What do we want for our children?
All the illustrations in this issue of the newsletter are recent pictures from our school! Photos: H. Holm unless noted.
The Rudolf Steiner Study Group meets the third Thursday of each month. All are welcome. For more information, call Birgit Dumke at 634-3780 or Judy King at 624-0781.
That was the topic of Anne Greer's talk on November 15th. As parents who have chosen not to take the easy road in our children's education, we may have to answer that question many times from our neighbours or friends, from grandparents, aunts and uncles, and sometimes even from our spouses. All of us have our own reasons for choosing a Waldorf Education for our pre-school or grade school children. And these reasons can be very different. Some of us remember our own experience during our school years; some of our children have already had their own negative experiences in school elsewhere; some of us would never consider anything but a Waldorf Education for our children; some of us want a safe(r) place for our children, maybe to protect their innocence; some may want things that are increasingly removed from the public school curriculum, i.e. the enrichment through more arts and music, better quality… the list goes on and on. It is wonderful that we can all come together at the School and find what we are looking for while building the Waldorf School Community.
Is it perfect? No. Do we find everything we were looking
for? Not all the time. But by enrolling our children in a Waldorf School
we as parents learn as well. We learn to work together and appreciate
what each has to offer. And by working through our difficulties we teach
our children that problems can be solved, that we can work together
for a common goal, and that our differences make life more interesting
and each of us special.
At the beginning of November, I attended the DANA (Development and Administrators
Network of the Association of Waldorf Schools in North America) meeting
at the Toronto Waldorf School. It was a time for sharing successes,
failures, and challenges in enrolment, marketing, fundraising, etc.
I came away with two realizations: (1) no matter what the size of the
school is, most schools face the same problems, and (2) we have a beautiful
school building, a committed and talented parent community and faculty
- and a lot to be proud of.
This issue of our newsletter is on Light. I feel that our little School is a beacon - just as was said at the visioning meeting a year ago - and it shines a little light in a world that at times seems dark and threatening.
Rita Landgraf
