The need for imagination, a sense of truth
and a feeling of responsibility these are the three forces which
are the very nerve of education. Rudolf Steiner.
Before I begin, I think its important to set the scene, because
what most people think and believe isnt always true.
Feel free to scroll down if you want to skip to the aspects of
Steiner which have turned our family into raving fans. But if you
keep reading, youll understand how big of a decision this was for
my family.
My eldest child is 15, and shes always done very well at school,
from academics to the arts.
Her first school was one of the top private girls schools in our
state. We wanted her to have the best eduction possible, so shed
have options for her future.
After her father and I divorced, I was gutted to have to pull
her out of that school, but I couldnt afford it on my own.
I did what I thought was next best: I searched online for the
best public schools in my area. I was so focused on her having the
best opportunities life could offer.
Her father was even more passionate about education than I was,
having multiple qualifications and a phD in areas of mathematics
and science.
The kids were happy in their respective public schools, and
things were swimming along nicely until they werent.
In 2016, it was my eldests first year in high school, after my
partner and I spent a year traveling with the kids. Traveling the
world was an amazing educational and growth experience for us all
(I blogged about it here), despite my ex-husbands
reservations, at first. He had concerns about education dropping
off from where it should be, but thankfully, in the end, I had his
blessing.
Upon our return, I discussed the issue of school re-entry with
my two eldest kids. With their agreement, I enrolled them into the
year level they would have missed, so they didnt feel lost
academically.
A few weeks into the school year, my daughters school called me
to ask permission to put her up a year level. They were concerned
she would get bored, not only due to her academic level, but her
maturity level too. We were fine with it, and at this point, she
finally felt confident taking a step up.
One Size Doesnt Fit All
Being slotted in and left to her own devices in a high school
with over a thousand other students, left my daughter feeling
unsupported and lost, socially and emotionally.
Things got worse when she had problems. For example, she was
told she had to stay in the second year German class, when she
hadnt even had a chance to do the first year.
After her teacher repeatedly told her how badly she was doing,
once in front of the class, she completely shut down and gave up.
Deal...