Unhidden Potential: A modern world catches up with Waldorf education
Recently, Cedarwood families shared and tagged a social media post that indirectly championed the benefits of a Waldorf education. Organizational psychologist, writer, and podcaster, Dr. Adam Grant posted about the benefits of looping, the practice of having a teacher stay with a class for multiple years. As part of Grant’s book launch for Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things, he contributed an op-ed article in the New York Times, which focuses on student potential.
Looping is a common Waldorf practice, where the students and teacher remain together for two or more years. Some Waldorf schools use Grades 1-5 and Grade 6-8 loops, but the original Waldorf model from a hundred years ago was to stay with a class through Grades 1-8. Looping increases the potential for connection and understanding between students and teachers, so that teachers can better identify students who are struggling (generally or specifically) and personalize their teaching to meet their needs, while also providing tailored support to those students who are excelling. Looping has shown huge benefits, even when a teacher stays with the same students for as little as two years.
At Cedarwood, not only do our students get the experience of the same educator year after year, but we also have the benefit of an amazing team of subject teachers. These teachers also stay with students for multiple years, increasing the opportunities for creating connections with individual students and deepening the students’ relationship with Japanese, Spanish, Movement, Music, Practical Arts, Eurythmy, and Cyber Civics.
Dr. Grant highlights Finnish education practices by emphasizing that teachers are trusted professionals with a lot of autonomy in what and how they teach. Instead of teaching to expectations of standardized testing, teachers are able to modify their curriculum to what their students need to learn and how they need to learn it. That sounds familiar! A key tenant of Waldorf education is that teachers have freedom in teaching, and the ability to tailor their teaching to meet the needs of the students in front of them. High scores on international standardized tests are credited to students having the freedom to explore a variety of interests—if students connect with a subject, any subject, they are more likely to stay engaged for the entirety of their schooling. Our students have daily opportunities to cultivate their engagement in a variety of subjects beginning in Grade 1.
Similarly, Finnish early education programs are based in play, not in cognitive repetition. This helps students associate learning and school with fun, which improves intrinsic motivation and reduces academic anxiety at all ages. In another section of the book, Grant discusses the value of Kindergarten and how it can help develop cognitive skills, which are more important to long-term financial stability (a common measure of adult success) than early math and reading skills. The ability to be proactive, social, disciplined, and determined will have life-long benefits, more so than early academic achievement. A Waldorf early childhood classroom (ages 3-6) focuses on play as work and work as play, providing opportunities for building these social strengths.
There’s a lot more in the book that supports a Waldorf approach to education. In a study of individual adults with exceptional artistic, athletic, or academic talent, most were not singled out as exceptionally talented students or children. They excelled because they were intrinsically motivated and experienced a teacher or a coach who made learning fun. These environments focus on a holistic approach to education, which helps prevent anxiety, burnout, and perfectionism and enables students to reach their full potential.
A Waldorf education focuses on the potential of every child; we don't think of these methods as being "hidden", because Waldorf schools have been implementing them for over 100 years. It is validating to see how the science and study of different approaches reinforces the value of a Waldorf approach. Early Childhood teachers lay a strong foundation in creating curious and kind human beings. Daily lesson teachers and subject teachers in the grades program create connections and are able to individualize their lessons for the needs and interests of their students. The result is well-adjusted, interesting, and engaged students who happen to do great in school.
If you enjoyed this article and want to see more like it, please let me know. We are continually evaluating engagement with the Monthly Newsletter and looking for ways to provide information that Cedarwood community members find interesting. I do a lot of personal reading related to parenting and education, both Waldorf and Waldorf-adjacent, and I’d be happy to write about interesting things that I’m reading or listening to and how they relate to the value of a Waldorf education.
In appreciation,
Amber Clayton, Interim Chief Administrative Officer