{"id":11066,"date":"2020-12-01T17:45:22","date_gmt":"2020-12-02T01:45:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=11066"},"modified":"2020-12-01T17:45:22","modified_gmt":"2020-12-02T01:45:22","slug":"waldorf-education-honors-the-head-heart-and-hands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=11066","title":{"rendered":"Waldorf Education Honors the Head, Heart, and Hands"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Waldorf<\/a>

Waldorf Education Honors the Head, Heart and Hands. Originally published in Santa Barbara Independent on November 19, 2020.<\/p><\/div>\n

101-Year-Old Tradition Offers a\u00a0Holistic Approach to School<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 101-year-old Waldorf educational tradition is\u00a0still thriving today at The Waldorf School of Santa\u00a0Barbara<\/a>. One of the key components is the whole child\u00a0educational approach, which Administrator Teddy\u00a0Macker<\/a> described as, \u201cTrying to encourage the intellectual,
\nartistic, and practical capacities of our children\u00a0equally in a loving, reverent holistic manner, and I think\u00a0that in itself is unique.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead of \u201cteaching to the test,\u201d as a focus, \u201cWe\u00a0want our children to flourish as human beings,\u00a0wholly,\u201d said Macker. \u201cSo we privilege working in\u00a0the garden like we might privilege math. We privilege\u00a0painting like we privilege history, so it\u2019s an integrated,\u00a0holistic curriculum wherein all of the human\u00a0is honored.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHead, Heart, and Hands\u201d is one of the catch phrases\u00a0you often hear. \u201cWhen we talk about the head, we are\u00a0talking about the academic and intellectual development\u00a0of the child,\u201d said 6th grade teacher and Administrator\u00a0Carolyn Kaster<\/a>. \u201cSo we see that we have a rigorous curriculum,\u00a0but in addition to that, we are working with building\u00a0capacities within the children. Rather than having a vessel\u00a0that you\u2019re filling up with information, we see it as building\u00a0capacities in the children to learn and also fostering\u00a0imagination and creativity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The heart, she explained, refers to social and emotional\u00a0learning. \u201cIn our philosophy, we value the relationships,\u201d\u00a0said Kaster. \u201cIt\u2019s very common in our school and in all\u00a0Waldorf schools for the teacher-student relationship to\u00a0span several years.\u201d The long-term teacher-student and\u00a0teacher-parent relationships create a unique partnership\u00a0and connection.<\/p>\n

The \u201chand\u201d component, Kaster said, concerns the artistic\u00a0approach to education, whether that means visual art,\u00a0music, dance, woodwork, or another discipline. \u201cAll of the\u00a0artistic parts of the curriculum are really woven throughout,\u201d\u00a0she explained. \u201cSo what you\u2019ll see is that there\u2019s not\u00a0much of separation between art and the curriculum, but\u00a0that there is art woven through.\u201d<\/p>\n

Altogether, Macker said that these programs ensure that\u00a0their students\u2019 socioemotional is thriving. \u201cWe\u2019re really\u00a0wanting the children to not be these mere heads sitting in\u00a0desks who can pull off cognitive feats,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re really\u00a0wanting them to be whole. For us, happiness is wholeness,\u00a0so we proudly \u2014 and we do it fallibly, of course, and
\nimperfectly \u2014 but we proudly fabric the social emotional\u00a0into everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

waldorfsantabarbara.org<\/a><\/p>\n

\"SB<\/a>

SB Independent Cover, Schools of Thought, November 19, 2020.<\/p><\/div>\n

Originally published in the Santa Barbara Independent<\/em><\/a> on November 19, 2020. To read the section as it appeared in print, please click here.<\/a><\/p>\n

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