Thursday, September 17, 2009
Leaving Waldorf
We pulled our daughter out of the Waldorf School this week. It was a sad and at times agonizing decision, but I'm ultimately glad we did it. We still like the materials and methods, but we had a realization at New Parent night that set the tone for our decision making sessions. Jen said it best: there were all of these parents there, saying things like "I just want my child to be loved" and "it just feels like a big family here." But we actually are the family already and we actually love our daughter already. I can appreciate that you may want those things at school too, and we do. We just felt that we had an amazing abundance realization --> we can make that change and create that environment almost anywhere else. We don't have to pay large sums of money for it and we don't need detailed instructions on how to do it. To me it was like realizing you can grow a lot of your own food. It's cheaper, fresher, and surprisingly uncomplicated. "Spring comes and the grass grows all by itself."
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Hi Forrest! We have been through the same agonizing decision with our daughters' previous school. It wasn't a Waldorf school, but it was a fantastic small private school which we really loved. So are you homeschooling now?
ReplyDeletelisa
No, not homeschooling yet -- I think we are still transitioning to that model. Abby is going to a Montessori charter school. We hope the self-directed learning will be a good fit. Honestly, it's hard for me to imagine homeschooling her (she's 9); it's much easier to imagine with the twins, who're 2. I guess you guys are homeschooling right? :)
ReplyDeleteAre you happy with the change for the most part?
Hi Forrest, When I read the first line of this post it really surprised me given the encouragement you expressed on my blog. I totally understand where you're coming from now though. Part of my dilemma with embarking on teacher education is that there is a big part of me that doesn't agree with mass schooling. Unschooling or something like the heart and hands program we had in Edmonton are much more to my liking. I realize though, that all of these are things I can do after school and for right now I feel the need to develop my sense of self and my understanding of humanity. Whether I'll teach my own class, have my own children to grow with or go on a totally different route remains to be seen. In the meantime I'll enjoy the journey!
ReplyDeleteI hope you and your family enjoy this change you have embraces and way to go with taking the simpler, less expensive route. In the end, what is money anyways?
Thanks elements. I probably left a skewed impression of what we based the decision on. There were other factors and I'm not a fast typer, so I left a lot of them off. But since you're going to the training (I was too, but left that also but for strictly family time constraints) I feel like you might use a fuller explanation. I'll post about that soon after I gather my thoughts. Thanks again for your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteForrest, yes we are homeschoolers. I've been a teacher in both public and private schools and feel very comfortable teaching my girls. We did try the school route with Fauna though. For K she attended public (classes are too big, Fauna just "blended" into the background); then tried private school for 1st grade, since we had to pay the big bucks for this option I had to teach preschool. I was a workaholic crazy and stressed mom, which was not the way I wanted the girls to remember their childhood. Really liked the school, but it was still missing something.....So last year was our first year homeschooling. Fauna is now 3rd grade and Araina is 1st. We are loving it and doing well. Love the freedom homeschooling brings! I can answer any questions, should you have any in the future.
ReplyDeletelisa