Living Arts December 2007
High School on the Horizon:
Waldorf to Break Ground Soon
“If there is one thing that the Waldorf system does, it nurtures, protects and develops the intelligence of the true child.” — Joseph Clinton Pearce, author of The Magical Child
The Waldorf School of San Diego (WSSD) has been in the area for over twenty-six years. After multiple moves, the School was able to purchase a site of their own in the mid-nineties. Since then, the school, and support for it, has grown by leaps and bounds. Because of the hard work of Waldorf parents and a generous anonymous donation, the school will soon break ground on a new high school for grades nine through twelve. The first class of 20-30 ninth graders will begin studies in a temporary building next Fall.
“Waldorf education is designed to go through twelfth grade, the idea being that the child needs this kind of education through age eighteen,” says Waldorf of San Diego Director of High School Development Nathan Wilcox. “Adding high school is a big endeavor. Our community is strong and understands now that our work is not done in eighth grade. Those final four years are when the child is ready for the intellectual and ethical development that they weren’t ready for earlier. We recognize that adolescence is an incredibly important time in a person’s development and we want to play a role in supporting that time.”
Waldorf schools were originally created by Austrian philosopher, scholar, educator, artist, playwright and social thinker Dr. Rudolf Steiner at the request of Waldorf-Astoria cigarette company owner Emil Molt, who wanted to design a school that would produce individuals who would be able to create a m
ore just and peaceful world. The first Waldorf School opened in Germany in 1919. There are roughly 200 Waldorf schools throughout North America today and over 800 schools worldwide.
According to the Waldorf of San Diego website, education at the school is based on the thinking that “art, music, and handcrafts [are] as important as reading, writing and arithmetic.” It is an education “in which each day include(s) activities for the hands and heart, as well as for the head.”
“It’s about age-appropriate learning,” explains Bruce Laurelin, who teaches music at San Diego Waldorf. “You do things when the child is geared to do it, like in fifth grade when they have the capacity to really work and really practice. Their breathing rhythms become more adult and they can take on [subjects like] ancient history. At five years old, they need to be active, active, active—and not academic.”
Waldorf schools are run by teachers trained in Waldorf teaching methods as well as parents, with administrators lending support to this leadership. Class structure and interaction differs from other models of education as well. Students stay with the same teacher in first through eighth grade. From ninth to twelfth grade, they participate in individual classes with teachers who specialize in a particular field of study and who are also trained in Waldorf philosophy. There are also year-round activities that bring all the children on the campus together as a community.
“I call it a full circle,” says Karen Sulgar, whose daughter, Stephanie, is in eighth grade. “When we have the twelfth grade, they will walk the first graders up to the stage. We call that the Rose Ceremony. Right now, the eighth grade [does it.] They welcome each child to the school.”
“As a parent, I feel that my child is never warehoused here,” says Ruth Cole, whose son and daughter attend the primary school. “I remembered that when my daughter was entering kindergarten, I went to the local public school…There were charts on the wall showing who did well and who didn’t do well. What about the kids at the bottom of the chart?…Here I find that the education always engages the child.” That education extends to parents as well.
“Part of the teacher’s task is educating the parents,” says Cole. “That helps us grow into being Waldorf parents and helps us grow in to having centered children in this world.”
There will be a WSSD High School Open House on Tuesday, January 15 from 6 to 8 pm. It will be held in the auditorium on the main campus at 3547 Altadena St. in San Diego. All interested seventh and eighth grade students from every educational background and their parents are welcome. For more information, visit www.waldorfsandiego.org. Interested in becoming a Waldorf Teacher? Visit www.WaldorfTeaching.org or call 800.394.1444.