of course there is another way…. the Waldorf Education system… back by the inspirational ideas of Rudolph Steiner…. but of course the only way to access this most of the time is privately……and we are so programmed that its free so why should we pay for it that most of us dont even consider it….. I knew in my heart before I had even conceived my son that I never wanted to raise my child in the system…. to allow him to grow to be a whole rounded human being… not just a robot who passed some bits of paper that now allow him to get a job again in some system that just traps him…. I want him to be able to think for himself…. have his own ideas….and have the will to follow thru on them……….. the idea behind the Waldorf education system is not to raise a child by pumping him/her full of information ( that updates and changes by the time he/she leaves school anyway….) but to bring out everything thats already in that child… to nurture…. the allow the child to play … being the biggest tool a toddler and child has for learning………….. Here is a paragraph I have taken from the introduction to waldorf education…. “The focus of Steiner/Waldorf education is to educate the whole child, based on the insights into child development by the Austrian scientist and philosopher, Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925). The emphasis is not only on the intellectual development of the child, but focuses equally on developing the child’s feeling life (artistic and emotional) and also its life of will (the ability to carry through ideas into a finished piece of work, incorporating all the steps in between). In this way we try to allow the child’s potential to unfold, allowing them to grow into a self-motivated, content adult.”
Most people wouldnt even consider the idea of sending their child to a private school cause of the money….. we have put everything else to the back seat to find a way and make it happen for our son to be allowed to be a child for as long as he can……………. and do you know what is also amazing… most waldorf schools understand that people cannot afford it….. and as a community which is what the school is seen as…. those who can pay more than the suggested donation do… so that those who cannot afford it… can pay less…….. and its amazing how when you believe in something so whole heartedly….. life finds a way…………. More and more alternative types of schooling are becoming available….. but the only way we can make a change to the way the government see our schooling is by saying something, doing something… and finding our own way out of it……… No two year old should be tested…. no 3 or 4 year old should be tested… when you look at the statistics coming out of schools now they are saying that starting earlier with children…(especially bosy because of how their brains develope…..) actually does more harm than good…… how can we raise children with a love of learning… if we make it so hard on them and no fun when they are soo so little……………
Suggested Reading – Steven Biddulphs… Raising boys & his other book… Raising girls…. definately some eye openers in there……..
Bless you and I hope that enough is done within the sysytem in time to allow our children to be children for as along as they can……………
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