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Berkshire Waldorf High School

Waldorf education in the Berkshires of Massachusetts

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You are here: Home / Curriculum / Unique Elements of Our Curriculum

Unique Elements of Our Curriculum

Many academic courses—history, English, science, and some math—are taught in 3-4 week blocks as seminars that meet for 100 minutes per day, five days per week. Other academic courses—foreign languages, mathematics, and some English—meet 3 to 4 days per week for 50 min. Arts courses meet 50-100 minutes, 1-2 times per week.

English: English classes meet 3-4 times per week to focus on reading, writing, and interpretation. Additional English seminars cover such topics as American literature, the Odyssey, Tragedy & Comedy, Bible as Literature, Poetry, Parsifal, Shakespeare, the Transcendentalists, and Russian Literature.

Math: In addition to a standard course of study that progresses from Algebra I through Geometry & Trigonometry and Algebra II to Precalculus and Calculus, we require seminars in Statistics & Probability and Projective (non-Euclidean) Geometry.

History: History seminars cover U.S. history and world history from the ancient world to the modern world. In addition, seminars in history through art, history through drama, history through music, and history through architecture present the development of human consciousness as evidenced by the cultural artifacts of the diverse civilizations that constitute world history.

Berkshire Waldorf High School students' cooper work with Mr. D'Aleo
Students’ copper & bezel work with Mr. D’Aleo

Foreign Languages: We teach German or Spanish with an emphasis on conversational facility and reading. Each class takes a 3-week visit either to Munich, Germany and Austria, or to a Spanish-speaking country (past trips include rural Costa Rica; Cali, Colombia; Lima, Peru; Cuzco, Peru) in 10th or 11th grade; many, if not most, students then exchange with Waldorf schools in those countries, and in Spain. We host approximately 10 students from Germany, Peru, or Colombia for visits or exchanges of 3 to 12 weeks each year. French is offered as an elective course, and individual exchanges with schools in France have been arranged per student initiative. Graduates have successfully pursued admission to (primarily English-speaking) Canadian universities.

Science: In addition to sequential seminars each year of high school in biology, chemistry, and physics, we offer seminars in earth science, botany, geology, astronomy, and environmental science. Transcripts record those seminars that have a laboratory component.

Arts: All students take required courses in fine and performing arts each year. Student portfolios represent this work to colleges and universities.

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Curriculum

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The Globe - The Newsletter of the Great Barrington Waldorf High School

Upcoming Events

  1. MLK Holiday: school not in session

    January 18
  2. Block 6 begins

    February 1
  3. February Break

    February 15 - February 19
  4. Block 7 begins

    March 1

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Waldorf High School

Street Address:
14 Pine Street
Stockbridge, MA 01262

Mailing Address:
PO Box 905
Great Barrington, MA 01230

Phone (413) 298-3800
Fax (413) 298-5132

For grades Pre-K through 8, please follow this link to go to Berkshire Waldorf School in Great Barrington, Massachusetts

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