Students and the Skills of Tomorrow
People assume that teachers who have been teaching for a long time must be great, and they often are, but they also have had many bad days and learning experiences that made them the teachers they are today. These educators know that children must be taught thoughtfully, emotionally, and in engaging ways, if they are going to see success in their classroom. At Cedarwood Waldorf School, we have teachers who do this so well - Mr. Hayes is on his 3rd loop at Cedarwood, Ms. Erin has been in our Early Childhood starting children off on the right foot for 25 years, Ms. Norman has been teaching grades students for 17 years, and Maestra Michelle has been conversing in Spanish with our students for over 20 years. So many of our teachers not mentioned here are just as impactful and vital to our community as the ones who have been here for two decades.
Across our Early Childhood, Grades, and Middle School we have teachers who bring a love of Waldorf Education, new ideas, and many years of experience to our campus. These teachers all know that the idea of education being one size fits all or that children are just vessels to fill with information is a flawed system. They know that each student is unique, and their thoughts are as unique as their needs. How do we prepare our children for a future that we cannot predict? A future that could be as different from today as today is from the early 1900s? Waldorf education does this by focusing on teaching students three things:
Developing the willpower and strength to get up and do what needs to be done in their students. Children need this to survive and thrive in the challenge-filled world of today and tomorrow.
A deep rich emotional life. One that allows them to be sensitive and empathic while having the resilience to overcome obstacles.
A lively, curious, and dynamic way of thinking. Cedarwood teachers encourage the students to come up with new original ideas and the ability to problem-solve creatively.
The way children learn these skills is through story, investigation, play, and art. When children play they are so invested in what they are doing that you often cannot even get them to the dinner table. They are immersed and engaged. They are living in the imaginative world they built and through this, they are problem-solving and learning to approach a challenge from many angles. This often involves role play which is a foundational step in learning empathy and the ability to be sensitive while resilient. These activities can work like practice runs for real obstacles they will one day face.
Similarly, art encourages students to use their creativity and to have the unbridled ability to create and express their emotions in new and exciting ways. Art can be therapeutic and it can be a way to cope with or process difficult situations. It is also a whole brain activity that can involve math, science, and literature. By integrating art in school students are able to think outside of the box and draw connections between their lives and the material they are learning in dynamic ways. It encourages them to be original and to find solutions as they pave their own path.
Waldorf Education begins in childhood where play is the foundation of learning. It focuses on the social and emotional dynamics of the class and learning skills like dressing in your winter clothes cooking, gardening, and singing that work towards pre-literacy and math skills. Best of all, it revolves entirely around play. Students use wooden toys and natural elements to create games and make-believe worlds. They play out in nature and inside where they are free to express themselves and mimic the world around them.
Play doesn’t end in our Early Childhood program, it continues into the grades where you will often see our students out in the courtyard in the morning doing movement activities like jumping rope and other rhythmic exercises. You will see them bonding through physical activity as they gain focus for the rest of the day. Then, art is brought into everything they do. Students create their own textbooks in every class block. They illustrate their lessons and learn to refine their painting and sculpting abilities in their math, social studies, and science blocks as they visually create the lessons. They continue to learn practical arts with sewing, knitting, and carving. They learn to move their body gracefully in eurythmy and skillfully in circus arts and movement classes. Finally, they learn music theory and string instruments as their brain begins to develop in new and exciting ways.
A Cedarwood Waldorf student does not just leave school with an education in core subjects like math, science, English, and history. They leave our halls with valuable skills, new hobbies, and new ways of thinking that carry them into adulthood. As the founder of Waldorf education, Rudolf Steiner said “receive the child in reverence, educate them in love, and send them forth in freedom”
To learn more about Cedarwood Waldorf School, please come visit us for a tour or request more information.
If you would like to know more about the importance of willpower, emotions, and problem-solving in our education, please watch this TEDTalk.