RACIST TEACHER Merrily Lovell - at Lake Champlain Waldorf School!!!
http://www.lakechamplainwaldorfschool.org/our_school/meet_the_faculty/Merrily Lovell
Biology and Math
Ms. Lovell came to LCWHS in 2010 after many years of teaching Biology at Highland Hall Waldorf High School in Northridge, California. She completed a Waldorf High School Science teacher training in England in 1996. Before that was a class teacher at Pine Hill Waldorf School in Wilton, NH, completed her Waldorf Teaching Certificate at Antioch/New England graduate school, and completed a Masters of Science in Teaching Biology from Antioch/New England. She is thrilled to be living in Vermont again, to be living near her grandchildren (who go to LCWS) and other relatives, and to be teaching part time at the high school. She enjoys the refreshing, earthy atmosphere and the environmental consciousness of this school, and warmth, interest and engagement in learning of the students in the high school.You'll remember Merrily taught my kids that "the blood of people from Europe is more evolved than the blood of people from Africa and Asia" - and that kicked off a lot of activity on my blog:
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/2009/11/pete-k-declares-war-on-racism-at_2522.html
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/2009/11/pete-k-declares-war-on-racism-at_06.html
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/2009/11/pete-k-declares-war-on-racism-at.html
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/2010/10/highland-hall-board-members-clueless.html
and was posted to many newspapers and blogs:
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/2011/11/controlhaltdelete-article-comments.html
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/2012/01/dcs-improbable-science.html
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/2012/01/local-schools-network-3.html
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/2012/01/local-schools-network-2.html
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/2012/01/local-schools-network.html
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/2012/01/sf-k-files.html
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/2012/01/ny-times-article-rebuttal.html
And many more... And now Merrily is teaching biology at Lake Champlain. Hasn't Merrily done ENOUGH for Waldorf education already?
lilycanter
Reviewed on 09/18/2008
I had great hopes at Waldorf for our two children. Unfortunately, while I think
the pedagogy is to be admired (lots of hands on art, music, nature), etc.,
theory and practice often differ.
It's a lovely idea to have the same teacher through all grades, but my
experience is that the teachers were not qualified to teach some of the more
rigorous courses at the 6th, 7th & 8th grades such as physics, anatomy, upper
level mathematics, and writing. In fact, teachers that were not Steiner trained
filled in.
I also found the lack of supervision on the grounds and on trips (including
foreign trips) to be very disturbing. The woods are not as benign as one would
imagine - as one student who fell through the ice into the river one year would
know. When we were there, students were allowed to run willy-nilly and teachers
were not aware when conflicts and bullying occurred.
And, as a minor irritation, I did find a certain amount of hypocrisy. I had
maintained a TV free household and looked forward delaying the exposure of some
information to my children. I got the impression that as long as one paid the
hefty tuition, no one would comment on what families let their children view or
listen to, or how they repeated it at school.
Additionally, there is (to me) a club mentality. If you can afford to devote
extra time to the school (because both parents don't need to work or have very
flexibile schedules) then you definitely earn "brownie points" for yourself and
your children from the community leaders.
I very much approve of the Steiner methods of teaching (even as I disagree w/
anthroposophy), but I felt the LCWS was imbued w/ varying agendas other than
education and community building.
http://www.greatschools.org/school/parentReviews.page?id=449&state=VT
The pros: a lovely, holistic, arts-based education that integrates intellectual,
emotional, social, physical, and artistic skills. The cons: an
extremely dogmatic approach to education (if Rudolph Steiner didn't say
it nearly a century ago, they won't do it now) that effectively ignores
the needs of academically and intellectually gifted children. While our
children loved the arts education, handwork, and ample movement time,
they complained of boredom academically and felt a palpable lack of
recognition/validation from their teachers. Teachers also have absolute
authority here, and almost no student input/autonomy is allowed. The
curriculum is inflexible, and students get little opportunity to explore
ideas or facts that are not explicitly detailed by the teacher. (Those
lovely hand-written textbooks each child writes are full of text and
drawings that mimic the teacher's work almost verbatim.) The lack of
clear authority in the school can also be a problem (the school is
governed not by a single director, but by a College of Teachers). The
buck, apparently, stops nowhere. This school is a good fit for students
(and parents) who don't ask too many questions about the pedagogy.
Posted March 16, 2012
The administration here is not very nice. I was not impressed and will not send
my children here.
Posted June 29, 2011
I went to this school from 1st-8th grade. I switched from there to go to a
public high school. Let me tell you why. When I reached the 7th grade I started
feeling like I was falling behind the public schoolers academically. So I took
some test and yes, in fact I was behind. The teachers do not teach math very
well, they never stress how important it is to do your homework. They give you
NO preparation for college or even high school. Once I switched it was hard to
adapt because I didn't have the work ethics, study habits, or ideas that
homework needed to be done. Other Facts: There is not enough funding for a tech
department meaning no technical oriented classes such as design. There is no
real auditorium. The basketball court is about 1/4th the size it should be. The
dress code is way to strict. You don't get the feel that teachers are there when
you need them. It is impossible to fail a class. (People need to know that there
can be failures in life!) I honestly find the public school pressure atmosphere
more successful. I will feel sorry for the students enrolled at LCWS and LCWHS
when they go on to college. They will not have the skills to have a successful
college career. (—Submitted by a student)
Posted November 5, 2008
This school does not provide a very good education, it teaches very pointless
'skills' like knitting, woodworking, eurythmy and other meaningless things. The
faculty is many times inexperienced and many do not know how to relate to
students and are often very insensitive. There are some good teachers however
and some of the teaching is satisfactory but overall it is a poor school.
—Submitted by a student
Follow up:
It appears Lake Champlain Waldorf school is in need of a science teacher:
http://www.lakechamplainwaldorfschool.org/job_openings/
High School Math and Science Teacher
The Lake Champlain Waldorf School is accepting applications for a High School Math and Science teacher for the 2012-13 school year. We are seeking a dynamic and experienced teacher with Waldorf teacher training to teach physics and upper level high school math, including calculus. A complete job description is available upon request.Well, have I got a science teacher for YOU? Merrily Lovell, of course. She's PERFECT for your school... having left Highland Hall recently, she has moved TO YOUR AREA. I don't know too much about her math skills, but as a science teacher, she will push intelligent design and racism as if it's scientific fact. And after all, isn't that what Waldorf schools do? I think we need to keep an eye on Lake Champlain's science department.
UPDATE: Read the top of the blog... I sure CALLED IT!
