Difference Between Waldord Education and Montessori

Through my own research and of some personal experience about the difference between the Waldorf School and Montessori on how they look the educational philosophies this piece of result came to live.

From the young child can be viewed with great respect and reverence in both philosophies, of course the two educational system have both contrast including their approach to play, toys, fantasy, social development, structure and order but for the meantime let’s focus on intellectual development bound on every child belong to their responsibilities.

From the concept of Montessori, they sees the child as having an absorbent mind that is ready to soak up knowledge and experience like a sponge. In that case they have theories on supplying a child with ever more challenging intellectual tasks from an early age and it will end up with an educated child. While in Waldorf School they don’t easily believe on that in the sense of the healthiest way to approach the education of your children. So instead of introducing an early intellectual focus, Waldorf seeks to nourish and to keep alive the young’s child imagination and creative thinking powers.

The Concept Behind Waldorf Education

Before what we have the education system today, many theorist like Socrates and Rudolf Steiner wanted to know the process of leanings. Most of their ideas continue to influence many of school today and treat them as traditional educators. Especially for Rudolf Steiner who found the Waldorf education since on early of 19th century. It serves as alternative education today and teaches most of our children by showing the concept of different method of learning.

From the concept of Steiner’s Waldorf education, according to them children’s development into three stages: from age seven, children began to learn the primary of his knowing from imitating. From seven onward to fourteen, the feelings and emotions predominate and after age fourteen, the development occurs with independency in reasoning skills which plays most of the part.

As Waldorf Education goes, they want to emphasize arts and crafts, movement and music especially when the children are at the younger ages. They also maintain the self awareness as an individual that came for learning process.

They believe that environment plays the great part in learning. With a clean environment they can develop their observational skills and the self appreciation for the beauty circled on him. With their own enthusiasm and awareness they can learn their meaning to this world as well as their purpose in the sense that they continue learning through themselves.

How Developement Occurs In Waldorf School

What for Waldorf Education came to earth is just to emphasize on the use of practical, artistic and conceptual elements into the development of every child in the field of education. This kind of alternative was established by Rudolf Steiner with the different process in learning development. The Steiner Waldorf approach is based on the fact that the role of imagination in learning is integral for the development of creative and analytical thinking. They believe that environment plays the critical part in learning where they educational system aimed for an environment where their students can develop freely. This could be a good foundation in developing their own personalities by knowing themselves with enthusiasm.

According to their concept, if a creative soul wanted to make a system of education that can develop the potential of its students in an optimal way. In the sense that we need to understand ourselves as a human being with unique aspects.

What Is Waldorf All About?

Let us consider Waldorf Education with the goal to develop the functions human soul consist of thinking, feeling and the will. This is the reason they used to add the fine motor activity such as handwork and the agility exercises aside from academic training, music, art and drama.

By complying with the long term of social and spiritual evolution of humanity, Steiner was able to push that development in his educational vision. In that way you can align it in such a way as to match the particular age of a child directly with the curriculum. Of utmost importance is avoiding over-taxing the natural unfolding of the child’s esthetic constitution. The debilitating effects of such practices are experienced in eyesight, constitutional energetic, the immune system, and later on in life, a variety of hardening effects (sclerotic conditions, hardening of arteries, etc.)

This is the developmental part of education, which has been abandoned by our public education system who only strives for better test scores. An education system that focuses upon training the mind while paralyzing the body as kindergarteners are made to sit at desks, use pencils, write and copy, and give up recess because there isn't time for it.

Philosophy Bound In Education

We have an assignment in our philosophy class. We are required to research a philosopher that conduct a study or work with education. On the top of that I really love philosophy class, this is one of my favorite class and also I’m taking the most advantage when it comes to a philosopher but this time I need to find educator or more to tend like that way.

I used some search from internet and this is the result that had been given to me. “Each of us is meant to be a free spirit, just as each rose seed is meant to be a rose” Rudolf Steiner. He is known to be the founder of Waldorf Education from born out of a philosophy of freedom of living.

It also a religion based upon faith according to several Steiner lectures relate to child education. This is all that I need since he believes in his thoughts on the philosophy of Freedom thus the questions lives like this. “Why not make the freedom philosophy the main topic at parent’s night and school tours, isn’t the best public introduction to all children?”

Waldorf education is becoming one of the most popular educational programs that use in school and it well known to be called Waldorf School while most of these schools are private or home schools, it is becoming much more common place in the public school system as well. On the top of that the reason why it is so popular is because of the results that it produces in the children that are involved in the program based on others observation.

With this research I will project on the class how Rudolf Steiner comes to be the great part of every education around the world especially with Waldorf education. As of know I need to read lots of article about this philosopher so I can discuss it to the class, share his thoughts and philosophy and a very understanding way. Like Rudolf Steiner I want my class to learn from our lesson with a freedom on our self.