This year, 2019, marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of Waldorf education based on the insights of Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925). The first school was created at the request of the workers of the Waldorf Astoria cigarette factory in Stuttgart, Germany. Since then, Waldorf schools have seen a steady rise, with some notable set-backs. During the Nazi era, all Waldorf schools were closed in countries occupied by the National Socialists, but they reopened quickly when World War II came to an end. When Communism came to an end there was an explosion of interest in Russia and the former Soviet countries where Waldorf had been forbidden for decades. When apartheid came to an end in South Africa, there was a surge of interest in Waldorf early childhood education in the townships. Now there is huge interest in China, where hundreds of teachers are enrolled in Waldorf teacher training programs.
During its 100-year history, Waldorf has changed and adapted to each new stage of its life. Yet its devotion to a well-balanced education based on a deep understanding of a child’s development has remained constant. This book addresses both elements: the underlying understanding of the child, as well as the diverse ways to apply such an understanding in different cultures.
Today, there are over 1,000 Waldorf or Steiner Schools, and nearly 2,000 Waldorf early childhood programs in more than 70 countries. They are independent of each other yet work closely together in national and international associations.
Over the years many books have been written about Waldorf education. In the early childhood field most focus on practical aspects of the education. This book is different. It includes descriptions of the practice of Waldorf early education, but it primarily focuses on the underlying ideas of the education and the ways its approach links to educational and scientific theories of our time. For instance, the section on the senses connects Rudolf Steiner’s view that there are 12 senses with current neurological thinking about the many senses of the human being, all of which need to be cultivated in a well-balanced child.
Also, this book goes beyond focusing on Waldorf education. As the authors state in their introductory chapter, ‘This book is as much a defence of childhood as it is an advocacy of Steiner education’. This defence of childhood comes at an extremely important time. In my 50 years of working with and for children, I have never seen a time of greater need to defend childhood, especially in the United States where I have been active. There is a growing materialistic view of the world and this applies to children, as well. Rather than paying attention to the way children actually develop and then creating educational approaches that support the child’s healthy development, the child is viewed in a machine-like way, and arbitrary goals for achievement are set as if one can simply recalibrate the child to perform tasks at ages we arbitrarily decree.
In the United States, we see this tendency especially in the new Common Core standards that require children to read basic books with ‘purpose and understanding’ by the end of kindergarten. Some children are capable of this task, but many are not developmentally ready, and suffer from this unreasonable demand. Those setting the standards claim they are evidence-based, but in fact there is no evidence that says that teaching reading in kindergarten leads to better reading and comprehension skills by third or fourth grade. Early gains, which do take place, are quickly lost, but the effect of the pressure which the children experience in preschool and kindergarten is not so easily lost. It can create anxiety and tension, which can then interfere with developing a love of reading and of learning in general.
Efforts to speed up young children’s development can result in serious stress. We currently see increases in physical and mental health problems among children, which many associate with the growing stress of childhood today. The decline in children’s health and well-being concerned me so deeply that after 30 years as a Waldorf early childhood educator, I enlarged my focus and co-founded the Alliance for Childhood, a broad-based organization comprised of educators, health professionals, play advocates, and many others who are deeply concerned about the plight of children today. The Alliance has focused on issues such as the over-use of electronic media in childhood, the ill-effects of too much academic instruction in preschool and kindergarten, and the need to restore creative play in children’s lives.
This book addresses many of the issues which I and others have worked on for decades, and it is most welcome both for its contemporary look at Waldorf early education and its emphasis on what is needed for a healthy, well-balanced childhood. It fills an important niche in academic circles and among parents who want to deepen their understanding of Waldorf early education and its relevance today.
Joan Almon
College Park, Maryland, USA
February 2019