Brain, Education, and Inquiry - Fall, 2010: Session 14C

 I think that it is interesting that there are so many ways that education can be defined by including all sorts of alternative schools and styles of teaching. I feel like taking such schools and directly applying them to the public school system would not work at this moment, however. A lot of the schools that promote alternative curriculum also promote ways of thinking about education that dont necessarily mesh with the nationally outlined goals of public education. I certainly would love to experience one of these types of schools and see what they are really all about. I think that maybe if there is a creation of a space in which people are able to get this contact with these forms of education without fully committing to them initially, there would be more chance for understanding and adoption of similar educational styles. 

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/13/the-value-of-higher-education-made-literal/

while the waldorf system of education does seem to be ideal, i can see why more schools havent been able to adapt it.

for one, most parents do not have the time to sit down with their children and review homework, in houses where the parents work full time or have other things to deal with, school is an aspect that they expect their kids to take care of by themselves. secondly, getting the teachers and the equipment and resources to make all the school is possible takes a lot of money that the school probably recieves through the students tuition - something public schools dont have. and if they try to do the same things without hiking up the tuition, students will have to pay extra to do the things they want to do - which will create disparity in the classroom.

that being said, i think aspects of the system can be implemented - getting passionate teachers for example, and paying attention to individual children, steps like that can alone change the system of eduation we presently have and can do it in a good way.

It seems that the Waldorf equation to success is passionate, well educated teachers + small classes filled with attentive students with access to resources outside of school= a well educated child and a successful adult who contributes to the advancement of society.  Knowing two different people who are products of a Waldorf-like school (and home schooling), this method does have great success and I'm unsure why it hasn't been adopted more widely since it's been around for a while.  Is it the expense of having small classes?  Is it finding passionate teachers?  Is it finding parents who will buy in to the Waldorf framework and continue their child's education at home by doing homework with them, reading, playing games, etc?   I'm obviously not quite sure of the reason but I would bet that aspects of this method could be adopted into more public schools to encourage more creative problem solving and thinking without extra cost.  Are school administrators unwilling to test new methods because they are so entrenched in old pedagogy?  A small scale test of change is very feasible but the Waldorf master minds would need to train teachers, parents, administrators, students, etc as to how their method works and why.  Maybe the Waldorf method works because it does take a village to raise a child and all of the children that attend these schools have access to those resources.  How can we encourage and instill this into public schools (and also many private schools)?  I'm not sure of the answer but it does seem like trying this method with one section of a grade and keeping the other section the same and comparing the children/parents'/teachers' opinions would be valuable in seeing whether this method could be adapted on a larger scale.

Watching this video, I kept thinking that the descriptions of these teachers don't really seem specific to a style of teaching, but should reflect characteristics of any good teacher.  Many of their descriptions brought about the same response for me, can't they describe any student, teacher or education?  (also, did anyone else notice that they sing a bryn mawr song?)  I agree with Simone that this style of teaching can be implemented in public schools, or that at least this quality of teacher should be a goal of public education.  I do think that the flute music, guitars in the background etc. may give some parents an idea that their kids will not learn what they need in order to succeed, but I think that going beyond the aesthetics, the basic philosophy would appeal to most parents and students.  It's funny that ideas like respect for individual children, passionate teachers, and valuing imagination could be radical enough to warrant an "alternative" sort of education...