THUNDER BAY - An alternative form of education that focuses on a holistic and child-centred approach to education is expanding at a local independent school.
Northern Lights School will be offering junior and senior kindergarten, as well as Grade 1 to parents interested in enrolling their children in the Waldorf-inspired education curriculum.
“It is largely action oriented or experiential learning so the child is able to experience themselves in the world and action,” said Arlene Thorn, board chair of the Northern Lights School.
The Waldorf education model was developed in 1919 in Germany and according to Thorn, it focuses on three pillars of education, which include the hands, the heart, and the head.
Learning through the hands involves an experiential approach, while the heart focuses on artistic education, and the head moves into concept thinking.
“From Grade 1 to 8, it becomes a more artistic approach,” Thorn said. “The teacher is an artist and leads the children through storytelling and the arts. By high school, all that has been created through experience of the world, then the concepts arise.”
Waldorf-inspired kindergarten was opened at the Northern Lights School last September and nine students are currently enrolled in the program. Thorn said Waldorf schools develop grade by grade, so if interest continues, Grade 1 will begin next year.
“This year, we are kindergarten, then next year Grade 1, and next year Grade 2,” she said. “By the time we get to Grade 8, if we have enough parents who want this education for high school, then we look at developing a high school for them.”
Janet Jardine, a former teacher and volunteer at the Northern Lights School, said she welcomes Waldorf-inspired education in the city.
“I think it’s really exciting for Thunder Bay,” she said. “We don’t have a lot of alternative schools for Thunder Bay, so it’s great to have another option for parents and children.”
“It’s such a big focus on healthy minds and the numbers really make a difference here,” Jardine continued. “This supports a lot of what’s in my heart, but seeing the kids interact in smaller groups is just really lovely.”
Thorn encourages any interested parents to contact the Northern Lights School on its website. She said it is the school’s mission to reimagine education in Thunder Bay.
“That is also the mission of Waldorf education, to bring a new approach to education,” she said. “We need to start looking at more of these character building qualities. We are saying what is in the child that is evolving and becoming themselves. Because they already have the brilliance and the direction they need for their life.”
