Philosophy

---

Malamalama Waldorf School is committed to educating the thinking, feeling, and the will of the whole child. The methods and all related activities are taken from a new psychology of childhood oriented toward a real knowledge of the developing human being, educating the healthy growth of body, mind, and spirit.

In the first seven years, the emphasis is on the physical growth of the child, hence learning is done along with physical activity and the provision of good habits for imitation and a healthy environment.

After the age of seven, emphasis changes towards the inner life of the child. A good feeling for the subjects he/she will later thirst for in an intellectual way is developed, and a love of learning is nurtured. At this time, the child wants to be himself; the child's desire for knowledge comes out of a strong sense of belonging to a class and respect for the teachers.

Having concentrated on the proper growth of the body and the feeling of life, the thinking mind can fully appreciate its dawning at puberty. . . for its foundation is broad and its cycle can complete itself. As Emerson so beautifully put it, "Man feels through knowledge the privilege to be."