Waldorf News

News about Waldorf Education, Anthroposophy and OpenWaldorf.com. You can search the latest news on Waldorf education at Google News: "," "" and ""

Friday, April 30, 2004

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An Interview with Sufjan Stevens, a Brooklyn based musician who went to Waldorf.
posted by John 9:17 AM

Thursday, April 29, 2004

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A Waldorf school in England nearly burned to the ground. According to the fire station officer reported that "there were no fire alarms or smoke detection fitted." In their defense of this negligence, the school said there was no legal requirement for the building to have fire or smoke alarms.

Update: We sent an email to the school offering our condolences, as well as this link to information about what smoke detectors are, and how they work.
posted by John 1:42 PM

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A story about a South African puppeteer associated with Waldorf and the Camphill movement.
posted by John 9:12 AM

Friday, April 23, 2004

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Update on attempted abduction:

This morning, we spoke with Noris Friedman, Collegium Chair, of the Waldorf School of Baltimore. According to Noris, there are several inaccuracies in the newspaper reports of the incident.

According to Ms. Friedman, the incident happened at approximately 5:45, not 6:45. The girl, who is a student at the Waldorf School of Baltimore, was not under the care of the school at the time.

The girl's babysitter was watching the 8-year old and her sibling when the sibling needed to go to the bathroom. The babysitter left the 8-year old with the rest of the children in the after-school program, and escorted the other child to the bathroom. There were three teachers supervising the after-school play.

A ball was kicked across the field, and the 8-year old went to retrieve it. A person ran out from behind some bushes and grabbed the child. The teacher immediately ran after the suspect, scaring off the abductor, and retrieved the child. "It happened in a flash," Friedman said.

Contrary to newspaper accounts, the child was never missing for "a few minutes," and there was never a need to go "into the woods to look for her." According to Friedman, the newspaper accounts got the story "totally wrong."

Friedman says this incident was highly unusual. The school held a special meeting with all teachers to discuss the incident. Police are watching the area, and the school is stepping up supervision while the attacker remains at large.

Talk about it! Does Waldorf provide sufficient supervision for young students?

posted by John 9:56 AM

Thursday, April 22, 2004

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A man tried to remove the clothes of an 8-year old Waldorf student when she was alone in the woods while at school. The attempt was thwarted when a teacher went looking for her. There's no explanation as to why an 8-year old was allowed to disappear into the woods without supervision.

Update - Additional stories:

Police Intensify Search for Child Predator Suspect (Baltimore WJZ)

Police seek teen who tried to abduct two girls (Baltimore Sun)

Teen sought in abduction case (Baltimore Sun)

Youth sought in abduction attempts (Baltimore Sun)

Youth sought in abduction attempts (Teen Amber Alert)

Talk about it! Does Waldorf provide sufficient supervision for young students?

posted by John 5:51 PM

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An article on the Great Barrington Waldorf School's support for "TV Turnoff Week." This is consistent with Waldorf's Media Restriction. There is no mention of Waldorf's concern about a being called Ahriman and how he relates to television. You can research that at Google:
posted by John 4:30 AM

Monday, April 19, 2004

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The Kimberton Waldorf High School Chamber Choir performed the Holocaust Cantata, a series of works that "were created during or based on experience of those who spent years of their lives in concentration camps." Perhaps this is an attempt to recant statements by Waldorf's founder that "Jewry as such has outlived itself for a long time. It does not have the right to exist in the modern life of nations. That it has survived, nevertheless, is a mistake by world history, of which the consequences were bound to come."
posted by John 9:23 AM

Saturday, April 17, 2004

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A Waldorf school in Wisconsin is purchasing a driving range for a new school site.
posted by John 9:18 AM

Wednesday, April 14, 2004

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I've added a Teacher Talk forum to the OpenWaldorf message boards. If you are a Waldorf teacher, or if you are interested in Waldorf teaching methods or teacher training, please join us!
posted by John 12:04 AM

Monday, April 12, 2004

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There's a new Waldorf school in Madison, WI. "'...in the Waldorf schools, the children are doing, as opposed to sitting with a paper and pencil and writing,' says Kathy McAleese, 43, a Waldorf-inspired teacher. Practical skills, such as woodworking, sewing, gardening and cooking, also are part of the program." Also, boys and girls learn to crochet and knit to help them "develop manual dexterity." As an added bonus, Waldorf's founder claims that knitting will "slowdown and counteract the process of dental decay."
posted by John 6:23 PM

Monday, April 05, 2004

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A new study from the American Academy of Pediatrics suggest that television viewing among young children age 1-3 may cause attention deficit disorder later in childhood.
"You might say there's no safe level since there's a small but increased risk with each hour," one of the physicians said.
posted by John 7:22 AM

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