Advocating play in education
Being a mother to an active and free-spirited son, Grace Ferreros dreamed of sending her child to a school that focuses on playing, where children are given the freedom to play. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to find play schools or preschools in Cebu that incorporated play. Her solution? She opened one instead.
About 20 years ago, she was introduced to Steiner-Waldorf education, which enhances learning by incorporating arts in all their academic disciplines. She saw a teacher from Germany counting numbers and writing letters through dance, songs and movements, which was what she had been looking for from all her child development research. Right away, she knew that this was the kind of education she wanted for her son.
She immediately asked the organizers if they were planning to open a playgroup or day care in Cebu. Unfortunately, they had no plans. This then inspired her to open a Steiner-Waldorf kindergarten in Cebu, together with some friends who believed in the philosophy.
Since then, Grace dedicated her life in advocating for this kind of education. Through connections, she asked the Manila Waldorf School, the first Waldorf kindergarten in the Philippines, to help her open a Waldorf Kindergarten in Cebu, but she was told to learn its philosophy and undergo training before opening one. For a year, a mentor from Manila would come to Cebu and help them in reading the books of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Steiner-Waldorf education. Later, she took a three-year teacher training course in Waldorf Early childhood education in Manila, organized by the International Waldorf Kindergarten Association of Stuttgart, Germany.
In Waldorf education, a child is considered as three-fold: a body, a soul and a spirit. The philosophy is very specific and when one studies education he realizes that “the form of education should be appropriate to the stage of development of the child,” she said.
According to Steiner’s philosophy, when a child is zero to seven years old (preschool), the focus is on the body. This means that they should be taught through play, movement and imitation.
By the time they reach the age of seven to 14 years old ( grade school), the focus is on the soul or feeling. It is believed that by the time children reach this age, their feelings and emotions are strong, which is why teachers should become loving authority and teach them through art to develop their imagination and creativity.
And when they are already 14 to 21 years old, the focus is on the mind or spirit. At this time, they should be given the freedom to think, create ideas and discover the truth.
“This is the kind of education that is very interesting for me and it is the only way to develop a child’s love for learning,” Grace said.
In 1998, she opened the Cebu Children’s Garden, the first Waldorf kindergarten in Cebu. She admitted it was a struggle because there were only a few students when it started.
“I was like a lone voice in the wilderness, shouting let our children play, but I only had a few children. That is why in 2001 we closed,” she said. “Filipinos want academics. Most parents think that their children are smart if they can already read and write at three years old,” she said.
Undaunted, she established the same year the KidsLife Foundation, which advances Steiner’s initiative. KidsLife is currently a partner of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. Dolores Aboitiz Children’s Fund.
Through the help of her family’s foundation, Grace was able to establish St. Michael’s Play Garden, another Waldorf preschool here in Cebu, in 2011. Similar to the first kindergarten she established, it also started with a few students, but as the years went by the student population grew. It, however, did not have a large enough community of parents to sustain it, so it stopped its school operations six years later.
The foundation is now focused on training teachers and helping organizations wanting to incorporate Steiner’s ideas in education. It has been invited by a daycare center inside Camp Lapu-Lapu in Apas, Cebu City, where it aims to train the teachers and develop the curriculum to make the school a Steiner-inspired kindergarten.
“I will never tire of this kind of education. I am a firm believer of Steiner Waldorf education and will continue to promote awareness and understanding of it,” Ferreros said, resolved to continue its advocacy despite what happened.