Perth Waldorf School

[EduCativ]

If a child has been able in his play to give up his whole living being to the world around him, he will be able, in the serious tasks of later life, to devote himself with confidence and power to the service of the world. Each Waldorf School, while sharing a joint philosophical base and methodology with other Waldorf schools, has a unique character. In the broadest sense, Waldorf education aims to:

• Awaken and preserve the child's innate sense of wonder, awe, and reverence for life.
• Restore vitality to childhood by infusing the learning process with love and enthusiasm.
• Cultivate the child's capacity for clear thinking.

The school's objective is to:

• Help each child blossom into young adulthood with a balanced capacity for both feeling and thinking to prepare, with self-confidence and inner resources to accept responsibility and take their places as creative, self-directed members of society.

The Waldorf School curriculum has been developed and refined over the past 80 years and is designed as a unity. Its subjects are introduced and developed in a sequence that mirrors the pupil's inner development as they grow. Incoming students at every grade level easily adjust to the natural progression of the curriculum.

The school does not seek any specific type of student. A broad spectrum of styles and abilities within each class is essential for creating a healthy environment. Our students all acquire knowledge and information in a curriculum approved by the W.A. Office of Non-Government Education.

We may be sure about the future; we do not know what it holds in store. One of the prime reasons parents give for choosing Waldorf Education for their children is that it keeps the pupil inwardly supple and mobile, nearly for the technical adaptability and social flexibility invariably demanded in our fast-changing world.

Former pupils of other Waldorf Schools are people with a broad range of disciplines and interests. They maintain within the framework of specialized work, a wealth of inner resourcefulness and initiative, and an outlook on life that is always ready to face challenges or initiate the next quest.

Their education and the fact that schools make it their policy to attract a spectrum drawn from diverse backgrounds ensure that they cannot only function well in teams but are at home in different social settings – extremely important in today's multicultural, multi-disciplined world. As they do, all walks of life take with them all the above qualities in entering.

One of the most controversial issues facing parents interested in Waldorf Education is the policy on television and other media forms, including radio and computer. Why is it in our modern age, where virtually every home and office is filled with electronic gadgets, computers, and television, that Waldorf teachers so passionately voice concerns over the effects these technologies have on children's development and education?

The following information is given, not to discredit or deny positive aspects of the media, but as a guide to deciding at what age and what extent use of media is appropriate. Most people are aware of research indicating a relationship between what children view and their behavior afterward. However, are you aware of the following?

• When children are passively watching T.V., their cardiovascular system is working at its peak. Muscles are in a state of tension.
• The media requires the brain to form 625 lines composed of over 800 dots appearing 25 times per second – into meaningful images. This strain, combined with a lack of eye movement, can produce sleeplessness, anxiety, nightmares, headaches, perceptual disorders, low concentration, and blunted senses.
• Rapid visual image and content changes allow no time for reflecting and questioning. This inhibits the assimilation of the material and interferes with the brain's ability for concentrated thought.
• T.V. watching may be linked with hyperactivity.
• Artificial light and radiation? Research is inconclusive.

Young children cannot discriminate between reality and make-believe; hence the news, drama, and commercials live in them indiscriminately. For this reason, media (movies, DVD's, videos, T.V., and magazines) can encourage false values, stereotypes, and deceptive thinking.

The interpretation of techniques such as close-ups, flashbacks, shoulder shots, and reverse shots requires analyzing, symbolizing, and abstract. These abilities should only be appealed to and developed after year 9. Every early development of slumbering capabilities weakens those capabilities and results in a disharmony of the total organism.

In the first seven years, children are real sense organs, building into themselves everything they hear, see, taste, and touch outwardly and the inner quality and atmosphere of that which surrounds them. Children imitate this in the minutest detail. Therefore, children must be given models of behavior worthy of imitation, which leads them to experience and express goodness and trust.

• Seeing it on T.V. is not the same as walking in the wilderness, listening to a concert in the park, or watching artists at their craft. It is not a substitute for reality.
• Television children lose or do not develop initiative and become almost dependent on outside stimulation to learn, think, create, and even play.
• Studies have shown that creativity, originality, and imaginativeness are diminished by television watching.

Waldorf Education aims to educate the child artistically and holistically. For teachers to succeed in their task, they must know at what time and how to introduce subjects to them. On a spiritual level, they must be aware of the hindrances and impediments that work against each child's healthy development. The supportive partnership between teacher and parent for the child's love and nurturing is essential for this goal to be realized. These children have been entrusted to our care, and it is "our" responsibility to be awake to potential dangers to their health and well-being.

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