in theory but in practice the whole thing is a big farce. I am sure there are exceptions to all of this, and there are successful adults with a Waldorf background, but generally speaking this is not a highly looked upon style of education by people who are in education. I feel the same about Sudbury. I would have zero problem with Montessori or reggio, however.
My niece's first serious boyfriend did Waldorf through 8th. He's ridiculously bright and a wonderful kid/adult. He's from a large Quaker family that is very very into community service. He made his first million by 28.
The two other families have preshus children. They're rude, unkind and sort of a PITA. The older one did not transition well into more traditional schooling.
Post by changedname on Dec 20, 2014 8:15:28 GMT -5
There is a Waldorf school right near my house. The website says there are only 17 kids. I keep begging dh to come with me for a tour but he won't.
I didn't know the fairy and no black thing. I do know from the website that they expect parents to run the school by doing the cleaning, janitorial duties etc.
This thread is making laugh only because of there WERE any Waldorf parents I doubt they would post now. Or they might, guns a blazing. Do the fairies and gnomes get guns?
As with "Montessori" and "Reggio Emilia" it might just be branding to get white people to pay more. But it might be a cult. Just make sure your friend makes sure which one it is.
What do you mean by this?
That I am a self-loathing upper-middle-class hippie
More seriously, that some schools that label themselves like this don't necessarily follow all of the major tenets of the ed theory very closely. And even if they do follow them closely, I take all ed theories with a big heaping pile of salt.
My HS was "Montessori" and V's daycare is "Reggio Emilia-inspired", but to me they're good places because they have good teachers, not because they're following this or that ed theory.
Saying Waldorf is maybe okay for some people is like saying Scientology is maybe okay for some people.
I don't think they are the same at all. Scientology ignores common knowledge. Waldorf just delays the age at which you learn common knowledge and hopes you will find it in a tree trunk. I do know several Waldorf graduates, they babysat for me when my kids were younger. They are nice kids and are now enrolled in colleges.
Saying Waldorf is maybe okay for some people is like saying Scientology is maybe okay for some people.
I don't think they are the same at all. Scientology ignores common knowledge. Waldorf just delays the age at which you learn common knowledge and hopes you will find it in a tree trunk. I do know several Waldorf graduates, they babysat for me when my kids were younger. They are nice kids and are now enrolled in colleges.
I'm sure there are plenty of nice babysitting Scientologists as well. I think they're very much the same, actually. Cults made up to make money and control people.
I don't think they are the same at all. Scientology ignores common knowledge. Waldorf just delays the age at which you learn common knowledge and hopes you will find it in a tree trunk. I do know several Waldorf graduates, they babysat for me when my kids were younger. They are nice kids and are now enrolled in colleges.
I'm sure there are plenty of nice babysitting Scientologists as well. I think they're very much the same, actually. Cults made up to make money and control people.
Idk, is Waldorf making a ton of money? The school I was looking at does sustainable tuition and I'm betting only 25% or less of the kids pay full tuition. One of the main things that turned me off was they touted "low teacher salaries" as a way to achieve this. I'd rather accept some state money and pay the teachers a good wage!
I'm sure there are plenty of nice babysitting Scientologists as well. I think they're very much the same, actually. Cults made up to make money and control people.
Idk, is Waldorf making a ton of money? The school I was looking at does sustainable tuition and I'm betting only 25% or less of the kids pay full tuition. One of the main things that turned me off was they touted "low teacher salaries" as a way to achieve this. I'd rather accept some state money and pay the teachers a good wage!
The Waldorf school in atlanta is on par with other private schools in atlanta, it's not cheap
Their system is beyond odd...and I would side eye their teacher as well for the recommendation!
I wouldn't. Waldorf schools do a really good job marketing themselves well. I went to visit one as part of a research paper, and it seemed like a wonderful nurturing place where children were learning. They have a way of making their theories seem reasonable and like they might have the right idea. If the op's child is creative, the teacher may have just known that Waldorf schools are known for being creative and child centered, she may not have known any of the other stuff.
Their system is beyond odd...and I would side eye their teacher as well for the recommendation!
I wouldn't. Waldorf schools do a really good job marketing themselves well. I went to visit one as part of a research paper, and it seemed like a wonderful nurturing place where children were learning. They have a way of making their theories seem reasonable and like they might have the right idea. If the op's child is creative, the teacher may have just known that Waldorf schools are known for being creative and child centered, she may not have known any of the other stuff.
Yeah, DH is a teacher with two degrees and he'd never heard of Waldorf. She may not have any idea what she's recommending.
I have a friend who started sending her daughter to Waldorf from 1st grade on. She is a smart funny kid, she has a learning difference & as such her writing is very poor, but she has a crazy love of learning & works very hard on her writing & grammar skills . The family LOVES ren faire & fairies, however they are super PRO VAX & science too so....IDK?
I will never have a spare 20K a year hanging around to enroll my kid. & find out more.
there's one two blocks from my house. They spend A LOT of time in the woods, looking for gnomes. I mean, I can think of worse ways to spend the day, but not for $20k/year
Saying Waldorf is maybe okay for some people is like saying Scientology is maybe okay for some people.
I don't think they are the same at all. Scientology ignores common knowledge. Waldorf just delays the age at which you learn common knowledge and hopes you will find it in a tree trunk. I do know several Waldorf graduates, they babysat for me when my kids were younger. They are nice kids and are now enrolled in colleges.
Waldorf is pretty damn anti-vax. That combined with promoting anthroposophical "medicine" qualifies as ignoring common knowledge in my book.
I don't think they are the same at all. Scientology ignores common knowledge. Waldorf just delays the age at which you learn common knowledge and hopes you will find it in a tree trunk. I do know several Waldorf graduates, they babysat for me when my kids were younger. They are nice kids and are now enrolled in colleges.
Waldorf is pretty damn anti-vax. That combined with promoting anthroposophical "medicine" qualifies as ignoring common knowledge in my book.
I had to google this one. Nope nope nope nope nope.
If he doesn't homeschool them, I'm pretty sure my bitcoin loving, aquatic ape-theory believing, anarchocapitalist ex-CW is going to send his kids to a Waldorf school...