Going Local: Activism For Education

Commenting on my recent post “Having Your Cake and Eating it Too” one reader posted a link to an article on the A Good Day Teaching Blog entitled Why Don’t Liberals Really Like Poor Children?. The crux of the linked article can be summed up in one statement.  The author states that liberal parents “believe that the children deserve a good education, they just don’t want poor children sitting next to their kids in a public school.”

I think the key point here is that there is a difference between liberal/progressive values and outright activism.  Advocating school reform is progressive.  Sending my kid to our local public school is activism.  Not only that, it is activism by proxy in that my kid is the one making the commitment to the cause, not me.  I am willing to be an activist for some causes.  I am not willing to donate my child’s education to a cause.  Speaking for myself, this is not about racism.  The biggest problem that I have with most affluent school districts is

Wild Waldorf Ride

Wow.  I visited The Waldorf School over the weekend.  It was really a game-altering experience for me.  Their program is like nothing I had ever seen or heard of before.  One of the teachers that I spoke with summed up the uniqueness in their program stating that ‘The most impoverished public school has more in common with the most well-endowed private school than we do.’  It was really true.  Most schools that I have ever been exposed to follow very similar teaching approaches with minor differences.  I am not sure whether the Waldorf philosophy is in any way superior or inferior, but their pedagogical philosophy is certainly very different than any other school I have visited, public or private.

For several reasons, I think that the school itself is not going to work for my family.  [EDIT–Here’s why I am not elaborating on that statement].  Even so, I am very happy that I went to the open house.  I am not an expert on childhood development, learning styles, or pedagogical philosophy. As a lay person, I can’t make an evaluation as to which pedagogical approach is better.  What I can say is that seeing the school and hearing the teachers, students, parents, and administrators discuss their program was eye-opening.  I will no longer hold steadfast to the assumptions I have about how children learn or how a school should be structured.  Even if I never go back to Waldorf, my visit there will make me evaluate schools and pedagogical approaches differently than I ever would have.

What is so different about Waldorf?  Well, I am not an expert in the philosophy, so here are some resources so you can read about it for yourself if you are interested.

• My previous post advertising the open house.  The site it links to lists other upcoming open house opportunities
• The recent NBC-10 video on the school
• WhyWaldorfWorks.Org: Everything you need to know about a Waldorf education
• Waldorf Education page on Wikipedia
• For Forest Kindergartners, Class Is Back to Nature, Rain or Shine, New York Times, November 2009
• The Waldorf Way Blog
• Unconventional theories Spawn Believers – and Critics The Press Democrat, October 2009

MAPN Annual Kindergarten Discussion Group

The Mt. Airy Parents’ Network (MAPN) has been mentioned already on this blog. You should also be familiar with the group’s Annual Kindergarten Discussion Group. For three years, MAPN has sponsored a discussion group for families exploring their education options (despite the name, it’s not just limited to kindergarten discussions). Notices are usually posted on the MAPN discussion board in May, June, and July. Any interested member may join. The discussions take place via email usually between August and November. The direction that the group takes and how active it is depends totally on the make-up of the group. For example, the 2007 and 2009 groups were very active and busy, while the 2008 group really wasn’t. If you’re interested in learning more, please join the MAPN list or leave a comment on this post.

Best of luck!
Catherine Collins
MAPN Moderator & Co-founder

Open House at the Waldorf School

This was posted by a user to the Fairmount Parents Forum.

For those who are interested in finding out about The Waldorf School of Philadelphia, there is an Open House this Saturday, January 30th at 10 AM. You are welcome to come with your family to visit the classrooms, view students’ work, and ask questions of the faculty, staff and parents. During the morning, the faculty will present an overview of the Early Childhood and Grades programs. There will also be a puppet play for the younger children and activities available for older children.

Unique aspects of the school are that they purposefully do not have computers because

By delaying the regular use of television, video games and computers, children develop a strong foundation in using their own capacities and experiences for imagination, research and analytical and critical thinking. (Waldorf Website)

Also, students have the same teachers follow them through their whole academic career there (first through eighth, though they have a preschool and kindergarten).  See more in the NBC-10 video on the school.

Great Resource: PhillySpeaks Forums

By Anonymous

I don’t know whether you ever get on philadelphiaspeaks.com (formerly phillyblog), but there seems to be a post at least every couple weeks about people dealing with school choice issues. Here are some recent discussion threads:

• Recommend Schools in Mt. Airy Area?
• Where to Live
• Charter Schools Best Academics?