Saturday, May 12, 2012

The Waldorf School of Lexington Reviews by Parents

It is like any other private school doing business (the business people are pretty hard-nosed, if I may add) sugar-coated with their "philosophy"...you may be taken by the their presentation skills but don't expect to learn ABCs until 2nd grade or so.. and the kindergarten teacher told me that the school discourages teaching at home...and the children have counting "in them" and they learn to count on their own without anyone teaching them... . . huh! —Submitted by a parent

http://www.yelp.com/biz/waldorf-school-of-lexington-lexington
Some O
Cambridge, MA
2/3/2011
I was prepared for nontraditional education methods but what I've experienced was pure absurdity.  My child was not happy there at all.  It's a sect - there is no other way to describe it.  Dealing with the administration was also very difficult, they are neither helpful nor flexible.

(filtered reviews - same link)

  • Julia A.
Bedford, MA
9/3/2013
My son attended this school for 3 years, 1st to 3rd grade (Mrs. Wayland's class).  At the time he started there, we just arrived from Israel, where he attended Waldorf kindergarten. So we thought that staying in the same system will make his transition easier. How wrong we were! Not only the school didn't provide extra support with language and culture, it was on-going criticism of his behavior, habits and skills (fast forward to high school: the kid scored very high on all portions of his SAT). The teacher made an opposite you would expect a professional educator to do: instead of supporting and uniting, she made sure my child was always an outsider in her class. It was also a lot of labeling - like expressing concern that my son has an ADD: well, we tested him, and it was negative. There was no guidance counselor evadable and all child's needs are at the total care of the class teacher. They are pretty good there to project a glow of caring and warmth, which turns to be very pretentious.
At the moment we switched to Bedford public school system, the kid was blossoming, and our perception of American education was changed dramatically. Now, when he is 22 and on his way to become a successful professional, when we bring up his Waldorf school experience, he acknowledges that it was a big mistake. Well, we all agree on it.
Just a recommendation: Utilize great public schools with all their resources that our part of MA has to offer. Be aware: you never know what your kid might encounter and what kind of support he might need. And this place is not equipped to deal with any deviations from their assumed "norm".

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You may ask, "where are all the 5=Star reviews?" Well, the problem with those reviews is that many tend not to be too honest. I have included 4-star reviews that appear honest. Often, gushing reviews are placed by teachers and administrators - as some comments here indicate. "This school educates the whole child!!!" - 5 stars - by Anonymous... I say baloney! Notice, many of the reviewers have been misled by Waldorf and are still buying the PR, even after having been disappointed. Feel free to comment but understand the intent of this blog. Comments are no longer moderated.