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Understanding ‘Feeling Intelligence’

When children are ready to leave kindergarten and enter first grade, they are eager to explore the whole world of experience for the second time.  Before, they identified with it and imitated it; now, at a more conscious level, they are ready to know it again, by means of the imagination – that extraordinary power of the human cognition – that allows us to “see” a picture, “hear” a story, and “divine” meanings within appearances.

During the elementary school years, the educator’s task is to transform all that the child needs to know about the world into the language of the imagination, a language that is as accurate and as responsible to reality as intellectual analysis is in the adult. The wealth of an earlier, less intellectual age – folk tales, legends and mythologies, which speak truth in parables and pictures – becomes the teacher’s inexhaustible treasure house.

Whatever speaks to the imagination and is truly felt stirs and activates the feelings and is remembered and learned. The elementary years are the time for educating the “feeling intelligence”. It is only after the physiological changes at puberty, which mark the virtual completion of the second great developmental phase, that imaginative learning undergoes a metamorphosis to emerge as the rational, abstract power of the intellect.

– “Learning that Grows with the Learner” by Henry Barnes, Waldorf Education – A Family Guide

Lower Grades

Fostering Imagination

During the elementary school years (Grades 1-4), the educator’s task is to transform all that the child needs to know about the world into the language of the imagination, a language that is as accurate and as responsible to reality as intellectual analysis is in the adult. The wealth of an earlier, less intellectual age – folk tales, legends and mythologies, which speak truth in parables and pictures – becomes the teacher’s inexhaustible treasure house.

Establishing a rhythm for learning through imagination.

GRADE ONE

Awakening new faculties and subjective feelings.

GRADE TWO

Establishing the self, and reconnecting with the world.

GRADE THREE

Strengthening individuality and collaboration.

GRADE FOUR

Middle School Classes

Developmental experiences

In the middle school years (Grade 5-7), the curriculum includes real world activities and projects through travel, guest teachers and speakers, and a variety of outdoor experiences to provide new challenges, and fully support the students as they begin to develop their critical thinking capacities.

At age 12 or 13, students are ready to expand their experience in the world. Students participate in field trips such as camping, surfing, hiking and sailing, incorporating real-life experiences into their studies and enriching the academic curriculum The social dynamics of the classes are nurtured and developed as the group must collaborate together as a team, but still respect each others individual strengths. They study business models and run fundraisers at school events, raise funds for humanitarian groups, and volunteer with local community groups.

The middle school years at Whistler Waldorf are designed to prepare students for high school, through a rich academic curriculum, appreciation of the arts, special projects and physically challenging outdoor experiences.

Deepening experience of human nature.

GRADE FIVE

Emphasizing the physical world.

GRADE SIX

Fostering a spirit of enquiry, social responsibility and courage.

GRADE SEVEN

  • High School

A Curriculum Designed to Meet Each Stage of Adolescence

A Waldorf high school student is encouraged to embrace the discipline that each subject in the rich curriculum demands and appreciate the insights and broader perspective of an interdisciplinary approach.

Upon successful completion of the Whistler Waldorf High School program, students will be awarded a Waldorf High School Certificate and Dogwood Diploma (BC School Completion Certificate and entry requirement for post-secondary institutions and employers).

95% of WWS graduates attain provincial honours and go on to post-secondary including universities such as UBC, U.Vic., McGill, Berklee College of Music and many more.

By fully engaging, challenging, and inspiring students in their high school experience, the Waldorf high school curriculum aims to provide excellence in academics, as well as a platform for students to fully develop their sense of self with a clear purpose for the future.

Students are experiencing an increased awareness of the world around them, and of themselves as they transition from grade school to high school.

Grade 8

Students feel a strong connection to the present and want to be part of the modern world but do not yet have a true understanding of it . . . they are seeking the “what” things are all about. Students are observing and discovering the world.

Grade 9

Students are interested in the process, in the development of the world…they want to know “how” the world is connected. Students are drawn to motion, to comparing new and old developments.

Grade 10

Students question the development of the world, civilizations and customs…they ask the “why” and analyze reasons for progress in science, events, and cultures.

Grade 11

Students begin to both analyze and synthesize thoughts – they ask “who” is behind this doctrine, “who” was the real catalyst for change.

Grade 12
Experience a Day in the Life

An in-person visit is the best way to experience what it is really like to be a student at Whistler Waldorf High School. Come and see if it is a good fit for you!

All prospective high school students are invited to visit for a full day prior to submitting an application.

Visitors will be paired with a student ambassador and have an opportunity to attend classes as well as meet students and teachers.

Arrange a Visit