An illustration from the first grade classroom blackboard. The children are introduced to formal mathematics through an unfolding narrative in which individual characters represent the four basic math processes of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

NEWS TO KNOW ABOUT

The Alliance for Childhood, comprised of more than 60 experts in child development, psychology, pediatrics, and mental health, condemns "the increasingly academic curriculum in kindergartens and preschools, which is replacing child-initiated learning through creative play and hands-on activities."

"Education is not a race where the prize goes to the one who finishes first,” the Alliance states. “To help young children develop literacy and a lifelong love of learning we need to respect and, when needed, to strengthen their individual abilities and drive to learn."
Read more at the Alliance for Childhood Web site.

Are more and more children suffering from "nature deficit disorder"--too little time out in the natural world? Hear the NPR interview with Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods.

A recent Kaiser Family Foundation study reports on youth and "Media Multi-tasking." "These kids are spending the equivalent of a full-time work week using media, plus overtime."

Journalist Todd Oppenheimer won a National Magazine Award for public interest reporting for his 1997 Atlantic Monthly cover story, "The Computer Delusion." Oppenheimer expanded his critique of technology in the classroom with the book The Flickering Mind: Saving Education from the False Promise of Technology. In a Q&A, Oppenheimer argues, "Most schools would gain far more than they'd lose by excluding computers entirely from the lower grades," and praises Waldorf schools for "developing students' imagination, their sense of ethics and self-confidence, and their capacity for solving problems in an original way." Read the Oppenheimer interview.

RWS News

8th Grade Canoe Trip

By Sarah Milston, Development Coordinator

5 students, 50 miles, 5 days equals hands-on learning about US History.  Richmond Waldorf School 8th grade teacher, Phil Pollard is about to embark on a journey with his students that will be etched into their memories for years to come. While most students are barely adjusting to the new school year, Mr. Pollard’s class will be packing for a week long canoe trip from Henricus to Jamestown.  In an example of the inspired learning prevalent through Waldorf education, the students will learn history, geography, orienteering, meteorology, and astronomy.

"I love that my son is going to experience geography in a living manner." Says parent Claudia Thomas.

Pollard’s students will depart Henricus on Monday, September 14, and paddle to Weston Manor where they will be engaged in a tour of the plantation to learn about the generations of families who resided at Weston, including the Gilliam and Eppes families, and the Civil War adventures of little Emma Wood based on her own journal that the class will read.

The next morning they will paddle to Westover Plantation known as the ancestral seat of the Byrd family in Virginia. The present stately 2-1/2-story brick mansion (c. 1730-1734) of early Georgian style is notable for the quality of its construction and for its completeness of design. It was built by William Byrd II (1674-1744), a planter, public official, and author especially noted for his posthumously published letters and diaries.

After another night camping the group leaves for Fort Pocahontas the site of  an earthen fort built and manned by hundreds of United States Colored Troops under the direct command of Brigadier General Edward Augustus Wild. The May 24, 1864, action resulted in a victory for the USCTs against an attack led by Major General Fitzhugh Lee, Robert E. Lee's nephew.  Thursday and Friday the students will make their way to their final destination in Jamestown. 

"I could talk about these places and the importance of the James River for weeks, but why not let the students learn about them by going there?" says Pollard.

Congratulations to our 2009 graduating Eighth Grade Students on their acceptances to the following high schools:

• Appomattox Regional Governor's School
• The Foreign Language Immersion Program at JR Tucker High School
• Franklin Military Academy
• James River High School
• The North Carolina School for the Arts
• Richmond Community High School
• Saint Christopher's School
• Trinity Episcopal School

Could a Waldorf education be the alternative you’ve been seeking for middle school?

The Three R’s of Waldorf Middle School Education

Rome, Renaissance, Revolution!

The goals of the Waldorf middle school are to encourage and inspire the children:

• To think clearly and independently and to question the status quo;
• To learn out of their own experiences and not to be satisfied with second- or third-hand knowledge;
• To study and work not in order to pass an exam or get a good grade, but to satisfy their own desire for learning;
• To have a sense of their own dignity as human beings; and
• To have a sense of belonging to the world and of being needed in the world.

At Richmond Waldorf School we offer a curriculum uniquely designed to meet the challenging stages of adolescence. While from the outside we may see what appears to be cynicism or self-absorption, internally the students are asking themselves profound questions such as, “Is there such a thing as absolute truth?” “Is the world essentially a good and beautiful place?” and, “What will be my unique contribution to the world?”

Sixth grade students begin to experience a natural hunger to study “something real”. To meet this need, they are introduced in sixth grade to the world of the Romans whose strength of will created a system of laws and architecture, which endures today. Typically, seventh graders feel an urge to question existing boundaries, so they study the Renaissance, an era when artists and scientists rejected the accepted beliefs of their culture to search for deeper levels of truth based on their own experiences.

Seventh graders have had it, but eighth graders are going to do something about it! Waldorf curriculum offers the eighth graders the opportunity to study the history of revolution. From Martin Luther to the modern struggle for civil rights, the students are asked to hone their understanding of the history of great ideals, and what happens as they are implemented in the world.

In the physical sciences through the study of acoustics, optics, and mechanics, middle school students begin to develop their capacities to hear and observe along with the objectivity to stand outside of an experiment and describe what they see happening. At a time in their lives when rapid physical growth and hormonal changes causes powerful emotions, the study of magnetism and chemistry speaks to the students’ interest in the laws of attraction as well as the explosive potential of natural substances. Along with a new self-consciousness and interest in romance and sexuality, the students also begin their study of anatomy and physiology.

Waldorf education meets students where they are developmentally.  The curriculum allows students to experience the past, understand the present, and prepare for the future under the guidance of a caring and clear authority figure.  Students will graduate able to think for themselves, experience their own personal authority and be ready to face the challenges of adolescence and adulthood.

To learn more about our exciting middle school curriculum, we invite you to  call 377-8024 and speak with our enrollment office.

Newsletters

The Messenger – Weekly Newsletter

• May 2, 2007
• April 26, 2007
• April 19, 2007
• April 5, 2007

The Spirit – Quarterly Newsletter

• Fall 2006 (PDF, 192 kb)
• Fall 2005 (PDF, 404 kb)

Download the full 2007-2008 School Calendar

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