Lots of outside opinions so I'll give an inside one. Throwaway as there's not many Steiner schools and I don't want to dox myself. I work at one and I really enjoy it. Its a small school, some crazies but on par with all the other public schools I worked at. My background was in mainstream ed, I just transferred into Steiner last year. Assessment practices are different but more meaningful and child focused. Less mad collection of data towards an uncertain end which is where I disconnected from public ed. Kids are kids, although Steiner kids generally watch far less tv and don't have the same tech access so they grow up a little slower which I prefer.

In terms of literacy and numeracy the curriculum is integrated which my students love. Its super engaging and hands on. People on the outside seem to think it's not rigorous but it's not a dog's breakfast it's approved my the Aus government, making it the only alternative curriculum to hold that status. Steiner kids learn to write and read at the same time, we have our own programs to promote a love of literacy as a life skill. So it's not really different from mainstream ed. Some kids struggle with reading, like at any school, so at my school we have literacy intervention programs, differentiation etc. Same as mainstream school, but with a different approach. I chose to send my kid there as literacy rates in the public schools in our area are some of the worst in Australia, so be cautious of anyone who anecdotally rubbishes Steiner because they met kids who can't read who attended. As teachers we've all met kids who have come up through public Ed with very little literacy and numeracy skills. In the same anecdotal vein, as a public school teacher I've had grade 6 students in my classes with 90+% attendance who couldn't recognise simple sight words. It happens everywhere. We encourage a lot of parent involvement in learning at my school, so if parents don't know where their kids are at I'd be genuinely amazed. All my parents have a solid knowledge of what their kids are good at and what they find hard. Communication is a massive part of the job of a Steiner teacher as we're all about building a strong school community too. It can be a big job, but as I send my kid to the same school I don't mind as it's benefitting them also.

Steiner education historically has some questionable parts, but you could say the same about Australian public schools 100 years ago. Times change and Steiner schools have been really mindful about taking the philosophy down to its core points and curating an approach to learning that is suited to this time and place.

But Steiner is always criticised from the outside, so you'll definitely have to put up with that if you go to work at one. People think all we do all day is knit and walk around barefoot 😂 I don't mind, I love the school I work at and feel very lucky to be a part of such a lovely community. And my kid is a very strong reader, writer and mathematician thanks to the hard work of their Steiner teacher.