So village scold and Catholic writer, Anthony Esolen, has a new piece, Close at the Ear of Eve, up at Crisis Magazine. This one is mostly about conscience. Needless to say, Esolen believes conscience should be shelved in favor of absolute obedience to the teachings of the Catholic Church. He maintains that conscience is little more than thinly-veiled solipsistic casuistry that deludes people into finding appealing but immoral behavior acceptable. He does not refer to any act of conscience, such as those that inspired Thomas More or Martin Luther King Jr., that was not self-serving and in fact led to suffering or loss.
I've been thinking lately, in the context of why people join the military, about why people abandon their will to authority. A friend once suggested that following orders is comforting for some people because they find it stressful to make decisions. I guess some people like to be told when to go to bed, when to get up, what to wear, when and what to eat, what they need to be doing at any time, and even, to some extent, what to think or not think. These appear to be the people that Bob Altemeyer, in his free, online book, The Authoritarians, calls "authoritarian followers" or "RWA's". They apparently tend to score highly on tests that measure self-righteousness and fear of a dangerous world. According to Altemeyer, they can be quite aggressive, often in a dark and cowardly way, when they feel established authority approves of their aggression, when they feel frightened, and when they feel self-righteous. They are putty in the hands of Altemeyer's authoritarian leaders, whome he refers to as "social dominators" and who tend to be amoral, lacking in empathy, and deceitful. They can easily manipulate RWA's, who tend to sacrifice conscience for compliance. This probably explains some of the appeal of Donald Trump, who throws the occasional bone to the religious right, thus assuring them they are on the side of "good", while allowing them to believe he is an all-powerful authority figure.
Interestingly, the Catholic Church, teaches that conscience is inviolable and that "a human being must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience," even when it is wrong. Vatican II and, more recently, Pope Francis have both affirmed "the primacy of conscience." Not all Catholics approve of such individualistic thinking. The Cathechism states that conscience must be "correctly formed", from which some infer that a "correctly formed" conscience is entirely congruent with church teachings. According to the Catechism, the only excuse for doing wrong in good conscience is "invincible ignorance" of Church teaching. There's a good book, Confronting the Truth: Conscience in the Catholic Tradition by Linda Hogan, on the subject. Hogan traces the sometimes incoherent and contradictory teachings on doctrine throughout the history of the Catholic Church and concludes that Catholic teaching and human authenticity require that conscience trumps the rule book. One can be a Catholic in good standing and still disagree with much of what the Church teaches.
Esolen, a hegemonic masculinist, can't resist fitting into his essay a little dig at "rape culture" (he uses quotation marks) on college campuses. He defines this as young people involving themselves in sexual behavior that they later regret because "they did not fully consent" to it. Um, if someone doesn't fully consent, then they were assaulted. He compares rape accusations to buyer's remorse after signing off on a business deal. This is a hideous and illogical analogy. I don't think he even knows what rape culture really means. He apparently sees it as a series of rape claims, when the definition is far broader. Rape culture is a culture that degrades, marginalizes and sexualizes women through attitudes, speech, and behavior that contribute to a threatening and even dangerous environment. Esolen holds demeaning views of women that contribute to rape culture.
Usually when people minimize the importance of conscience and insist instead on total compliance to "the Church", what they really mean is that they want total compliance to every aspect of their own interpretations of doctrine. As Andrew Greeley says in his wonderful essay, Why I'm Still a Catholic, "You ask such folks [people he calls "right wing kooks" earlier in the essay] whether they believe slavery is moral, that coeducation is against the natural law, that the sun revolves around the earth, that those who are not Catholics cannot be saved, that the theory of religious freedom is wrong -- all doctrines that Popes have taught, most of them in the present century. They avoid the question because they define papal infallibility far more broadly than the Church does, because they are ignorant of history, and because their personalities require an absolute certainty which the human condition cannot provide."
If I ever go back to the Catholic Church, I will continue to be open about my beliefs that women should be ordained, that the LGBTQ population should be normalized, accepted, and supported, that contraception is a good thing, that "safe sex" means responsible premarital sex is acceptable, and even that abortion is a necessary evil. Catholic teachings on conscience say that you can believe these things and still be a good Catholic.
