September, '19
September 28, 2019
THE CASE OF DONALD TRUMP
AND THE WALDORF ALUMNUS
It may not tell us much about Waldorf education, but we should note that a Waldorf alumnus is emerging — at least temporarily — as a figure in the Trump impeachment proceedings.
Ulrich Brechbuhl (also known as T. Ulrich Brechbuhl or Brechbühl) graduated from an American Waldorf school in 1982. He is now a U.S. State Department official, in which capacity he evidently monitored President Trump's now-notorious phone conversation with the president of the Ukraine.
Impeachment investigators in the U. S. Congress want to know what Brechbuhl knows.
From The New York Times:
House Democrats Issue First Subpoena in Impeachment Inquiry
Three committee chairmen issued the first subpoena in the impeachment inquiry into President Trump, seeking documents and witnesses regarding his dealings with Ukraine.
By Nicholas Fandos and Sheryl Gay Stolberg
House Democrats, moving quickly to escalate their impeachment inquiry into President Trump, subpoenaed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday, demanding that he promptly produce a tranche of documents and a slate of witnesses that could shed light on the president’s attempts to pressure Ukraine to help tarnish a leading political rival.
The subpoena and demands for depositions were the first major investigative actions the House has taken since it launched impeachment proceedings this week...
Democrats presented their deposition requests as nonnegotiable, listing dates for early October appearances by officials who were either mentioned in a whistle-blower complaint released this week or are connected to American policy work in the region. They include...T. Ulrich Brechbuhl, a State Department counselor....
[9/28/19 https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/27/us/politics/house-democrats-impeachment-trump.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage This article originally appeared on September 27.]
Brechbuhl's involvement in the events swirling around Trump, if any, remains to be clarified.
o
From Foreign Policy:
Trump Impeachment Inquiry Puts State Department in the Crosshairs
U.S. diplomats are concerned they will become star witnesses.
By Elias Groll, Robbie Gramer
...The officials likely to be interviewed in the coming weeks include Ulrich Brechbuhl, one of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s key deputies. According to the whistleblower, Brechbuhl listened in on the July 25 call during which Trump repeatedly demanded an investigation of [Joe Biden's son] Hunter Biden, who had business dealings in Ukraine. (An unnamed senior official was quoted by CBS News and Bloomberg on Thursday as denying that Brechbuhl listened in)....
[9/28/19 https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/09/26/trump-impeachment-inquiry-puts-state-department-in-the-crosshairs/ This article originally appeared on September 26.]
Ulrich Brechbuhl graduated from the Waldorf School of Garden City (on Long Island, New York) in 1982. Thereafter, he enrolled at the U.S. Military Academy (West Point) where he met — and evidently became best friends with — a fellow cadet named Mike Pompeo
Many years later, Mike Pompeo was appointed by President Trump to be U.S. Secretary of State. One of Pompeo's first actions in his new post was to hire his old friend as a counselor.
o
From Diplopundit:
Pompeo Appoints West Point Pal, Ulrich Brechbuhl as @StateDept Counselor
By Domani Spero
A day after the 70th Secretary of State is formally sworn into office in Foggy Bottom, the State Department announced the appointment of Secretary Pompeo’s old friend from West Point, Ulrich Brechbuhl...as State Department Counselor...
The Waldorf School of Garden City has a detailed undated bio of its alumnus, Ulrich Brechbuhl...
"Having been born in Switzerland, Ulrich hails from Garden City, New York and is fluent in four languages. He attended the Waldorf School of Garden City from Nursery through Grade 12...."
[9/28/19 https://diplopundit.net/2018/05/03/pompeo-appoints-west-point-pal-ulrich-brechbuhl-as-statedept-counselor/ This item originally appeared on May 3, 2019.]
o
Here are excerpts from Ulrich Brechbuhl's biographic sketch, posted at the State Department:
T. Ulrich Brechbuhl currently serves as the Counselor of the Department. In this capacity, he provides strategic guidance to the Secretary ... Prior to joining the Department, Mr. Brechbuhl was president of Appenzeller Point, LLC, a family investing and consulting business ... Mr. Brechbuhl graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1986 and served as a cavalry officer with the Second Armored Cavalry Regiment patrolling the Iron Curtain before its fall. He also served with the 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry in the U.S. Army’s First Calvary Division during the Persian Gulf War ... Born in Switzerland, Mr. Brechbuhl grew up in Garden City, New York....
[9/28/19 https://www.state.gov/biographies/t-ulrich-brechbuhl/]
o
Reportedly, Ulrich Brechbuhl's mother — Trudi Breckbühl — was for many years a kindergarten teacher at the Waldorf school Ulrich attended, and Ulrich's siblings also went to that school [https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/waldorf-critics/conversations/messages/32170]. A Trudi Brechbühl Handwork Endowment is mentioned in at least one of the school's recent publications: The Waldorf Magazine, 2018, p. 39 [http://fliphtml5.com/cvdpk/pvsx/basic/51-64]. Ulrich Brechbuhl's father, Hans R. Brechbühl, was a longtime supporter of the school; he attended monthly meetings at the school to discuss, with other businessmen, how to apply Rudolf Steiner's "threefolding" concepts to American business. [See Henry Barnes, INTO THE HEART'S LAND (SteinerBooks, 2005), p. 348; also see "Threefolding".] The school today issues an award, the Hans R. Brechbühl Service Award (or the Hans Rudi Brechbühl Service Award) to individuals who have given extraordinary service to the school; this year's recipients are cited "for a lasting and meaningful contribution to the School, giving voluntary service, and for showing devotion to the School over many years." [See https://patch.com/new-york/gardencity/waldorf-school-announces-6th-gala.] On at least one occasion, Ulrich Brechbuhl has been the presenter of this award. "T. Ulrich Brechbühl ’82...presented The Hans R. Brechbühl Service Award to two very deserving and dedicated alumni parents..." [http://waldorf60.rssing.com/chan-12021292/latest.php].
o
Full Disclosure: I attended the same Waldorf school as Ulrich Brechbuhl. However, I went to the school long before he did (I entered in 1953 and graduated in 1964). The school may have changed considerably in the years between my tenure there and Ulrich's. Indeed, in 1978-79 the school was nearly destroyed in a scandal [see "The Waldorf Scandal"], after which new hires replaced old timers, and reforms were presumably implemented. In any case, I never met Ulrich Brechbuhl or, as far as I recall, any member of his family.
When I enrolled at the school, it was called The Waldorf School of Adelphi College. Later, when Adelphi became a university, the school became The Waldorf School of Adelphi University. This is what the school was called when I graduated. After the scandal, the school changed its name to The Waldorf School of Garden City. This is the name the school had when Ulrich Brechbuhl was a student there, and it is the name the school still carries today.
— R.R.
September 27, 2019
HERE AND THERE:
CELEBRATIONS
Waldorf schools worldwide are celebrating the 100th anniversary of their movement. The first Waldorf school was established a century ago, under the direct guidance of Rudolf Steiner.
Precise numbers are hard to ascertain, but there are probably at least 1,100 Waldorf and Steiner schools in the world today. (Whether called Waldorf schools or Steiner schools, these are essentially similar institutions that base their practices, to one degree or another, on Rudolf Steiner's indications.) Many of these schools are quite small, although in some places — especially in Germany — some are fairly large.
Small newspapers and other media outlets in communities around the world are running celebratory articles, generally supplied by — or based on information received from — the Waldorf/Steiner schools in their regions.
Here are a few sample headlines. Clicking on the underlined links will take you to the articles.
From The Conway Daily Sun [New Hampshire, USA]:
White Mountain Waldorf School
[courtesy photo]
White Mountain Waldorf School joins worldwide
celebration of 100 years of Waldorf education
From The Nelson Star [Nelson, Canada]:
Nelson students celebrate 100 years of Waldorf
[September 25 https://www.nelsonstar.com/community/nelson-students-celebrate-100-years-of-waldorf/]
From Macquarie Port News [Macquarie, Australia]:
Steiner School to celebrate 100 years of education
[September 9 https://www.portnews.com.au/story/6375125/steiner-school-to-celebrate-100-years-of-education/]
From Scoop Independent News [New Zealand]:
Waldorf Schools celebrate
100 Years of Education Worldwide
[September 24 http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED1909/S00067/waldorf-schools-celebrate-100-years-of-education-worldwide.htm]
From Nursery World [London, United Kingdom]:
Steiner celebrates 100 years in education
[September 11 https://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/nursery-world/news/1168680/steiner-celebrates-100-years-in-education]
September 25, 2019
CHARGES OF ABUSE
IN WALDORF SCHOOLS - II
Parents who choose Waldorf schools for their children typically believe these lovely-seeming institutions will prove to be safe havens. Sometimes this belief proves justified; but in too many instances, it does not. There have long been worrisome reports coming out of Waldorf schools indicating internal strife and suffering. [1] In a number of cases, reports of abuse — including sexual abuse — have emerged. [2]
This year and last, official inspections of Waldorf or Steiner schools in the UK have frequently faulted the schools for failing in their responsibility to safeguard their students. [3] Worries have arisen, in some instances, that some Waldorf teachers “groom” certain students for close — perhaps romantic or sexual — relationships. [4] Former Waldorf student and teacher Grégoire Perra has argued that the emotional snd spiritual intimacy fostered between teachers and students in Waldorf schools may easily lapse into carnal intimacy. [5]
Yesterday, we looked at a French news article that documents cases of sexual abuse in Waldorf schools [6]. We focused, yesterday, on cases of such abuse in Waldorf schools operating in Belgium and France. Today, let’s conclude by looking at cases in the USA as described in the article.
Written by Margaux Duquesne, the article is titled "Y a-t-il une omerta sur les abus sexuels dans les écoles Steiner-Waldorf?" {"Is there an Omerta on Sexual Abuse in Steiner-Waldorf Schools?"}. It was published by Journaleuse. Here are excerpts:
Los Angeles: A victim's mother creates a support group [7]
Margaret Sachs [8] enrolled her 15-year-old daughter in 2001 at a Waldorf school in the suburbs of Los Angeles. Her daughter says she was assaulted by one of the school's part-time teachers during a school trip to Colorado. Several other girls also claim to have been assaulted by this same man. Margaret remembers:
"By the time I found out what was happening, the female class sponsors…had used various tactics over a period of several days to try to intimidate the students into retracting their stories…" Later, her daughter was questioned by the police: "[S]he felt uncomfortable because a teacher from the school was in the room … It still bothers me that my husband and I were not given the option of being present … [I]nstead one of the accused teacher’s colleagues was present"...
Three weeks before the end of the school year, the Sachs family received a letter informing them that the girl would not be allowed to return to the school the following year. The teenager, who had developed joint disorders due to anxiety, was devastated. One of the most difficult things for her to live with was the questioning of her word [9]. "Her self-confidence was completely destroyed. Her emotional recovery took a long time."
[Today] Margaret is the moderator of a support site for victims of Waldorf schools [10].
A scandal on a Waldorf campus in New York
In another Steiner-Waldorf school in the United States, a teacher was accused of sexually assaulting more than a dozen young girls throughout his decades-long career.…
A private investigative body…revealed in a damning 2014 report that two other teachers [at the same school] were charged with sexual crimes: one for possession of child pornography documents and the other for assaulting a student during a school trip. In particular, the report highlights the fact that the school did not act when the complaints were reported. The survey concludes, in one case, that "the school's lack of response allowed its predatory behavior [11]"…
The assaults described in the report: rubbing, touching, inappropriate hugging, rape. Many victims explained that they did not report the facts at the time they were committed, for fear of not being believed.
