Featured Article: Desert Star School:
Parent Participation
3-27-2009
Parent participation in a Waldorf or Waldorf Inspired
School is an essential aspect of the pedagogy.
By Catherine Weld, Board President and
Remedial Teacher
Consider
the following quotation from Rosamund and Benjamin Zander
from The Art of Possibility:
"Michelangelo is often quoted as having said that
inside every block of stone or marble dwells a beautiful
statue; one need only remove the excess material to reveal
the work of art within. If we were to apply this visionary
concept to education, it would be pointless to compare
one child to another. Instead, all the energy would be
focused on chipping away at the stone, getting rid of
whatever is in the way of each child's developing skills,
mastery, and self expression."
It may take a community to raise a child and it certainly takes parents and teachers, working as partners, to educate a child. A unique opportunity exists in schools based on Waldorf pedagogy with the teacher remaining with the same group of students for many years. Parents and teacher have many opportunities to share each other's perspective on the child, in his/her strengths and challenges, and to work together to support the child at home and at school. The child feels the loving consistency in the expectations both at home and at school.
Together, as teachers and parents, we strive to inspire
a life-long love of learning, fully developing each child's
unique capacities and encouraging the development of his/her
sense of truth, beauty and goodness. An integration of
the academics and the arts supports this goal in the classroom.
Parents support this in their home life.
So specifically, how are parents the partners
of teachers in Waldorf education?
Within the classroom, parents may contribute as handwork
assistants, reading group facilitators, and field trip
drivers. Parents are classroom representatives, supporting
the teacher in whatever way is needed, e.g., making play
costumes, organizing class trips, planning pot lucks for
the class, vacuuming the classroom, etc. Attending all
class meetings and parent teacher conferences is essential
so parents and teachers share in each other's' perspective
on the child's development. Schoolwide, parents are committee
members, they plan festivals and fundraisers, with Board
members and give critical feedback to Desert Star, positive
and negative.
At home, parents are the most important supporters of
education by providing a home environment that prepares
the child to learn in the classroom. This includes a minimum
interference by the media! Parents are encouraged to provide
a space and regular time for homework to be completed,
support the practice of a musical instrument in the higher
grades, provide good nutrition for your child including
a healthy breakfast each morning, and express interest
in what your child is learning.
Let your child know how important this education
is to you and they in turn, will internalize the value
of education.
