“The idea that an app on an iPad can better teach my kids to read or do arithmetic, that’s ridiculous.”
Ugh. Also read as: "Something I haven't seen doing something I don't expect it to? Ridiculous!"
The correlation between students at Waldorf schools and prestigious schools later is extremely easily explained by a single character: $
That said, something different than our current, standard public-school fare probably stands a decent chance of doing better. Anything with more attention to the methodology stands such a chance. But I'd be willing to bet that many of the successes also simply reflect parents that are more aware of their children's education.
Your specific comment about "$" may be false. Waldorf schools in urban areas are indeed $15k+/year/kid, but there are Waldorf schools in rural areas that charge far less for tuition. Not having kids myself but knowing parents of kids who go to Waldorf schools, your second statement seems more accurate: from what they say the parents are very involved in the schooling - in fact the Waldorf methodology is insistent on it.
Ugh. Also read as: "Something I haven't seen doing something I don't expect it to? Ridiculous!"
The correlation between students at Waldorf schools and prestigious schools later is extremely easily explained by a single character: $
That said, something different than our current, standard public-school fare probably stands a decent chance of doing better. Anything with more attention to the methodology stands such a chance. But I'd be willing to bet that many of the successes also simply reflect parents that are more aware of their children's education.