Kate Christensen, one of the victims, wrote about it in her book BLUE PLATE SPECIAL:
"Who could we tell? They were all doing it. Almost everyone in that supposedly spiritually righteous community knew what was going on, but no one said or did anything to stop it; there was never the slightest sense that they thought they were doing anything wrong, having sex with the teenagers they taught, mentored, and hosted … [I]t felt as though the adults around me were falling apart and behaving like adolescents, as if there were no sense of grown-up responsibility or accountability or dignity." [12]
Margaux Duquesne concludes her article by returning her focus to her native land, France:
In France, too, this type of relationship may develop in Waldorf schools. Hugo Étienne, for example, was educated at the Lycée Steiner Perceval Chatou, in the Paris region. According to him, it was common for teachers to "date" students outside school hours: "A 35-year-old teacher told a 17-year-old friend of mine that she was in love with him … My philosophy teacher was dating a girl in my class. Her little sister went on vacation with the sports teacher ... She was 14 years old. Both were part of a very Anthroposophic family."
For her part, Angélique [13]…concludes in her report to Miviludes [14]: "There is incredible denial! Everyone prefers to close their eyes to protect their small 'spiritual' community set apart from the wider society, even if it means putting their children in danger."
[9/25/19 https://journaleuse.com/2019/09/23/omerta-abus-sexuels-ecoles-steiner-waldorf/ This article originally appeared on September 23. Translation by Roger Rawlings, leaning heavily on DeepL Translator.]
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] See, e.g., “Cautionary Tales”.
[2] See “Slaps” and “Extremity”.
[3] See “The Steiner School Crisis”.
[4] See, e.g., “Pedophilia at Waldorf?”, August 1, 2018.
[5] See “Mistreating Kids Lovingly” and "Sexual Mores in Steiner-Waldorf Schools".
[6] See "From France: Charges of Abuse in Waldorf Schools", September 24, 2019.
[7] Margaret Sachs did not, in fact, create the support group — but she plays a leading role there.
[8] For some of Margaret Sachs' writings about Waldorf education, see, e.g., "Our Experience".
[9] Margaret Sachs: "One of the hardest things for her to deal with was wondering how it was that she had a memory of something she was being told never happened."
[10] This is Waldorf-Anthroposophy-Steiner Survivors [https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Waldorf-Anthroposophy-Steiner-Survivors-Only/info].
[11] See “Extremity”.
[12] Kate Christensen, BLUE PLATE SPECIAL (Doubleday, 2013), pp. 143-144.
[13] "Angélique" is a pseudonym. Margaux Duquesne told "Angélique's" story near the beginning of "Y a-t-il une omerta sur les abus sexuels dans les écoles Steiner-Waldorf?" [See "From France: Charges of Abuse in Waldorf Schools", September 24, 2019.]
[14] Miviludes (Mission interministérielle de vigilance et de lutte contre les dérives sectaires) seeks to expose "movements with a cultic character whose actions affront the rights of man and fundamental liberties, or which constitute a threat to public order or which are contrary to [French] laws and regulations." — The Journal Officiel of 28 November 2002, quoted in Mission interministérielle de vigilance et de lutte contre les dérives sectaires. Critics have often described Anthroposophy as a cult. Anthroposophists deny this characterization.
— R.R.
September 24, 2019
FROM FRANCE:
CHARGES OF ABUSE
IN WALDORF SCHOOLS - I
Waldorf schools have been calling attention to themselves as they celebrate their movement's centenary. The first Waldorf school opened a century ago, in Stuttgart, Germany.
Unfortunately for Waldorf schools and their backers, the attention the schools have been receiving recently has included distinctly negative stories, alleging significant problems in the Waldorf movement [1].
Now another blow to the Waldorf movement has been delivered with the publication, in France, of a report on the sexual abuse students have allegedly suffered in Waldorf schools. Here are excerpts, from the article in Journaleuse:
Is there an Omerta [2] on
Sexual Abuse in Steiner-Waldorf Schools?
[By] Margaux Duquesne
Former students and parents of students of Steiner-Waldorf schools testify about sexual assaults, physical and moral violence, a lack of responsiveness on the part of the schools... Similar stories have emerged at different times in France, Belgium, the United States... Is the safety [of children] ensured in these schools, which advocate a so-called "alternative" pedagogy and are now celebrating today [their movement’s] 100th anniversary? Here is our investigation.
One evening, while Angélique* was telling a story to Loïc*, her 3-year-old son [who attended a Steiner kindergarten], the boy told her: "Mom, I have to stop loving you, to protect myself.” From the very beginning [of his time at the school], her son's attitude had worried her:
"I had the impression that my son started to fear me, and he was afraid to tell me what was going on at school … [During naps at school] he slept on a mattress on the floor, next to the mattress of the kindergarten teacher … He started to feel nocturnal anxiety after two months, and I had the impression that there was something like a ‘secret’ between the caregivers [3] and him…”
These words are taken from a report that Angélique made in April 2019 to Miviludes, the interministerial mission of vigilance and control of sectarian aberrations [4] … Reports on the general subject of Steiner-Waldorf schools are regularly received by Miviludes ... It received eleven referrals in 2018 and fifteen since 1 January 2019. These are important figures, given the number of schools in France, i.e., 24 Steiner kindergartens and schools….
* Names with an asterisk have been changed at the request of the interviewees or their parents.
[9/24/19 https://journaleuse.com/2019/09/23/omerta-abus-sexuels-ecoles-steiner-waldorf/ This article originally appeared on September 23. Translation by Roger Rawlings, leaning heavily on DeepL Translator.]
The article proceeds to recount several other instances of alleged abuse at Waldorf schools in Europe and also in the USA. I will summarize some the the article’s key points:
• Miviludes says Waldorf schools merit vigilant attention for several reasons: the low rates of vaccination among their students; the schools' failure to openly explain their spiritual doctrines and practices; the schools' inattention to “the common base of knowledge and skills” all schools are expected to impart; and the schools' lax protection or safeguarding of the students in their care.
• Waldorf schools charged with misdeeds almost always vigorously deny the charges made against them. Admission of guilt or responsibility are rare.
• Parents are sometimes seduced by the descriptions Waldorf schools give of their pedagogical aims and their respect for children’s individuality, descriptions that may prove to be misleading.
• One such parent sent her daughter to a Belgian Waldorf school in 2015, only to find that the child apparently was victimized there by a male classmate. The boy allegedly subjected her to physical and sexual abuse, causing her to become traumatized. The girl's mother met with teachers at the school several times, to no avail. She was told that her daughter was lying. She was also told "You know, we must let the souls fight each other.” [5]
• The article tells about the experiences of a pair of twin boys attending “the [Steiner] school of Verrieres-le-Buisson, in the Paris region.” One of the boys allegedly suffered sexual abuse there. The parents met with the boys’ teacher, who denied the allegation and urged the parents to keep quiet. The parents then sent a letter of complaint to the Federation of Steiner-Waldorf schools. It was not answered. ”A deleterious atmosphere” then spread through the school, and efforts were made to discredit the complaining parents. Evidently the school asked other parents to sign a letter denouncing the complaining couple. In any event, the school defended itself vigorously, and ultimately the complaint against it was dismissed.
• The school of Verrieres-le-Buisson has been the site recently of additional cases of alleged sexual abuse, which “plunged some parents into deep distress.” Three kindergarten children at the school indicated that they had been sexually abused. “At least three” families subsequently withdrew their children from the school. A crisis meeting was held at the school in April, but little came of it. The school staunchly defended itself. The parents of one child tried to file a criminal complaint against the school, but police refused to receive it. The police reportedly said that filing a complaint against a school is almost always useless.
We will return to this article and this subject tomorrow. [6]
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] See, e.g, "Waldorf Turns 100".
[2] I.e., a code of silence. (The term originally applied to a compact, enforced by the threat of death, observed by members of the Mafia.)
[3] The French word is "jardinières", meaning literally "planters".
[4] I.e., cults. Miviludes seeks to expose "movements with a cultic character whose actions affront the rights of man and fundamental liberties, or which constitute a threat to public order or which are contrary to [French] laws and regulations." — The Journal Officiel of 28 November 2002, quoted in Mission interministérielle de vigilance et de lutte contre les dérives sectaires.
Critics have often described Anthroposophy as a cult. Anthroposophists deny this characterization.
[5] This is an apparent reference to the Anthroposophical belief that children must be allowed to enact their karmas. If some children have the karma to be the victims of abuse, and if other children have the karma to be abusers, then so be it. This belief is sometimes cited as the reason bullying is allegedly countenanced in Waldorf schools. [See, e.g., "Slaps".]
[6] Sexual abuse can happen in any school anywhere. Is such abuse more likely in Waldorf schools than in other institutions? The subject is worth considering. [See, e.g., "Extremity" and "Sexual Mores in Steiner-Waldorf Schools".]
— R.R.
September 21, 2019
TAKING THE NAME STEINER
OUT OF THE STEINER NAME
As Waldorf/Steiner schools worldwide celebrate the 100th anniversary of their movement's founding [1], there are growing signs that the movement is coming under serious stress. So, for instance, Steiner schools the United Kingdom have suffered a string of devastating official inspections, and now some of these schools are closing, retrenching, or instituting crash recovery efforts [2]. Meanwhile, scholars and reporters in many countries — including the Waldorf homeland, Germany — are increasingly publishing analyses that reveal worrisome elements of the Waldorf worldview, along with reports of questionable (to say the least) Waldorf practices [3].
At or near the top of the list of problems for Rudolf Steiner's followers, now, is the legacy of Steiner's racism [4]. Proponents of Waldorf/Steiner education argue that there is no racism in their schools today; but critics allege that Steiner's racial views remain woven into the Waldorf belief system [5]. Now, leaders at a Steiner school in New Zealand are contemplating a step intended to distance their school from Waldorf's founder, at least in name.
The following is from the news media service Stuff [New Zealand]:
Rudolf Steiner school's
name change dilemma
[By] Lee Kenny
[John Kirk-Anderson, Stuff]
The principal of Christchurch Rudolf Steiner School [6] says it is probably time to change the school's name to dissociate it from the racist beliefs of the educational movement's founder.
In a frank interview to mark the organisation's centenary, Thomas Proctor says...the school may need to change its name "so that our best ideals are not burdened by historical, philosophical untruths"...
[Rudolf Steiner] devised anthroposophy, a "spiritual science" that underpins Steiner schools today [7].
However, he also professed ideologies that are deeply racist and offensive.
Among his controversial beliefs, he wrote that a soul with "good karma" would be reincarnated higher in the racial hierarchy – people with white skin, blonde hair and blue eyes were considered the most superior [8].
A 2014 Ministry of Education investigation concluded that "some aspects of those writings are not compatible with the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi [9]"...
There are 11 Steiner Waldorf schools in New Zealand, the first opened in Hastings in 1950 [10].
This weekend, events are planned at schools across the country to celebrate the organisation's 100th anniversary....
[9/21/19 https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/115950524/rudolf-steiner-schools-name-change-dilemma] [11]
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] See, e.g., "One Century Down, Another Starting", September 17, 2019.
[2] See "The Steiner School Crisis".
[3] See "Waldorf Turns 100 - Dispatches from Deutschland".
[4] See "Steiner's Racism".
[5] See "Embedded Racism".
[6] The schools website is at https://www.ch.steiner.school.nz. Christchurch is a city on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island.
[7] See "Anthroposophy" and "spiritual science" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.
[8] See "Races".