Tuesday, April 24, 2018
Sunday, April 22, 2018
Today's Cuteness Overload
So TinyKittens Rescue is a no-kill cat shelter in Fort Langley, British Columbia. One of the shelter's specialties is supporting a population of feral cats that live in the surrounding forest. Apart from setting up a feeding station for these cats, the shelter does a great deal of TNR (trap, neuter, and return). Feral cats that can be "turned" (or domesticated) or who have medical issues will usually stay with the shelter or be adopted.
TinyKittens recently trapped three pregnant ferals and named them Rula, Ramona, and Chloe. Rula is extremely suspicious of people. Ramona and Chloe seem quite happy to be around humans. On April 17, Ramona gave birth to five kittens, one of whom (The Little Prince) unfortunately passed away within a day. On April 19, Rula gave birth to three babies. Chloe, who was looking like she'd swallowed a basketball, gave birth to five babies in the wee hours of this morning; four of them are healthy, but one has a cleft palate and requires tube feeding.
Amazingly, Chloe and Ramona bonded shortly before Chloe gave birth. Chloe moved in with Ramona and her kittens and began helping her with grooming them. In return, Ramona began hugging Chloe and massaging her tummy. Ramona comforted Chloe as she gave birth and helped deliver her babies. She ate the amniotic sacs of some of them and nursed them as Chloe focused on delivering.
Now the two of them share a nest and nine kittens in a love fest of purrs and cuddles. They can frequently be seen on live feed, snuggling together around their babies in the caternity ward. The kittens nurse from both mothers.
Here are videos of Chloe giving birth while Ramona acts as her doula (warning: 'might be a little graphic for the squeamish):
TinyKittens recently trapped three pregnant ferals and named them Rula, Ramona, and Chloe. Rula is extremely suspicious of people. Ramona and Chloe seem quite happy to be around humans. On April 17, Ramona gave birth to five kittens, one of whom (The Little Prince) unfortunately passed away within a day. On April 19, Rula gave birth to three babies. Chloe, who was looking like she'd swallowed a basketball, gave birth to five babies in the wee hours of this morning; four of them are healthy, but one has a cleft palate and requires tube feeding.
Amazingly, Chloe and Ramona bonded shortly before Chloe gave birth. Chloe moved in with Ramona and her kittens and began helping her with grooming them. In return, Ramona began hugging Chloe and massaging her tummy. Ramona comforted Chloe as she gave birth and helped deliver her babies. She ate the amniotic sacs of some of them and nursed them as Chloe focused on delivering.
Now the two of them share a nest and nine kittens in a love fest of purrs and cuddles. They can frequently be seen on live feed, snuggling together around their babies in the caternity ward. The kittens nurse from both mothers.
Here are videos of Chloe giving birth while Ramona acts as her doula (warning: 'might be a little graphic for the squeamish):
Kittens 1 and 2
Kittens 3, 4, and 5
Saturday, April 14, 2018
Visit with Paige
Paige had a harp recital on Wednesday, April 11, up in Greeley. Craig and I went up to see it. It was just gorgeous! She played four pieces, two solos, a piece accompanied by a clarinetist (Suite from the Victorian Kitchen Garden, by Paul Reade), and a piece accompanied by a violinist (Fantaisie for Violin and Harp by Camille Saint-Saëns). For her next recital, she is thinking about playing The Colorado Trail: Fantaisie for Harp, op. 28, by Marcel Grandjany, and perhaps one of her old favorites, The Moldau (arranged for harp), by Bedrich Smetana. She might also look at Le Cygne for cello and harp, by Saint-Saëns.
After the recital, the three of us went out to Paige's favorite restaurant in Greeley. It's always fun to go there, but I prefer the cafeteria food in the campus dining hall -- more choices, especially vegan choices, and much healthier. We did have lunch in the cafeteria on both Wednesday and Thursday. Both meals were fabulous.
