Any experience of Waldorf school in Taichung (leichuan)?

[Puppet]

Sorry to diverge a little on your question. What's your feeling about Waldorf versus other types of schooling?

I often get asked about Waldorf since I am thought of as the person you know who does alternative education. (They tend to lump us all together).

I am not making judgements when I say this, but the basic thing to keep in mind with Waldorf, Montessori, Reggio, or even a traditional education is how much you agree with the philosophy.

I love Waldorf and am impressed with it, but it wouldn't be right for me if I had a child. (Again, not saying it offensively). I think children are naturally inquisitive and want to learn and work, so the whole "putting off" learning until later strikes me the wrong way if I had to make the choice. There are other people that disagree with me on that point.

Still, it is great to hear there are options that look authentic here for Waldorf. Anyone want to fund an authentic Montessori school in my neck of the woods? :-)

[funkyjojo]

I am not making judgements when I say this, but the basic thing to keep in mind with Waldorf, Montessori, Reggio, or even a traditional education is how much you agree with the philosophy.

Puppet hit the nail on the head with this one. Though seems logical (well, it IS logical), it is important to understand the philosophy behind the original set up (from the developers'/founders' perspectives) and then the philosophy at the individual school you're looking at, and how it may be different from that of the founders'.

And then there is always the muddy bit of trying to discern the difference between the school's philosophy and what they actually practice~~~

[llary]

I know something about Waldorf and I like the general idea but I have seen how it works in practice and I'm not so convinced, while there is no pressure it feels like there is also limited opportunity for curious minds.

What's the deal with Montessori? Are there any schools in Taichung I could check out?

Currently trying to find somewhere to send my 3 1/2 year old over the next few years, I have not really been impressed by any of the kindies or schools I have seen.

[bitcrusher]

Hey I am new on this board but have been living in Taichung for the last 3 years and send my kids to the Waldorf kindergarten in Taichung (in Da-Dun 4th Street, Beautiful Garden).

Waldorf works for me, I really appreciate there teaching style espescially at this age. With all of the over-achieving kindergartens out there, this is a place where you can let your kids just be kids.

The Waldorf school system in Taichung has a number of kindergartens, and a couple elementary school and junior high school (Leichuan, Hai-Sheng, and Feng-Lo) . The principle of our kids' school is planning to start another elementary school next year. There is a problem because there is a demand isssue. (too many applicants as the city government puts a cap on the size of the school). You will probably not get a chance to get into Leichuan because of the length of the waiting list. If you child is younger you can try and get a place at one of the kindergartens as they get priority placement to the elementary school.

The teachers take the Waldorf system here very seriously and they seem to have excellent staff retention, I don't see that many new faces. There is definitely a difference between schools and how fundamental they can get with the Waldorf philosophy but the schools in Taichung are a little bit more pragmatic about it. But definitely don't just take my word for it. They offer tours and can answer specific questions you might have.

Here is a link to a page that has all the Waldorf schools in Taiwan. https://sites.google.com/site/walorfpad ... iao-fen-bu

I am not going to go into the Waldorf philosophy as there's a ton of online resources for that.

[touduke]

What's the deal with Montessori? Are there any schools in Taichung I could check out?

Currently trying to find somewhere to send my 3 1/2 year old over the next few years, I have not really been impressed by any of the kindies or schools I have seen.

My 3 1/2 year old boy goes to a Montessori kindy in Taichung in the Nan Tun street area. Before deciding to bring him there, all I did was talk to the teacher and principle (without knowing too much about Montessori), so I am not sure if this is a waterproof Montessori environment.
He is happy there. The place is not too big, not too many students and the fee is not higher than some other places we checked.
A possible turn off (not for me) - not much English is taught, no English native-speaker hired as a teacher.

[llary]

I checked out a Montessori kindy near the Taichung science museum, I really liked the staff and ideology but most of the play areas and grounds were dirty and unkempt. Also basic stuff like toilets were not really clean. My wife asked straight up if they hired a cleaner and the embarrassed headmistress said that they have a '外用' cleaner.. in other words their domestic help is cleaning the whole school in her free time

If they are cheap like that when they are asking relatively high fees it really puts me off and I doubt they are paying the teachers well.

Still hunting..

[bitcrusher]

Keep us posted as my might move to another part of the city and kindergartens are a big deal.