[9] A statement posted by the New Zealand government: "The Treaty of Waitangi is New Zealand’s founding document ... The Treaty is an agreement, in Māori and English, that was made between the British Crown and about 540 Māori rangatira (chiefs) ... The Treaty is a broad statement of principles on which the British and Māori made a political compact to found a nation state and build a government in New Zealand. The document has three articles. In the English version, Māori cede the sovereignty of New Zealand to Britain; Māori give the Crown an exclusive right to buy lands they wish to sell, and, in return, are guaranteed full rights of ownership of their lands, forests, fisheries and other possessions; and Māori are given the rights and privileges of British subjects. The Treaty in Māori was deemed to convey the meaning of the English version, but there are important differences. Most significantly, the word ‘sovereignty’ was translated as ‘kawanatanga’ (governance) ... Different understandings of the Treaty have long been the subject of debate. From the 1970s especially, many Māori have called for the terms of the Treaty to be honoured. Some have protested – by marching on Parliament and by occupying land...." [https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/treaty/the-treaty-in-brief]
[10] A statement posted by the International Association for Steiner/Waldorf Early Childhood Education: "Anthroposophy was brought to New Zealand by affluent European settlers in the early twentieth century, shortly after Rudolf Steiner began lecturing in Europe. The Antroposophical society was established in 1933 and Steiner/Waldorf Education began in Hastings, the middle of the North Island in 1950." [https://www.iaswece.org/australia-and-pacific/new-zealand/] Hastings is a city on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island.
[11] Changing the school's name will not, of course, be sufficient unless racism is actually banished from the school's practices and beliefs. This may be extremely difficult, however, because it would mean genuinely disavowing a central strain of Rudolf Steiner's ideology, something that Steiner's followers would find difficult if not impossible to do. Steiner's followers generally take his word — on all subjects — as very nearly infallible. [See, e.g., "Guru".]
Thomas Parker should certainly be commended for apparently facing up to the issue of Steiner's racism. More typically, Anthroposophists and Waldorf proponents deny that Steiner was a racist; they argue that he has been misunderstood or misrepresented. But, indeed, Steiner taught that some races are higher than others. This claim lies at the very heart of racism; it is the essence of racism. And we find Steiner insistently, repeatedly ranking races from low to high, with white Europeans standing at the apex. Consider the following statements, for instance. (Many other examples can be found in Steiner's lectures and writings.)
"A race or nation stands so much the higher, the more perfectly its members express the pure, ideal human type ... The evolution of man through the incarnations in ever higher national and racial forms is thus a process of liberation....” — Rudolf Steiner, KNOWLEDGE OF THE HIGHER WORLDS AND ITS ATTAINMENT (Anthroposophic Press, 1944), p. 149.
"Races would not stay behind and become decadent if there were not people who wish to stay behind and are obliged to stay behind ... Older races only persist because there are people who cannot or will not move forward to a higher racial form ... By striving forward, [a good person] is drawn up from race to race to ever higher stages ... [But a bad person] remains behind in evolution ... He must then content himself with an inferior incarnation which has been left to him in a decadent race." — Rudolf Steiner, NATURE SPIRITS (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2000), p. 69.
“[O]ur white civilized humankind originated because certain elements segregated themselves from the Atlanteans [the people of Atlantis] and developed themselves higher here [in Europe], under different climatic conditions. Certain elements of the Atlantean population remained behind, at earlier [i.e., lower] levels; thus we can see that the peoples of Asia and America are remnants of the various Atlantean races.” — Rudolf Steiner, DIE WELTRÄTSEL UND DIE ANTHROPOSOPHIE (Rudolf Steiner Verlag, 1974), GA 54, p. 145.
"[T]he Negro has a lively body and metabolism. He has, as people say, a strong instinctive life. The Negro thus has powerful drives ... The Negro is constantly cooking inside, and that which stirs up that fire, that's the hindbrain ... At a higher level, [the Asian] has the mid-brain, [he lives] the emotional life that sits in the chest. And we Europeans...we have thought [the thinking life] that sits in the head [the forebrain]." — Rudolf Steiner, VOM LEBEN DES MENSCHEN UND DER ERDE - ÜBER DAS WESEN DES CHRISTENTUMS (Verlag Der Rudolf Steiner-Nachlassverwaltung, 1961), pp. 49-53.
“If the blonds and blue-eyed people die out, the human race will become increasingly dense ... Blond hair actually bestows intelligence. In the case of fair people, less nourishment is driven into the eyes and hair; it remains instead in the brain and endows it with intelligence. Brown- and dark-haired people drive the substances into their eyes and hair that the fair people retain in their brains.” — Rudolf Steiner, HEALTH AND ILLNESS, Vol. 1 (Anthroposophic Press, 1981), pp. 85-86.
— R.R.
September 18, 2019
WALDORF, GERMANY,
AND THE WIDE WORLD
As the Waldorf movement reaches its 100th anniversary, critical attention is being directed toward it. Perhaps most important is the scholarly criticism (some favorable to Waldorf, some distinctly not) coming out of Germany, Waldorf's homeland.
We have looked at some recent German press coverage of Waldorf education. Here are excerpts from another such article, in this case published in Neue Zürcher Zeitung {The New Zurich Times}:
The world is good, beautiful and true —
Free Waldorf School celebrates its 100th birthday
Rudolf Steiner's Waldorf School celebrates its 100th birthday. The concept of human tripartism must find a way not to lose touch with world changes. A critical review on the occasion of the anniversary.
[By] Peter Reichel [1]
On 7 September 1919, Rudolf Steiner and his Anthroposophical client, the industrial owner and director of the Waldorf-Astoria cigarette factory, Emil Molt, opened the first Waldorf School [2] ... Germany's first privately organized alternative comprehensive school has proven successful and long-lasting. As controversial as it remains to this day, [the Waldorf movement] has certainly been successful ... With more than 1100 schools and over 2000 kindergartens in almost 70 countries, with the trend still rising...one can call it the largest free school movement on the Earth [3]. This should be commemorated with congratulation but also criticism.
A form of pedagogy with largely hidden Anthroposophical roots...[Waldorf schooling] is promoted as having no cramming, no corporal punishment, unmediated exposure to subject matter, performance oversight, and choice [4]. Holistic, artistic-human education is their credo [5] ... It has its ideological basis in the developmental concepts of Anthroposophy, Steiner's religious philosophy of life [6]. This provokes critical questions again and again, sometimes even fierce controversies. The movement has been accused of racism, Eurocentrism...and creating breeding grounds for measles epidemics [7]...
Anthroposophy denies the separation between empiricism and metaphysics [8]. It contradicts the Enlightenment, critical rationality, and scientific intersubjectivity — the foundations of the modern, secularized world [9]. [Steiner's embrace of] Christian mysteries, ritual consecration and meditation, belief in cosmic evolution and reincarnation — these do not lead to a critical understanding of the world [10]. Anachronistic and anti-Enlightenment, Steiner's spiritualistic hostility to science, his many ad hoc assertions, his speculative generalizations, his nebulous terminology, and his religious-pathetic language — these appear to be his intellectual ideals.
This strange-esoteric worldview [11] believes that it is possible to recognize or "see" the essence of the world — be it natural or social reality — in its essential spiritual underpinnings [12]. In everyday school life, however, [much of this remains hidden, so that] it is usually only in fleeting moments of creative self-forgetfulness that students lose the ground beneath their feet.
The relationship [of Anthroposophy] to National Socialism remains a contentious topic. Some Anthroposophists adapted and worked in the Nazi state, but [under the Nazis] the Stuttgart and Dresden [Waldorf] schools were closed, and others dissolved themselves [13]. The fact that the SS were interested in biodynamic agriculture, and that the spiritually oriented Rudolf Hess [14] was interested in Anthroposophy, did Anthroposophy more harm than good.
The second rise of the Anthroposophical Society [after the war] was initially overshadowed by [internal] legal conflicts ... But the expansion and differentiation of a now global movement was rapid ... [T]oday there are more than 10,000 Anthroposophical societies worldwide, there are Anthroposophical production sites in agriculture, the food industry, and pharmacology, and there are clinics, sanatoriums, cultural institutions, schools, and kindergartens ... The prophet and preacher [Steiner] were followed by priests, teachers, and producers in large numbers and with considerable success. They have turned an alternative philosophy of life into a "gentle" empire [15].
[The spread of Waldorf schools has been aided by] a plausible and popular Anthroposophical concept available for the guidance of pedagogical practice: the tripartism of man. In Anthroposophical language: [a human being consists of a] body (wanting, doing), a spirit (thinking), and a soul (feeling) [16] ... In Steiner's view, the promotion of these three components on an absolutely equal footing means that arts and crafts occupy a large space in the [Waldorf] teaching program [17]...
[Waldorf] pedagogy...distinguishes three phases of growth, each with a characteristic metamorphosis [18]: In the first phase, children develop their elementary "earth maturity" by playing and imitating [their elders — especially teachers]. Trust in the environment is to be strengthened through joy in it. The guiding principle is: "The world is good." The second seven-year phase is the time in which the child unfolds its "school readiness," and the relationship between class teacher and pupil is determined by "authority and submission." This phase is characterized by [dawning] artistic and pictorial abilities ... The motto is: "The world is beautiful." In the third and final phase of physical and mental development, "sexual maturity" is reached, and cognitive and subjective comprehension of the world takes center stage ... [T]he guiding concept is now: "The world is true" [19].
The supposedly universal nature of Waldorf education, however, repeatedly reaches its cultural limits outside the Euro-Atlantic area [20] ... To what extent [educational improvements in non-European nations] can be achieved by means of cultural adaptation and the transfer of Steiner's Eurocentric interpretation of the world, cannot be clarified here, but it must be asked.
...[We] could wish that [the Waldorf movement] would take responsibility for the children and young adults entrusted to it by being more open and self-critical in two respects: On the one hand, with greater openness towards the modern world ... [A]nd on the other hand, [with greater candor about] its own, time-bound origin in the esoteric Anthroposophical world and the life-reform movement inspired by it. If no such effort is made, the gap between the two will grow, the alternative-progressive power of the movement will weaken, and it will lose touch with external world change. To the detriment of both [21].
[https://www.nzz.ch/feuilleton/die-welt-ist-gut-schoen-und-wahr-die-freie-waldorfschule-feiert-ihren-100-geburtstag-ld.1505120 This article originally appeared on September 7. Translation by Roger Rawlings, leaning heavily on DeepL Translator.]
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] Dr. Reichel is a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Hamburg.
[2] The school was meant for the children of workers in the factory. The school took its names from the factory and its product, Waldorf Cigarettes.
[3] The number of Waldorf schools and kindergartens is difficult to pin down. Sometimes much higher totals are quoted (almost surely incorrectly); sometimes lower totals are given. [For a more or less reliable, pro-Waldorf tabulation, see https://www.freunde-waldorf.de/fileadmin/user_upload/images/Waldorf_World_List/Waldorf_World_List.pdf.]
[4] Waldorf schools vary; generalizations about them must be made cautiously. [See, e.g., "Non-Waldorf Waldorfs".] The variations probably have been increasing as more Waldorf schools are opened in far-flung parts of the Earth. Still, the influence of Anthroposophy remains, in most cases, fundamental.
[5] See, e.g., "Magical Arts" and "Holistic Education".
[6] See, e.g., "Is Anthroposophy a Religion?" and "Schools as Churches".
[7] See, e.g., "Embedded Racism", "Sympathizers?", and "Steiner's Quackery".
[8] Steiner's fundamental claim was that, chiefly through the use of controlled clairvoyance, his followers can gain objective knowledge of the spirit realm (which he said in imminent in the physical world). [See "Knowing the Worlds".]
