The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. – Mahatma Gandhi
This quote is attributed to Gandhi, but it is not known when or where he said it.
Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma) Gandhi was the preeminent leader of the Indian independence movement in British-ruled India. Employing nonviolent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. His name has become associated globally with peace and non-violence.
– Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Additional quotes & information
What makes people smart, curious, alert, observant, competent, confident, resourceful, persistent – in the broadest and best sense, intelligent – is not having access to more and more learning places, resources and specialists, but being able in their lives to do a wide variety of interesting things that matter, things that challenge their ingenuity, skill and judgement, and that make an obvious difference in their lives and the lives of people around them. – John Holt
The Waldorf curriculum actively involves students in community development work – encouraging them to become compassionate and productive citizens.
Festivals strengthen community, celebrate humanity’s connection to the rhythms of nature and speak deeply to children’s imaginations … leaving them with a rich store of memories.
This generous and diverse education awakens and educates capacities that give rise to well-balanced individuals who think independently – imparting purpose and direction to their own lives.
We learn about self-reliance when we get lost in the mall, we learn about public speaking when we have to stand up and give a speech … The act of actually figuring something out, of taking responsibility for finding an answer – this is at the heart of what it means to be educated … – Quote excerpted from Seth Godin’s Stop Stealing Dreams, which can be downloaded, free of charge, at www.sethgodin.com
Additional quotes & information
If we value independence, if we are disturbed by the growing conformity of knowledge, of values, of attitudes, which our present system induces, then we may wish to set up conditions of learning which make for uniqueness, for self-direction, and for self-initiated learning. – Carl Rogers
Imagination is more important than knowledge. – Albert Einstein
Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it – they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesise new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they’ve had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people. Unfortunately, that’s too rare a commodity. A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse experiences. So they don’t have lots of dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solution without a broad perspective on the problem. The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have. – Steve Jobs
I know of nothing more inspiring than that of making discoveries for one’s self. – George Washington Carver
All men who have turned out worth anything have had a chief hand in their own education. – Sir Walter Scott
During their penultimate school year, Waldorf students explore, build or produce something that interests them deeply. They plan, research and bring their project to completion, record their experience in a hand-sewn, leather-bound book, and do a public presentation about their project.
For her project, Lisa curated an art exhibition entitled, The Face of Johannesburg.
Christopher’s project culminated in him conducting the Rand Symphony Orchestra.
Athi built a go-kart.
Reabetswe isolated DNA from an onion and Danielle put together and performed a cabaret.
Julian designed and built a climbing wall on the school grounds.
Sebo studied the history and development of Zulu dancing and culture.
Luke bred four species of butterflies to demonstrate their lfe cycle.
The real-world endeavours of the Waldorf project year challenge students intellectually,
emotionally, physically and artistically … profoundly impacting their development and their futures.
Additional quotes & information
To quote one of our children, who got her results yesterday: ’You’re given the syllabus and that’s what you learn.’ Is this really an education? This hoop-jumping culture is all down to that freedom-crushing behemoth, the league table. Academic league tables push for all young people to learn and perform in a certain way to meet a certain model of success. Young people find little opportunity to grow their own skills and interests, to find their own strengths and values. Thinking for yourself and knowing what you believe and what you’re good at is just as important as passing exams. This knowledge brings confidence, clarity and motivation, which in turn helps young people flourish at work when they leave school or university. So instead of ranking our schools by the number of A grades they churn out, we think it is time to measure them by their ability to produce self-aware, well-rounded young people capable of independent thought and able to make a positive contribution to society and the world of work, no matter what letters are printed on that results slip. – Excerpted from an article by British journalist Richard Addis, entitled League-table success based on jumping through hoops, published in The Guardian 23 August 2012. http://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/aug/23/league-table-success-hoops
It is a tragedy that, for most of us, school is not a place for deepening our sense of who we are and what we are committed to. If it were, think of the lasting changes it would have made. – Peter Senge
The truly great advances of this generation will be made by those who can make outrageous connections, and only a mind which knows how to play can do that. – Nagle Jackson
Michael Mount matriculants write exams set by the Independent Examinations Board (IEB). The school has maintained a 100% pass rate since inception.
The majority of Waldorf graduates go on to university. Their studies are fairly evenly split between the humanities and the sciences. More than half go on to study beyond their first degree. Like graduates from any other school, Waldorf alumni work in diverse environments in every imaginable profession.
Additional quotes & information
Download a survey of American Waldorf graduates here.