Chithra Bany recalled the first time she stepped into Pusat Jagaan Nania in Penang seven years ago. “I fell in love with the place at first sight; it was cosy and exuded warmth,” says Bany who was attending a job interview at the preschool/kindergarten (previously known as Taska Nania).
The school looks more like someone’s quaint cottage – trellises of morning glories and rainbow-coloured flowerbeds adorn the trimmed garden. Inside, the walls are painted in muted hues and windows lined with pastel-coloured curtains. Soft drapes festoon a play corner lined with wooden blocks, toys, hand-stitched dolls and stuffed animals. Everything is made of natural material and there is no plastic toy in sight.
A new mother to a four-month-old boy, Bany was unaware that Nania is a Waldorf preschool, one of hundreds scattered around the world.
The Steiner philosophy
Founded in 1919 in Germany, Waldorf school subscribes to Austrian philosopher/educator Rudolf Steiner’s beliefs that children should experience the world through their hands, hearts and bodies, not just their minds.
Also known as Steiner education, the approach works on the premise that children’s natural creativity and vast imagination can be nurtured through nature, art, storytelling, movement, music and drama. Waldorf educators believe that children, from the ages of zero to seven, are naturally active. Rather than verbal or direct instructions, children are taught using imitation and examples.
Deliberate, early stimulation of the child’s intellectual capacities is a big no-no. Instead of doing math drills or reciting ABCs, Waldorf preschoolers are more likely to be knitting, baking bread or learning to count and read through storytelling and games.
To date, there is an estimated 1,027 Waldorf preschools, primary and high schools in 65 countries, according to Friends of Waldorf Education (Freunde der Erziehungskunst Rudolf Steiners e.V.), a nongovernmental organisation that advises and supports Waldorf initiatives worldwide. Depending on countries, some schools are private, independent entities while others are public (government-funded) and Waldorf-based homeschools.
Increasingly, innovative schools like Green School in Bali, Indonesia, for example, are drawing inspiration from Steiner’s teaching philosophy.
A Waldorf-certified educator has to undergo at least two years of fulltime training at recognised Waldorf teacher training centres located at various parts of the world.
Waldorf purists advocate the absence of academic instructions in kindergartens. In fact, in most Waldorf schools, reading is not taught until second (Year Two) or third grade although letters are introduced in first grade. Parents are also encouraged to limit their kids’ exposure to TV, computer and videogames.
The majority of Waldorf students continue their tertiary education in mainstream higher learning institutions. Ninety-four per cent of students graduating from Waldorf high schools in the United States between 1994 and 2004 enrolled in universities, with many heading to prestigious schools, according to statistics from the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America.
Closer to home
In Malaysia, there are currently five Waldorf and Waldorf-inspired preschools/kindergartens including Nania and Taska Lin in Penang; Waldorf Kelip-Kelip in Kota Kemuning, Selangor; Hilltop House Child Development Centre in Taman Tun Dr Ismail and Taska Cixin in Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur.
Opened in 1997, Nania was the brainchild of Junko Suzumoto of Japan and her Malaysian husband, Ong Kung Wai. When it first opened, it catered to Japanese expatriate kids. However, in 2002, Nania started accepting local and other expatriate kids.
“The root is the foundation for the tree – the slower it grows, the stronger the tree becomes. Children, between the ages of zero and seven, are the ‘roots,’ ” says Suzumoto, a Waldorf-certified instructor with 15 years’ experience.
“Fundamentally, Waldorf is about the development of the whole child and preparing them for the journey forward,” explains the pioneer of Waldorf education in Malaysia. “We are building the children’s strong foundation for life, through play, artistic activities, rhythm and natural toys.”
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