There are more than a thousand Waldorf schools in the world. The Steiner movement is the largest among alternative education systems and continues to grow steadily. It should be noted that the activities of such schools are not licensed and alternative schools do not issue documents on state education. One of these schools opened in Sochi in 2011.
Building a school
The family of Yulia and Fyodor Mikhailovich from Sochi, having not chosen a decent state comprehensive school for their daughter, decided to create a private one. Having studied various pedagogical methods, they settled on Waldorf education. So Fedor Fedorovich Mikhailovich became the founder and founder of the Waldorf school in Sochi "Good Way".
In 2011, a private school organized education from grades 1 to 4, as well as a kindergarten and a nursery “Mom and Baby”. The premises were rented in one of the sanatoriums in the Khostinsky district of Sochi. In 2018, 150 children study here from grades 1 to 11. The Waldorf School in Sochi (Razdolnoe) now has its own premises with classrooms and 4 hectares of land.
History of the Waldorf Method
Austrian doctor of philosophy Rudolf Steiner, known to the world as the father of anthroposophy, opened a new school in Stuttgart in 1919. The name "Waldorf" came from the name of the factory "Waldorf-Astoria", for the children of workers of which the school was opened. A mystic who was fond of esotericism, Steiner introduced anthroposophical hypotheses into the educational process. Anthroposophy affirms the concepts of the trinity of man, the four essences of man, and the doctrine of the temperaments of man. Waldorf schools subordinate pedagogy to the needs of the child, relying on these three pillars of Steiner's teachings.
- The goal of pedagogy is not only teaching sciences, but also improving the emotional sphere, educating the will, since, according to Steiner, intellect, emotions and will correspond to the spirit, soul and body of a person.
- The founder of the Waldorf school believed that a human child is a child under 21 years old. Man consists of four entities: the infinite spirit and the physical, etheric and astral bodies. These entities do not arise simultaneously with the appearance of a child, but are born in subsequent order with a seven-year interval: the first - the physical body, after 7 years - the etheric body, in14 years old - astral, and only at 21 years old - the spiritual part of the personality, I. The educational process is built in attachment to the “growing up” of a person according to Steiner and represents “not outstripping and favoring development.”
- According to the teachings of Steiner, the dominance of one of the essences of a person affects the temperament of the child. So, melancholics are children with the essence of a physical body, phlegmatic people with an etheric body, sanguine people with an astral body, and after 21 years a spiritual person with his own I is a choleric.
This concept is used in Waldorf schools for productive education and equalization of temperaments.
Waldorf method has contradictions with Christianity. According to Steiner's Gnostic teaching:
- The Person of Christ exists in all denominations, but is named differently.
- The truth of religion is only within the time and place of its birth.
- Christian forms need to be changed to fit the level of civilization.
- The existence of two children incarnated in Jesus Christ: one comes from King Solomon, the second from Nathan.
- The Second Coming of Christ will be visible only with spiritual sight.
Educational principles of Waldorf pedagogy
Waldorf schools in their activities adhere to the principles based on anthroposophy: do not interfere with the process of forming the child's personality, provide him with maximum opportunities, but without interfering and without rushing. Schools are equipped with equipment and inventory made of natural materials. In the educational processthe spiritual growth of children is of paramount importance. The school day is divided into parts:
- spiritual (requires students to think),
- soulful (music and dance lessons),
- creative and practical (lessons of creativity and applied arts).
The program includes subjects that have no analogues in other pedagogical areas: eurythmy, a kind of dance style created by Steiner.
Waldorf graduates
The analysis was conducted in Genmania in 1981. It turned out that among the graduates, 3 times more received higher education, compared with graduates of public schools. Despite the presentation of Waldorf schools as "greenhouses" for raising children and the seemingly inevitable problems of adapting to the social environment, there were many famous people among the graduates - Sandra Bullock, Ferdinand Porsche, Jennifer Aniston, Stanislas Wawrinka.
