Stepchild or Flagship?

If you take a look at early childhood, it becomes clear that if you let them, children choose their own areas of research. Does the stick really fall down every time I let go of it? How deep is this puddle and how high does the water splash when I jump in it? By primary school age at the latest, these early experiments turn into the first scientific questions: How does a rainbow form? Does my grandma in Italy see the same moon as me? Why do trees lose their leaves in the fall? Obviously, research and curious exploration come naturally to us. But how can we maintain this interest and, ideally, help young people to turn their interest into a career?

What the studies show

Since the early 2000s, numerous projects and initiatives throughout Germany have been striving to strengthen math and science skills in schools. The reason for this quality offensive was, on the one hand, demands from the economy, which is increasingly dependent on workers in engineering and IT professions. On the other hand, there is the below-average performance of children in Germany in international comparative studies of students. It is clear that the natural sciences are an issue for general education schools. But what about Waldorf schools? Both the PISA results from Austria and the 2007 graduate study indicate that Waldorf students also have an issue with science — but contrary to what the rumor mill suggests, they do well in science, even better than the average of regular school students. 9.8 percent of Waldorf school graduates also enter engineering professions, making it the second largest occupational group among alumni (after teachers at 14 percent). So do Waldorf students even have an advantage when it comes to STEM subjects?

Becoming an engineer with composure

Noah Kremnitzky, a former student at the Rudolf Steiner School in Nürtingen, thinks that at least he wasn't at a disadvantage: «Because I had physics and chemistry as part of my final exams, I was well prepared for the undergraduate studies. I was roughly on the same level as my fellow students from the technical high school.» Unlike some business school graduates, he didn't miss out on any basics during his infrastructure management studies. «I've always been interested in houses. I liked drawing them as a child and also later in art lessons, modern architecture», reports Kremnitzky. The civil engineer remembers with a grin that he was once scolded by his art teacher for not drawing houses with pitched roofs. Even with mediocre grades in math, he summoned up the courage to study engineering. The basis for this was a certain serenity: «I just wanted to try it out for a semester and see what happened.» The trial and error eventually led to a Bachelor's degree and today, at the age of 25, a job as a project manager for civil engineering projects at a large construction company in Berlin. For the math exams, he put the formulas into stories and poems and learned them by heart this way. Possibly a remnant, a learning strategy from his time as a Waldorf student.

With a gasoline engine against bing-learning

For Robert Neumann, a doctoral lecturer in media education, mathematics and physics at the Freie Hochschule Stuttgart, this serenity and confidence could be due to the lack of pressure to perform. Possibly one reason why so many Waldorf school graduates take up engineering professions: «Their view of the natural sciences is not obscured by the pressure to perform, but is much more freely focused on the subject matter. If you know you have to get a good grade, you get into binge-learning much faster and forget the content after the exam.» In contrast, learning at Waldorf schools is characterized by a phenomenological approach: «Especially in physics, but also in other subjects, we carry out learning in a three-step process», explains Neumann. Experimental observation — reverberation of the phenomena through the night — experimental knowledge. In this way, precise observation and objective documentation are practiced without rushing to find an answer as to why. The phenomena resonate in their clarity and are thus carried through the night. Only the next day do you allow yourself to make a judgment, an evaluation and interpretation of what you have experienced. In this way, not only is the knowledge of the subject matter at hand deepened, but the students' ability to judge is also trained. As the actual gain in knowledge is preceded by concrete experiments, the subject matter also arouses the interest of children and young people. It becomes tangible as it is directly linked to their world. «I don't think there's a Waldorf school in Germany without a gasoline engine in its workshops», says Neumann with a laugh. «When they look inside the open engine and there's a bang in the experiment because a mixture of gasoline and air is burning, the young people never forget it». Only the next day is it discussed what exactly happens in the engine and how the four strokes actually work. In this way, technical principles become tangible.

Phenomenology appeals to everyone

«During my time as a high school teacher, I experienced that technology and science interest both girls and boys equally», says Neumann. Possibly a consequence of the fact that gender stereotypes are softened at Waldorf schools. After all, the boys have to do the same manual work as the girls. The girls, on the other hand, have to drill, saw and plane in exactly the same way. Although numerous projects for all types of schools have been created over the last two decades to strengthen girls' STEM skills, the proportion of women in these subjects has only risen marginally — by ten percent since 1992. «I don't believe that girls need special access to these subjects. The phenomenological approach does not favor any gender», says Neumann from his personal experience as a Waldorf teacher. «As long as the class atmosphere is good and everyone can say something without being booed, girls and boys can be equally enthusiastic about the content.»

