Steiner education is one of the fastest growing non-traditional educational movements in the world. Its pedagogy is based on the teachings of the late Austrian philosopher, Dr. Rudolf Steiner(1861-1925), on the development stages of childhood and adolescence. Developed by Rudolf Steiner in 1919, Waldorf education is based on a developmental approach that addresses the needs of the growing child and maturing adolescent. Waldorf teachers strive to transform education in to an art that educates the whole child—the heart and the hands, as well as the head. The Steiner approach nurtures the child's whole being, working from the \\"hands\\" (physical) through the \\"heart\\" (emotional and spiritual) to the \\"mind\\" (intellectual). To achieve this, Steiner education fully integrates the arts into a scientifically researched curriculum finely attuned to the development stages of childhood (Kindergarten; Lower School – Grade 1-4; Middle School - Grade 5-8; and Upper or High School - Grade 9-12). Skills, subjects and concepts are introduced when these are appropriate to the child's physiological and spiritual development. Material presented to the children is connected directly to human experience-observation, experimentation, and participation so that it awakens the student's enthusiasm and interest. Through the content and process of the lessons, a reverence for life and the natural world is cultivated. Fine and applied arts, traditional crafts, storytelling, music, and drama provide essential pathways for holistic learning, enlivening a comprehensive curriculum which includes language arts, math, science, history, music, foreign languages, fine art, movement education, and handwork. Teachers are given very wide latitude in using various teaching methods and educational tools at their disposal. Academic freedom is a hallmark of Steiner schools so much so that they are also commonly described as \\"faculty-run schools.\\"