An Emerson Waldorf School education is a classical curriculum, with rigorous studies of mathematics, science, history, literature, Spanish, German, the arts, music, and all the other disciplines that prepare students for college and beyond. But the goal of learning science is not just to know science; the goal of learning history is not just to know history. The goal is to develop people.

The unique vision of a Waldorf school is to use academics to develop the three parts of a child—the “head” or intellect, the “heart” or feeling, and the “hands” or will—into a whole person. As Tufts University professor David Elkind notes, “Whereas postmodern schools are struggling to develop integrated curricula, Waldorf teachers have always taught math, science, literature, and the arts as part of an organized whole.”

Kenneth Chenault, Chairman and CEO, American Express, listed by Ebony magazine as one of 50 “living pioneers” in the African-American community, comments on his experience as a Waldorf student: “I think the end result of Waldorf education is to raise our consciousness. There is a heightened consciousness of what our senses bring us from the world around us, about our feelings, about the way we relate to other people. It taught me how to think for myself, to be responsible for my decisions. Second, it made me a good listener, sensitive to the needs of others. And third, it helped establish meaningful beliefs. In all the Main Block lessons—in history, science, philosophy—we really probed the importance of values and beliefs. In dealing with a lot of complex issues and a lot of stress, if that isn’t balanced by a core of meaningful beliefs, you really will just be consumed and fail.”

Here are a few actual scenes from the Emerson Waldorf School. As you read each description, ask yourself: how is a classical academic curriculum being used to strengthen the development of the whole child?

A group of first graders stands in a large circle, throwing bean bags to each other while chanting numbers. The pattern of throws around the circle, the timing, and the numeric chanting are all carefully perfected. (Adults, incidentally, find these exercises very difficult.) The children are learning their multiplication tables the old-fashioned way, by rote repetition. But they are learning them with their hands and in their bodies, in a cooperative enterprise that they will remember as challenging—in a good way. Challenging is fun. On the first day of third grade, a girl chooses one plant on the school’s 54-acre campus. Throughout the year, she will keep meticulous notes—with her own illustrations, of course—on the way “her plant” grows and changes through the seasons. At the end of the year, she will make a presentation to the class about her plant. An eighth grade lab on pH and organic Chemistry begins with the students making their own litmus paper out of red cabbage juice. (The juice is a sensitive and accurate instrument, but it also creates a beautiful range of colors.) They bring in their own household items, attempt to predict in each case what the results will be, and then test their hypotheses. Only after the students have developed a deep intuition for the concepts are the standard formulas introduced.

Spanish and German are taught from the first grade onward, starting with songs and stories and progressing to a more traditional study of grammar, vocabulary, and literature. All fourth and fifth graders learn a stringed instrument, and play in the class orchestra. All eighth graders perform a Shakespeare play. All high school students participate in the annual circus, featuring stilt walking, hooping, poi dancing, fire dancing and aerial dance.

The Senior year culminates in a project—chosen and executed by the student, mentored by the faculty or the community—demonstrating the student’s ability to devise, plan, complete and publicly present a significant undertaking. One student built his own electric guitar, and played his own compositions on it. One student developed an equestrian riding test, set to music. One student built a marionette, wrote a show for that marionette, and put on the show. Other students have started a small business, or produced a Legomation film. And by graduation, all students have learned to knit, sculpt, draw, paint, and do woodworking.

Emerson Waldorf School: Established in 1919, Waldorf education is the world’s fastest-growing independent school movement. As North Carolina’s only Waldorf School, Emerson has offered an atmosphere of creative, intellectual, and practical excellence since 1984. Nestled on a 54-acre wooded campus, EWS is a full member of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (www.awsna.org).