The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Unique school planned for city , By Karla Wheeler Imagine a school In which children are not pressured to compete but are instead encour~ age to help one another. Imagine a teacher who does not try to fit pupils into a pre-determined aca- demic mould, but rather has work with each child’s unique talents and weaknesses. Such a scenario may seem unrealistic in today's world of mass education, where class- rooms often become crowded and competitive. "it sounds too good to be true, I know," said Donna Huston of Waterloo, who along with local university professor Barry Ca- bena forms the KW volunteer Waldorf Education Interest Group. "But when you visit a (Waldorf) school, you see that it really does work," she said. And enthusiasts such as Huston and Cabena believe Waldorf schools provide a realistic and needed alternative to traditional forms of learning for kindergar- ten students through to high school graduates. Interest in the Waldorf system has been growing in Waterloo, according to Huston, who to- gether with Cabena and other supporters hopes to get a Waldorf school started in the area by next September. In a recent interview, the local volunteers outlined the history, philosophy and teaching methods of this private, non-profit school system. Wa1dorf's beginnings centre around a war-shattered Europe in 1919. they explained, when Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian sci- entist and philosopher, was asked to found and direct a school for children of employees at the Waldorf-Astoria cigarette com- pany in Germany. Since then, the growth of Wal- dorf schools has been steady. Today there are 200 located around the world, including six in Canada, which carry out the philosophies of Steiner, who stressed the importance of free- dom or individuality in educa- tion. For example, a Waldorf school "works with the child as the child is," Cabena said, "doing every- thing possible to develop (indi- vidual) strengths and balance weaknesses." This differs from today's tradi- tional system, he said, which often "bullies a child into being something he isn't." How is: individuality main- tained? One way is through small classes in which teachers are "encouraged to be creative," Huston said. This means lessons can come alive for the child even while teachers stay within cur- riculum guidelines, she said. For instance, if a teacher determines a lesson would best be learned not in a lecture but through a song, picture or skit, he is free to "develop that lesson out of himself," Huston said. In other words. teaching methods are "fluid rather than rigid." Cabena Another aspect of Steiner's philosophy which is apparent in tt Waldorf school, Cabena said, is the Austrian's belief about com- petition. A Waldorf school "doesn't fos- ter competition among stu- dents," he explained. adding that "the only form of competition is with oneself." This is important, the Wilfrid Laurier University professor said, because “lots of people are realizing that the enormous em- phasis on competition is a major new in the ways of the world. it's a greed-developing thing, this idea of competition." -Aeeordini to Huston, a former teacher. classroom competition Involving marks can have detri- mental enacts on children. In her words, "Mary isn't any less of a person because she only gets 'C' in math, while Johnny gets an 'A'." Yet, traditional education systems can make someone like Mary feel 'inadequate, Huston said. Instead of a traditional grading system, Waldorf schools use a written and verbal progress re- port as a means of Informing parents about a child's advance ment. An exception to this, how. ever, is a high school student applying to university, in which case "grades are necessary and are provided," said Huston. Yet another difference between Waldorf education and other sys- tems, the Waterloo pair said, is curriculum. "The Waldorf curriculum is much broader," according to Huston who said children learn two foreign languages as well as standard subjects such as math and history. And when each subject is taught, “a wider scope" is presented. To illustrate this point, Huston, who helped start a Waldorf school in London, Ont., cited an example from her own "tradi- tional" high school, where she learned only Newton's theory of colour. "But there are many others," she said, explaining that in a Waldorf school alternate theories would be presented as well. How effective is the Waldorf system? Most graduates contin- ue their education in university and go into "a wide range of professions," Huston said. And based on a small study in the U.S., she said, "Waldorf gradu- ates were found to be far more creative" than their peers from traditional systems. In a separate interview, Bar- bara Heinemann, a former Wal- dorf student who now has several relatives teaching in that system in Germany, agreed with the comments of Huston. 7 Had there been a Waldorf school in Kitchener-Waterloo, Heinemann said, she would have sent her own children there. "All students can benefit from the Waldorf system." she said. - Another important aspect of the Steiner-based education sys- tem, according to this Waterloo resident, is the teacher's rela- tionship with a student's family. "Here you (the parents) hardly know the teachers." she said, whereas in a Waldorf school teachers communicate closely with parents and other family members. Heinemann, fluent in five Ian- guages and currently studying for a Ph.D. in Spanish, says she practices some of Steiner's philo- sophies in her own teaching methods both at university as a teaching assistant and " an instructor in Kitchener's Satur- day Morning German Language School. T “I try not to have them (stu- dents) compete with ea_ch other in the classroom," she said. "instead, I encourage themth help themselves by helping each other." Initially, according to interest group members Huston and Ca- bena, the local Waldorf school will likely be for kindergarten students, only. However, they hope to see the school eventually grow into a complete, kindergar- ten through grade 12 facility, such as one located in Toronto. Between now and September, Huston said, the interest group will be involved in forming I corporation, raising funds, choosing a location, and finding a trained Waldorf teacher. And as well. local Waldorf believers will be busy informing parents that such an idealistic form of education exists in the world and is soon to become a reality here in the Twin Cities. Donna Huston and Barry Cabana display an unusual musical instrument and toys used " teaching an: in Weldon new: "d 8 pm. Wednesday, November 18th, 1981 St. Agatha Community Hall St. Agatha SPEAKERS; WATERLOO FEDERAL Pllit0tlatEsSllhfE consmme ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING WALTER McLEAN, M.P. Report from Parliament I l Angie's COMMUNITY Kitchen EVERYONE WELCOME NATERLOO CHRMICLE ttt. Again I mChurch "Amber To Waterloo > Light . GEOFF SCOTT, WP. Member for Hamliton-Wontworth "Famed for Impersonations, wit and wisdom I" “vacuum novauen ft. Log - not a Erb Street