|
|
BACKGROUND AND PHILOSOPHY
Glen Brook has been a working farm since 1776 when Jedediah and Mary Tayntor arrived here by oxcart a year after he fought at Bunker Hill. It has been the home of farmers and craftsmen, legislators and famous artists, as well as many teachers.
In 1946 the farm was purchased by William Harrer, one such teacher from The Rudolf Steiner School in Manhattan, as a place for his school children to spend summer away from the city in the sun, breezes, and waters of New Hampshire. Students and teachers from many other schools and places soon began to arrive. The camp reached a capacity of 75 campers, a limit we maintain to ensure the close family atmosphere that is as magical for kids today as it was for some of their parents 30 years ago.
Today Glen Brook is owned and operated by the Waldorf School of Garden City, NY. We continue to weave together the tradition of New England sleep-away camp with many of the ideas from Waldorf / Steiner schools, one of the fastest growing independent educational movements in the world. Our schools are known for their balanced, holistic approach to education, a clear view of child development, and a recognition and deep respect for the spiritual core of each human being and the relationships that arise between them. Growing up is a precious time that must not be hurried or harmed. A high-speed, media-driven, materialistic culture which touches our children too closely and too early may produce undesirable long-term outcomes.
At Glen Brook we foster respect for self, for fellow humankind, and for the created world of which we are stewards. We believe that heart, mind, and spirit must be nourished richly and simultaneously. We value music and art just as much as academics and sports. We find that the deepest community can arise out of the strongest individuality when trust, tolerance, and understanding prevail. Above all, we love to have fun—because smiles and laughter and joyful optimism are the forge of community, relationship, and our own humanity.