I've been suggesting to Paige for some time that she apply to the honors program. She finally did and was accepted almost immediately. She will need to take several honors classes, some interdisciplinary seminar classes, and to complete a mentored project in either a research, creative, or applied path. She was expecting to graduate at the end of this year with twice as many credit hours as she needs, but she will probably now need another semester and will graduate in May, 2019. Given the extra time, she might be able to get a second degree in fine art and art history, but we'll see.
Unfortunately her (relatively new) harp has developed some little cracks in the soundboard. She might have to send it to France, where it was made, for repairs. She still has her Lyon & Healy 23 as backup, but it needs a $12K repair, which would need to be done in Chicago. It might be as well to get that done anyway ...
Paige seems happy and self-confident. By studying art and music, she has chosen to immerse herself in beauty. I think she will have an enchanting and satisfying life.
After the recital, the three of us went out to Paige's favorite restaurant in Greeley. It's always fun to go there, but I prefer the cafeteria food in the campus dining hall -- more choices, especially vegan choices, and much healthier. We did have lunch in the cafeteria on both Wednesday and Thursday. Both meals were fabulous.
I've been suggesting to Paige for some time that she apply to the honors program. She finally did and was accepted almost immediately. She will need to take several honors classes, some interdisciplinary seminar classes, and to complete a mentored project in either a research, creative, or applied path. She was expecting to graduate at the end of this year with twice as many credit hours as she needs, but she will probably now need another semester and will graduate in May, 2019. Given the extra time, she might be able to get a second degree in fine art and art history, but we'll see.
Unfortunately her (relatively new) harp has developed some little cracks in the soundboard. She might have to send it to France, where it was made, for repairs. She still has her Lyon & Healy 23 as backup, but it needs a $12K repair, which would need to be done in Chicago. It might be as well to get that done anyway ...
Paige seems happy and self-confident. By studying art and music, she has chosen to immerse herself in beauty. I think she will have an enchanting and satisfying life.
Tuesday, April 3, 2018
Worshipping the State
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Yay!!! That's my kid!!!
So today one of my kids had a high school tennis match against Air Academy High School, which is located on the grounds of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Air Academy almost exclusively serves the children of military families. When my daughter's team arrived at the site, the Air Academy coach told them that "The Star-Spangled Banner" would be played at 4:45pm, as it is played at that time every day at the academy, and that all players "had to" stop playing as soon as it started, turn toward the loudspeaker, and place their hands on their hearts. My daughter was not particularly impressed to have her match interrupted mid-rally by the national anthem blaring and considered taking a knee, but she decided instead to simply stand still and ignore the proceedings. I love independent thinkers! Every other player and coach snapped to attention, faced the loudspeaker, and put their hand on their heart.
My kid's response was considered almost sacrilegious. After the match, a teammate's father and former Navy SEAL said to her, "You do know what this is about, don't you? It's about supporting the troops." My daughter, ever self-assured and undaunted, responded, "Yes, I know what it's about."
One of the reasons my child did not conform is because the US provides military assistance to 73% of the world's dictatorships. Freedom House, an independent watchdog organization dedicated to expanding democracy around the world, categorized 49 countries as "dictatorships" as of 2015. The US, courtesy of our taxes, provides military assistance to 36 of them (~73.5%) in the form of providing U.S. military training or through military sales and deliveries. As a family, we do not support every action taken by US troops. We opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq. To be fair, the troops were merely following instructions, but we do not agree with the decisions made. My kid said she feels it's noble to give one's life for a just cause and she can support individual troops, but she doesn't support all that the military does. Also, she is a globalist and is not attracted to nationalistic behavior.
Two of the three badly behaved sports parents, Angry Papa and Sour Mama, whom I described elsewhere in my blog, are Air Academy parents, as was grumpy old "Grouper Face", Sour Mama's unpleasant friend. My kid apparently also blew off the jingoism in her freshmen year at a match at Air Academy, and those
Monday, April 2, 2018
Waldorf Education
“Receive children in reverence, educate them in love and let them go forth in freedom” – Rudolf Steiner (1861 -1925)
When I was growing up in Cape Town, there was one Waldorf school in town. In those days, it tended to attract kids who had been expelled from other schools or who struggled to fit in but who had sympathetic parents. In the absence of alternative options, it became home to many special needs children and, in a case of cause and effect being confused, it thus developed a reputation for producing "difficult" and "undisciplined" students. One of my mother's friends, who worked at the local university, used to say that "Waldorf" stood for "walled off" as the Waldorf kids she met often seemed distant and detached. In retrospect, I think some of them were probably on the autism spectrum.
