Who is the Waldorf Teacher?

As parents we bring our children gradually into the world, nurturing them closely through their earliest years and hoping to bring them to experiences that will promote their healthy development.  As they grow in independence we become increasingly aware of their individual capacities and especially their enormous appetite for learning, their innate ability to assimilate the world around them.  In the early childhood years parents are allowed a level of autonomy with a choice of services offering various components of education and daycare that we may include or decline.  For most of us then, the beginning of the grade school years marks the first time our choice of just who will be our child’s teacher, who will direct him/ her for a significant number of their most formative hours is no longer wholly our choice.  We may choose the educational philosophy that best suits our family’s values but a leap of faith is required.  We must trust in the individual teacher assigned to our child’s class.

The Waldorf ideal is that the class teacher will stay with the class from grade one through grade eight.  Waldorf education holds the child at its center.  Concerned with educating the whole human being, the creation of a familial environment within the class with a consistent, authoritative voice is fundamental to providing the secure setting necessary for students to explore and unfold their life’s purpose.  The continually evolving relationship between teacher and parent is essential to this process.  At Meadowbrook these relationships developed between students, between students and teachers, parents and teachers continue to enrich the lives of all far beyond grade school and college.

In recognition and celebration of our community, here is a short (12 minutes) film in which Waldorf teachers from some of our affiliate schools describe their roles and share their motivations.  Being a Waldorf Teacher.