"I think Waldorf schools are very much in synch with the notion of Conceptual Age and the ideas of “A Whole New Mind”. They foster internal motivation in students, as well as mastery and persistence. They teach the habits of the heart that children need to do well in life after school."

~ Daniel Pink author, A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers will Rule the Future

At Waldorf High School of the Peninsula, the world is our classroom. The San Francisco Bay Area is ripe with opportunities from technology to ecology and from many expressions of different religions to examples of injustice and the denial of basic human rights. Most of the trips include multidisciplinary collaboration of faculty.

Some of the trips include: an all-school (week-long) wilderness orientation retreat that includes outdoor education, a summer reading symposium and junior-senior leadership training components; the ninth grade geology trip to Mt. Shasta or the northern California coast; the humanities and history ninth grade trip to New England; the Spanish and social justice tenth grade week-long trip; January Term excursions to many locations to study water and air; the eleventh grade trip to Utah, which includes a solo overnight experience as part of a study of Parzival; and many local trips. 

Themes of revolution, freedom, and social justice stand as the base for the 10-day Freshman American history block. In-class preparation includes readings and research on a variety of subjects necessary to make the trip to New England historical sites come alive. Students learn about Jamestown, Plymouth, and the Salem witch trials. In Massachusetts, they visit Plimoth Plantation, the Mayflower, and Salem. They read primary sources (e.g., the Mayflower Compact, diaries, and first-hand accounts from the Revolution and life in the mills) and The Crucible. The block concludes with an evening presentation for parents of original readings, scenes from history, and humorous skits from the journey. 
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The Spanish-oriented service-learning trip in tenth grade also expands students’ caring and compassion for others.