A day spent at my son's school

“Life, with its rules, its obligations, and its freedoms, is like a sonnet,” Madeleine L’Engle says in A Wrinkle in Time. “You’re given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself.”

We admitted our son to a Waldorf school, and it is one of the best decisions of our lives.

Notty Feet is a Waldorf inspired school in our neighbourhood. I still remember the day we walked into the pre-school for the first time. What welcomed us first was the vast green lawn and the sand play area of the school. Behind this was situated a modest single storey building with a huge hall, which was divided into three sections. Our mind was a bit perplexed because by now we were used to seeing these complex preschool buildings with a maze of classes and a tiny artificial grass laid corner as play area. We stood and breathed in the fresh air and the greenery around, while Ikkhon dashed off to the sand pit and gave himself a treat. When we came back home, Ikkhon was clear he wanted to go to this school, and so were we.

It has been 3 months that Ikkhon is going to Notty Feet. I always wanted to go and spend some time in the school, Guna, Ikkhon’s teacher had been asking me to visit them for a while. So last week I went in. My experience of a day spent in the Waldorf inspired school, is what I will share with you today.

Like any Waldorf school, Notty Feet doesn’t have a grade system till the child reaches grade 1.  So all the 14 children of different age group spend their day pretty much together.   School starts from 9.00 AM. The first one hour is free play. The children head straight to the ground or the play area for an uninterrupted hour of play. When I say uninterrupted it literally is that way. When I think of a bunch of toddlers on the playground I invariably think of the chaos and the cacophony. But I saw nothing like that here. Everyone was playing at their own rhythm. Small skirmishes and scuffles took place but was resolved by the participants. The teacher, though present at the play area, never interfered. A lot of collaboration and problem solving happened by the toddlers because no one told them what to do.

By the end of the play time, the teacher brought a big bucket of water and left it next to the playground. The kids brought the toys they were playing with, dipped them in the water, washed them and kept them in the box. It was now time to go to class. Once everybody washed up and came to class, it was ‘Circle time’. Circle time in Waldorf world is when everyone gathers together to share songs, verses, dance, movement games and activities. These activities are all rhythmic in nature and involve the whole body. All the children and teachers come in a circle and start the day by thanking the cosmos for everything. This is followed by some songs and verses by the children and the teachers. I noticed that not all songs were part of our nursery rhymes repertoire but were on-the-go songs made up by the teacher and the children on the spot.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              By the end of Circle Time, they cut the fruits which each child brings from their home right there and share and eat. This exercise really surprised me. My child who needs considerable amount of coaxing during his meals at home, waited for his turn and obediently picked up a piece of apple, pear, papaya or cucumber every time the fresh fruit bowl came to him. Once the fruits were over, the children washed their hands and face and came back to the room. It was now time for indoor activity. Once again there was no instruction thrown out at the little ones. They all went to the wooden cupboard at the corner of the room and picked up their favourite toys. Some picked building blocks, some animals, some stacking toys, some kitchen toys and some picked up their crayons and started drawing. Typically, at this point I was expecting some fights and skirmishes, around taking the same toys, etc and instructions flying out at them saying how they must all share their toys. But nothing of that sort happened. This just reiterated how left on their own these kids can behave more responsibly, rather than with someone always breathing down their neck.

And while I was talking to the teachers, they said that this calm, almost temple-like environment within school is possible to achieve only and only through the famous ‘Waldorf rhythm’. It is difficult to explain the concept of ‘rhythm’ in just few words. I will try to explain it in my other posts. In short, rhythm in Waldorf ideology means “a repeated pattern.” Rhythm is more about sequencing and grouping activities than it is about a schedule with time slots. Here’s the thing. We live in a sea of natural rhythms, really. There is the rhythm of the seasons, the rhythm of the months, the rhythm of the weekdays hours, and minutes. The rhythm of our breathing and of our heartbeats. What Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Waldorf education, tried to do was incorporate a rhythm in the curriculum, so every activity has a meaning, a start and a closure. So, there is no concept of 30-40 minutes period for each subject here. What happens if the concept the teacher is explaining cannot be explained fully in 30 minutes, there is no closure.

Please note, by no means I’m trying to undermine any education system. I and many (actually most) of my friends and family have come out of regular education system, and we have turned out to be sane, happy, educated and moderately successful people. Certain aspects of alternate education system wow-ed me and I just want to share my experience here.

Waldorf upholds and encourages inclusion. We have two specially abled children in this group. The day I went to school only one of them had come. Ohh, it was such an adorable experience getting to spend time with him. But what filled my heart to the brim was seeing the love and acceptance among all the children. Everyone accepted the other for who they were. The empathy and care I saw in the eyes of these children that day filled my heart with hope.

While the children were left to explore and play by themselves it does not in any way mean that they were not learning anything. Each and every object was placed with a lot of thought. They were part of the classroom because they were supposed to teach something. There were wooden blocks, animals, kitchen items for role play, etc. They also had tool kits and big planks of wood, which these children were lifting and placing so they get to slide down or build their own sea-saw. These activities need a lot of hand-brain-eye coordination. After an hour and half of indoor activities, it was time for circle time again. This time there were some songs, the children thanked everyone who worked towards getting food on their table. Now two children were entrusted with the duty of laying the table for lunch, two were asked to tidy up the room and keep the toys back, and two boys went along to get the lunch from the school kitchen. Freshly cooked vegetable pulao and raita was served and the children sat and devoured it. Waldorf system believes in growing up organically and right food and right amount of sleep plays a key role in this. Hence the schools insists on providing the lunch, which takes care of a child’s nutritional need.

What also amazed me was that the school was entirely run only by two teachers. There were no ayah aunties or helpers. I remember while visiting other pre-schools how the teachers and principals kept mentioning the teacher & ayah aunty ratio versus kids in class. On the other hand in Waldorf school the kids are taught to be more self-dependant and is taught life skills before bookish knowledge. So picking their toys, cleaning toys, rinsing their plates, laying table and rolling chapati are activities which the kids are taught. Also the elder kids are more than happy to help the younger kids.

In a nutshell, a day spent at my son’s school gave me ample things to think over. There is no one right or wrong way to rearing a child or educating him/her. What is important is to pick the right one which suits the parent’s temperament and the child’s curiosity. Lastly, another aspect of Waldorf which struck the right chord with me is that it is a community school. The parents responsibility does not get over the moment theys end the child to school every morning. Waldorf schools are made by parents. Every important decision is run by the parents. At regular intervals there are Parents Circles where parents meet and discuss school matters, and indulge in activities along with the kids. The time when Notty Feet decided to set up a Jungle gym from scratch every parent was invited, and we went in a dug up the sand pit area, carried logs (yes, for the first time in my life I realised the presence of my arms, like never before), cleared weeds and helped set up the Jungle Gym. This brings in a different connect with the school and creates a bond which is beyond just monthly fees.