Nevertheless, Neumann also knows the children who are underchallenged and bored at Waldorf schools: «That's definitely one of the biggest challenges as a teacher. As a rule, you mainly focus on the weaker students because you have to take care of them.» Then the question arises, what do you do with the fast learners? How can you challenge them so that they have something to do and don't get bored? One answer is internal differentiation: different tasks for the students, depending on their performance level. Another possibility is the principle of mutual support: the faster ones help the slower ones. However, this depends on the classroom climate. If this is out of balance, then you are back in a social issue and have to work on it as a teacher. In case of doubt, such measures, as well as the success or failure of the lesson, depend heavily on the teacher. The teacher problem is probably also the biggest challenge for the coming years and decades.

Shortage of STEM teachers

«I would say that STEM subjects are just as important at Waldorf schools as other subjects, but the biggest problem is the shortage of teachers. It's particularly severe in STEM subjects», reports Neumann, who is also a member of the curriculum commission for mathematics and computer science. The fact that the state has now lowered the hurdles for lateral entrants to the teaching profession makes it even more difficult for Waldorf schools to find suitable staff. It must then be ensured that at least the examination-relevant content is covered.

«We have a Waldorf curriculum for mathematics from year one, for physics from year six and for chemistry from year seven», says Neumann. The curriculum for media education and computer science, which the media education lecturer himself helped to write, is also new. It already includes content for the lower grades. For example, when the children embroider a bag in cross-stitch, they implicitly experience the first concept of pixels. From year nine onwards, they start with basic computer software for word processing and spreadsheets – right up to their first programming. While the younger children only deal with such content implicitly, without in-depth explanations or analysis, the connections are discussed explicitly in the upper grades. This is due to the theory of age sevens, explains Neumann: «We assume that the first seven years are primarily there to develop the body. The second seven years are primarily responsible for mental development. It is only in the third year that cognitive skills are developed more deeply.» Of course, even younger children can understand causalities, for example that the key falls down when you let go of it. Even primary school children can imitate individual programming steps, but they cannot understand what is really happening and how the functions are connected. That is why the principle at Waldorf schools is not «the earlier, the better», but «the later, the more intensive». What I experience with a few more years of life, I can learn all the more intensively and therefore also more sustainably.

Tackling specific problems

But what should you do if your offspring has a greater interest in science, perhaps even a talent? Some Waldorf schools have already set out on this path, offering special working groups, such as the 3D printing group at the Freie Waldorfschule Uhlandshöhe in Stuttgart, or STEM centers such as the one at the Rudolf Steiner School Loheland, near Fulda. Since April 2024, Waldorf students in Loheland have been able to experiment with software in a modern media center in a very practical way. The basis for this is provided by a second block on digital working methods in years nine and ten. Building on this, concrete measures are implemented in projects and working groups. These are not only linked to the subject lessons, but also to the farm attached to the school. One current example is the development of a vacuum robot that can detect and remove spoiled animal feed in the barn. «It's not about dull textbook coding, but always about the question of how we can solve our specific problem», reports Werner Giove, IT teacher at the Rudolf Steiner School in Loheland. Students learn to use digital tools, including artificial intelligence, in a targeted manner. This curiosity-awakening atmosphere is also bearing fruit in the annual projects, which at least some students have focused on STEM topics. If there is nothing like this on offer at your own school, Neumann advises looking for STEM activities in the surrounding towns. In many places, there are now projects in which young people, usually from the eighth or ninth grade, can engage more intensively with various topics. The Komm mach MINT (Come and do STEM) map provides an overview of at least some of these projects.

Returning to the initial question: How do we manage to preserve children's natural curiosity? It seems that Waldorf schools are on the right track, at least for the large average of students. Thanks to the phenomenological approach and the everyday-oriented didactics, students are taken directly to what they find exciting. Kremnitzky also remembers many an experiment from his favorite subject, physics: «I always thought the STEM subjects with their many experiments were cool, and I wouldn't change a thing.» In his opinion, the equipment should be a little more modern, with projectors, PCs and interactive boards. But that's probably a topic for another article!