Dec2013_Local Year 12 Students Inspire Community

Parents, grandparents, students and community members spent an inspiring day on Sunday 10th November listening to presentations from the Year 12 students of Samford Valley Steiner School.

All year the students have been working on an Independent Research Project (IRP) of their own choice in addition to their school studies. 

Having completed a written thesis, each graduating student gave a 30 minute presentation to the community in which they showed their work, spoke about the process and their results and answered questions from the audience as well as from an external panel of assessors.

 

The research topics were diverse in nature reflecting the individuality of each student.  Jasper Teakle, who is often seen biking from his home in Mt Glorious, chose to design and build an electric assisted recumbent bicycle.  Nicholas Ashby researched, wrote and produced an EP of heavy metal music.  Other projects included investigating the benefits of physical movement, undertaking a solo trek of the Larapinta trail, ancient history, studying Homer’s Iliad, and exploring the childhood and the benefits of a Steiner education.

This oral presentation was just one part of the assessment process for the Year 12 students.  Their teachers also assess the student’s research skills, analysis, creativity and the writing up of the thesis.

 

Grounded in Rudolf Steiner’s belief that the highest endeavour of the education is to “develop free human beings who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives” the IRP gives students the opportunity to explore an area of interest in a deep and independent way.  They work on this project independently, but with guidance from a mentor who is an expert in the field as well as a school supervisor. 

 

It is this creative and practical approach to education that has seen a rise in enrolments at Samford Valley Steiner School. The focus on developing the whole child, from the gentle rhythm and free play in preschool to the academic rigour in the high school means students graduate as well-rounded young adults with a strong desire to continue learning. Research from around the world is showing more clearly that Steiner Graduates are very creative thinkers, have a well-developed moral sense, are confident and perform well academically.