Waldorf Education on Beautiful Vancouver Island

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Author: Jos Valle

Subtitle: Waldorf Language Immersion in a Culturally Rich Environment

For students wishing an English language immersion experience, Island Oak Waldorf School on Vancouver Island in beautiful British Columbia, Canada, offers a unique opportunity. Island Oak, one hour north of the historic capital city of Victoria, is located in the resplendent Cowichan Valley. The word Cowichan, derived from the Quw’utsun First Nations word “Khowutzun,” means “warm lands” or “land warmed by the sun” in recognition of the area’s mild climate. The valley is a peaceful, culturally rich community in which exchange and boarding students can further their Waldorf education, immersed in the English language.

Axel (last name), a boarding student, and Yakob (last name), an exchange student, are both attending Island Oak from Germany during one-half of the 2008/2009 school year. Both students have found the experience to be valuable. “It is a great opportunity to improve one’s skills in the English language,” says Yakob. “Everyone helps you learn English and they don’t make a big deal around it.” Axel adds that he found his classmates happy to help when asked. “If they know you want them to help you, then everyone helps,” he says. Both found the Island Oak students to be welcoming and friendly.

The two students also lauded the faculty for making learning enjoyable. “You learn, but the lessons are fun,” says Axel. “You can enter into the class more.” They note that the small class sizes at Island Oak make the educational experience a more personal one, giving each student the opportunity to receive individual attention. This intimacy provides space to work out problems and offers opportunities for the students and faculty to make decisions together. “There is a respect for the students’ ability to make decisions about life,” says Yakob, appreciatively.

Another consideration for foreign study is the opportunity to try out a different environment to help one make a decision about where to attend university. Axel is a self-described “city man” but wanted to try a change from city life and has enjoyed seeing deer and raccoon up close. “The nature is amazing,” he says. The Island enjoys an abundance of wildlife, including black bears, Roosevelt elk, bald eagles and, in the surrounding oceans, killer whales (orca), sea lions, sea otters and porpoises. Interestingly, there are no skunks, grizzly bears or poisonous snakes on Vancouver Island.

Both young men praised the trips they’ve taken with Island Oak, including ocean kayaking and a skip trip. “It was a new experience to be able to go skiing with your school,” Yakob said. Vancouver Island offers a wealth of opportunities for outdoor activities, including ocean kayaking, river rafting, hiking, camping, fishing, snorkeling, diving, caving, storm watching on the rugged west coast of the Island, and snow activities in the nearby mountains.

Both Axel and Yakob have found the host family experience to be well organized and would recommend that students select host families who live in or near town to make getting around easier. They also suggested that German students come in the 10th grade given the timeframe of German exams. Despite this advice, the two 11th graders agreed that although they will have a lot of preparation for their exams when they return to Germany, they would come again during 11th grade in a heartbeat.

Waldorf education is now it its 28th year in the Cowichan Valley, surrounded by a strong anthroposophical community, including a Camp Hill, Christian Community, anthroposopical based naturopaths and nurses, a Steiner-based biography counselor, and more. The nearby Sunrise Waldorf School provides preschool and K-8 Waldorf education, with many Sunrise students continuing their high school education at Island Oak.

Island Oak has developed strong exchange and boarding programs. In the exchange program, a student from Germany lives with a current Island Oak student’s family for half of a school year. During the other half, the Island Oak student attends school in Germany and lives with the exchange student’s host family. In the boarding program, the student from Germany lives with a host family from the Waldorf community. There is a charge for boarding, whereas in the exchange program, each family agrees to reciprocally provide for the living expenses of the hosted student.

Local students enjoy the regular opportunity to have foreign students enter the high school for a semester, which helps create a seamless experience for the foreign student. As Axel and Yakob pointed out, the local students are happy to offer language assistance to the extent desired by the visiting student. The entire community appreciates the richness brought by German and other foreign students and welcomes exchange and boarding students with open hearts and open homes.

Visit the Island Oak website at www.islandoak.org.

Jos Valle is an assistant of Cowichan Valley projects, such as Sunrise Waldorf School and Island Oak and OUR Ecovillage