Is Acton a Waldorf school?
A Waldorf school (Steiner education) is based on the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner. Lately, I have had a couple of parents ask me if we follow the Waldorf approach. This may in part because we are outdoors a lot and I often discuss the benefits of outdoor play and how much I appreciate many aspects of the Waldorf approach. I have also previously written about Waldorf education.
I recently visited The Juniper School in Clintonville to learn more about their approach. The Juniper school is currently trying to become a member of WECAN (Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America).
What is a Waldorf education?
Nature over Technology: A lot of what people know about the Steiner Education approach is that the students spend a lot of time outdoors. During my visit to Juniper, it was clear that each of the early childhood teachers there tries to get outside for an hour everyday.
Less emphasis on Academics in early years: At Juniper, students often don’t read until sometime in 2nd grade. Reading is not an area that is emphasized in early years. Teachers do read stories but there is no formal reading or writing training in the early years.
Rudolph Steiner theorized that they are not ready for formal reading or writing lessons until around the age of 7. This differs from Maria Montessori who believed that the best time to teach reading / writing was between the ages of 3.5 - 5.5.
Focus on beauty, arts and music: If you visit The Juniper School, it’ll be pretty clear that there is a heavy emphasis on arts. During my visit, all the blackboards were filled with artistic elements. In speaking with a teacher there, she emphasized that they believe that appreciation of art and beauty comes first and leads to academics later.
While I didn’t notice it during the tour, there is also a lot of emphasis on singing to students and playing around on musical instruments. At the Juniper, I don’t believe there was any formal music instruction - rather just the availability of instruments to create music.
Importance of teacher: The teacher at a Waldorf school is critical. That was also evident in my tour. Each teacher spoke of her background and experience. Each teacher emphasized her personal approach to teaching. This article about Waldorf education by the NYTimes characterizes the teacher as the “Classroom Authority.”
Is Acton Academy Columbus a Waldorf school?
No. While I love a lot of aspects about Waldorf, the Acton approach incorporates a lot of different things that are not often seen in Waldorf.
Self-paced learning
Project-Based Learning
Mixed-age classroom
Mix of Montessori / Reggio Emilia approach
Real-world challenges / projects
Focus on Entrepreneurship
Focus on STEM
Guide vs. Teacher
One area of Waldorf that I really love is the time spent outdoors. And it’s something that we have incorporated into the Acton approach. Hot or cold, Windy or calm, we try to get outside on a regular basis. The reason Acton Academy Columbus is located where it is is in large part because Coffman park is right across the street. And we have taken advantage of that. In addition to going to the park, we have also gone sledding nearby, played around on the skateboard park.
We also have a heavy focus on arts and creativity at our studio. Our STEM projects almost always have some artistic component and are probably better characterized as STEAM projects.
Acton Academy Columbus was built after 18 months of me personally exploring a lot of different options of education. I documented a lot of my findings in the research area of the website. One of those areas was Waldorf and I have borrowed from a little bit of their approach though we are far from a “Waldorf School.”
Read more about Acton’s similarities with a Forest School.