[9] See, e.g., "Truth", "Materialism U.", and "Steiner's 'Science'", and the section "Rejecting Reason" in "Sympathizers?".
[10] See, e.g., "Everything".
[11] I.e., Anthroposophy. [See the entry for "Anthroposophy" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia (BWSE).]
[12] We can "see" essence through the use of clairvoyance, Steiner taught. But clairvoyance is almost certainly a delusion, which undercuts Anthroposophy and its applications — including Waldorf education. [See "Clairvoyance".]
[13] For this history, see, e.g., Dr. Peter Staudenmaier's BETWEEN OCCULTISM AND NAZISM (Brill, 2014).
[14] Hess (1894–1987) was deputy leader of the Nazi Party.
[15] Just as the number of Waldorf schools in the world is open to question, so is the size of the Anthroposophical "empire." Like Waldorf schools, many other Anthroposophical enterprises are small, and some pop into existence only briefly before disappearing again. Nonetheless, it is certainly true that Anthroposophy has made inroads in many spheres of human activity. Anthroposophists aspire to remake all human institutions in conformity with the Anthroposophical vision. [See, e.g., "Threefolding".]
[16] See "threefold nature of man" in the BWSE.
[17] Waldorf schools often use the motto "Head, Hearts and Hands." At a typical Waldorf school, the morning is devoted to academic subjects (thus ministering to the head), while the afternoon is devoted to artistic work (heart) and craftwork (hands). [See "The Waldorf Curriculum".]
[18] See "Most Significant". According to Waldorf belief, the three phases lead to the incarnation of three incorporeal "bodies": the etheric body at age seven, the astral body at age 14, and the "I" at age 21. [See "Incarnation".]
[19] The use of lovely mottos ("The World Is Good", "The World Is...") is only one of the many appealing gestures made by Waldorf schools. Much about Waldorf education is attractive, at least on first acquaintance. [See, e.g., "Upside" and "Glory".] Penetrating the pleasing surface can take work. [See, e.g., "Clues".]
[20] Steiner originally intended Waldorf education to be specifically applicable to German children in service to the German national mission. [See, e.g., "The Good Wars".] He saw German culture, and more generally central-European culture, as the pinnacle of current human evolution. [See "Central Europe" and "Europeans" in the BWSE.]
[21] Dr. Reichel concludes by politely pulling his punches. Anthroposophy certainly provides an alternative way of looking at reality, just as Waldorf schools provide an alternative form of education. But whether Anthroposophy and its applications, such as Waldorf education, are in any sense "progressive" is highly questionable. [See, e.g., the section "Are Waldorf Schools Progressive?" on the page "Waldorf Now".] It is more accurate to say that Anthroposophy and its applications turn their back on modernity; they are retrograde, not forward-thinking. [See, e.g., "Summing Up".] The real question is how much of humanity Anthroposophy and Waldorf will succeed in pulling backward. IMO.
— R.R.
September 17, 2019
◊ News Briefs ◊
1.
DESPITE STEINER,
GETTING SHOTS
Some defenders of Waldorf education argue that the news media recently have been unfair in depicting Waldorf schools as centers of anti-vaccination belief and practice. Waldorf schools do not, by and large, have anti-vaxx policies, these defenders say.
They have a point. But only up to a point.
Opposition to vaccination is often strong within and around Waldorf schools. At least in part, this opposition is based on the teachings of Waldorf founder Rudolf Steiner. [1] And news reports that link Waldorf communities to the anti-vaxx movement often provide evidence substantiating this link. Here is a new example, coming this time from New Zealand.
From the news media company Stuff:
Teens challenge anti-vax parents
and choose to get immunised
[By] Cate Broughton
Some children of anti-vaxers are opting to get their vaccinations as teenagers and young adults, often prompted by the desire to travel...
For Victoria University student Vito Strati, 22, who went to Christchurch's Rudolph Steiner School [2], discussions with vaccinated friends and a trip to Vietnam in 2016 prompted him to get vaccinated when he was 19.
Strati said he grew up in a tight-knit community of families who distrusted traditional medicine, including vaccinations.
The anti-vax view was based on "anecdotes" about children who had reacted badly to vaccines [3]...
Another former Steiner student, Rebecca Thompson-Looij, 17, said she had been brought up to believe not being vaccinated was something to be proud of.
"Recently I've been like, well, I don't want to be susceptible to these preventable diseases and also I know there are people out there who can't get vaccinated so it's kind of my civic duty to get it done because they can't protect themselves [4]."
Rebecca said she began thinking about vaccinations after an appointment at a specialist travel doctor ahead of a trip to South East Asia.
The doctor was shocked she had missed almost all of her vaccinations and arranged a catch up schedule [5]...
A current year 12 Steiner student who Stuff agreed not to name, said she only became aware she was not vaccinated this year.
She asked her mother if she was vaccinated after another student gave a speech in support of vaccinations after the Canterbury measles outbreak in March [6].
"...I was quite shocked, I was like 'oh no I need to go and get vaccinated'"...
Phoenix Arrowfield, 18, said his parents felt immunisations posed unnecessary risks for young children.
He transferred from Christchurch Rudolph Steiner school to Chisnallwood Intermediate in year 7 and completed high school at Shirley Boys' High.
During high school Arrowfield realised he wasn't vaccinated, began doing his own research and concluded he wanted to be immunised.
"I found out that there is huge support for [vaccinations], that there's huge scientific consensus that they are good and being someone for whom science is my bible, I decided to follow what the consensus is...."
2.
ONE CENTURY DOWN,
ANOTHER STARTING
Waldorf schools are currently celebrating the centenary of their movement. The first Waldorf school — in Stuttgart, Germany — opened its doors in September, 1919.
The passage of a century may indicate that Waldorf education has stood the test of time. On the other hand, it may indicate that Waldorf education is old-fashioned and, perhaps, obsolete. (Whether or not Waldorf schooling was suitable for German children early in the 20th century, we may doubt that it is suitable for any children anywhere in the 21st century.)
Probably every Waldorf or Steiner school, wherever it is located, is celebrating the centenary in some manner. Here are three typical examples of reports that have appeared in the media recently:
From Mountain Xpress [North Carolina, USA]:
Asheville Waldorf School celebrates
100 years of Waldorf on Sept. 19
The Asheville Waldorf School [9] will celebrate Waldorf education’s 100th anniversary on Thursday, Sept. 19, by performing a singing flash mob at the West Asheville Tailgate Market. Our hope is to share our voices and bring joy to the broader Asheville community [8]. This will be a kick-off event for the centennial celebration. We will also hold a Community Potluck and School Garden Blessing on Sept. 19 at 5:45 p.m. at our 531 Haywood Rd location. Finally, on Sunday, Sept. 22, we will perform a second flash mob downtown near Pack Square at 2:00 p.m. with violin and eurythmy [9]...
[https://mountainx.com/blogwire/asheville-waldorf-school-celebrates-100-years-of-waldorf-on-sept-19/ This item originally appeated on September 13.]
From Bangor Daily News [Maine, USA]:
Maine Coast Waldorf School
to celebrate 100 years of Waldorf® education [10]
Maine Coast Waldorf School [11] will celebrate Waldorf education’s 100th anniversary with the story of the founding of the first school 9 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 19, in the Community Hall, 57 Desert Road. The story will be followed by a tree planting ceremony at the High School at 9:15 a.m. The public is warmly invited to join these two events.
Immediately following the tree planting ceremony, the students will return to their classrooms to celebrate with a birthday snack. The Development Office will then host a small gathering of the school’s founders and earliest families for a “Breakfast at the Waldorf"...
Maine Coast Waldorf School joins other [Waldorf] schools worldwide engaging in social and environmental impact projects ... Maine Coast Waldorf has established a bee tending program and pollination gardens on campus [12]....
[https://bangordailynews.com/bdn-maine/community/maine-coast-waldorf-school-to-celebrate-100-years-of-waldorf-education/ This item originally appeared on September 12.]
From LancasterOnline [Pennsylvania, USA]:
Susquehanna Waldorf in Marietta
celebrates school's century-old origins in Germany
The Susquehanna Waldorf School, an independent school serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade in Marietta [13], will celebrate Waldorf education’s 100th anniversary on Thursday.
As part of the celebration, SWS will join other Waldorf schools worldwide to engage in social and environmental impact projects while fostering what the news release [14] describes as a “vital interconnectedness” in today’s world.
To that end, SWS participated in the Worldwide Postcard Exchange over the past year. Local students joined Waldorf peers in a postcard exchange to both broaden the perspectives of students and to celebrate the centennial. Students in every Waldorf school are sending a postcard to every other Waldorf school...
Rudolf Steiner formed the first Waldorf School in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1919. Today there are more than 1,100 Waldorf schools and almost 2,000 Waldorf kindergartens in 80 countries, according to the release [15]....
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] See "Steiner's Quackery".
[2] Christchurch Rudolf Steiner School is located on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island. [See https://www.ch.steiner.school.nz.]
[3] Such "anecdotes" are stories of personal experiences, stories that may or may not be accurate; they are, in either case, not scientifically validated. Nonetheless, such stories are passed around informally and they often believed by many who have, for whatever reason, a disposition to believe.
[4] This is a reference to so-called "herd" immunity. Vaccinations lose some of their effectiveness unless a very high percentage of a population (perhaps at least 95%) have gotten their shots. Otherwise, contagions may spread through that population, sometimes infecting even those who have been vaccinated.
[5] The doctor is "shocked" because the medical and scientific establishments are virtually unanimous on the value of, and need for, vaccination.
[6] See, e.g., "Canterbury Measles Outbreak — what you need to know..." [https://www.cdhb.health.nz/your-health/information-about-the-canterbury-measles-outbreak-2019/].
[7] The school is located in western North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge Mountains. [See https://ashevillewaldorf.org.] (The school was the site of a chickenpox outbreak in 2018. [See "Chickenpox in Asheville".])
[8] Note: This item is essentially a Waldorf PR release. (Local news media often print such releases verbatim, or they use such releases as the bass for their news stories about Waldorf schools.)
[9] Eurythmy is a form of spiritual dancing, created by Rudolf Steiner, that is found in Waldorf schools and almost nowhere else. [See "Eurythmy".]
[10] The name "Waldorf" is copyrighted; it may only be used by schools that have been officially accepted into the Waldorf system. "The Association of Waldorf Schools of North America is the steward of the following trademarks, also referred to as service marks: WALDORF, RUDOLF STEINER, and STEINER, registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office" [https://www.waldorfeducation.org/awsna/waldorf-education-trademarks].
[11] The school is located in the town of Freeport, Maine. [See https://www.mainecoastwaldorf.org/.]
[12] Waldorf schools often evince reverence for bees, based at least partially on Rudolf Steiner's occult teachings about these valuable insects. [See "Bees".]
[13] The school is located in southeastern Pennsylvania. [See https://www.susquehannawaldorf.org.]
[14] This news article is based on a Waldorf PR release. The accuracy of such stories may be doubtful.
[15] The number of Waldorf schools and kindergartens is difficult to pin down. [For a pro-Waldorf tabulation, see https://www.freunde-waldorf.de/fileadmin/user_upload/images/Waldorf_World_List/Waldorf_World_List.pdf.] Many of these schools are small, and some are short-lived. On the other hand, additional Waldorf schools open here and there fairly often. But many Waldorf openings and closings go unreported in the news media.
— R.R.
September 15, 2019
MORE ON WALDORF
FROM DEUTSCHLAND
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Waldorf movement, we've been reviewing some recent German media coverage of Waldorf schools.
