The Waldorf High School

Our highest endeavor must be to develop free human beings who are able,of themselves, to impart purpose and direction to their lives.

Rudolf Steiner

Because the high school years stand in close proximity to adulthood they beg the most essential question: How does the Waldorf High School prepare students for the challenges and opportunities they will meet in the real world?

Imagining this real world is complicated, as we can easily come up with contrasting images. On the one hand, our current time overflows with promise and possibility. Many young people today, both women and men, feel that their choices are endless. They can travel the world, study abroad, and design their own college major.

Yet, at the same time, daily installments of discouraging news on global warming, terrorism, violent crime, and famine, leave many young people feeling overwhelmed by a world filled with seemingly complex, unsolvable problems.

Regardless of the perception, it is the responsibility of educators today to send young people forth from high school adequately prepared to meet the future with confidence. No matter which view of the future we ascribe to, our assignment is the same. We need an education that will enable young people to impart purpose and direction to their lives.

In order to succeed in this effort a school must take into consideration the fullness of human life, with all its many dimensions. Any approach to education that sees its purpose only from a limited standpoint, as a means of educating young people solely for future jobs or to be a stable citizens in a democratic society, is diminishing the potential of its students because it ignores what is most essential - the breadth and depth of our human nature, that part of us that finds fulfillment, meaning, and joy in life.

It is by educating all of the dimensions of a students humanity that a Waldorf School enables its graduates to find purpose and direction in their lives. This full human potential, which has been developed by the Waldorf School from the preschool, through the grades, now reaches its culmination in high school. The assignment has always been the same - educate a variety of essential capacities that will continue to serve young people after they leave school. These capacities, conscientiously developed by a cohesive educational program, are:

Creative thinking permeated with imagination, flexibility, and focus
Emotional intelligence, empathy, and self-esteem
Physical vitality, stamina, and perseverance
Spiritual depth borne out of an abiding appreciation and responsibility for nature, for work, and for their fellow human beings

Because we live in an increasingly complex and rapidly changing world, we need to educate young people to be awake and thoughtful and above all discerning. They need to be able to see beyond the conventional point of view and to process and make sense out of the vast amount of information that reaches them each day. The ability to discern, to look below the surface, to read between the lines, and, above all, to remain open-minded is more important than ever.

The development of thinking is the most vital work done in a Waldorf high school. The entire four-year program is designed with this in mind. Regardless of the subject in ninth grade, whether it is geology, modern world history, or English literature the students are asked to describe in detail exactly what they have observed. This approach strengthens the students perception and understanding of reality and challenges them to look beyond the cliché, the culturally accepted or current way of seeing the world. The continually recurring question in grade nine is What? What did you see? What did you hear? What did the author state? What exactly occurred?

In tenth grade, the emphasis shifts but the goal of developing thinking is still the same. Now a comparative element is added to the consideration and the question of How? is brought before the students. When subjects such as chemistry, human anatomy, and ancient history are considered different questions emerge: How are acids different than bases? How is the skeletal system of a woman different than a mans? How are the religious traditions of the Middle East and the Far East different from those in the West?

In grade eleven, as the maturation of the students thinking continues, the focus shifts to the development of abstract reasoning , and the development of moral imagination and inquisitiveness. As Douglas Gerwin points out in the book, Genesis of a Waldorf High School:

The junior curriculum could be characterized by the theme of invisibility: namely the study of those subjects that draw the student into areas that are not accessible to the experience of the senses& In chemistry, the students enter the invisible kingdom of the atom; in physics they explore the invisible world of electricity (which we can see only in its effects, not in its inherent nature)& These voyages to invisible landscapes pose a central question intended to strengthen the students powers of independent analysis and abstract theorizing. The question is Why? Why are things this way? [i]

In twelfth grade, the education of the Waldorf student comes to completion with the closing question of Who? and particularly Who am I? With the study of Walt Whitmans, Song of Myself, Ralph Waldo Emersons essay, Self Reliance, and Goethes Faust, the students explore existential questions that have a serious impact on their ability to impart purpose and direction to their own lives.

One of the most striking features of Waldorf high school graduates is their quiet confidence. This sense of confidence comes from their ability to think clearly as well as empathetically, to be awake to the world, but not removed and detached.

In addition, the balanced nature of a Waldorf Education builds self-esteem. While thinking is being developed through a rigorous academic program, the arts continue to play an important role in the educational process. Sculpture, painting, bookbinding, calligraphy, and choral singing are part of every high school students educational program. The emotional resilience that students need during these turbulent and unpredictable teenage years is bolstered through an artistic program that encourages self-expression and communication.

At the same time that the students are emotionally engaged through art, they are physically engaged through the crafts and sports programs. Blacksmithing, woodworking, weaving, basketry, and leatherwork are part of an extensive program that promotes hands-on learning. In addition, students are encouraged to participate in a variety of extra curricular activities. A number of sports teams (soccer, basketball, cross-country, track, lacrosse, softball and baseball) are offered at Waldorf Schools. Although these teams compete with other schools, they stress teamwork and sportsmanship and welcome all interested students.

Foregoing tryouts allows students with more moderate sports interests to participate and learn a sport as they play and practice. Some of the most successful Waldorf sports stories are those involving bright, creative students who discovered unexpected athletic ability in high school through the encouragement of a supportive coach or gym teacher.

The value of a balanced approach to education is that it integrates a wide range of capacities and talents and by doing so supports the emotional and spiritual health of the students. Well-rounded students remain sensitive to the mysteries and subtleties of life, yet at the same time emotionally connected with others and actively involved in the world. The simple motif of engaging students through head, heart, and hands has sounded repeatedly through all three phases of a Waldorf Education in an attempt to enliven students thinking and to make a childs school experience meaningful. In the end this educational framework has enabled Waldorf graduates to engage life deeply with confidence and direction. In this way all that is best [has been] kindled in the young, not the intellect that remains passive, but the will that stirs thinking to creative activity. [ii]

Jack Petrash
Nova Institute

[i] Gerwin, Douglas, Genesis of a Waldorf High School: A Source Book, 1997, p.13,14.

[ii] Steiner, Rudolf, The Younger Generation, 1967.

本文摘錄自 http://www.rsct.ca/index.cfm?pagepath=WALDORF_EDUCATION/The_Waldorf_High_School&id=837