The school is not teaching the children to be compassionate
to one another. Maybe they learn to have respect for the earth, nature
and their schoolwork, but it seems to end when they enter recess.
There are too many incidents of inappropriate language and behavior. The
school seems to not take it seriously enough to implement rules to keep
everyone emotionally and physically safe. The Waldorf curriculum is
wonderful and impressive, but the school lacks the guidelines that holds
the children responsible for their ill behavior. The most important
thing we can teach our children is to be kind to themselves and others.
We have been a family with the school for nearly
3 years now, and the school just has not maintained an acceptable level
of safety regarding access into the school. There is no buzz in or
check in process. Anyone can walk in and this is a huge safety issue to
me. My son had a horrible experience as a kindergardener directly
related to this. The school was aware, but nothing was done. Use caution
when sending small children here, they may not be as protected as you
are lead to believen they are.
Our three sons attended Prairie Hill. Two of our sons
had wonderful experiences and had two of the best teachers we have ever
known! Our then 3rd grader had a truly horrible experience with a
teacher that he is still trying to heal from. Sadly, I cannot recommend
the school overall. Other children had a similar experience and also
left, but their siblings are still in other classes. The classroom
environment must be safe physically, emotionally and spiritually for a
child to learn, grow, and thrive. All of the teachers must be
emotionally stable. Because of the school's horizontal leadership
structure, overall lack of leadership and economic pressures, serious
safety issues still exist. Please use caution when interviewing a
potential teacher for your child.
The Waldorf pedagogy in itself is very prescritpive. But, we found Prairie Hill to be very rigid. Not good with special needs.
http://www.education.com/schoolfinder/us/wisconsin/pewaukee/prairie-hill-waldorf-school/#reviews
Our 3 sons attended
Prairie Hill. Two of them had wonderful experiences, but our then 3rd
grader had a very bad one that he is still healing from. We assumed
that all of the teachers would provide a safe classroom environment,
both physically and emotionally and that the teachers themselves were
emotionally healthy. This was not true of one teacher and it was very
harmful to several students who left.
There are many good things about this school, but because of the horizontal leadership structure, economic difficulties, and overall lack of leadership, serious issues that affect student safety remain.
There are many good things about this school, but because of the horizontal leadership structure, economic difficulties, and overall lack of leadership, serious issues that affect student safety remain.
Submitted on Feb 25, 2010