Here are excerpts from another recent article, this time from Deutschlandfunk {German Radio}:
100 years of Waldorf schooling
Education as a Religious Cult
Rudolf Steiner is known as the founder of Anthroposophy — a worldview according to which there is not only a material world, but also a spiritual, supersensible world [1]. This is also the basis of the Waldorf School that Steiner opened one hundred years ago.
By Monika Dittrich
Waldorf schools can often be recognized from the outside. The school buildings are built in an Anthroposophical way, with organic forms and few right angles. In Waldorf schools there are no textbooks, no grades, and no sitting for exams, but gardening and handicrafts as well as theatrical performances take up a lot of space [2]...
Rudolf Steiner already defined all this when he founded the school one hundred years ago. His worldview, Anthroposophy, is not a subject in its own right — but it is the foundation of Waldorf education [3]...
Rudolf Steiner was born in 1861 in what was then a Hungarian village ... He studied mathematics and philosophy in Vienna for a while. He studied Goethe [4] ... Then he joined the Theosophical Society, an esoteric association, "and there Steiner found a new meaning in life," says [professor Helmut] Zander [5]...
Steiner...spread the mystical ideas of the Theosophy as a lecturer.
In 1912 he broke with the Theosophical Society — because of a dispute with the President. This was the birth of Steiner's Anthroposophy. "Theosophy is the mother of Anthroposophy," said Zander...
At that time there were many Protestants who turned to Anthroposophy — and indeed this worldview contains much that is religious ... [Zander explains:] "There are many deep religious elements [in Anthroposophy]. Example: Steiner asserted how the world began and how it will end [6]. He made statements about the fate of man before death and after death through reincarnation [7]. He introduced Christ [8]...into Theosophy and made him a central element of Anthroposophy. This separates Steiner somewhat from Theosophy, in which Christ does not have the central position [9 Was He]."
Anthroposophists assume that behind the material things there is a spiritual, supersensible dimension in which initiates [10] can gain insight through so-called perceptions [11].
Rudolf Steiner has transferred this thinking to many practical areas of life [including education]...
"Steiner is not an educational reformer, but an ideological leader who was asked to found a school," says [professor] Heiner Ullrich ... "And with Anthroposophy, the Waldorf School is based on a worldview that has very strong esoteric traits. That basis is Rudolf Steiner's Anthropology, to this day," says Ullrich...
This includes, for example, this morning prayer that Rudolf Steiner planned for the first four classes [12]...to recite before the start of lessons:
The Sun with loving light
Makes bright for me each day;
The soul with spirit power
Gives strength unto my limbs;
In sunlight shining clear
I reverence, O God,
The strength of humankind,
That thou so graciously
Hast planted in my soul,
That I with all my might
May love to work and learn.
From Thee come light and strength,
To Thee rise love and thanks.
...Rudolf Steiner has given the Waldorf teacher a special role. The teacher should not only be a mediator of knowledge, but also a kind of priest or pastor [13].
[Explains] Zander: "At its core, Steiner was of the opinion that [Waldorf] teachers are also initiates, a seers [14]. They have knowledge of higher worlds [15]. They know which reincarnations their pupils have behind them"...
Henning Kullak-Ublick of the Association of Independent Waldorf Schools replies that the aim is to perceive the pupils holistically [156:
"We are not only thinking beings — we are sentient beings and, at the same time, we also acting beings. And one could also say that Waldorf education tries — as it strives to bring science to life, as it strives to bring art to life — we try to approach the feelings of children, which could be described as religious feelings [17]. This means that the children discover a region in their soul, so that they can also look up to something that is above them [18]"....
[9/15/19 https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/100-jahre-waldorfschule-erziehung-als-religioeser-kult.886.de.html?dram:article_id=458074 This article originally appeared on September 6. Translation by Roger Rawlings, leaning heavily on DeepL Translator.]
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] According to Anthroposophical belief, the "supersensible" world lies beyond the reach of our ordinary senses. It is the supernatural world, the spirit realm.
[2] These are generalizations; some Waldorf schools diverge these standards. Some Waldorf schools, for instance, give kids grades.
[3] Waldorf schools rarely teach the students Anthroposophical beliefs openly and explicitly, but they almost always convey these beliefs in other, more roundabout ways. [See, e.g., "Sneaking It In" and the section "We Don't Teach It" on the page "Spiritual Agenda".]
[4] See "Goethe".
[5] For a chronology of Steiner's life, see "What a Guy". For the links between Theosophy and Anthroposophy, see "Basics".
[6] This is a simplification. For an overview (itself a simplification) of Steiner's account, see "historical narrative of Anthroposophy" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.
[7] Reincarnation is one of the beliefs Steiner incorporated from Eastern religions. [See "Reincarnation".]
[8] Steiner identified Christ as the Sun God — the same god, dwelling on the Sun, who has been worshipped under such names as Hu and Ahura Mazda. [See "Sun God".]
[9] Anthroposophy is similar to Christianity in some ways, especially in its reverence for Christ. But the differences between Anthroposophy and traditional Christianity are large. [See "Was He Christian?"] So, for instance, Anthroposophy is polytheistic. [See "Polytheism".]
[10] I.e., spiritual insiders who are (or claim to be) privy to spiritual secrets hidden from the rest of humanity. [See "Inside Scoop".] Anthroposophists, including many Waldorf teachers, consider themselves initiates.
[11] I.e., the use of clairvoyance. [See "Clairvoyance".] Anthroposophists believe they can penetrate to supersensible reality by employing clairvoyant "perception."
[12] Steiner also wrote a prayer for older students. [See "Prayers".]
[13] See, e.g., "Schools as Churches". E.g., "The position of teacher becomes a kind of priestly office, a ritual performed at the altar of universal human life ... Our task is to ferry into earthly life the aspect of the child that came from the divine spiritual world." — Rudolf Steiner, THE ESSENTIALS OF EDUCATION - Foundations of Waldorf Education XVIII (Anthroposophic Press, 1997), p. 24.
[14] See "The Waldorf Teacher's Consciousness".
[15] According to Steiner, these are the supersensible worlds, the worlds that constitute the spirit realm. [See "Higher Worlds".]
[16] See "Holistic Education".
[17] Anthroposophists believe young children retain ties to the spirit realm, where the children lived before incarnating on Earth. Children are thus thought to be naturally religious. Waldorf schools try to preserve, and build on, children's natural religious faith. [See, e.g., "Thinking Cap".]
[18] Waldorf education is largely oriented to the spirit realm — the supersensible level of existence above the merely physical level (albeit these levels are conceived as being intimately interconnected). It is for this reason that Waldorf schools often scant merely Earthly knowledge — they do not primarily seek to give kids a good education, as this concept is usually understood. [See "Academic Standards at Waldorf".] Waldorf representatives have sought to express the purpose of Waldorf education in various ways, such as these:
◊ “Waldorf education strives to create a place in which the highest beings [i.e., gods], including the Christ, can find their home....” — Waldorf teacher Joan Almon, WHAT IS A WALDORF KINDERGARTEN? (SteinerBooks, 2007), p. 53.
◊ “The success of Waldorf Education...can be measured in the life force attained. Not acquisition of knowledge and qualifications, but the life force is the ultimate goal of this school.” — Anthroposophist Peter Selg, THE ESSENCE OF WALDORF EDUCATION (SteinerBooks, 2010)‚ p. 30.
◊ “[T]he purpose of [Waldorf] education is to help the individual fulfill his karma.” — Waldorf teacher Roy Wilkinson, THE SPIRITUAL BASIS OF STEINER EDUCATION (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1996), p. 52.
◊ “A Waldorf school is...an organization that seeks to allow the spiritual impulses of our time to manifest on earth in order to transform society ... [I]t strives to bring the soul-spiritual into the realm of human life.” — Waldorf teacher Roberto Trostli, “On Earth as It Is in Heaven”, Research Bulletin, Vol. 16 (Waldorf Research Institute), Fall 2011, pp. 21-24.
◊ “One question that is often asked is: ‘Is a Waldorf school a religious school?’ ... It is not a religious school in the way that we commonly think of religion ... And yet, in a broad and universal way, the Waldorf school is essentially religious.” — Waldorf teacher Jack Petrash, UNDERSTANDING WALDORF EDUCATION (Nova Institute, 2002), p. 134.
— R.R.
September 14, 2019
DIGGING TO LEARN
WHAT WALDORFS ARE
In recognition of the centenary of Waldorf education, we have been looking at some recent articles about Waldorf published in the German news media. While much press coverage acknowledging the anniversary has been uncritical — even, we might say, credulous — some articles have dug below the shining Waldorf surface. Here is another example.
From Süddeutsche Zeitung:
100 years of Waldorf
"The Waldorf School is
strongly ideologically determined."
The educationalist Heiner Ullrich explains why there is more esotericism in Waldorf education than many parents suspect.
Interview by Bernd Kramer
On 7 September 1919, a Sunday, Rudolf Steiner spoke to parents and their children [at the opening of the first Waldorf school]. Steiner, the founder of Anthroposophy, a bourgeois alternative religion mixing Christian ideas with Far Eastern teachings, quickly made it clear that he had only limited faith in modern science. [He said] Waldorf teachers must become spiritual prophets [1] ... There are now more than a thousand Waldorf Schools around the world — many of which still strictly follow Steiner's strange worldview, as educationalist Heiner Ullrich says.
[Statements by Heiner Ullrich:]
[I]n the case of Waldorf education, it is critical to clearly distinguish between proven practice and dubious theory...
Steiner did not take the initiative [in creating the first Waldorf school]. He had hardly dealt with pedagogical issues previously. The tobacco entrepreneur Emil Molt had the idea for the school. He wanted to create a school for the children of the workers at his cigarette factory in Stuttgart. Molt was a supporter of Anthroposophy, so he asked Steiner [to create the school]. And suddenly, in addition to his many other roles...[Steiner] became a school reformer ... Within a few weeks he conceived his own pedagogy....
Steiner put together a faculty that consisted mainly of tranferees who were almost exclusively followers of his Anthroposophy [2]. They accepted guidance from Steiner because he was their ideological leader ... Steiner hardly referred to the reform pedagogical movement of his time. And when he did, he mostly rejected it. This is remarkable because Waldorf school are still misunderstood by many parents to be reformist progressive schools [3]...
The Waldorf School is strongly ideologically determined. Reform pedagogues like Maria Montessori [4] have focused on the active child and experimented a lot with forms such as free work. But Waldorf education is still predominantly top-down ... The class teacher leads in an autocratic way...
Anthroposophists like to think in terms of symbolic and holy numbers [5]. For them, human development takes place in seven-year-long stages [6], a concept that can no longer be justified at all scientifically or empirically today. In the first seven years, according to the Anthroposophical view, children develop by imitating their teachers. In the second seven years, accepting the authority of the class teacher is paramount. Only in the third seven years is allowance made for the children's autonomy.
[For instance] some Waldorf schools interpret their pedagogy to bar use of electronic media independently until the third seven-year period [7] ... [But today] radical media abstinence at school cannot be an appropriate pedagogical answer ... Along the way, Steiner had the idea that the class teacher should have priestly qualities [8]. The teacher should even recognize the child as a reincarnated spirit being that has already lived through several lives on earth [9]...
[M]ore than 90 percent of Waldorf teachers, according to their own statements, are still intensively occupied with Steiner's directives. Waldorf literature [10] contains quite esoteric ideas. There is even talk of a karmic connection between the class teacher and his class [11]. To this day, Anthroposophists represent the antique medieval teaching of the four human temperaments [12], which modern personality psychology has discarded...
