Waldorf Curriculum

Waldorf Philosophy

Bright Water School is a part of a growing international community of schools that embraces Waldorf education. The Waldorf curriculum is based on the work of Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), an Austrian scientist, philosopher, artist and educator who founded the first Waldorf School in Stuttgart, Germany in 1919. Waldorf schools share a common philosophy, a methodical approach, and curriculum.

The heart of the Waldorf philosophy is the belief that education must meet the child developmentally. The very young child learns best through imitation and imagination, the grade school child through the realm of the emotions and senses, and the adolescent through the intellect. The Waldorf curriculum carefully balances academic, artistic and practical activities and develops the child's self-confidence and self-reliance, while fostering personal integrity and a sense of social and environmental responsibility.

Bright Water School prepares students to enter their high school years with self-discipline, independence, social awareness, the foundation work necessary for analytical and critical thinking skills, and wonder and reverence for the world.

A Waldorf education prepares the child as thoroughly as possible for their future life experiences. A rigorous classical education instills the academic skills necessary to succeed in high school and later academic work. Healthy emotional development is supported by conveying knowledge experientially as well as academically. The community of the school created through the strong bond formed between teachers, students and their families, forms and supports the students' abilities to take risks and meet challenges. This is accomplished through a faculty of teachers thoroughly trained in the methodology specific to Waldorf schools and who approach the children with enthusiasm and respect for the emerging individuality in each child.