When shopping around for a private academic school, you're bound to hear about Waldorf schools. There are over 1,000 of them around the globe, and all subscribe to the same educational philosophies.
These philosophies are those postulated by Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner. He believed that teaching required engaging a student's body, soul and spirit as well as their mind. Merely lecturing students as they grew was not enough to instill a lifelong love of learning. Instead, Steiner believed that art, music, movement and other creative pursuits needed to be woven into the curriculum.
The result was a child-centered approach to learning still used in Waldorf academic schools today. While teachers guide students and help steer their education,
CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE 1. Overpopulation is a major issue in many countries around the world. In an attempt to combat overpopulation, China introduced the one child policy in 1980. This policy made it so that families could only have one child. However, the one-child policy has been called into question by many people around the world.
My strengths as a teacher are utilizing culturally responsive pedagogy, using data to inform decisions, and building community in my classroom. Culturally responsive pedagogy is evident by my desire to educate the whole child. I make an intentional effort to get to know my students and their families so that I can incorporate each culture in my classroom. I use this as method to support and nurture my students socially and academically. This practice is also used to adapt and meet the needs of the students in my classroom.
Education is very important especially in this day and age. What school one attends and how they perceive school to be is a huge factor in one’s life success. There has been research done in the past few years proving that students who receive a Montessori education will prosper academically more so than those who receive a traditional education (Ryniker and Shoho, 2001). Traditional schools typically follow teacher based philosophies and the Montessori education is student centered. On average, children enjoy student based philosophy classrooms. Therefore, they are much more in tuned to what they are learning and that benefits their educational career. Having fun while learning is the key to keeping children engaged.
My first day on Brandeis campus also happened to be the first day of orientation. To be perfectly honest, I applied to a lot of schools and chose Brandeis mainly because it offered me the most financial aid and it was the furthest away from home (Texas). My first few days on campus were the days that I fell in love with Brandeis and found out what it meant to be a Brandeisian - all thanks to Orientation.
Evil is a subject on which most tread lightly, saying what they think is true and not questioning what it is. Who decides what is evil? Perhaps no one thing is completely evil. Perhaps each person decides what is evil in his eyes. One person might believe that someone is evil, and another person might believe that the same someone is good. This would mean that evil is relative depending on where you live, who you are, or what you believe. For example, Kim Jong Il, the dictator of North Korea, is evil in the eyes of most Americans, but those who live under his rule praise him above nearly everything. But then, are some things truly evil? If those in North Korea would see the world from our eyes, would they not think the dictator evil? So maybe
One leading success of Waldorf Education is the ability to incorporate art in learning. The Waldorf model uses the arts in every lesson, utilizing drama, music, and dances. One specific dance taught in Waldorf schools is called eurythmy, a form of dance for expressing the “art of the soul” (Grace Chen, Waldorf Education). According to research done by Earl Ogletree, pupils in Waldorf schools scored higher on the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking Ability than public school students did. Furthermore, outdoor play and seasonal lessons are integrated into Waldorf curriculum. Children are free to explore during their daily sessions of outdoor recess, and are more active than public school students. “Music, dance and theater, writing, literature,
This article allowed me to reevaluate my practices as a teacher. It is important to teach children the curriculum but it is also important to teach the child as a whole. Finding the philosophy of education cannot only be viewed through data but through real life experiences and learning. Children enjoy learning through drawing pictures, dramatic play, conversations and dilemmas with friends. Not all learning has to be structured. Working towards this balance of teaching will allow educators to create a higher educational experience for the teacher and
Marva Collins once said “I 'm a teacher. A teacher is someone who leads. There is no magic here. I do not walk on water. I do not part the sea. I just love children.” It is this love for children that drives almost everything I do. Therefore I am very protective of the children that I love, and I have identified that the most vulnerable place that a child encounters is the classroom. I plan to be a constructor. I plan to build a space where children can discover the greatness within themselves, the beauty of learning through curiosity and the ability they all have to determine exactly who they want to be through education. The creation of this space is necessary because in most schools and communities I go to, these spaces don’t exist. As a result of this deficiency children never fully actualize their potential because they don’t see the potential within themselves nor do they see education as the avenue to be who they want in life.