[A]n approach [like Waldorf's] simply cannot be justified in light of today's expert knowledge, although Waldorf education claims quasi-scientific validity. But the authoritarian Waldorf culture shuts off reasonable discussion. A discussion about the right school methods becomes moot if Rudolf Steiner and his revelations are always held up as the final word [13]. We, the uninitiated [14], cannot question Waldorf practices, because we did not follow the meditative path to the knowledge of the higher worlds [15] that Rudolf Steiner prescribed to his spiritual disciples [16].
We should not generalize too much, however — there are differences among Waldorf schools [17]. Sometimes progressive new concepts are implemented, directed explicitly against conservative Steiner practices. That is the paradox of Waldorf education: On the one hand it is determined by an authoritarian discussion culture. The lasting truths of the founder Rudolf Steiner cannot be questioned. On the other hand, there are some liberal Waldorf educators who create quite remarkable innovations [18]...
Waldorf education stands for a deceleration of learning [19] and nevertheless it promises educational success [20] ... Today, this type of education concept appeals above all to middle-class parents, even those who otherwise have no contact at all with Anthroposophy ... Surprisingly, a prominent group among Waldorf parents are teachers at state schools [21]. In this respect Waldorf schooling has changed a lot over the past 100 years: It was founded in 1919 for the children of the socially disadvantaged; today it is highly selective. The Waldorf School is no longer attended by the children of factory workers, but by now the offspring of the privileged, educated middle classes can be found there.
[9/14/19 https://www.sueddeutsche.de/bildung/100-jahre-waldorfschule-heiner-ullrich-1.4587198 This interview originally appeared on September 6. Translation by Roger Rawlings, leaning heavily on DeepL Translator.]
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] "[I]s it not ultimately a very holy and religious obligation to cultivate and educate the divine spiritual element that manifests anew in every human being who is born? Is this educational service not a religious service in the highest sense of the word? ... [I]t is not possible...to take a scientific viewpoint...to inspire us to become artistic educators of growing human beings. It is impossible to develop the living art of education out of what makes our times so great in mastering dead technology ... [I]t must be said that in a certain respect teachers must be prophets. After all, they are dealing with what is meant to live in the generation to come, not in the present ... What must live in us is a prophetic merging with the future evolution of humanity. The educational and artistic feeling, thinking and willing of a faculty stands and falls with this merging." — Rudolf Steiner, RUDOLF STEINER IN THE WALDORF SCHOOL — Foundations of Waldorf Education VI, September 7, 1919 (Anthroposophic Press, 1996), pp. 16-22.
[2] As Steiner said to the Waldorf faculty, “As teachers in the Waldorf School, you will need to find your way more deeply into the insight of the spirit and to find a way of putting all compromises aside ... As Waldorf teachers, we must be true anthroposophists in the deepest sense of the word in our innermost feeling.” — Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 118.
[3] See the section "Are Waldorf Schools Progressive?" on the page "Waldorf Now".
[4] Waldorf schools are sometimes described as being similar to Montessori schools, but in truth the differences are deep and wide. [See, e.g., "Ex-Teacher 5".]
[5] See, e.g., "Magic Numbers".
[6] “Perhaps the most original and significant component in Steiner’s educational philosophy is its conception of child development in seven-year stages.” — Robert McDermott, THE ESSENTIAL STEINER (Lindisfarne Press, 2007 ), p. 396. [See "Most Significant".]
[7] See "media policies" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia (BWSE).
[8] "We come to see ourselves as helpers of the divine spiritual world, and above all we learn to ask what will happen if we approach education with this attitude of mind. True education proceeds from exactly this attitude. The important thing is to develop our teaching on the basis of this kind of thinking ... [I]f this happens, then a teacher’s calling becomes a priestly calling, since an educator becomes a steward who accomplishes the will of the gods in a human being." — Rudolf Steiner, HUMAN VALUES IN EDUCATION - Foundations of Waldorf Education XX (Anthroposophic Press, 2004), pp. 8-9. [See "Schools as Churches".]
[9] See "Reincarnation".
[10] I.e., publications about Waldorf education by Waldorf teachers and, more generally, by Anthroposophists.
[11] See "Karma".
[12] See "Temperaments".
[13] Indeed, Anthroposophists often operate as if quoting a relevant statement by Steiner should settle any dispute: Steiner's word on any subject is essentially the final word on that subject. [See, e.g., "Guru".]
[14] Anthroposophists — including many Waldorf teachers — typically consider themselves to be spiritual initiates: They think they possess spiritual knowledge that is hidden from the uninitiated. [See, e.g., "Inside Scoop".]
[15] See "Higher Worlds".
[16] See "Knowing the Worlds".
[17] See, e.g., "Non-Waldorf Waldorfs".
[18] Trying to determine where a particular Waldorf school stands on the Waldorf spectrum can be tricky. [For a primer, see "Clues".]
[19] See "Thinking Cap" and "Play - Isn't Slow Learning Best?" at Waldorf Straight Talk.
[20] The success of Waldorf education, judged by ordinary standards, is doubtful at best. Waldorf schools have often been academically weak. [See "Academic Standards at Waldorf Schools".] This is one reason for the current crisis among Waldorf or Steiner schools in the United Kingdom. [See "The Steiner School Crisis".]
[21] Some teachers at state schools send their children to Waldorf schools, but of course most do not. All forms of education have faults, and individuals who possess close knowledge of the problems in one sort of education may look for alternatives. The danger is that people may choose Waldorf for their children primarily because of what it is not (e.g., it is not a public school overly focused on standardized tests) while neglecting to investigate what it actually is (i.e., it is a disguised Anthroposophical religious institution). [See, e.g., "Here's the Answer".]
— R.R.
September 13, 2019
THE WORLD QUESTIONS
A WALDORF TEACHER'S SON
Waldorf education is turning 100 years old — the first Waldorf school was established in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1919. Waldorf schools around the world are celebrating the anniversary, and there has been press coverage here and there — particularly in Germany. So, for instance, an interview with religious scholar Ansgar Martins, focusing on Waldorf education, recently appeared in the German national newspaper Die Welt {The World}.
The child of a Waldorf teacher, Martins attended a Waldorf school as a student. Today, having become a leading German critic of Waldorf education, he is the author of the website Waldorfblog [https://waldorfblog.wordpress.com].
Here are excerpts from the interview in Die Welt. (I will work largely from a translation posted online by Andre Sebastiani [https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/waldorf-critics/conversations/messages/32158]. I have edited the translation somewhat, and I have added some footnotes. — R.R.)
„Waldorf hat eine spirituelle Natur-Folklore erfunden“
{Waldorf Invented a Spiritual Nature-Folklore}
By Frederik Schindler
There are hundreds of Waldorf schools and kindergartens in Germany ... Today, however, people often forget what the [Waldorf] curriculum is based on.
WELT: ...According to founder Rudolf Steiner, Waldorf schooling should be a "practical proof of the effectiveness of the Anthroposophical world view" [1]. What characterises the Anthroposophical philosophy?
Ansgar Martins: Steiner intended Anthroposophy to be "scientific" research in supersensible worlds [2] ... The aim of his reform projects was to adapt medicine, agriculture, and pedagogy to a new spiritual era of human development, made possible by Anthroposophy.
WELT: Are all [Waldorf schools] centers of esotericism?
Martins: Waldorf has developed a spiritual nature-folklore from invented traditions [3]. There are rituals of the seasons, angel pictures, felt figures of elves and dwarves, and last but not least the Anthroposophical expressive dance form, eurythmy [4] ... The educationalist Klaus Prange called Waldorf education "Santa Claus Pedagogy," in which mythical images are perpetually used without ever explicitly resolving what they stand for [5]. In addition, there are special seminars for the training of Waldorf teachers [6], where one deals in detail with Steiner's writings. A distinction has to be made between more liberal and more conservative educational institutions and readings [7].
WELT: The Waldorf Schools deny that they are "worldview schools" [8]. And according to a study from 2013, only one third of Waldorf teachers describe themselves as practicing Anthroposophists.
Martins: ...According to the study you mentioned, however, only one percent of Waldorf teachers describe themselves as "skeptical" of Steiner...
More and more people forget what the curriculum is actually based on. The Anthroposophical faith becomes diffuse superstition [in these schools] ... Anthroposophy was never explicitly taught [9] ... According to Steiner's conception, it is not the pupils but the teachers who are to travel a path of esoteric training in order to explore the earlier incarnations of their pupils [10].
WELT: ...How is Anthroposophy put into practice in the classroom?
Martins: ...Every morning, for example, students say a pantheistic "morning verse" about the "Spirit of God," which works in "world space" and "soul depths" and should give "strength and blessing" for learning. But it is never made transparent why this is recited [11].
Anthroposophy is implemented, among other things, in accordance with Steiner's doctrine that there is a specific age at which each subject should be learned [12]: Fourth-graders are ripe for Germanic mythology, so they carve runic staffs. Fifth-graders stand at the level of ancient Greece [etc.] ... Steiner imagines history as divinely guided evolution [13] ... This is how the curriculum is structured...
WELT: Rudolf Steiner is also known for his racist and anti-Semitic convictions. However, the "Stuttgart Declaration" of the Federation of Independent Waldorf Schools from 2007 states that Waldorf Education is "stands against all forms of racism" [14]. Is this true?
Martins: In the original Waldorf curriculum..."ethnology and racial studies" was intended for the 7th grade. In the new edition of 2009 this remark disappeared without comment. Steiner certainly developed a racial theory [15], but much more formative for Anthroposophy is his conviction of the "spiritual mission of Central Europe" [16] and the corruption of the English-speaking West, which is controlled by "occult lodges" [17].
...On the whole, Anthroposophy is less anachronistic than it seems, rather it is unconsciously opportunistic. In 1933, people were convinced that they had always educated themselves to become a "people's community" [18]. Today, however, Anthroposophists are quite certain that Anthroposophy has always been against that [19]. Steiner's spiritual creation has always adapted with the times [20]. This has contributed to the spread of Waldorf education.
9/13/2019 https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article199890164/Waldorfschulen-Religionswissenschaftler-sieht-spirituelle-Naturfolklore.html The interview origiannly appeared on September 11.]
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] "The Waldorf School must succeed; much depends on its success. Its success will bring a kind of proof of many things in the spiritual evolution of humankind that we must represent ... Let us especially keep before us the thought, which will truly fill our hearts and minds, that connected with the present-day spiritual movement [i.e., Anthroposophy] are also the spiritual powers [i.e., gods] that guide the cosmos. When we believe in these good spiritual powers they will inspire our lives and we will truly be able to teach." — Rudolf Steiner, PRACTICAL ADVICE TO TEACHERS, Foundations of Waldorf Education II (Anthroposophic Press, 2000) p. 189.
For an introduction to the underlying Waldorf worldview, see "Anthroposophy" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia (BWSE).
[2] This research is untaken through the use of clairvoyance (which does not exist). [See "Clairvoyance".] The "supersensible" worlds are levels of the spirit realm. [See "Higher Worlds".]
[3] See, e.g., "Neutered Nature".
[4] Eurythmy is essentially Anthroposophical temple dancing. [See "Eurythmy".] "Eurythmy is obligatory. The children must participate. Those who do not participate in eurythmy will be removed from the school." — Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER, Foundations of Waldorf Education VIII (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 65.
[5] Anthroposophy is brought into the classroom, but generally in unexplained, indirect ways. [See "Sneaking It In".]
[6] See "Teacher Training".
[7] There is some variation among Waldorf schools, despite underlying similarities. [See, e.g., "Non-Waldorf Waldorfs".]
[8] I.e., schools that promote a single worldview — in this case, Anthroposophy.
[9] See, e.g., the section "We Don't Teach It" on the page "Spiritual Agenda".
