Spotlight
What it means to teach eurythmy today
Eurythmy helps children to unite fully with the earth. The demands this makes of eurythmy are very great, as are the obstacles. Wolfgang Leonhardt, a former school doctor in Pforzheim, argues that eurythmy is an existential necessity and makes a plea to support its teachers. [more]
Spotlight
Inclusion – possibilities and limits
The first Waldorf school already had a so-called special class shortly after it was founded in 1919 which was looked after by Karl Schubert. And the concept of inclusion also quickly gained a foothold in Waldorf schools. It is characterised by small classes and the care of children with special needs within a normal class. Yet we should test where the boundaries of inclusion lie and the prerequisites on which its successful implementation rests. [more]
Spotlight
The omnipresent companion
Why are we so infatuated with our little gadgets? Smartphones and similar devices have become an indispensable part of our lives, of ourselves. Sending and receiving messages, checking information online or sharing pictures are activities deeply interwoven in our routines; they are an undisputed element of our existence. How is it possible that a tiny box is able to hold us spellbound? What do teachers and students need to know about the effects for the brain? [more]
Spotlight
Against the educational tyranny of PISA
Heinz-Dieter Meyer, sociologist and education researcher at the State University of New York, wrote an open letter to the “father” of the PISA study, Andreas Schleicher, together with the New York school principle Katie Zahedi in May 2014 which was signed by over a hundred personalities from science and education. [more]
Spotlight
Trade in education
The controversial TTIP and TISA free trade agreements threaten sell off culture and education. [more]
Spotlight
“ADHD” – an invented illness
What today is called ADHD was once called “minimal brain damage”. The first descriptions of “hyperactive” children saw it as the cause. But no damage could be found which could be described anatomically. So the “illness” was relocated to “minimal brain dysfunction”. [more]
Spotlight
The threat to the I through 3D images
The film industry is promising us a completely new experience with “three-dimensional” films. “The 3D world is turning at breathtaking speed. What appeared impossible only a short while ago has already arrived in the home cinema” (3D-Welt magazine). [more]
Spotlight
Are former Waldorf pupils healthier?
Waldorf education puts a particular emphasis on the healthy development of children and adolescents. Rudolf Steiner repeatedly pointed out that the predisposition for health or illness is created in school – also as regards later life. This question has now been investigated in a comprehensive empirical study which shows that throughout their life former Waldorf pupils suffer from various disorders and illnesses significantly less than people who did not attend a Waldorf school. [more]
Spotlight
Teacher and pupils at Waldorf schools are more happy
A new study by Dirk Randoll, professor of education at Alanus University, investigates the job satisfaction of teachers at Waldorf schools. The results: teachers at Waldorf schools have a higher level of job satisfaction than their colleagues at mainstream schools. One reason for this is the collegial management, which allows the individual teachers the opportunity to help shape the school. A further study on "Educational experiences at Waldorf schools" from the perspective of pupils, also published by Professor Randoll together with Professor Heiner Barz and Sylvia Liebenwein (both form the University of Düsseldorf), reaches the conclusion that pupils at Waldorf schools are healthier, more motivated to learn, more confident and are less stressed by school than pupils at mainstream schools. [more]
Bund der Freien Waldorfschulen e.V.