Honolulu Waldorf High School Visit

On Friday, we visited the Honolulu Waldorf High School. Van James, the art teacher, invited us to observe his class and check out the school.  Mr. James is a part-time instructor at Taruna College and will be teaching a two week visual art block while we are at Taruna. We had visited him at the school last summer but this was an opportunity to see the school in session.

Overall, the day was a very positive experience and got us excited to start studying Waldorf education in New Zealand. The general vibe of the school was friendly and engaging. The majority of students showed a genuine desire to learn, reflect and create.

We observed the 9^th grade Art History class and the 11^th grade painting and metal work classes.

Here is a basic outline of the class activities for the Art History class:

1.                    Class comes in and gets situated. Mr. James checks homework and waits for a student to get back from the restroom before starting. Some time to chit chat and socialize. (5 – 10 minutes)

2.                    Vocal warm up with tongue twisters and verses. Mr. James led the class in call and response. At some point, each student was prompted to try a tongue twister on their own until they said it clearly and loudly. (10 minutes)

3.                    Student reports on the Renaissance artists Fra Angelico and Luca Signonelli. Two students presented the life and work of each artist for about 5 minutes. The class took notes during the presentations and asked questions at the end. (20 minutes)

4.                    Review of famous art pieces from the Renaissance. This was a slide show. Mr. James would project famous works of art and ask the class who made it, what was depicted, and why it was note worthy. For example, The Deposition by Giotto was discussed. Students noted the use of blue sky, as opposed the more traditional gold, and the use of the compositional V to draw a focal point to Jesus, as he was surrounded by mourners after the crucifixion. (60 minutes)

5.                    Study time. Students were given time to work on whatever they chose. (15 minutes)

The 11^th grade art classes was much more free form. Students spent time creating art and the teachers circulated and provided individual suggestions. In the visual art class, led by Mr. James, students were completing oil pastel copies of famous impressionist art pieces. When they finished each student talked to Mr. James about their piece and then started on an original work of art of their own choosing. In the metal work class, led by Phil Dwyer, students were  making jewelry by cutting patterns into small pieces of copper. These were to be laminated onto to silver bands and shaped into rings in future classes.  It was very detailed work. The students showed strong concentration as they used saws and dremels to create their patterns.

We were blown away by the students’ artwork. Art is not an elective in Waldorf, and every student is extremely skillful and expressive. It is wonderful to see art as a core subject and not just something added after the fact. It would be interesting return and see how the students’ art skills translate to math, science, and humanities classes.