Later, when I moved to the UK, I temporarily rented a room in the home of a couple whose daughter attended a Waldorf school. This girl and her friends seemed unusually friendly, socially adept, emotionally intelligent, and anything but "walled off". I guess special needs kids had more options for care in the UK at that time, which meant Waldorf schools were left to attract relatively "mainstream" kids.
From all I have heard and read about Waldorf schools, I find the focus on imagination, kindness, acceptance, and multisensory experience most appealing. Engaging the imagination and the senses through art, physical activity, and a language-rich environment, along with teaching a sense of ethics, are at the core of Waldorf education.
The schoolday at Waldorf usually has three main parts: Head, Heart, and Hands, although the boundaries between each are not always clear. The day starts off with the main lesson, the "Head", which should be imaginatively presented and is usually thematic. It moves on to the "Heart" part, which includes art, drama, movement, music, and foreign langauge, and ends with the "Hands" part, which might include gardening, knitting, or crochet.
When I visited the Waldorf School of the Peninsula in Los Altos, California, I was impressed by how nurturing the teachers were and by the way art, movement, and practical experience were integrated into the curriculum. The kids seemed unusually absorbed and focused, and the classrooms were beautifully decorated by the children's artworks. On the other hand, I was surprised by the degree of conformity in all the artwork. This is a common criticism of Waldorf education, i.e., that student artwork is all so similar, and it raises questions about creativity. However, it was heartening to see children drawing while their teacher explained an aspect of the lesson. Some people seem to learn better if they can draw while they are listening. My husband likes to draw maps while he's listening to a presentation, yet afterwards he usually has almost eidetic memory of everything that was said. I would think illustrating what they are hearing, while being exposed to pretty colors, probably helps children avoid daydreaming.
Rudolf Steiner, founder of Waldorf education, believed there are 12 senses rather than the traditional five. He divided these into three groups of four, each group developmentally related to a particular age cohort. He identified the first group as the physical senses, associated with development in the first seven years of life. These are: life (which allows us to experience our own constitution and sense of wellness), touch, movement, and balance. Then come the senses of "perception" or the "soul senses", which are the focus of development from 7 to 14 years of age. These are: sight (light, darkness, color), smell (related to memory), taste, and warmth (both the physical and the emotional senses of warmth and cold). Then come the cognitive, "concept", or social senses, which are the focus of development from the ages of 14 to 21. These are: hearing, word or speech (awareness of how others use language to communicate), thought (comprehending and visualizing what another's thoughts convey), and ego (the ability to be sensitive to individuality). Waldorf education attempts to engage each of these senses in the development of the person.
When I was growing up, only two senses, used in limited ways, were considered important in the classroom. These were sight (reading from the textbook and from the chalkboard) and hearing (listening to the teacher). We were expected to disengage all other senses and to immobilize ourselves physically. This very sterile environment starved the imagination and the senses, which led many of us to cope by daydreaming. In every year of my schooling, we studied South African history, which to me was stigmatized by the soulless authoritarianism of apartheid, racism, and the classroom environment. South African history went in one ear and out the other, and, despite the endless repetition, I remain abysmally ignorant of the subject. The only little snippet I learned, I learned outside the classroom from reading Jock of the Bushveld, a story about an oxwagon transport rider and his dog Jock, who worked in South Africa in the late 1800s. I can only imagine how much we might have learned if our imaginations and senses had, Waldorf-style, been integrated into our education.
