M Oak - Waldorf Education

Waldorf curriculum

Recommended reading
Waldorf Schools in Africa

The first Waldorf School was founded in Germany by the Austrian educationist Rudolf Steiner. The school was opened in 1919 to serve the needs of factory workers' children. Considered revolutionary at the time, the methods have proved themselves to be thoroughly practical and effective.Waldorf Education is a holistic response to the question "How can education best serve the growth of the individual and of society?" The education is based on three key elements:

a detailed study of the development of the child as a moral being;
a specific and unique methodology;
a comprehensive curriculum that supports the particular phases of the growing child.

Waldorf Education aims at providing a warm, rich, enjoyable yet challenging education in which the needs of the whole child are met throughout school life. It aims at a preparation for life in the broadest sense and for life-long learning. The curriculum is designed to bring balance into education by systematically addressing the whole child in every activity. Each subject taught needs to address the head, heart and hands of the child. Mathematics, for example, needs to engender feelings of wonder and curiosity while integrated practical activities deepen the experience and knowledge.

Waldorf Education is designed to be in harmony with the inner and outer needs of the child at every stage of its development, and therefore allows the young adult to emerge with a strong sense of the deeper meaning of life. Time and care istaken to travel every step of the way with each child - a phenomenon rare in today's hurried world. It is for this reason that Waldorf education fills a gap in a society where youth is increasingly susceptible to cynicism, despair, aggression and addiction.

FURTHER READING We suggest the following books, which are for sale or available on loan from our Parents' Library. Please enquire at the office.
ROOT AND SHOOT	Michael Oak Teachers	Aspects of Waldorf Education
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS	Roy Wilkinson
RUDOLF STEINER EDUCATION	Francis Edmunds	The Waldorf Schools
THE RECOVERY OF MANHOOD	A C Harwood
THE WAY OF A CHILD	A C Harwood
EDUCATING AS AN ART	Rudolf Steiner School Press, New York	Essays on the Steiner Method and Waldorf Education
PARENTING	Dotty Turner Coplen	A Path Through Childhood
LIFEWAYS	Gudrun Davy, Bons Voor	Aspects of Family Life by Waldorf Parents
WALDORF EDUCATION	Richard Blunt	Theory and Practice
STEINER EDUCATION	A periodical appearing twice a year, Steiner Education (formerly Child and Man)	A focus for ideas, insights and achievements in all English-speaking Waldorf Schools throughout the world. Copies are available from the Parents' Library. Subscriptions can be placed with the School Secretary.

FURTHER INFORMATION ON WALDORF SCHOOLS,
Training Centres and Pre-School Initiatives in Africa:

SOUTHERN AFRICA
Federation of Waldorf Schools in Southern Africa
4 Victoria Rd, Plumstead, 7800

EGYPT
Sekem School at Bilbels
P O Box 2834, El Horrya, Heliopolis, Egypt

KENYA
Nairobi Rudolf Steiner School
P O Box 15609, Nairobi, Kenya

NAMIBIA
Kindergarten der Christengemeinschaft
P O Box 11359, Windhoek, Namibia

TANZANIA
Hekima Waldorf School
P O Box 13549, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

ZIMBABWE
15 Kerfield Lane, Borrowdale, Harare, Zimbabwe