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WSOC Blog

What Most American Schools Get Wrong

Which country has the best education system? Since 2000, every three years, 15-year-olds in dozens of countries have taken the Program for International Student Assessment — a standardized test of math, reading and science skills. On the inaugural test, which focused on reading, the top country came as a big surprise: tiny Finland. Finnish students claimed victory again in 2003 (when the focus was on math) and 2006 (when it was on science), all while spending about the same time on homework per week as the typical teenager in Shanghai does in a single day.

Just over a decade later, Europe had a new champion. Here, too, it wasn’t one of the usual suspects — not a big, wealthy country like Germany or Britain but the small underdog nation of Estonia. Since that time, experts have been searching for the secrets behind these countries’ educational excellence. They recently found one right here in the United States.

In North Carolina, economists examined data on several million elementary school students. They discovered a common pattern across about 7,000 classrooms that achieved significant gains in math and reading performance.

Those students didn’t have better teachers. They just happened to have the same teacher at least twice in different grades. A separate team of economists replicated the study with nearly a million elementary and middle schoolers in Indiana — and found the same results.

Every child has hidden potential. It’s easy to spot the ones who are already sparkling, but many students are uncut gems. When teachers stay with their students longer, they can see beyond the surface and recognize the brilliance beneath.

Instead of teaching a new cohort of students each year, teachers who practice “looping” move up a grade or more with their students. It can be a powerful tool. And unlike many other educational reforms, looping doesn’t cost a dime.

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Healing Through Inner Work

Rebecca Moskowitz Feb 24 2022 We are emerging from a time in history when many of our daily life activities have been dictated by urgency and crises. As we begin to see an end to necessity driving this certain way of being, it becomes all the more important for us to slow down and engage in inner work for the children in our schools, for our colleagues, and for ourselves. Rudolf Steiner believed inner work was an essential practice for those guiding children to reach their full potential. He stated, “You will not be good teachers if you focus only on what

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What is a Waldorf School?

Creative arts like drawing, painting, language studies, music and drama support the main lesson and give students a variety of avenues to learn the material. Students then continue an exploration of the lesson through movement and motor skills, with activities like physical education, building, dance and gardening. (Photo: GETTY IMAGES) Immersive learning and a focus on the whole child are the hallmarks of Waldorf education. By Rhonda Franz

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Finding Beauty in Challenging Times

This last month has presented us all with many upheavals and challenges – social, financial, emotional; the physical time away from our Waldorf family. It also has brought some surprising silver linings: an ancestral call to bread baking (store shelves emptied of yeast and flour…who would have guessed?); a new form of Victory Garden is flourishing and nurseries are selling out of vegetable and herb plants; more time for family puzzles and art projects or even to simply enjoy a budding tree outside our front doors; the opportunity to witness musicians, painters and performers (including some in our own community

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