So how effective are Waldorf schools? Several studies indicate many benefits, although it's not clear to what extent socioeconomics (most Waldorf schools are private) play a part in the success of students. Waldorf kids on average score better than state-schooled kids on the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking Ability. Another study showed that Waldorf students score significantly higher on tests of moral reasoning than students in public and religiously affiliated high schools. Waldorf students tend to be happier and less bored in school and to have better relationsips with their teachers than their public schooled couterparts. Academically, Waldorf students appear quite successful. At public Waldorf schools in the US, children tend to score below average in the earlier grades, but higher by the time they are in middle school. A US study indicated that Waldorf students typically score above average on their SAT tests, particularly on the verbal parts of the test. This is in spite of their relative lack of experience in taking standardized tests. A German study showed that Waldorf graduates passed the German college entrance exams at double to triple the rate of graduates from state schools. A 2009 PISA study found European Waldorf students to be significantly more advanced in the sciences, slightly behind in math, and comparable in reading when compared to their state school peers.
Not everyone believes Waldorf education is effective. Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, looking for a school where his four children would be allowed some individuality, as opposed to being put through sausage machines or reduced to becoming "another brick in the wall", sent them all to Michael Hall, a Waldorf School in East Sussex. He felt they received dismal educations and were "neither happy nor learning." His son Matthew could barely read at nine. In 1994, when Matthew was about eight, his IQ tested at 101 and he was found to be delayed by three years in reading and spelling. He was taken out of the Waldorf system and apparently flourished. Less than two years later, his IQ tested as 124. Of course, IQ testing is an imperfect art and Waldorf students, like "unschooled" students, often do better relative to the norm as they get older, but Gilmour was unimpressed.
Had we moved to Boulder, instead of central Colorado, I would definitely have taken a look at the Tara Performing Arts High School, a Waldorf school with an emphasis on theatre, music, and travel. Like its fellow Waldorf high school in Boulder, Shining Mountain, it offers Waldorf "main lessons" as well as relatively traditional "track classes" in foreign languages, math, language arts, etc. Students from both schools apparently average 29 on their ACT's. In the case of Shining Mountain, 98% of them end up graduating from four-year colleges and 37% complete graduate school. Tara does not provide these sort of statistics, but it lists some impressive colleges and universities that its students have attended. Graduates of both schools often matriculate to good liberal arts colleges.
There seem to be many positive aspects of Waldorf education, some of which I have tried to include in my kids' home schooling curriculum. When they were little, I tried to incorporate sensory experience and movement/balancing activities into their lives, although we did not embrace the Waldorf rejection of technology for our children (mine watched videos, played computer games, and had electronic toys). They loved to play outdoors. I would put out flours of different textures in bowls in the backyard for them to play with. They had a sandbox, a small pool, and two climbing structures, one of which Craig built. We had an electric train they could ride on, battery powered cars and a go-cart, and several ride-on toys, such as push toys and tricycles. We had lots of play dough and there was always a plastic easel and paints set up for them. We read together, and they had lots of unstructured time for imaginative games. One of the phrases I remember them using from those days was "in the game ..." as they described their imaginary worlds. They also built and created with Brio train sets, Lego, and other construction materials. As they got older, some of them used the k12 virtual curriculum, which is thematic and incorporates a great deal of art and literature. It is a "playful" curriculum, and, in that respect, Waldorf-esque. The girls took a number of theater classes (drama, dance, musical theater, singing). All four kids studied piano and at least one other instrument, voice (in some cases, just choir; in others, individual voice lessons), and, at some point in their lives, played in a youth orchestra. As they got older still, they found their way into more formal and traditional curricula, but, being home/online schooled, school never dominated their lives in terms of time or importance and left them free to indulge in reading, art, music, technical projects, physical activity, and unstructured learning.
In some ways we neglected rote learning, such as memorizing multiplication tables, in favor of less structured activity. Perhaps I should have been more forceful, organized, and traditional. On the other hand, they seem to be doing fine, and, as is predicted by both Waldorf and unschooling methods of education, they seem to be gathering educational momentum as they get older.
“I am struck by the fact that the more slowly trees grow at first, the sounder they are at the core, and I think that the same is true of human beings. We do not wish to see children precocious, making great strides in their early years like sprouts, producing a soft and perishable timber, but better if they expand slowly at first, as if contending with difficulties, and so are solidified and perfected. Such trees continue to expand with nearly equal rapidity to extreme old age."
