By Tracy Donnachie, Pedagogic Coordinator

I’d like to begin by giving you something to think about: the system of ‘mainstream’ education that continues to guide practices today, was designed in the 1700s, during the Industrial Revolution. Primarily, it was designed to produce scientists, technicians, and engineers. Even today, more than 90% of education focuses on developing scientific, mathematical, and linguistic intelligence, but this is often at the expense of creativity, emotional intelligence, and independent thinking.

The Changing Needs of the Modern World

The newer thoughts have been that we need to prepare students for a world where they can use technology, but this is no longer even so important. Today, technology doesn’t require a learning experience to be able to use it…it’s really quite intuitive.  The most important skill now is fast becoming the ability to relate to one another.

Most jobs in the world today already require this, and those who cannot build relationships, empathise, or predict needs, will not be equipped for the workplace of the future.

That being said, we completely understand that technology has a place in our lives. Our students engage with it appropriately, at the correct time. Technology used incorrectly breeds anxiety in our youth. If you are uncertain of this, I encourage you to look up Jonathan Haidt and read his book, The Anxious Generation.

When it comes to technology, our conviction is that it must serve the classroom experience, not lead it. We know that engagement in learning comes from a relationship with the teacher, and finding meaning in what you are learning. The technology is not ‘the thing’, the education is ‘the thing’ – the technology is merely the tool.

Educating for an Unknown Future

Rudolf Steiner founded the first Waldorf school in 1919. For Steiner, schooling was a matter of ensuring that every student developed the highest degree of clarity of thought that they could; the highest degree of depth and differentiation of feelings that they could – that every student should develop the highest degree of willpower possible for them (from The five Dimensions of Waldorf Education by Valentin Wember).

Subsequently, Waldorf schools introduce children to a broader picture of the world. And that is as it must be – because children who have just begun school will retire from the workplace around 2080. Yet, we honestly have no clear vision of the world in 10 years’ time, let alone sixty years from now. We educate children to prepare them for living in the future, so we must consider what that future may need. We believe that capabilities such as independent thinking, entrepreneurship, and creativity will be important – so will emotional intelligence and social competence, alongside scientific, mathematical, and linguistic abilities. This holistic education that our students receive places them in good stead for the future.

A modern-day issue is that our technology has caused many of us to become consumers… simply passive receivers of information. Our wish is to raise innovators and thinkers who are producers, rather than consumers. Because we don’t narrow down subjects too early, and we include subjects like Handwork, Eurythmy, and Music alongside the usual academic subjects to the end of Class 11, we ensure that each student is exposed to a wide range of world knowledge,  and thereby gets to explore what interests them most.

As a result of our curriculum and teaching methods, each child comes to know their own unique interests, strengths, and passions. They are then able to stand independently in the world and engage with it. They can think for themselves and because they are capable in their head, heart and hands;  they are not afraid to take on anything. In addition, a wonderful learning happens as a result of how we teach and engage with our students, and that is how to successfully navigate social interactions – how to collaborate and converse with one another. Empathy used to be a prized attribute of counsellors, teachers, and therapists but not anymore… Today, empathy is a basic life skill that cannot be overlooked. What we have been doing for over a century is more relevant today than ever. Waldorf graduates go out into the world and do many diverse and interesting things.

The Role of the Teacher in a Waldorf School

The teacher’s task is to create the most favourable conditions for every child. Steiner said it this way – that every education is self-education, and as teachers we can only provide the most favourable conditions in which, through our agency, the child can educate themselves in accordance with their own destiny.

Our attention then is always on each individual’s achievement in learning, their progress and development. Not that which is measured against one another. We engage deeply with our dynamic curriculum and are conscious of the reasons why we teach what we teach. We take time to understand each child’s unique temperament, their rhythms, and their development so we can support them in ways that honour who they are and who they are becoming. Our role is twofold: to curb their excesses and strengthen their weaknesses, always striving to help them reach their full potential. By helping to remove obstacles and guiding them with care, we support each child in becoming who they are meant to be on their life’s journey.

 A Waldorf class teacher embarks on a unique journey with their students, the same lessons are not repeated year after year because the teacher doesn’t teach the same grade year after year. This alone speaks to the magnitude of the task – but also to the excitement, energy, and unwavering enthusiasm that define Waldorf teaching. This approach keeps the teacher engaged and continually evolving. The children, in turn, can feel this vitality.

As time goes on, parents begin to see the fruits of our approach to education – the changes in their child – their creativity, their empathy, their sense of wonder, and their ability to think independently. Together, we are planting the seeds for a brighter future; nurturing well-rounded, capable individuals who will step into the world with purpose, confidence, and a deep sense of responsibility to their communities and the wider world.