Street Racket @ Waldorf School

The Waldorf education and the Street Racket philosophy have a lot in common. That's why we were delighted to introduce Street Racket at the very unique Imhoff Waldorf School in the south peninsula. "Bringing learning to life" is their motto - and that's exactly what we want to achieve. While playing Street Racket, the kids and students are learning not only in terms of motorskills or movement. They are also improving their life skills and they build up self confidence, and thanks to Street Racket also many other subjects can be tackled. We provide a large variety of game forms on and off the basic courts where schools can engage in language or maths training and the kids don't even realize they are learning as they simply have too much fun. We are proud of the fact that movement and healthy activity is no longer an issue just for PE lessons but for and kinds of learning and topics. Let's get up and move, be active in the outdoors and make learning a more social and more sustainable issue.

"The well-being of our children and the health of our societies are greatly influenced by our schools. A child’s development must be carefully and lovingly guided if he or she is to have a firm foundation for becoming a socially balanced and productive adult. We cannot know the demands which the future will place upon our children, but it is clear that inner strength, intellectual flexibility, empathy and independent judgement will be qualities vital to their future.

Hence Waldorf education is a schooling system that chooses, as its prime focus, to prepare the student for life. Waldorf schools seek to develop qualities of appreciation, respect, reverence, understanding and social conscience in every individual so that co-operation and concern for the whole community is a natural inclination." Amen to that and the Waldorf way - and we hope to bring Street Racket into many more Waldorf Schools after this very positive start. The kids and teachers enjoyed themselves very much and they came up with variety of new ideas and games. Street Racket will definitely used on a very regular basis during a day at school, and it will also make it's way to the homes and families of the Imhoff Waldorf community!

There was also another important learning from the Imhoff experience. There was almost no concrete / even surface to play, but still there was plenty of action for all. On soft sand patches and also on grass we marked some courts (in the sand you just use your fingers or the racket) and then played some game forms by just allowing direct play (all volley, no bounce) - it's like some kind of beach ball but thanks to the three squares on the ground it becomes much more structured and fluent as the still is no hard hitting, control remains the key. This means that Street Racket can still be played in many ways even if there is no "proper" playing surface. This is crucial especially for rural areas and another step forward to reaching out to all!