- Henry David Thoreau
When I was growing up in Cape Town, there was one Waldorf school in town. In those days, it tended to attract kids who had been expelled from other schools or who struggled to fit in but who had sympathetic parents. In the absence of alternative options, it became home to many special needs children and, in a case of cause and effect being confused, it thus developed a reputation for producing "difficult" and "undisciplined" students. One of my mother's friends, who worked at the local university, used to say that "Waldorf" stood for "walled off" as the Waldorf kids she met often seemed distant and detached. In retrospect, I think some of them were probably on the autism spectrum.
Later, when I moved to the UK, I temporarily rented a room in the home of a couple whose daughter attended a Waldorf school. This girl and her friends seemed unusually friendly, socially adept, emotionally intelligent, and anything but "walled off". I guess special needs kids had more options for care in the UK at that time, which meant Waldorf schools were left to attract relatively "mainstream" kids.
From all I have heard and read about Waldorf schools, I find the focus on imagination, kindness, acceptance, and multisensory experience most appealing. Engaging the imagination and the senses through art, physical activity, and a language-rich environment, along with teaching a sense of ethics, are at the core of Waldorf education.
The schoolday at Waldorf usually has three main parts: Head, Heart, and Hands, although the boundaries between each are not always clear. The day starts off with the main lesson, the "Head", which should be imaginatively presented and is usually thematic. It moves on to the "Heart" part, which includes art, drama, movement, music, and foreign langauge, and ends with the "Hands" part, which might include gardening, knitting, or crochet.
When I visited the Waldorf School of the Peninsula in Los Altos, California, I was impressed by how nurturing the teachers were and by the way art, movement, and practical experience were integrated into the curriculum. The kids seemed unusually absorbed and focused, and the classrooms were beautifully decorated by the children's artworks. On the other hand, I was surprised by the degree of conformity in all the artwork. This is a common criticism of Waldorf education, i.e., that student artwork is all so similar, and it raises questions about creativity. However, it was heartening to see children drawing while their teacher explained an aspect of the lesson. Some people seem to learn better if they can draw while they are listening. My husband likes to draw maps while he's listening to a presentation, yet afterwards he usually has almost eidetic memory of everything that was said. I would think illustrating what they are hearing, while being exposed to pretty colors, probably helps children avoid daydreaming.
Rudolf Steiner, founder of Waldorf education, believed there are 12 senses rather than the traditional five. He divided these into three groups of four, each group developmentally related to a particular age cohort. He identified the first group as the physical senses, associated with development in the first seven years of life. These are: life (which allows us to experience our own constitution and sense of wellness), touch, movement, and balance. Then come the senses of "perception" or the "soul senses", which are the focus of development from 7 to 14 years of age. These are: sight (light, darkness, color), smell (related to memory), taste, and warmth (both the physical and the emotional senses of warmth and cold). Then come the cognitive, "concept", or social senses, which are the focus of development from the ages of 14 to 21. These are: hearing, word or speech (awareness of how others use language to communicate), thought (comprehending and visualizing what another's thoughts convey), and ego (the ability to be sensitive to individuality). Waldorf education attempts to engage each of these senses in the development of the person.
When I was growing up, only two senses, used in limited ways, were considered important in the classroom. These were sight (reading from the textbook and from the chalkboard) and hearing (listening to the teacher). We were expected to disengage all other senses and to immobilize ourselves physically. This very sterile environment starved the imagination and the senses, which led many of us to cope by daydreaming. In every year of my schooling, we studied South African history, which to me was stigmatized by the soulless authoritarianism of apartheid, racism, and the classroom environment. South African history went in one ear and out the other, and, despite the endless repetition, I remain abysmally ignorant of the subject. The only little snippet I learned, I learned outside the classroom from reading Jock of the Bushveld, a story about an oxwagon transport rider and his dog Jock, who worked in South Africa in the late 1800s. I can only imagine how much we might have learned if our imaginations and senses had, Waldorf-style, been integrated into our education.