Parents who sent their children to a Waldorf school - Mikhail Baryshnikov, Helmut Kohl, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Silvio Berlusconi, Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, Mikhail Kozakov, Heinz Nixdorf, George Lucas, Paul Newman.
Unique Teaching Methods at Good Way School
Waldorf school in Sochi during training develops in the student exactly the activity that he can master without effort. The priority is a method that does not interfere with the student's independent pace of progress, depending on his potential.
Classes are held withoutbody resistance. Approximately at the age of a child of 7-14 years old, teachers work with his figurative thinking, involve not thinking, but feelings in the education process. Much attention is paid to the development of coordination, motor skills. In the elementary Waldorf school in Sochi, during needlework lessons, children are engaged in appliqué, drawing, and rolling threads into balls.
These exercises are believed to be important for future intellectual growth. For the development of memory in the Waldorf school in Sochi, the method of including feelings is used, since it is assumed that visual learning is ineffective before the age of 12. Emotions are the support for memory. The school in Sochi "Good Way", whose teachers aim to overcome the apathetic attitude of children to educational topics, is a place where children are not bored of learning. Staging performances on historical themes, memorizing poems to the rhythm of clapping are styles of rational memory improvement.
The driving force behind a child's interest in learning is their interest. Up to 9 years old, children are interested in playing, jumping, copying adults and listening to fairy tales. Using the child's activity depending on age, Waldorf school teachers build learning on imitation, fairy tales, and creative imagination.
"Good Way" in Sochi - a school that uses the method of balance between subjects with increased mental activity and subjects with physical activity. Excess mental stress during training has a negative impact on the he alth of children, teachers say. Therefore, in the private school of Sochi "Good Way" there are many subjects,where children move or observe or simply listen. These are drawing, eurythmy, needlework, theater studio.
The Waldorf school in Sochi, whose work corresponds to the Waldorf education system, follows a certain daily routine. In the morning - a 20-minute exercise with rhythmic clapping of hands and stamping of feet. The first lesson is always one general education subject. After it - a subject where rhythmic repetition is applicable: music or a foreign language, eurythmy, physical education.
After lunch - subjects with physical activity: needlework, vegetable growing, mastering crafts. The Good Way School in Sochi adheres to a teaching methodology in which educational material is presented in large parts. Thanks to this, children have time to feel the era. In addition to theoretical training, the school organizes field trips. For example, to Vladimir for the reconstruction of costumes of medieval knights or to the Kuban for geological excavations.
Methods and principles of the educational process
The Waldorf School of Sochi pays great attention to the spiritual component of the education of its wards.
- Personal pattern of behavior is an incentive to follow, a wordless parenting style is a priority.
- The use of simple toys that give room for the child's imagination. Media ban. Ignoring tech toys.
- Intensifying feelings and emotions.
- Proverb in action "Habit is second nature":observance of rituals.
- Rhythmic device of time periods.
- Surround the child with absolute attention at certain times of the day.
- Constantly think about the child.
- Be grateful, create a positive atmosphere around you.
Joint activity and individual approach
Waldorf school in Sochi, reviews of which are different, is famous for its individual approach to each of its pupils. Children are spared from stressful and conflict situations. The school does not give grades. Therefore, the absence of a competitive part does not provoke a feeling of superiority or inferiority in the student. The measure of success for everyone is personal achievement, compared to yesterday.
Children develop freely, there is no suppression of personality. The school staff is well-coordinated, which contributes to the creation of a comfortable environment for each child. "Good Way" in Sochi is a school built on respect for childhood. Her desire is to expand the natural talents of each child and help to believe in their own strength. Through the use of special and specific exercises, it is possible to bring out the child's unknown abilities.
