I think the goal of our education is to turn children into mature, self-confident people who can develop and assert themselves in this world. This goal is an abstract one and it is difficult to define which educational parameters enable it to succeed. Nevertheless, surveys have shown that former Waldorf pupils are more self-confident and creative and better able to respond to challenges and unusual tasks than non-Waldorf pupils.
«My daughter has had French lessons at the Waldorf School for twelve years and now we have to worry whether she will pass her French oral in the university entrance exams. What did they actually do in those twelve years?» «Why doesn't our year 12 graduate in eurythmy?» Some parents are disappointed and withdraw their children from the school, either because they do not trust the school to get their children through the state school leaving exams, or else because they are not offered enough elements of Waldorf education.
The great advantage and at the same time the great disadvantage of the way Waldorf schools are organised is the independence of the individual schools. The German Association of Waldorf Schools, as the umbrella organisation, supports the founding phase of the school, but thereafter each school is left to its own devices as to how it promotes and controls the skills of its teachers.
In recent years, various committees of the German Association of Waldorf Schools have devoted themselves intensively to the topic of quality. In the process exciting ideas have been developed on how the individual schools can describe and improve their quality.
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