Mother: “I am so glad that your teacher is using Dewey’s view in education, and making sure that your interests, views, desires, and interests are being taken into account, so that your social, physical, and intellectual needs are being met.”
I hope to generate a dimension of education that is integral and integrative, it is highly relevant because it is adapted to the real conditions and needs of the community. Research has demonstrated the immense value of partnerships between parents, communities and teachers. It is for the greater good of the nation, and for the benefit of the future generations, that an effective parent and community involvement plant is implemented in every school in the nation
In today’s world, we can find hundreds of schools all around us, but we can’t figure out which one is best for our future generations. One of the most outstanding schools are the Montessori schools. According to the American Montessori Society the Montessori schools are based on the observation of the students, letting the students choose what they want to do, letting the students rely on themselves for almost everything, and the teachers are there to only help and observe the students. The famous Maria Montessori said, “The greatest sign of success for a teacher... is to be able to say, ’The children are now working as if I did not exist”. This approach was found a hundred years ago by a physician named
Six key trends are identified and presented depending on their lasting impact. For example, experts see the need of rethinking how our school work as a long lasting impact over the next 5 years and longer (NMC Horizon Report Preview 2015 K-12 Edition, 2015). Project- and challenge-based learning requires school structures, which are less traditional, provide more flexibility and focus on student-centred and authentic learning and independent study. Although I agree, that students should be in the focus when it comes to learning, I believe that independent study does not necessarily always lead to enhanced learning outcomes. There are researches, agreeing with that, such as Professor John Hattie’s meta-analysis, where he found that the number one factor that helps adolescents with learning is the teacher and the feedback provided by the teacher (Hattie, 2016).
The political and historical relevance of primary and secondary education is arguably deeply rooted in the efforts of those seeking to create an avenue for students to further develop their knowledge base. Both historical and political influences have shaped the foundation for which current educators seek to build student outcomes. While the focus on student outcomes is not new to educational policies, it has helped to shape my newly formed philosophy of education. My philosophy of education is heavily concerned with the progression of student outcomes. I believe that each child is a unique individual with the potential for exponential success in their ability to grow and mature intellectually, emotionally, socially as well as physically. Often times educational policies are more so concerned with only the academic success a student can achieve by way of the classroom (Burton, Horowitz, Abeles, 1999); however, my philosophy is a concerned with the
As a school community we strive to focus all our actions towards a shared vision or mission for the school. Indiana Content Standards for Educators, School Leader – Building Level state in standard 5 that “School building leaders develop a school-wide culture of achievement aligned to the school’s vision of success for every student.” Focusing on this mission makes our instruction intentional and purposeful; we know what we want our students to learn and create clear expectations that will allow this learning to take place. We cannot do this alone. The whole school community needs to work together with this focus. Parents, faculty, and principal all must work together in order to teach the whole child. Faculty who collaborate with one another “create genuine learning communities.” (Hackney 390) Each member can learn from one another to best meet his/her students’ needs. Parents too must be a part of this community. Everyone needs to work together toward the shared mission of student success. When every member of the school community is playing their role in the mission, the
The instructional setting takes place in a fifth-grade classroom in a charter school. The classroom consists of eighteen students. Three IEP students, four students with behavioral or social concerns, and three students from the Hispanic culture. Several of the students participate in the free or reduced lunch program. In this setting we will be focusing on ways to implement learner-centered education. Learner-centered education engages students on working on their education and encourages them to reflect on what they are learning and how they learned it (Weimer, 2012). Learner-centered teaching takes the focus away from the teacher and gives it back to the student. Students need to understand they’re in charge of their education and need to take an active role.