This week’s class discussed the different schools and their quality of early childhood education. One type that not only stood out to me but was something I would like to remember in my own teaching one day, is the Waldorf school. Waldorf schools were founded by Rudolf Steiner who was born in 1861 and died in 1925, and emphasized DAP within his schools, as opposed to Montessori schools in which cover K-12 education. These Waldorf schools use an integrated curricular approach that gives these children rich education that include their own experiences in their learning. Our class slides stated “Music, poetry and the arts are not just done and taught but lived and experienced” which was something that resonated with me and is important to who I am as a future educator. Giving children a real experience while learning can increase their knowledge and interest leading to a better overal learning environment. Steiner puts an emphasis on human individuality, which should be integrated into every class environment. Especially in today’s day, human individuality has become a very crucial aspect to early childhood education, and can be used in the classroom with many subjects to give students interest in the world around them based on their own interests and personal identification. Giving students the opportunity to live and experience, rather than just teaching to get the lesson done, improves their overall learning and the teacher's connection with the classroom as well. While learning this topic in today’s class, the topic of technology was brought into this discussion as well. Steiner’s approach would not agree with the world we live in today that our children’s minds are consumed by technology. Technology is a privilege and should be used to enhance learning, not to be solely technology based. We need our children to have real experiences, rather than strictly virtual. Here is a link to information on Waldorf education.
https://www.waldorfeducation.org/waldorf-education
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