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A WALDORF EDUCATION Educating the Whole Child: Head, Heart and Hands by Linda Sechrist
Rudolf Steiner, a leading figure in the cultural life of Central Europe until his death in 1925, was the founder of the first Waldorf School in Stuttgart, Germany. He believed that children should be received in reverence, educated in love and sent forth in freedom, and would be delighted to see that his mission is still being carried out at the Waldorf School of San Diego. Today, more than ever, the world needs what Director of Admission Julie Joinson advises was Steiner’s ultimate impetus: to educate children to bring peace into the world.
14 San Diego Edition
“In today’s tumultuous times,” says Joinson, “what could possibly be more important than young people who are well-balanced and connected to their heart force; who act with their head, heart and hands; and who are excited to go out into their communities and do good things? It seems to me that if children are not educated in this way, then we are simply turning out more uncaring CEOs.”
Planting the seeds of reverence for life, na-
ture and the human experience, as well as for all that brings beauty to the soul, starts early in a Waldorf education and is accomplished through a curriculum that honors the arts and the developmental stages of children as understood by Steiner. Teachers model, and students learn, love and kindness; freedom through inner guidance and social responsibility; honesty and humility; diversity and unity; dedication and cooperation; gratitude; health; respect for others; and stewardship of the land. Joinson becomes excited whenever she gets to talk about the fastest-growing private school movement in the world. A Waldorf school educates the whole child—head, heart, and hands—by stimulating the mind with a full spectrum of traditional academic subjects; nurtur- ing healthy emotional development by conveying knowledge experientially, as well as academically; and working with the hands throughout the day, both in primary academic subjects and a broad range of artistic handwork, music and craft activities. “Learning becomes much more than acquisition of quantities of information; it becomes an engaging voy-
age of discovery of the world and oneself,” enthuses Joinson.
Citing an example of how students learn respect for the diversity of cultures and economic status, Joinson refers to Waldorf students who are interacting with a local public school with a large demographic of low-income families and refugees from war-torn areas such as the Sudan and Somalia. She says, “The experience gives Waldorf students the opportunity to learn respect for diverse economic situ- ations and other cultures, and the public school students get to learn English in a
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