Understanding Waldorf Education: Teaching from the Inside Out

I've been a Waldorf parent for 4 years and have been pleased with the education and life experience my kids are getting at school. But I haven't been able to describe to people who ask about the Waldorf school what makes it so different, so special. I've found most of Rudolf Steiner's (Waldorf education's original mastermind) work to be impenetrable; probably due to weak translations, but still. I've read a lot of dense stuff in my day, but Steiner's is unsloggable. This book by Jack Petrash, however, I loved. It's written so 21st century mortals can understand it and relate to it. Right from the first chapter, I understood it and felt it understood me. In the second chapter I thought, "Oh, now he's really captured it. He should have put this chapter first." I thought that again about the third, fourth, and fifth chapters and then decided he probably had the order okay in the first place.

I liked it it was very basic overview of Waldorf education. It goes through the grades and just has small descriptions about what the child is going through developmentally and how the grades apply it. Very basic. If you want more details of Waldorf education I recommend Rhythms of Learning.

"It is my hope," writes author & Waldorf teacher Jack Petrash in this 2000 book, "that this book will convey some of the fundamental principles of Waldorf education in language that is accessible..." Overall, with one exception, the book does exactly this. It is short: about 150 pages with very wide margins and very large print, presenting some core principles in eight chapters. These chapters are titled and deal with broadening horizons; head, heart & hands; the Waldorf preschool; Waldorf grade school;Waldorf high school; the essential parent; a teacher's journey; and towards a truly humanitarian education. Each chapter tells its story through a vignette of a "typical" school, vignettes of what one might see in a Waldorf school, with frequent large illustrations, and brief clearly headlined paragraphs discussing the principles being enacted. For example, p. 64, under "The Grade School Curriculum" begins, "The Waldorf curriculum offers an organic structure that mirrors the developmental changes that take place over the grade school years" going on briefly to highlight that 12 year olds are interested in money and business math while seventh graders' preoccupation with their bodies is addressed through the subject of health and hygiene. Reading "Understanding Waldorf Instruction" can give a pretty clear understanding of the philosophy, beliefs, principles of this approach and some illustrative teaching/learning experiences. (Plus a fair amount of testimonials by some parents, teachers, and students.) This is what Petrash set out to do, and readers should not expect a how-to guide to being a Waldorf instructor. ANY ALERTS? As a researcher on early childhood and elementary/secondary education, I'm familiar with Waldorf as well as with other approaches and I can give Petrash a full four stars for doing well what he intends. However.Petrash elides how deeply infused Waldorf is with Steiner's profound belief that reincarnation, karma, and other supernatural, paranormal & spiritual phenomena are as real as the ground beneath our feet. He intended, in his educational system, to open the children to this understanding of the spiritual world as fully as the non-spiritual. The Wikipedia article on Steiner---a remarkable, passionate man---would be a helpful reference here.

I had read plenty about Waldorf child development and the Waldorf kindergarten, but this gives new insight into whole Waldorf education, from kindergarten to high school. I like that there are examples of Waldorf education in each chapter to illustrate what the author is explaining. Excellent! Inspired me to want to start a Waldorf charter school!

Must read for all classroom teachers! This is packed with all the "best practices" the field of education has to offer for our children. It is not filled with "reformers" gimmicks and acronym jargon. These methods get to the heart and basis of great instruction.

This was a very informative overview of the Waldorf ideology. I really enjoyed reading this book and as a result have purchased more on the subject. I am looking forward to implementing this theory into my own homeschool curriculum.

I helped to start a school in Laos and several visitors have commented that our approach has much in common with Waldorf schools, so I wanted to learn more about them. Overall, I found some helpful comments and insights here, but overall the book seems more like a collection of notes than a coherent overview of what Waldorf education means. Take this comment, for example: "Courses such as choral singing, stone sculpture, and eurhythmy [which he defines] are required courses for all students because they are essential in developing well-rounded individuals." Really? Does he mean you aren't well-rounded if you've never done stone sculpture? Or merely that it's good for kids to get exposed to arts and music as well as academics? If the former, I'd say he's a kook. If the latter, he needed an editor to help him say what he intends.

This was a book in my sons schools book club. (he attends a Waldorf - inspired school) I have not read the whole thing but it is interesting. If you are just being introduced to waldorf, read this and don't listen to all the negative hype. My experience has been all positive. Waldorf is for most kids, just not most parents.

Lays out expectations for parents. Basically makes a good manual for weeding out weak schools when choosing Waldorf method

I read this book and then bought it for my brother as a gift. It explains the heart of this educational philosophy in accessible language. highly recommended.

Muy claro, sencillo e interesante. Muy recomendable si quieres darte una idea general de la pedagogía Waldorf y ejemplos de cómo vivirla.

This is good basic starting point or introduction to Waldorf education. It’s a simple read which is easy to follow. Perhaps not applicable globally but given that the author is American they can’t be blamed for it strongly representing American Waldorf Education

This is a good, no-nonsense introduction to Waldorf Education.It doesn't preach or philosophise, unlike the Christopher Clouder book, and is easy to read. I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in education, mainstream or 'alternative.'