While I appreciate that you say you agree with Waldorf education and indeed have a child enrolled, it does seem that you are missing the point of many of the exercises utilized in their classrooms. Drawing the same picture all at the same time teaches discipline and focus. Certainly children have ample opportunity to draw whatever they want, why not engage them in a guided activity that challenges them to control both their behavior and their hands? Repeated rhythms and recitations improve memory and musicality, and once again require focus and discipline.

As far as standardized testing goes, I believe it has actually been shown in later testing (SATs, etc) that Waldorf grads perform extremely well. My Waldorf school actually did administer one state-required standardized test in sixth grade, and I scored at high school level or higher in every subject.

I understand that this post was more about the New York Times manipulating a story about Waldorf education for their own means, but it seems that neither them nor you is giving the full picture of its advantages.

Thanks for the great summary of the book and for your critical insight. I will hone in on one point as it has been a key for me for (frightening to say) decades. When I was first thinking about great teaching back in the 1980′s, and walking the dog one day, the key of “problem finding” was my first real epiphany that sparked my writing of The Falconer. It is the teacher who creates an environment in which a student feels compelled to dig deeper who has always been the agent of transformational education. I am so heartened to see that we are finally focusing on this key strategy. And I think it is a part of the value proposition that is hard for online education to replicate and therefore important for those who want to see physical schools, and the relationship between teacher and student, survive.