Old School

Dear Friend of The Waldorf School of Santa Barbara Community,

Recently a grandmother reached out to our school to see if it might be a good fit for her grandchildren.

Her thoughtful inquiry—a portion of which is included anonymously below—speaks to the concerns of many parents/grandparents today.

I've carefully reviewed your school's website and am very impressed with what I've learned about your education philosophy, course offerings, and the like. And I am thrilled to note your stated technology policy, “technological prudence.” I do have a few more questions, though, mostly about Waldorf's technology use.

1. What is Waldorf's policy regarding students' personal cell phones, smart watches, and the like? Is there a bell-to-bell "no devices" policy? If not, what is the policy regarding these items?

2. Does Waldorf require each student to have their own personal laptop, or does the school either provide them as needed or have a computer lab?

3. What protections are in place to keep children safe in their tech use?

4. How much of your curriculum is online versus in textbooks, workbooks and other paper-based applications?

5. Are there specific apps or e-learning platforms in use, and if so, which ones?

6. To what extent do students write by hand? Do they journal, take exams by hand, make science logs and the like?

7. How is AI used in your classrooms, if at all, and what policies do you have regarding students' use of AI?

8. What percentage of classroom time would you estimate students spend on screens?

9. On a new subject, do you have a drama program?

Such an inquiry is becoming more and more common. Parents (and grandparents) do not want their children’s lives hijacked by screens.

In 1988 Life magazine surveyed 300 notable people, asking them to respond to this question: “What is the meaning of life?” This was writer Annie Dillard’s response:

We are here to witness the creation and abet it. We are here to notice each thing so each thing gets noticed. Together we notice not only each mountain shadow and each stone on the beach but, especially, we notice the beautiful faces and complex natures of each other. We are here to bring to consciousness the beauty and power that are around us and to praise the people who are here with us. We witness our generation and our times. We watch the weather. Otherwise, creation would be playing to an empty house.

Screens in schools can not only create mental health issues, foster social alienation, undermine learning, and shatter attention spans, they make it so the beauty of life is neglected. How can we witness and abet what we don’t know is there?

Waldorf schools do not abide by the new dispensation of screen learning. Waldorf schools know that life is too precious to be outsourced to a tablet. Waldorf schools seek to raise the Unanxious Generation. Waldorf schools ensure that creation is not playing to an empty house.

To say all this is not to assert our school’s infallibility. Nor is to indict the many noble, selfless people working in other schools. To say all this is to shamelessly trumpet our vision of what’s healthy for children.

We ask that you consider donating to support this vision.

Our fundraising goal this year is $125,000. Like most private schools, our budget relies on fundraising to help cover operating costs. Our fundraising also supports salary increases, which help our employees survive and thrive in one of the most expensive cities in our country.

We appreciate your consideration. And we are grateful to the many people who have already given.

Sincerely,

The Admin Team

Thank you for supporting WSSB.