Apprentice Admission Conditions
Autonomous non-profit educational organization Free School "Good Way" recruits children living in the city of Sochi to receive education in a family form of education. The cost of training is 30,000 rubles per month. Admission or transfer to the school takes place according to the following rules:
- On the website of the ANEO Free School “DobryiPath" fill out and submit an application or call the school.
- Parents will be assigned a date and time for their Pre-Interview.
- Come to a meeting with the class teacher.
- Visiting the child and parents of guest weeks - to make an informed decision about studying at the Waldorf school in Sochi.
- Conclude a contract for educational services and pay for tuition.
School address
The Waldorf school (Sochi) is located at the address: Razdolnoye village, st. Strawberry, house 28-B.
How to get there by public transport:
| Bus number | Bus/shuttle route |
| No number | SEC "Olimp" - Bytkha - Razdolnoe village - SEC "Olimp" |
| 1 | microdistrict. "New Dawn" - Jan Fabricius Street |
| 103 | Railway station - the village of Bogushevka - the village of Razdolnoe |
| 37 | Shadow Lane - Nursery |
| 38 | Cherry street - Razdolnoye village |
| 45 | Transportnaya street - the village of Razdolnoe |
| 113 | 3rd brigade - the village of Razdolnoye - City hospital No. 4 |
Criticism and positive feedback from parents
School "Good Way" (Sochi), reviews of which are very different, deserves coverage of the opinions of both supporters and opponents. The most surprising thing is that the same controversial object has different opinions.
- Connection with the occultand conflicts with Christianity. The main critics are the priests of the Russian Orthodox Church. Indeed, in their activities, teachers use meditation and involve parents and students in them. When discussing the Waldorf school in Sochi, the reviews describe a general meditation and mystery on the occasion of the birth of the school. Also on the forum there is a review of the Foundation Stone Meditation practiced by Steiner, it is said in German in a common chorus, then alternately. Parents also noted that there is something esoteric in this school. But this amazing, magical, unusual beckons children to go to school every day.
- Emphasis on personal development. Everyone can have their own opinion and embody it. Opponents say that this is a minus: children do not know the boundaries of what is permissible. Supporters: free creative individuals with common sense are brought up here.
- Humanitarian focus of the school. Minus for children with a technical way of thinking. Plus - the study of several foreign languages, one of which is necessarily German. Annual student exchange for a three-week language workshop at the Waldorf School in Stuttgart.
- There is no homework. Children are not burdened with doing tasks at home. No reinforcing exercises.
- Non-evaluative teaching methodology. The positive aspect is in anti-stress training. Negative - it is problematic to transfer to another school, since knowledge is not confirmed by grades.
- Insufficiently deep knowledge of general subjects. It is refuted by the successful passing of the Unified State Examination, graduates enter universities without problems, but more oftenhumanitarian professions.
- Isolated from progress: they study without the involvement of technical means, write in notebooks with fountain pens. The positive aspect is in the development of calligraphic handwriting and calligraphy.
- The school is private, paid. Due to the fact that not all parents can afford to pay for the secondary education of a child, children from families with above-average incomes study at the school. Waldorf parents are busy people with higher education who are willing to pay for the harmonious development and education of their children.
The Waldorf School of Sochi puts forward an alternative way of gaining knowledge and raising pets, in which not just learning takes place, as the transfer of knowledge in a comfortable environment, but emotional maturation, increasing the motivation for education. The peculiarity of the school is an attempt to teach schoolchildren the acquired knowledge to effectively apply throughout their lives.
Waldorf pedagogy is fundamentally different from the generally accepted in public schools in Russia. The absence of a clear curriculum, textbooks, auxiliary teaching equipment and material, on the one hand, and the professionalism of the teacher, his love and care for each pupil, on the other.
When making an important decision about choosing a school, parents need to remember that although the Waldorf School is not a religious organization, it is based on the teachings of anthroposophy. Only after carefully checking your life position and principles for compatibility with these ideas, you can decide whether to choose mass education or alternative in the form of the Waldorf school.
