Waldorf: Where Science and Art Merge in the Quest for Knowledge and Understanding

It is a world founded upon education, a world where science becomes a natural expression of art. Knowledge and understanding are natural consequences of the inquisitive human spirit, mind and body.

Students at the Waldorf School in Fair Oaks learn math through the art of body movement and music. Kindergartners learn their a-b-c's in the Fairy Forest, and spend their recess times building forts with hay bales and pint-sized logs. Besides reading, writing and arithmetic, fifth-grade students at the Waldorf School learn to care for pigs, sheep and a cow named Beverly. The students learn about farming and gardening by tending the livestock, and last year learned about the miracle of life with the birth of a calf. Third-graders learned about textiles and making clothes by shearing the sheep. High school students write poems about their science studies, and keep written journals of their science and math projects.

The curriculum of Waldorf School is based upon the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, who believed that "education should serve not just the mind, but also the body and the spirit."

"We feel that the arts are healing to everyone, and it's through the arts that we enter into understanding," says Margaret Preston, Waldorf School administrator. Preston has been with the school since 1959.

The original Fair Oaks school began in the home of parents, and later moved to rental property near Watt Avenue. In 1972, the school moved to it's present location, and has enjoyed nothing but growth.

Early next year Waldorf school hopes to see the completion of a major construction project-a large multi-purpose performance hall which can also be used as a gymnasium, and which can be sectioned for providing multiple sound-proof classrooms. According to Sue Mack, Waldorf School principal, the "hall is not just for Waldorf School, but for the whole community."

"The hall was built originally to accommodate theater," says Preston. "But since the beginning of the Waldorf School, it's been important to have a place where all of our students can gather. We put on many performances." The performances include drama and performances by the school's two orchestras, choirs and other singing groups.

Construction of the hall began a year ago, and was designed and is being built by parents of the Waldorf School. The school also accepts donations, which are tax deductible, because the school is a non-profit organization.

Waldorf is a private school, but closely follows the schedule of the San Juan School District. Curriculum is the difference between Waldorf and public school. At Waldorf, the curriculum includes having Kindergartners climb to the top of Dragon Hill to look for rocks, while singing verses about finding those rocks during their geologic exploration. The curriculum follows much of Stiener's architectural ideas. "Boxes don't lend themselves to creativity," says Preston. "The new building has many lines and angles, and windows of dynamic shape. We like to provide the same kind of education to our students. We challenge them with all sorts of angles and shapes, to give them a full, well-grounded education.