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1. Learning is balanced; that is, it addresses the needs of the whole child: the body and heart, as well as the mind and spirit.
Reading and computation, history and science, are taught not simply as ends in themselves but as ways to develop creative and confident learners. The curriculum is designed to be stimulating, engaging, and developmentally appropriate. Learning in the early grades emphasizes movement, imagination, and art. Breadmaking in kindergarten and simple woodworking later on ground the child in the physical world.
The emphasis for the elementary and middle grades is on developing the heart through stories that teach ethical responsibility and social awareness. Moral lessons are drawn from Old Testament stories as well as from Norse and Greek mythology. Later grades use stories to teach history in a way that engages and connects thinking and feeling. The cultivation of critical thinking and analysis is generally deferred until high school.
2. Art, music, and movement are integral to everything the child learns, especially in the earlier grades.
Starting in first grade, children learn letters though pictures, story, and movement. Knitting helps children understand the principle of multiplication while creating something useful and beautiful with their hands. Children in later grades create and illustrate their own textbooks. Through such means, children assimilate new concepts and information with their whole being not just with their minds.
3. Waldorf schools provide a learning environment that bolsters the confidence of all children and builds on their innate curiosity. No emphasis is placed on grades, ranking, competition, and testing.
Student progress is evaluated through compiling portfolios of the student's work and respected for where they're at. The teacher then shares his or her impressions through parent-teacher conferences and a year-end narrative report.
4. So that learning in its fullest sense can occur, teachers are nurturers as well as instructors.
Students in Waldorf schools ideally have the same teacher for the core subjects from grades 1-5 and possibly beyond. The resulting continuity enables the teacher to acquire and build on an in-depth understanding of each child's essential being and character, of his or her strengths and emotional needs. Waldorf teachers typically develop a deep relationship with the entire family.
5. Behavior is managed in a creative, non-coercive manner.
Thanks to the bond of respect and understanding that typically develops between teachers and students, discipline problems are few and quickly resolved. The curriculum itself supports constructive behavior because it meets kids where they are.
6. Waldorf provides a framework that supports parents who desire to shield their children from the excessive stimulation and consumerism that characterize popular culture.
Waldorf schools strongly discourage prematurely exposing children to television, videos, and computer games. By stimulating a child's curiosity and creativity, a Waldorf education fosters a mind-set that is the exact opposite of passive consumerism. It equips children to make a creative contribution to the world, not simply fit into an established order.
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