Madrona Q&A

Madrona Q&A
How is Madrona different than other private schools in Kitsap County?
Madrona School is the only school offering Waldorf education on Bainbridge Island and the greater Kitsap community. Waldorf education is very different from other educational models, and a growing body of mainstream research supports Waldorf’s approach. Our lessons are integrated with movement, music, storytelling and the arts every day, enabling children to more fully engage in the subjects they are learning. Waldorf education also is rooted in specifics beliefs about child development and the importance of allowing children to develop fully their bodies, minds, and spirits, rather than pressuring or rushing them to “achieve” in some more quantifiable ways. For more information, visit the American Waldorf Schools of North America website, www.whywaldorfworks.com, and our page on Waldorf education.

Madrona School also embraces many values shared with our community of families -- warm, organic snacks for preschoolers and kindergarteners; lots of time for outside exploration and play every day no matter the weather; written narrative evaluations and regular parent meetings, rather than report cards and letter grades; child-created main lesson books created from blank paper and filled with drawings and calculations and reports, rather than mimeographed worksheets where every child is expected to produce the exact same information; encouragement of family time and community service, rather than hours of nightly homework.

Why doesn’t Madrona teach academics in preschool or kindergarten?
One of Madrona’s core values centers on our strong desire to support and protect the rich developmental treasures of childhood. We believe that critical physical and neurological building blocks – including creativity, imagination, and healthy will – can be compromised when children are rushed to perform in certain ways that might be more quantifiable but less age appropriate. Despite our country’s movement in recent decades toward pushing kids to “achieve” early – in structured academics, organized sports, and standardized testing, among other things – Madrona School seeks to support the innocence and simplicity of childhood, and the essential capacities that develop as a result. Current research has confirmed what many parents have long intuited: Seemingly “simple” play builds certain essential brain functions and development of higher learning skills.

Are Waldorf schools Christian?
Many Waldorf schools -- including Madrona -- hold festivals around Saint Michaelmas and Saint Martin, tell stories of Christian saints, include many Bible stories in the third grade curriculum, and put on Christmas nativity plays. Such traditions may cause parents to believe that Waldorf education is Christian. However, as explained by William Ward in an article titled, “Is Waldorf Education Christian?” by William Ward, from Renewal: Spring Summer 2001, Volume 10, Number 1, Waldorf education and traditions weave in many historically important stories and traditions. “We Waldorf teachers also teach the Eightfold Path of the Buddha; the Old Testament and Judaism; Islam; the teachings of Confucius; the teachings of Zarathustra; and Egyptian, Greek, and Norse mythology…. [W]e enter into diverse world cultures with as much reverence and depth as possible. While there are important differences between the world religions, a remarkable common ground – what has been referred to … as the spirit of humanity – is evident. As a school movement, we celebrate festivals of many religious traditions.”

Waldorf teachers point out that, rather than asking whether Waldorf is “Christian” per se, a different question gets to more to the heart of the role that Bible stories play in the larger context: “What image of the human being do the Waldorf schools seek to bring to the children as a model and inspiration? Here the answer is unequivocal. It is an image of the human being as loving, compassionate, reverent, respectful, engaged, tolerant, peaceful, joyful, patient, good, upright, wise, balanced, in harmony with the cosmos, nature, and humanity. No religion or code of ethics can arrogate these fundamental and universal values as its unique possession.” Mr. Ward goes on to explain that Waldorf education does have an important spiritual basis: “For an education that is of the heart and the will as well as the head, there is the practical question of how to help children develop these qualities. Much of what goes on in a Waldorf school that is perceived as religious and Christian – the festivals, the stories and legends of the saints, the Old Testament stories, and so on – has this intention.”

Is it true that Waldorf schools are light on academics?
Rather than teaching phonics to 3-year-olds, drilling second graders to encourage rote memorization, and pressuring middle schoolers with hours of nightly homework, our focus is different. We encourage group play and projects, vigorous outdoor activity every day no matter the weather, and immersion in the joy of learning for its own sake. And, beginning in first grade, Waldorf students are immersed in complex lessons and learning far more in-depth than most traditional schools, which must focus on standardized test preparation and quantifiable facts and figures. While Madrona students all receive a solid foundation of knowledge, they also – and perhaps more importantly – learn to think creatively, analyze critically, and explore actively. And, rather than worksheets and dry textbooks, our students spend their time creating their own lesson books, full of intricate drawings, written summaries and stories, and increasingly complex diagrams and calculations – all created by the students themselves.

Why are Waldorf teachers anti-television?
A growing body of mainstream research shows that exposure to media – particularly for under children age 8 – can have permanent negative effects on neurological development. Even so-called “educational” programming can in fact do more harm than good for our children’s development. Therefore, while we know that most parents allow some limited amount of screen time, Madrona parents often voice their appreciation for our school community’s shared value of limiting kids’ exposure to media, including television, videos, computers, and video games. That shared commitment helps to create a school environment where kids don’t need to know cartoon characters and story lines to fit in, and they have the skills to play creatively and imaginatively.

If Madrona seeks to foster a non-competitive environment, how can you expect students to be prepared to compete in “the real world”?
Although Madrona teachers do not grade students or send home report cards, our school has many mechanisms for evaluating students and working with individual strengths and challenges. And much evidence supports our belief that the Waldorf method produces exceptional people, ready to engage in the world and succeed in their endeavors. Madrona graduates have excelled in high school – with a majority on honor roll – and individual students’ accomplishments are numerous, from being elected class president and winning drama awards to spending time a foreign exchange student. And Waldorf graduates worldwide have a proud history of high achievements. At Madrona, we believe that the best school environment develops not only children’s intellectual skills but also their physical bodies, emotional capacities, and strong spirits.

What can you tell me about families at Madrona? Would our family be a good fit with the school culture and values?
Our Madrona community represents a diverse group of people, representing a full range of political, spiritual, and cultural values. Our parents are architects, artists, business owners, lawyers, writers, computer programmers. They are Buddhist, Christian, Catholic, Jewish, and aetheist. Our families come from Bainbridge and beyond, some driving nearly an hour each way. A large number of families receive tuition assistance but almost all contribute to our school in ways too great to quantify. While we do, to some degree, have shared values around certain issues relating to our children, we all express those in very different ways. And Madrona does strive to support parents in their efforts to lead sustainable, healthy, “green” lives. Our school snacks consist of warm and nourishing foods, such as organic millet with flax seed oil, whole wheat bread made by the children, and vegetable minestrone soup. We also host parent workshops on supporting children’s health, include healthy lunch recipes in our bulletin, and cultivate a p-patch next door where our students plant – and later harvest and eat – organic vegetables. Our teachers work hard to incorporate healthy and grounding routines into our school days and support parents’ efforts to do the same. And we also strive to be a school with an attitude of expansiveness, with room for all sorts of viewpoints.

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