Waldorf+School+System


 * Shaker Name:** Waldorf School System


 * Basic Work:** Waldorf School System is a non-sectarian and non-denominational child education system; education of all children, regardless of their cultural or religious backgrounds. It is a nonprofit and independent system of education that spans across the world in different types of schools, operating almost exclusively from student tuitions and from donations. In past decades, government funding as become available, mostly in Europe countries such as Germany and Sweden.


 * Key Work:** Waldorf education is based on a developmental approach that addresses the needs of the growing child and maturing adolescent. Waldorf teachers strive to transform education in to an art that educates the whole child—the heart and the hands, as well as the head. The system seeks to bring about recognition and understanding of all the world cultures and religions.TGermany on September 7,1919, and there are . The Moutain Laurel Waldorf School in New Paltz has high enrollment from its many families that practice alternative lifestyles in upstate New York. It is supported entirely on tutition and contributions Parents provide vital assistance not only through their economic contributions but through their countless hours of volunteer effort. All these activities provide a fine example of service and community life for the children and families. The Mountain Laurel School of New Paltz provides the community, not just those enrolled in the school, with educational and artistic activities for families of all ages. Not only are there regular school sessions, but many teachers from the Waldorf system go out and provide classes for specific arts, crafts, and music.


 * Key Personnel:** Austrian scientist and thinker Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), was an philosopher, literary scholar, educator, artist, playwright, and social thinker. Rudolf Steiner wrote his first book on education, //The Education of the Child//, in 1907. The first school based upon these principles was opened in 1919 in response to a request by Emil Molt, the owner and managing director of the Waldorf-Astoria Cigarette Company in Stuttgart, Germany. This is the source of the name //Waldorf,// which is now trademarked for use in association with the educational method.


 * Why/How a shaker?:** Waldorf schooling system is a new way of organizing society and its political and cultural life., to , the Waldorf schools still uphold the basic conditions set up by founder Rudolf Steiner; 1) that the school be open to all children; 2) that it be coeducational; 3) that it be a unified twelve-year school; 4) that the teachers, those individuals actually in contact with the children, have primary control of the school, with a minimum interference from the state or from economic sources. No two schools are identical; each is administratively independent. The Waldorf school system is a growing trend, giving parents more options for their children then basic public schooling. there are now more than 1000 independent Waldorf schools and 1400 independent Waldorf kindergartens located in approximately sixty countries throughout the world, making up one of the world's largest independent educational systems, as well as Waldorf-based government-funded schools and charter schools, Waldorf homeschooling environments, and Waldorf schools for special education. Waldorf methods have also been adopted by significant numbers of teachers within traditional state and private schools.


 * Links: [|Waldorf School]**
 * http://www.mountainlaurel.org/**
 * http://www.waldorfanswers.org/Waldorf.htm**