Focusing on a holistic style of education, Steiner Waldorf schools use a different curriculum framework than those used by government, private or other independent schools

BY KELLY KARRAN

I loved my job, but I had to quit. I gave up teaching secondary science, convinced that our education system was broken, and working within it was breaking me. The focus on exams in a shrinking number of subjects at the cost of a balanced education for young people is wrong, and not what most of my students needed. My manager was applying pressure to move the students in my form from electives like music or art to ‘Progress 8’ subjects that make the school look good on data tables. How could I participate in what I knew was harming my students? I left with no plan to return. 

A year later, on a mission to find the right secondary school for my son, I researched every educational establishment in a one hour radius of our house. My 10-year-old son was at a popular, oversubscribed independent school, but was not thriving. Tummy aches and school-avoiding strategies leading to near nightly crying and distressing signs of anxiety. What was going on? 

His school was once a Montessori school, but that was now long in the past. I had found it a caring haven full of warmth when we had first chosen it more than a decade ago for my eldest, but over time it had evolved into a pushy, high-pressure prep school. Parents hire extra tutors to prepare for competitive secondary school entrance exams, leaving little time for unstructured playtime after school. My son’s teachers proudly reported the high levels that he was achieving, meanwhile he seemed sadder and sadder, withdrawing from activities he once found fun. The problems I had seen in education were clearly not limited to secondary schools.

Open day followed open day and my spreadsheet filled with notes from conversations with pupils and parents and teachers. In the end the shortlist had three good options, a local state school still fighting to keep a broad curriculum with a focus on students, and two independents that were just a bit further away than ideal. Had we seen them all? There was a little dot on the Google map that indicated there was a school in Greenwich that hadn’t made it onto my lists. Why hadn’t I included it? I pulled up the website: Greenwich Steiner School [now called Greenwich Waldorf School]. What’s a Steiner School? I filled in the request for the newsletter and signed up for the open day.

My teacher training must have included something on Steiner Waldorf schools, but nothing was coming to mind. I was vaguely suspicious that it was ‘alternative-non-academic-touchy-feely’ education for hippies. My husband rolled his eyes but agreed to join me for the open day.

It’s hard to put my finger on the moment I knew, but it couldn’t have been clearer as far as instincts go. We listened to the head teacher, a passionate educator, as he spoke about how the curriculum is built around the stages of child development. Subject-specialist teachers are involved from kindergarten, the living embodiment of their subject. A group of 10 or so young teenagers lined the back of the small hall, listening politely to the presentations. No school uniforms, these jeans- and t-shirt-clad youngsters made a strong first impression. Firm handshakes, warm smiles, they chatted animatedly with me and other visiting parents about their classes, from physics to blacksmithing. 

In my former role, I had prepped students to participate in open days, practicing things to say and how to greet people. This didn’t feel like that. Not rehearsed. Genuine and warm. These 13-year-olds expressed an interest in a wide variety of subjects and activities, I tested them on their science knowledge, receiving impressively articulate answers. The enthusiasm and curiosity in these students blew me away. For every question asked, I received one in return. Real discussion and real interest. 

I know the struggle to get students to think and consider, not just repeat back the textbook answer with glazed-over eyes. Incoming Year 7 students often still had the spark of curiosity in them, but that was typically gone by Year 8, killed by boring content-led lessons. I remember shadowing a student for a day once a few years back. Attending all of their classes, taking breaks at the same time. I wanted to poke pins in my eyes. Every day like this? Week in week out? My own memories of school seem rather unrelated. I remember being bored, but not all the time.

I cornered the Steiner teachers, determined to find out what happens in day-to-day classes. They spoke of lessons delivered with rhythms of academic work and practical work and movement. Main lesson blocks allow for a subject to be explored in depth over three or four weeks, while shorter subject lessons provide breadth and regular practice. Maths, english, and science are all important, yes, but equally important are music, art, games, history, gardening, languages, eurythmy (an expressive movement art originated by Steiner School originator Rudolph Steiner, with Marie von Sivers), and more. The work in the student books was outstanding and demonstrated a high level of academic rigour.

The students were laughing in a corner. I would be over the moon to see a smile like that on my sad little boy. It was clear to me that we had found our school. I wanted to learn more about Steiner pedagogy. No one was more surprised than myself that my enthusiasm for teaching had reawakened.

It’s now a year-and-a-half later and my only regret is that we took so long to find this. The Steiner school that was last on my list has brought out the best in my son. He now ‘hates’ school with a smile on his face, and I can’t remember the last nighttime tears or tummy ache. My boy has blossomed. He reads for pleasure, draws in his sketchbook, and takes particular pride in his progress in maths (he was behind his peers when we joined, which coming from the super-academic prep school, had been a surprise), but extra time with his teacher has caught him up, and he is feeling pretty pleased with himself. 

As for me, my journey to learn and grow as a Steiner science teacher continues.

Further information
Greenwich Steiner School, Woodlands, 90 Mycenae Road, Blackheath, SE3 7SE; 020 8858 4404; greenwichsteinerschool.org.uk

This article appeared in the Summer 2021 issue of Black + Green Magazine