The Denver Waldorf School Podcast Sarah Box

What's up with technology at DWS? The Waldorf approach to education has always emphasized the importance of giving room to our children's imaginations to blossom - to be open to receive the beauty of the world we live in, to be free to grow into their unique selves, to nurture their creative spirits - and time away from technology is a significant part of this belief.



At the same time, our Waldorf school is not inherently anti-technology. Yes, you will not find iPads or computers in our kindergartens or lower grades. Yes, our students are asked to leave any phones that come to
school in their lockers during the day. And while in our classrooms you will see the focus is on the human to human connection between teacher and student, we do however integrate technology in an intentional and developmentally appropriate manner. Our high school has a wonderful Mac
lab and 3D printer. We have introduced assistive technology for neurodiverse students starting in 4th grade. With technology touching every corner of our lives these days, on this week's podcast episode with School Director Kelly Molinet and Education Director Charlie Orphanides, they discuss the challenges and opportunities of raising children in this ever changing world.

On this week's episode of What's up with That?, Kelly Molinet (School Director) and Charlie Orphanides (Education Director) speak on the school's essential work and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Together, they identify and dismantle the barriers that often impede progress when it comes to addressing issues of race, ethnicity, and other identities within our Waldorf community. Recognizing that DEI work can be both essential and frightening, they offer practical advice for how to cross the threshold, embrace learning moments, and strive to create an inclusive community.

What's up with homework at DWS - what is the nature of it, how much, how often? On this week's episode, Kelly Molinet (School Director) and Charlie Orphanides (Educational Director) discuss our Waldorf approach and goals with homework. In elementary school and even leading into middle school, we want children to experience childhood - to play, to interact with nature, to interact with their family and friends - and so the assignment of homework must be carefully considered. While you may see some math practice coming home or vocabulary, the usual rhythm of homework in our younger grades consists of reading and instrument practice. What we value most in a lesson is engagement, creativity, deep learning, and a meaningful lesson within our classrooms.

On this week's episode of What's up with That?, Kelly
Molinet (School Director) and Charlie Orphanides (Educational Director) address a question that all too often provokes parental anxiety: how does my child measure up? Together, Kelly and Charlie contrast the holistic Waldorf model of assessment with the rote standardization at public and other private schools in the wake of federal legislation.

At The Denver Waldorf School, teachers are attuned to each and every student's neuro and physical development, across multiple environments, on a daily basis. Charlies describes "teaching as an art form," in which an educator continually assesses each student as an individual, based upon a relationship of trust and growth over the years. Instead of just measuring a child's learning and progress through incremental assessments manufactured by outside companies, Waldorf teachers assess the whole child, in particular each child's readiness to learn and ability to digest class material and bring that knowledge back into the world. The Waldorf model allows students to flourish while aiming to remove the anxiety out of assessments.

In a recent New York Times article by Adam Grant, the power of "looping" was discussed as a key educational component in being able to unlock hidden potential in each student. In Waldorf education, this is something we have always understood and implemented - our students stay with the same main lesson teacher for multiple years through two loops- one teacher is with our students for main lesson from grades 1 through 4, and then the next loop follows from grades 5 through 8.

In this episode, School Director Kelly Molinet and Education Director Charlie Orphanides discuss the value of these deep, connected relationships with our teachers, and how they benefit our students in receiving a social education- an education where they learn not just content, but a way of being in the world.

We're bringing back The Denver Waldorf Podcast with a new series of discussions with School Director Kelly Molinet and Education Director Charlie Orphanides, inspired by the question, "What's Up With That?!" In this first episode, we explore the question of what's up with that- where are all of the textbooks? In Waldorf schools across the globe, you will find "reverse textbook learning" as an integral part of our curriculum - meaning that our students don't study directly from textbooks, rather they create their own main lesson books which serve as a record of the academic facts of the lesson. These main lesson books integrate art along with other creative elements to synthesize the material. In this episode, Kelly and Charlie discuss the intention behind this part of our Waldorf education.