[10] Steiner taught that each human being lives many successive lives. [See "Reincarnation".]
[11] These verses are prayers written by Rudolf Steiner. [See "Prayers".]
[12] Steiner taught that each healthy child recapitulates the spiritual evolution of humanity as a whole: The growing child rises through the levels humanity passed through during its long history.
[13] See "evolution" in the BWSE.
[14] See https://www.info3-verlag.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Frankfurt_Memorandum_English.pdf.
[15] See "Steiner's Racism".
[16] See "Germans, Germany" in the BWSE.
[17] Steiner's view of the English-speaking Western world is epitomized in his view of America. [See "America".]
[18] This was an objective of fascism, the political ideology that — in Germany — was embodied in Nazism.
[19] For the question of links between Anthroposophy and fascism, see "Symapthizers?"
[20] Such adaptation has been slow and grudging — and arguably it has occurred only on the surface. [For a primer on evaluating Waldorf schools, see "Clues".]
— R.R.
September 12, 2019
FROM ANTHROPOSOPHY'S HEART:
WALDORF SCHOOLS IN GERMANY
A few days ago, one of Germany's largest newspapers, Süddeutsche Zeitung, published an article about Waldorf education, "Waldorf hat den Charakter einer Sekte" {Waldorf Has the Character of a Cult}. Now an English translation has been posted at the Waldorf Critics discussion site. [See https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/waldorf-critics/conversations/messages/32157.] Rudolf Steiner was a German nationalist, born in Austria. Germany is the heart of the Anthroposophical world; there are more Waldorf schools in Germany than in any other country. For Waldorf schools, bad press in Germany is very bad news indeed.
The article largely consists of reminiscences offered by Nicholas Williams, who attended a German Waldorf school as a student and later taught in three German Waldorf schools. Here are excerpts from the translation. (Andre Sebastiani posted the translation, for which he deserves full credit. I have made a few editorial adjustments in the translation, and I have added a few footnotes. - R.R.)
„Waldorf hat den Charakter einer Sekte"
{Waldorf Has the Character of a Cult}
[By] Bernd Kramer
Waldorf schools are celebrating their 100th birthday and critical statements about the pedagogy devised by the clairvoyant and occultist Rudolf Steiner in a quick process are rarely heard these days ... Nicholas Williams, born in 1981, knows the inside view well. He was Waldorf teacher in Baden-Württemberg — and he has since turned his back on the school...
[Statements by Nicholas Williams:]
My mother was a teacher at a Waldorf school; I graduated from Waldorf and later taught at three Waldorf schools myself. What I eventually experienced disturbed me: Things in the Waldorf schools are much more esoteric than I ever thought they would be. Waldorf has the character of a cult, and now I am convinced that Waldorf does damage day after day. Almost every Waldorf school has a hard core of believers who treat Rudolf Steiner like the founder of a religion [1].
I don't mean to say that everything Waldorf schools do is bullshit. Theatre projects, art, and horticulture are good, but that would also be possible in state schools, without all the ideological ballast. And, of course, Waldorf schools have some faculty members who are inspired by teaching young people and who are incredibly well-educated, well-read, and gifted as teachers. I have learned a lot from these people and benefited from them. But the great work they do is not because of Anthroposophy, but despite it...
I loved [being a Waldorf student]. The school had something slightly mysterious about it. It starts with the building: the twisty architecture, the slightly different shapes, the classrooms painted in different colors [2]. The school celebrated festivals [like Michaelmas]. These are distinguished by beautiful aromas, colors, and impressions [3].
[But] it was a bit strange for me as a student when a teacher asked each student in turn for our exact birthdates and hour of birth in order to make astrological calculations [4]...
When I finished my teacher training about ten years ago...[I had a chance to substitute for] my mother at her Waldorf school for a few weeks. I had very good memories of my schooldays and was looking forward to seeing some of my old teachers again ... I didn't experience much esotericism [among teachers at that Waldorf school]. The only strange thing for me was that debates among the teachers would end with someone quoting Rudolf Steiner [5]...
After I earned my doctorate, an acquaintance pointed out to me that teachers were urgently needed at her Waldorf school. I thought: Why not? I already had a little Waldorf experience and I was unsure whether I really wanted to join the state school system. It was at this [Waldorf] school that I really noticed what weird organizations Waldorf schools are.
I soon was a participant in so-called child conferences. In these, ten to fifteen Waldorf teachers sat together and discussed at length what might be going on with a particular child. One student, for example, was described as having blonde hair and brown eyes, which created an inner tension in her [6]... Another case involved a child who was a little jittery. In the course of the conversation, a colleague reached a conclusion: "This child is so restless because she did not have sufficient time receiving therapy from the angels between her last two incarnations." [7] Educational diagnoses at Waldorf are based on such a thing! Nobody had a serious therapeutic qualification at the school. This also applies to the pedagogical qualifications of the teaching staff as a whole: About half of the colleagues I met at Waldorf schools had neither completed a course of study nor did they possess any other state-recognised qualifications.
Nobody contradicted the assumptions made in the child conferences. There is an informal hierarchy at a Waldorf school, with those who are particularly devoted to Anthroposophy setting the tone [8]...
I quickly decided to do an internship at a state school after all. I did this for 13 months, then I had to drop out for health reasons. Afterwards, I took a post at a third Waldorf school ... [T]his school had a reputation for being less esoteric, and I was only supposed to teach in the upper school.
Nevertheless, the attempt went wrong. A colleague from my internship changed to this Waldorf school with me, and we were both completely perplexed when, at the beginning of the school year, we had to recite aloud a weekly saying from Rudolf Steiner's CALENDAR OF THE SOUL [9] in unison with the rest of the teaching staff. We were supposed to welcome the children with this. The spirit of the world, it strives on, revives in self-knowledge; and creates from the eclipse of the soul a fruit of the will. [10] Something like that. Rudolf Steiner considered himself not only a universal scholar, but also a poet before the Lord. I found it more of an embarrassment — my colleague and I were really physically uncomfortable, that's how cult-like this school seemed. But Anthroposophists [on the faculty] believe such words have a magical effect on children. Like magic spells. [11]
It soon became clear that Waldorf teaching would not be a fresh start for me. That's why I left that school late last year. Now, I work in research and adult education. From my point of view, a critical look at Rudolf Steiner and his Anthroposophy is certainly in order. If quotations from the Guru were used to start a debate but do not end it, and if science and religion were not mixed up with each other, I would welcome the debate. But I did not experience anything of the sort at Waldorf schools.
[9/12/19 https://www.sueddeutsche.de/bildung/100-jahre-waldorfschule-erfahrung-kritik-1.4588339 This article originally appeared on September 7.]
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] See "Is Anthroposophy a Religion?".
[2] Many Waldorf schools are built in accordance with Rudolf Steiner's architectural guidelines, and the classrooms are usually painted according to Steiner's indications. [See "organic architecture" and "colors" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.]
[3] See "Festivals" on the page "Magical Arts".
[4] Astrology — including the use of horoscopes — is woven into Anthroposophical belief and practice. [See "Astrology" and "Horoscopes".]
[5] Among Steiner's followers, his word is almost always final. Steiner is revered as a great spiritual master. [See, e.g., "Guru".]
[6] Blond kids are considered highly evolved, but this should be reflected in blue eyes. [See, e.g., "Steiner's Racism".]
[7] Reincarnation is a key Anthroposophical tenet. Between lives on the physical plane, Anthroposophists believe, we live among angels and other spirits in the "higher worlds." [See "Reincarnation" and "Higher Worlds".]
[8] Concerning the internal organization of a typical Waldorf school, see the Appendix to "Faculty Meetings".
[9] This is a collection of spiritual verses or incantations, written by Steiner, corresponding to the changing seasons of the year. There is one verse for each week of the year.
[10] Perhaps this is a reference to the verse for the 24th week of the year: Unceasingly itself creating/ Soul life becomes aware of self;/ The cosmic spirit, striving on,/ Renews itself by self-cognition,/ And from the darkness of the soul/ Creates the fruit of self-engendered will.
[11] Such recitations are common in Waldorf schools. Indeed, the Waldorf school day usually begins with teachers and students reciting, in unison, prayers written by Steiner. [See "Prayers".]
— R.R.
September 11, 2019
TROUBLED STEINER SCHOOL
IN THE U.K. WILL RETRENCH
Education inspectors for the UK government have found serious deficiencies in a number of Steiner schools. [See "The Steiner School Crisis".] As a result, several of the schools are reeling, and some have closed in whole or in part.
The latest casualty is the secondary-school section of the Steiner Academy Bristol.
The following is from Bristol Live [Bristol, United Kingdom]:
Steiner Academy Bristol's
secondary school set to close in 2020
Parents have reportedly been told to look for new schools for the next academic school year
By Emma Grimshaw
It's been a turbulent 12 months for Steiner Academy Bristol [1] and now it's likely bosses will soon close classes for pupils aged 11 or older.
Earlier this year, the Fishponds state school [2] was thrown into special measures following a damning Ofsted report [3].
Inspectors said pupils were being put at avoidable risk of harm [4] and school leaders were issued with a "termination warning notice" forcing it to join a multi-academy trust [5] or face being closed down.
Before the school shut for the summer holidays, bosses [6] announced they were teaming up with Avanti Schools Trust [7].
The school currently offers education to children aged between four and 16 but a meeting took place in July where parents were briefed on plans to close classes for pupils aged 11 years plus [8]...
Parents have told Bristol Live they were advised to look for alternative secondary provision [9]....
[9/11/19 https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/steiner-academy-bristol-secondary-closing-3301646 This article originally appeared on September 10.]
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] Some UK Steiner schools — generally called academies — are "free schools" (what would be called charter schools in the USA). Steiner Academy Bristol is such a school. [See "Inadequate: Bristol, From, &...".]
[2] The Academy is located in the northeast corner of Bristol, in an area called Fishponds. The Academy is a "state school" because, as a free school, it receives government funding. Many other Steiner schools, in the UK and elsewhere, are private schools that rely on their own fundraising efforts.
[3] "Special measures" are emergency procedures meant to improve a failing school. Ofsted is the UK government's Office for Standards in Education.
[4] As at other Steiner schools, Ofsted inspectors found inadequate provisions for safeguarding the students. News media tended to highlight this issue, but the inspectors generally found other deficiencies at Steiner schools, ranging from poor teaching to poor management.
[5] Multi-academy trusts are educational organizations that operate two or more schools under a single board of directors.
[6] I.e., leaders at the school.
[7] Avanati Schools Trust is a multi-academy trust that, until recently, had exclusively operated Hindu schools in the UK.
[8] The decision to close the secondary-school section of Steiner Academy Bristol apparently originated with Avanati. According to the head teacher at the Academy, "[T]hey thought moving to a primary model was the best way of securing the long-term future of the school...."
[9] I.e., find other schools for their children.
— R.R.
September 9, 2019
AFFIRMING STEINER:
RISING FOR THE DEFENSE
Much of the recent news dealing with Waldorf schools and Rudolf Steiner's teachings has been negative or, at a minimum, troubling. But, of course, Anthroposophists and their allies often offer rebuttals and defenses. Here are a couple of recent examples.
1.
A commentary appearing in the Rockland County Times [New York State, USA]:
Measles and Waldorf Education:
Caught in the Crossfire
By Ed Manning
The US measles outbreak and the vitriol between antivaxxers and vaccine supporters...added yet another dimension of divisiveness to our not-so-civil discourse ... Waldorf Schools and their families were dragged into the fray. In June, The New York Magazine’s headline labelled them “Liberal Luddites,” and The New York Times dubbed the Green Meadow Waldorf School a “Bastion of Anti-Vaccine Fervor.” The headlines and partial truths fueled the debate but misrepresented Waldorf education...
