Waldorf Education Honors the Head, Heart, and Hands
101-Year-Old Tradition Offers a Holistic Approach to School
The 101-year-old Waldorf educational tradition is still thriving today at The Waldorf School of Santa Barbara. One of the key components is the whole-child educational approach, which Administrator Teddy Macker described as, “Trying to encourage the intellectual, artistic, and practical capacities of our children equally in a loving, reverent holistic manner, and I think that in itself is unique.”
Instead of “teaching to the test,” as a focus, “We want our children to flourish as human beings, wholly,” said Macker. “So we privilege working in the garden like we might privilege math. We privilege painting like we privilege history, so it’s an integrated, holistic curriculum wherein all of the human is honored.”
“Head, Heart, and Hands” is one of the catchphrases you often hear. “When we talk about the head, we are talking about the academic and intellectual development of the child,” said 6th grade teacher and Administrator Carolyn Kaster. “So we see that we have a rigorous curriculum, but in addition to that, we are working with building capacities within the children. Rather than having a vessel that you’re filling up with information, we see it as building capacities in the children to learn and also fostering imagination and creativity.”
