What is Waldorf education?
If you don’t know what Waldorf education consists of, don’t miss the following article and find out exactly what it is based on.
The pedagogy Waldorf is an educational model originated by an educator named Rudolf Steiner. The first Waldorf school was founded in 1919, in Germany.
The fundamental basis of Waldorf education is the study of the human being, knowledge and self-knowledge . From this vision, the whole and complete human being will be seen. It is a very varied pedagogy that greatly respects the child , developing it in mind, body and spirit.
Index
WALDORF PEDAGOGY DIVIDES EDUCATION INTO 3 STAGES
This pedagogy defends that the child must be educated for seven years, that is, every seven years. At 21, the child can go his own way, with much more autonomy than in the previous stages. These stages are very similar to those that were proposed by Piaget.
Thus, with this type of education it is possible to form free and autonomous human beings , who are able to function by themselves in the world around them and solve their problems in an optimal way. The foundations of this type of education are centered on this idea of education by septeniums.
In the first seven years, the child is in movement and will. Children are getting to know the world, they are like sponges that don’t have any filters and they know everything that comes their way. They are at the age of wanting to do everything. Thus, at this stage, talking , walking and thinking are mainly worked on . The child gradually awakens the energies of thought, and the fantasy that arises at this stage must be worked on, considering it as something that precedes the thought.
In this sense, you should not stop children, you should let them move, discover and experiment , so that tomorrow they will have a strong will that allows them to do all kinds of things, and solve all kinds of inconveniences.
MOVEMENT IS THE CENTRAL AXIS OF WALDORF EDUCATION
Human beings learn through our bodies. Thus, when the child learns through movement, he better assimilates all knowledge because he feels it through his body.
In the primary stage, the child consolidates his emotions through images. If you present a child with an image that causes them sadness , it will immediately be etched into their thoughts. It is not the same that they study it and it remains etched in their memory, because that will be forgotten over time.
If they learn through the world of feelings , instead of through the intellect, the internalization of knowledge will be much more effective and permanent. Thus, you must expose the child to a world of experiences and imagination and feelings .
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE GAME IS FUNDAMENTAL
In this way, children will be able to expose all their skills and all their creativity in a free and autonomous way. In free play , the child has the opportunity to develop his imagination.
The child looks for what to play, finds his own material, plans his game , negotiates with his peers, and through all this, social norms are established . The motor part of children will also be developed with play, and they will be able to control their body and know it perfectly. Thus, with this pedagogy, both physical and behavioral, emotional, cognitive, social and spiritual aspects are awakened, and creative, critical and analytical thinking is encouraged, where the child is able to function on his own in any circumstance.
THE RHYTHM OF THE CHILD’S LEARNING WILL BE RESPECTED
In other words, there will not be any type of pressure because each child is different and everyone will have a different learning rate. For this reason, this pedagogy is integral, because it makes children feel free and feel that they can really be themselves. Therefore, it connects with the essence of the human being, which enables them to be an authentic being. Children grow up happy and with great security.
Waldorf education does not focus on results , but on the entire process of learning through experience, through doing. The academic grade does not matter. The school is an institution that must train for life, and with this pedagogy it is achieved that children have more options, so they will have more flexibility in their thinking and therefore more solutions to certain problems. The child can decide freely.
In the educational methods that we know today, it is intended that the child adapt to the society in which we live. On the other hand, with Waldorf pedagogy, he makes the child know himself , and that when he finishes school he can contribute what he himself can give, thus creating a new world.
Dr. Tabriella Perivolaris, Sara's mother and fan of fashion, beauty, motherhood, among others, about the female universe. Since 2018 she has been working as a copywriter, always bringing to her articles a little of her experience and experience as a mother and woman.