Waldorf education and how it benefits the whole child? (Part-1)

Waldorf Education is a school philosophy that encourages educating children through a wide range of learning experiences that nurture the whole child rather than focussing almost entirely on only one part of the body, the brain and it’s intellectual capacity. This is designed to be appropriate for each of the three stages in succession i.e.: developing the hands in early childhood, the heart in middle childhood, and then the head in later childhood, young adulthood, and beyond.  Following is a brief about Stage One i.e. Developing Hands.

Stage One: Zero to Seven Year Olds Throughout the first phase the young child, from zero to seven years old, learns from the cognitive faculty of imitation (Nicholson, 2000). The body initiates willing through physical development and by copying what is demonstrated. By utilizing imitation the child is able to connect to their immediate environment and engage their own will (Barnes 1991; Easton, 1997; Guthrie, 2003; Reinsmith, 1989; Uhrmacher, 1995). Intellectualization is not yet developed (Guthrie, 2003).

The imagination works with simulation and replication to develop the physical body. The zero to seven year old absorbs the world mainly through their five senses and responds in the most active way of showing their awareness, through imitation. All senses speak to the infant, toddler, preschooler and primary school student while sounds, touch, gestures, light and emotions are sensitively comprehended (Barnes, 1991). Barnes (1991) states, “These influences are absorbed by the still-malleable physical organism and affect the body for a lifetime”. 

Transitioning very young children to a formal classroom setting, and rushing them into a scholastic environment with limited free play and few imitative processes, is an unnecessary and unhelpful disruption to a child’s natural learning(Clouder, 2003; Hutchins, 2009; Larrison et al., 2012; Marshak, 2003; O’Connor & Angus, 2014). In order to develop children to their full capacity, adult caregivers of the very young need to create environments that are worthy of children’s imitation and their physical development (Barnes, 1991; Easton, 1997; O’Connor & Angus, 2014). 

There should be plenty of opportunity for imitation, physical activity, and creative play. In the classroom environment stories, songs, puppet shows, quality materials, and imaginative lessons are necessary to help develop a zero to seven year old to their fullest potential. If the classroom environment is conducive to play and imaginative replication 12 then students will have the ability to develop their brain to its maximum capacity. Playfulness, physical activity, and imagination are the fundamental characteristics for the development of genius (Petrash, 2010). Imagination, imitation, well thought out classroom environments, interactive learning, and play are all vital to young children reaching their greatest potential during this early time of their lives (Clouder, 2004; Hutchins, 2009). 

Allowing the zero to seven year old child to focus on the important task of developing their physical body through play first, can encourage the child to reach complete bodily health and vitality needed later in life).Pushing very young children, in traditional education, to meet the impulsive, intellectual demands of early cognitive learning robs them of true health in their overall lifetime (Barnes, 1991; Hutchins, 2009; Larrison et al., 2012). Young students need to be playing, doing movement activities, and learning through kinesthetic interchanges (Darian, 2012). Educating the very young child with lively lessons that encourage physical growth, language development, and curiosity, will naturally lay a solid foundation for the later development of imagination, feeling, and thinking that comes during the second stage of childhood development. 

Play is essential for young children to fully progress all the way through the first stage of development. Educators must support their very young students to evolve gently, on their own timeline (House, 2013; Marshak, 2003). If educators push children to learn skills when they are not developmentally ready, as in many traditional school programs, there are  risks of frustrating children, increasing their anxiety, damaging their self-esteem, and negatively impacting their long-term motivation to learn (Hutchins, 2009; Larrison et al., 2012; O’Connor & Angus, 2014; Uhrmacher, 1995). Allowing the young child to mature properly will ensure that she is ready for the second phase of childhood development and the school achievement that comes with this phase).