Point Reyes Light - March 25, 2004

Lagunitas approves Waldorf school

By Ivan Gale

Trustees of the Lagunitas School District on Tuesday agreed to create a Waldorf-inspired program for the upcoming school year. With Trustee Denise Bohman abstaining, the other four trustees approved the proposal after nearly three hours of debate.

Bohman, meanwhile said more information was needed about the program’s impacts to the school budget before she could make a decision.

The decision means the parents of some 20 children who have lobbied the district to create the program can now enroll their kindergarten-aged children in Lagunitas School District in the fall.

Proposal failed in Ross

Most parents who do not live within the district asked the Ross Valley School District to create a Waldorf-inspired program there last year, but the proposal failed by a narrow margin.

Trustees, parents lobbying for the program, and other members of the audience grappled with issues about the religious and old-world curriculum overtones in the program.

They also discussed how the program would affect the school’s administrative structure.

The parent group in support of the school helped dispel rumors about Waldorf schools: that students cannot use the color black because it is an "evil color;" that de-programming centers exist in Europe for former Waldorf students; that students are taught about Christian saints and the Old Testament; and that children are labeled under the "four humours."

The Medieval belief that the four humours is tied to both the four seasons and the four elements, was emphasized by Waldorf creator, 20th century Austrian social philosophy Rudolf Steiner.

In some private-school Waldorf programs it is alleged children are classified as being either yellow bile, black bile, phlegm, or blood, with the phlegmatic children having to sit in the back of the class.

Antiquated programs no longer

But Fairfax resident Anastazia Sheldon, who helped organize the parent lobbying group, said under no circumstances would these antiquated notions and religious themes be part of the Lagunitas program.

"There is a spiritual bent in some private [Waldorf] schools that you cannot have in a public school setting," said Sheldon, who lobbied the trustees so she could enroll her twin daughters at the new Waldorf-inspired kindergarten class.

"What we’d like to do is keep the methodology, but change some of the curriculum," she said, noting that some of the spiritual ideas and "fuzzy science" in Waldorf programs would be inappropriate for Lagunitas.

She proclaimed cheekily, "we decided at the [parent] committee last night that we do not discriminate against black crayons."

Instead of venerating saints and teaching the Old Testament, Sheldon said other historical role models would be taught in the classroom, as well as creation myths from around the world.

Despite the rumors about Waldorf’s old-world curriculum Sheldon said creating public school Waldorf programs "has been done before – it’s not like we’re reinventing the wheel."

But descriptions about Waldorf being about developing the "whole child" and following rhythmic, artistic, and musical themes proved too vague for some residents.

Woodacre resident Suzanne Sadowski said she could find "no difference whatsoever" when she compared the goals Waldorf and the Montessori share.

"It’s very hard to understand the nuances between the programs," she said, and also questioned why the Waldorf program would limit students’ use of computers.

District changes

Waldorf schools, she was told by members of the audience, generally steer clear of computers and television exposure because they do not encourage younger children to be creative and free-thinking.

In spite of some inconsistencies, trustees in favor of the new school said a new program and new students would help counteract the District’s declining enrollment.

The lone abstaining voter, Trustee Denise Bohman, told The Light Wednesday she would have preferred another meeting to discuss the ramifications of adding a new program.

"My feeling is that adding a program is a great idea but I think that I’m the cautious one," she said. "We have some other large financial commitments that we need to deal with."

Supt. Mary Buttler told The Light she is compiling a list of issues that need to be addressed to see the program get started. The district must hire a Waldorf-accredited teacher, accept inter-district transfers, and find out how the program will affect the district’s seniority list and budget.

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