So how effective are Waldorf schools? Several studies indicate many benefits, although it's not clear to what extent socioeconomics (most Waldorf schools are private) play a part in the success of students. Waldorf kids on average score better than state-schooled kids on the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking Ability. Another study showed that Waldorf students score significantly higher on tests of moral reasoning than students in public and religiously affiliated high schools. Waldorf students tend to be happier and less bored in school and to have better relationsips with their teachers than their public schooled couterparts. Academically, Waldorf students appear quite successful. At public Waldorf schools in the US, children tend to score below average in the earlier grades, but higher by the time they are in middle school. A US study indicated that Waldorf students typically score above average on their SAT tests, particularly on the verbal parts of the test. This is in spite of their relative lack of experience in taking standardized tests. A German study showed that Waldorf graduates passed the German college entrance exams at double to triple the rate of graduates from state schools. A 2009 PISA study found European Waldorf students to be significantly more advanced in the sciences, slightly behind in math, and comparable in reading when compared to their state school peers.
Not everyone believes Waldorf education is effective. Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, looking for a school where his four children would be allowed some individuality, as opposed to being put through sausage machines or reduced to becoming "another brick in the wall", sent them all to Michael Hall, a Waldorf School in East Sussex. He felt they received dismal educations and were "neither happy nor learning." His son Matthew could barely read at nine. In 1994, when Matthew was about eight, his IQ tested at 101 and he was found to be delayed by three years in reading and spelling. He was taken out of the Waldorf system and apparently flourished. Less than two years later, his IQ tested as 124. Of course, IQ testing is an imperfect art and Waldorf students, like "unschooled" students, often do better relative to the norm as they get older, but Gilmour was unimpressed.
Had we moved to Boulder, instead of central Colorado, I would definitely have taken a look at the Tara Performing Arts High School, a Waldorf school with an emphasis on theatre, music, and travel. Like its fellow Waldorf high school in Boulder, Shining Mountain, it offers Waldorf "main lessons" as well as relatively traditional "track classes" in foreign languages, math, language arts, etc. Students from both schools apparently average 29 on their ACT's. In the case of Shining Mountain, 98% of them end up graduating from four-year colleges and 37% complete graduate school. Tara does not provide these sort of statistics, but it lists some impressive colleges and universities that its students have attended. Graduates of both schools often matriculate to good liberal arts colleges.
There seem to be many positive aspects of Waldorf education, some of which I have tried to include in my kids' home schooling curriculum. When they were little, I tried to incorporate sensory experience and movement/balancing activities into their lives, although we did not embrace the Waldorf rejection of technology for our children (mine watched videos, played computer games, and had electronic toys). They loved to play outdoors. I would put out flours of different textures in bowls in the backyard for them to play with. They had a sandbox, a small pool, and two climbing structures, one of which Craig built. We had an electric train they could ride on, battery powered cars and a go-cart, and several ride-on toys, such as push toys and tricycles. We had lots of play dough and there was always a plastic easel and paints set up for them. We read together, and they had lots of unstructured time for imaginative games. One of the phrases I remember them using from those days was "in the game ..." as they described their imaginary worlds. They also built and created with Brio train sets, Lego, and other construction materials. As they got older, some of them used the k12 virtual curriculum, which is thematic and incorporates a great deal of art and literature. It is a "playful" curriculum, and, in that respect, Waldorf-esque. The girls took a number of theater classes (drama, dance, musical theater, singing). All four kids studied piano and at least one other instrument, voice (in some cases, just choir; in others, individual voice lessons), and, at some point in their lives, played in a youth orchestra. As they got older still, they found their way into more formal and traditional curricula, but, being home/online schooled, school never dominated their lives in terms of time or importance and left them free to indulge in reading, art, music, technical projects, physical activity, and unstructured learning.
In some ways we neglected rote learning, such as memorizing multiplication tables, in favor of less structured activity. Perhaps I should have been more forceful, organized, and traditional. On the other hand, they seem to be doing fine, and, as is predicted by both Waldorf and unschooling methods of education, they seem to be gathering educational momentum as they get older.
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