I would vote for Waldorf Education I think. My reason is that education without hands and heart, focusing only on 'book learning' has to create unbalanced people. I guess I could even drop the 'Waldorf' part and simply promote education that equally involves the mind, the feelings and the body. I would promote much more of the humanities and much less of anything to do with electronics. I know trade schools are important, but without band or plays or dance, where will the imagination find its power? If we don't learn something about history, the history of world affairs, the history of religions, the history of art, how can we ever see our place in the great scheme of things?
The testing we might measure success by could be: Is my child happy? Does he play well? Are her cheeks rosy? Does he/she sleep well? Laugh a lot? Is she kind to others? Does she take care of her pets? Does he take initiative? Have a rich imagination?
I am an idealist in many ways. I have this notion that if we honored our teachers by giving them opportunities to learn more, mentors, great equipment, really good salaries, we would be making one fantastic investment in our country and in our future. If our schools are failing, we all are failing. That means I am failing and I don't like that feeling.
The night before my son's first day at a predominantly black High School in a fairly affluent Connecticut suburb, there was a meeting of the students and their parents. The white principal came out and basically started yelling at the kids. "I'm not going to put up with any of your crap this year. You obey the rules or you are out on your ass so fast you won't know what hit you. You are nothing in my eyes. You come in with the attitude that you are running this show and you will learn fast." That kind of thing. It actually turned out to be a pretty nice school but what was that about?
Contrast that with the Headmistress welcoming tea for new students and their parents at the boarding school he went to in Western Massachusetts two years later. "We welcome you ladies and gentlemen to the two hundredth garden tea party for opening day. I expect you have found your rooms and greeted your room mates. Mingling among us are the various heads of departments and they will answer any questions you might have about the programs we are offering this semester. It is such a great pleasure to see all your bright eager faces today. We will have a wonderful year."
Now, I am not saying that everything was rosy at Northfield- Mt. Hermon. Any school dealing with teenagers has huge issues arising. But they are not failing and their dropout rate is practically nil. An environment of mutual respect is important anywhere.
I have a sneaking suspicion that given good teachers, good exercise, engaging cultural opportunities, healthy diet, and so on, most any kid could be an excellent student. I also have the suspicion that we are really blowing our future by not nurturing the respect between students and teachers and giving everyone the best shot possible. We reward with fabulous salaries people who own companies that make plastic bags and cut down rainforests and develop drones and nuclear weapons. Maybe we could do a little better with teachers. I think so.
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