Balay Sofia brought Waldorf-inspired Education to Baguio

What is Balay Sofia?

Balay \ba-lai\ = Home | Sofia \so-fi-ya\ = Wisdom 

Balay Sofia= House of Wisdom

In essence, the vessel of wisdom.

A non- stock, non- profit parent- initiated, community- driven, Stenier/ Waldorf institution built to address the needs of children, parents, and individuals who are interested in healing.

Athena D. Masilungan, the proprietor, put up the institution as a parent- toddler playroom way back in 2008.

Sofia is a Waldorlf- inspired school because it still did not adapt the curriculum of a full Waldorf school.

It started in her home with her friends who have kids where the kids play together. Now, the Balay Sofia Inc., is located in #9 Navy Base Extension Rd., which is open to the public because of the need to bring it closer to Baguio community.

The institution has two programs. First is the Sofia Playgarden which is the early childhood program, and second, is the Sofia Waldorf- inspired school which is the school per se. It is not just a playgarden, it is a school and a playgarden.

The main goal of Sofia is to bring healing through education, patterned in the main objective of Waldorf education.

What is Waldorf Education, basically?

It was established in 1919 by Rudolf Steiner together with Emil Molt. Basically, the reason for him of wanting to build a school is to bring healing through education especially for the employees of his cigarette company; because it was during the first world war when there was war and chaos.

Waldorf education is also known as the Steiner Education.

Waldorf education offers program from K to 12 since 1919. Waldorf K-12 was established prior to the DepEd K-12 because the Deped K-12 is a very recent mandate from the government.

Indications of a Waldorf School:

• Independent from government, political, and economic control. As Miss Athena said, "For a school to be independent, it should only offer programs that are really beneficial to the cultural life of a child." Free from control of the society at large.

• There should be a well- balanced educational system where the belief and the implementation, as well, is so that children will have activity that enable them to develop their head, their heart and their hands.

• Three aspects should be balanced: The Intelligence Quotient (IQ) , Emotional Quotient (EQ) and the Will Quotient(WQ) of a child. Waldorf education also focuses on the WQ of a child which enable him to know, feel, and do what is right. 

Another aspect of the Waldorf education is that it has a curriculum with a quite slow beginning.

  
In first grade, the children are taught of letters first. Because Miss Athena said that the Waldorf system believe that before a child could read, he must know the letters first, and that is the only time he will know how to read and even write.

In second grade, they build up on what words they learn. It is only in the third grade where they are able to read extensively. 

Miss Athena confidently stated that it is very mellow in the beginning but it builds up as the children get older.

Children from 0-7 years old. 

• In a Waldorf curriculum, they focus on the experiences of the children because it still is their playgarden years, or the kindergarten years, so to speak. Children in this age bracket are the ones who move a lot. and they still have no control of their movement, so they learn from imitation of what others are doing especially the adults.
• In Waldorf, children are given free time to explore through playing with natural materials. They are not allowed to use electronic gadgets like iPads, cellular phones, laptops, and other devices. 
• It is still the age where the foundation of physical bodies of the children are highly at stake. Miss Athena said, and so science has proven, that a child's physical body can only be developed and completed if you allow them to move.

7- 14 years old.

• This is the only time when the physical body of children is set, so it should be nourished, protected, and strengthen. 
• In Waldorf, they introduce academics through arts. By arts, it is not just about painting and the like, but it is the,"artistic presentation of academic subjects. 
• In Sofia, children are making their own textbooks. The children put their lesson of the day in an empty page of their textbook. They, basically, make their own curriculum.
• Unlike in mainstream Philippine education that children are taught of different subjects every hour, in Waldorf, they focus on one subject every two months so the children are able to absorb all the knowledge imparted to them.

14- 21 years old

• This is the years where children are taught of heavy academic subjects. Normally, it is the "high school and college years" of children who learn various subjects like English, Science, and taught of only the subjects related to their courses. In Waldorf, they are provided of more specialized curriculum. 
• They are encouraged to go out and apprentice.
• They are allowed to have experiences that could develop their thinking realm. 
• They are more on thinking freely of themselves, and entitled of their own opinion, because they are free, they are not boxed into thinking that, "that is wrong, and this is right."

"Education should be dynamic, active, and well- balanced. What is important is that children are developing every aspect in their life. So that when they graduate in college,  they are free and equipped with all the necessary skills." - Athena D. Masilungan