Waldorf Education
Our highest endeavor must be to educate free human beings, who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives.
ó Rudolf Steiner, founder of Waldorf education
What makes Waldorf education unique?
Waldorf education is based on a developmental approach that addresses the changing needs of the growing child and maturing adolescent.
Waldorf teachers strive to transform education into an art that educates the whole personóhead, heart and hands.
Waldorf schools are committed to cultivating moral capacities as well as academic, artistic, and practical skills so that their students can develop into self-aware, compassionate individuals who have a sense of responsibility for the earth.
Education for the Future
To prepare students for the future, we must go beyond the immediate tasks of schooling and strive to educate capacities which will serve them in the unimagined and unimaginable situations of the future.
What capacities do we try to nurture in our students?
To know oneself and to know the world, perceiving accurately, thinking clearly, and forming living concepts.
To feel deeply, to be sensitive to the beauties, the joys, the sorrows of this world, to experience compassion for others.
To develop the strength and willingness to act, to do what must be done, and to work not only for oneself, but for the benefit of all mankind and for the earth.
Waldorf graduates affirm that their education made a vital difference in their lives. What made the most difference? Their teachersótheir teachers’ values and ideals, their fundamental respect for the individuality of each student, and their willingness to meet each student’s needs.
Ideals in Action
Any form of education can only go as far as the individuals who are involved in it. The most profound philosophy, the most interesting curriculum, the most innovative teaching methods can only succeed if teachers and students are engaged in a process of self-development. At Hartsbrook, teachers and students strive to translate ideas into ideals and ideals into action so that we can become responsible world citizens who are working for a more humane future.
For More Information
Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA). The central Waldorf education site.
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