[sanoli]

There are literally dozens of alternative school models throughout the world, and I've done research on a lot of them when I had my kids. What I found was broad and varied. Different results, different opinions from parents and former students, different conclusions from researchers. Both on the positive and negative sides. I never got to make up my mind, and I ended up putting my kids in a public school in a small town where there was only one school per age segment. It's a pretty good public school, probably like a good private school, but there's a difference in that the student body is truly varied. My kids study with the son of the garbage collector and the daughter of the supermarket owner. There is a Waldorf school not too far from here, in a neighboring town, but it's as diverse as a very expensive school with everyone arriving in imported cars can be. So I chose not to put my kids there.

edit: Plus, I'm not too fond of Waldorf's philosophy, and even less of the Anthroposophy's.

[hooch]

Despite how kooky some of his ideas might seem, there is one aspect of Steiner's view that I found particularly insightful (and helpful): that the first period of life, up to when kids really start losing their milk teeth, they are discovering their body, motor skills, their voice, and so on, and in doing so, they are mostly copying the people around them. It's completely experiential, not intellectual.

Both my kids suddenly took flight and became much more interested by themselves in things like reading and arithmetic once their teeth started to really change - not due to pressure from adults. And it's only anecdotal, but this has been borne out many times as I've spent time with other families.

(Also anecdotal!) but when I spend time with adults who grew up in societies where math and literacy is already emphasised at age 3, for example, I find they are completely unable to stop talking :-)