For those unfamiliar with the curriculum, the schools are easy targets. I know. After 12 years as a Waldorf parent, I still make light of some core principles, a self-deprecating acknowledgement of how startling some practices must look to outsiders ... [But to] report them [i.e., some Waldorf practices] in isolation and out of context...presents a grossly distorted perspective...
Elitist, homogeneous, cultish, swarming with science deniers, stifled technologically: These are not characteristics of Waldorf education. What they are is best reflected in their graduating class. Creative thinkers. Confident public speakers. Activists pursuing positive change, and global citizens challenging convention with a healthy balance of passion, reason, and respect...
Waldorf Schools [embody] a compelling and vital educational culture, a way of thinking, learning and living designed to immunize a generation against a world losing its hold on facts and a culture predisposed to rage, rhetoric, and divisive rants.
[9/9/19 https://www.rocklandtimes.com/2019/09/07/measles-and-waldorf-education-caught-in-the-crossfire/ This item originally appeared on September 7.]
Waldorf Watch Response:
Some students thrive in Waldorf schools. Some emerge evidently happy and confident, prepared to pursue "positive change" as "global citizens" who "challenge convention."
True enough.
But, then again, some Waldorf students are harmed by their Waldorf experiences. [See, e.g., "Who Gets Hurt".]
Waldorf schools have typically had low academic standards — the education they provide has often been subpar. [See, e.g., "Academic Standards at Waldorf".] Inspectors evaluating Waldorf or Steiner schools in the United Kingdom recently found that none of these schools merits a top rating, and several are severely deficient. [See "The Steiner School Crisis".]
The chief problem with Waldorf schools has little to do with academics, however. Waldorf schools are at root disguised religious institutions, pushing the gnostic religion concocted by Waldorf founder Rudolf Steiner. [See, e.g., "Here's the Answer".] The ultimate aim of Waldorf schools is — gently, covertly, but deeply — to indoctrinate their students in Anthroposophy. [See "Indoctrination".]
Ed Manning, like many Waldorf defenders, claims that Waldorf graduates are exceptionally wonderful people. Perhaps so. (As a Waldorf grad myself, I should blush and accept Manning's assessment.) But the truth is that if Waldorf graduates are exceptional — if they exemplify a unique "way of thinking" — it is because they have been led to see, feel, think, and act in a very peculiar, and quite distinct, manner: the Anthroposophical manner. They have been, to varying degrees, conditioned to view the world through the odd, distorting, Waldorf/Anthroposophical lens — they have been led toward internalizing the Anthroposophical mindset, the Anthroposophical culture, the Anthroposophical faith. [See the section "Waldorf Graduates" on the page "The Upside".]
The associative, pontificating style of discourse Waldorf students learn may strike outsiders as impressive, on first acquaintance. Waldorf lingo and Waldorf notions are high-flown and, because they are unusual, they may initially seem to be evidence of "original thinking." But the charm soon wears off, when the irrational and otherworldly nature of Waldorf/Anthroposophical thought starts revealing itself. Try to have rational discussions with Waldorf faculty members, or try it with recent Waldorf graduates who received laurels at their schools. Some of these chats may go fine, but others may be eye-opening. Certainly, many new-minted Waldorf alums have very high self-regard, and they may present themselves to you as possessors of The Truth on all manner of subjects. But often this self-regard is based on little more than many years of Waldorf pampering; it tends to deflate after a little contact with the real world beyond Waldorf's walls. The Waldorf worldview and it effects tend to have little or no basis in reality. [See, e.g., "Mistreating Kids Lovingly" and "Weird Waldorf".]
Of course, Waldorf schools do not always succeed in turning their students into junior Anthroposophists. Often, indeed, they fail. But the point is that they try. And with each new student who is enrolled, they will try again. Perhaps the worst of this is that they often try without informing the students' parents of their intentions, or seeking the parents' assent. What happens inside Waldorf schools is often concealed even from the adults who send their beloved offspring to these institutions. [See, e.g., "Our Experience", "Coming Undone", and "Secrets".]
2.
From The Ecologist [United Kingdom]:
'Caring for the land as for people'
[By] Dan McKanan
Corporate and political opposition to meaningful environmental action is mounting, but so is public awareness ... With this increasing awareness comes opportunity. Together, we can save the planet. Mobilisation at or beyond the community level remains challenging, but inspiration, hope and progress can be found in Camphill communities around the world.
There, diversely-abled people are pioneering a host of innovative environmental projects and successfully building communities where people and planet prosper. We have much to learn from their examples...
The Camphill movement began in Scotland eighty years ago ... Its founders were...inspired by the spiritual teachings of Rudolf Steiner, the Austrian philosopher who also created Waldorf schools and the 'biodynamic' system of organic agriculture...
Almost every Camphill community has at least one innovative environmental project, many of them acting as vital links between community members and the surrounding neighborhood.
At Camphill Clanabogan, for instance, people of all abilities helped pioneer the use of biomass heating systems...
In Pennsylvania, Camphill Village Kimberton Hills' skilled farmers with and without disabilities grow vegetables biodynamically for a CSA [community supported agriculture group] and produce raw milk for their community and the nearby Seven Stars yogurt business ... Villagers also maintain a wetland for the treatment of wastewater, and partner with their local Trader Joe's store to compost food that would otherwise be wasted...
Though many Camphill communities have implemented practices that ecovillages only aspire to, environmentalism is just one dimension of Camphill life ... Members grow socially, emotionally, and spiritually through environmental work...
Camphill communities are accomplishing what our larger society needs to accomplish in order to make the transition from awareness to action....
[9/9/19 https://theecologist.org/2019/sep/09/caring-land-people]
Waldorf Watch Response:
The Camphill movement is often praised both for its attempt to aid developmentally challenged individuals and for its ecological sensitivity. As an Anthroposophical enterprise, however, Camphill is fundamentally devoted to implementing Rudolf Steiner's occult vision, and this should give us pause.
The natural world, as conceived in Anthroposophy, is markedly different from anything recognized in modern science. It is realm of "nature spirits" such as gnomes and sylphs. Natural life occurs at the physical level of existence in the created universe, a level that is marked by illusion or maya. Here below, a reverse form of evolution occurs, in which upwardly developing humanity casts off animals in order to proceed — animals evolve from us, we do not evolve from them. [See, e.g., "Neutered Nature".]
Rudolf Steiner taught that the planet Earth as we know it today is one part of the latest incarnation of the solar system, existing within an evolutionary period — a "planetary stage" or "condition of consciousness" — called Present Earth. Prior to living on the planet Earth during the Present Earth period, we lived "on" Saturn, the Sun, and the Moon during prior periods. After Present Earth ends, we will evolve to life "on" Jupiter, Venus, and Vulcan in future periods. [See "planetary conditions" and "conditions of consciousness" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.]
Honoring and preserving nature, as understood in Anthroposophy, means honoring and promoting the divine cosmic plan of the gods. Anthroposophy recognizes a vast throng of gods, in nine ranks — the Anthroposophical faith is polytheistic. [See "Polytheism".] The gods shower their influences on us from their homes on various planets and stars. The Anthroposophical conception of nature is intimately linked to astrology. [See "Astrology".]
The ultimate purpose of Camphill communities is to implement and spread Anthroposophy. (In this, they are akin to Waldorf schools and most other Anthroposophical undertakings.) This objective is the reason "environmentalism is just one dimension of Camphill life." Residents of Camphill communities are meant to benefit "spiritually" because they are immersed in religious/Anthroposophical practices. These practices substitute for modern psychological care, which means the therapy offered in Camphill communities may have little if any real benefit. So, for instance, a former Anthroposophist who worked one summer in the Camphill movement has reported this:
"Every Friday night, members of the Camphill gathered to read the Gospels and discuss them, and then they performed a ritual sharing of bread and salt. On Sunday morning, another ritual took place, which I knew to be based on the Anthroposophic worship Rudolf Steiner established for the children of Anthroposophists at the first Waldorf school in Stuttgart ... Within this Camphill, the leaders adopted a resolutely hostile attitude toward psychology and psychoanalysis, which they saw as incarnations of evil. 'There are no psychologists here!' the main leader proudly repeated, although many patients there had significant psychological disorders that should have received skilled care. 'We are all therapists!' he stated, when I expressed misgivings. It becomes clear why he took this line when you read the harsh criticism that Rudolf Steiner directed at psychoanalysis. Even Jung found no favor in his eyes, since Jung failed to open himself to the 'spiritual wisdom' of Anthroposophy." — Grégoire Perra, "My Life Among the Anthroposophists". [Concerning Anthroposophic worship at the first Waldorf school, see "Waldorf Worship".]
Camphill "therapists" generally do not attempt to cure or ameliorate disabilities. Rather, they affirm disabilities as expressions of karma.
"[At Camphill] disabilities are not treated as illnesses ... [It is believed that] impairments in one incarnation may be a way to acquire strength for a succeeding one." — Waldorf teacher Henk van Oort, ANTHROPOSOPHY A-Z (Sophia Books, Rudolf Steiner Press, 2011), p. 111. [Concerning Anthroposophical teachings about karma and reincarnation, see "Karma" and "Reincarnation".]
Whether you agree that Camphills represent "what our larger society needs" must depend on your assessment of Anthroposophy and its doctrines.
— R.R.
September 7, 2019
THE HOTTEST TOPIC:
STEINER AND FASCISM
In 2014, historian Peter Staudenmaier published a book tracing ties between Anthroposophy (the occult worldview underlying Waldorf education) and the fascist movement in Europe (Nazism in Germany and Fascism in Italy). Now an English translation of a German review of the book has appeared at the social networking website for academics, Academia.edu.
Here are excerpts:
Between Occultism and Nazism.
Anthroposophy and the Politics of Race in the Fascist Era
Author: Staudenmaier, Peter
Reviewed for H-Soz-u-Kult
by Michael Seelig
Translated by Tom Mellett
Many people in Germany know about Rudolf Steiner and anthroposophy because of Waldorf schools [and other anthroposophical enterprises]. But only the tiniest fraction of them know anything about the history of this movement. With his insightful study of anthroposophical racial concepts, Peter Staudenmaier examines the interweaving relationships of Anthroposophy, Nazism and Fascism...
The focus of Staudenmaier's work is the issue of how anthroposophical and fascist racial doctrines both converge and diverge...
Staudenmaier illuminates the spiritual or spiritualistic racism, (viz. “spiritual racism”) of the anthroposophical movement — how it had already been propounded by its founding father, Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925). He shows how this spiritual or esoteric racism can only be understood in the context of German-Austrian cultural critique at the turn of the 20th century...
Staudenmaier vividly traces numerous parallels between anthroposophy and right-wing extremist ideas without overlooking their ambivalence and differences. Although it isn't possible to draw any meaningful political profile for anthroposophy as a whole, nonetheless Staudenmaier does detect clear-cut tendencies toward right-wing extremism and nationalistic beliefs in these anthroposophical racial teachings...
[M]any anthroposophical projects received support from the Nazis, like alternative healing methods, efforts toward “biodynamic” agriculture in the spirit of life reform or certain approaches to progressive education in Waldorf schools. Conflicts arose, but mainly from interpreting the theory of spiritual racism: Anthroposophists criticized Nazi racial ideas as being too materialistic, while many Nazis insisted on a strict biologistic reading and rejected any spiritual interpretations.
Although anthroposophy — despite some conflicts such as the prohibition of the Anthroposophical Society in 1935 — did accommodate itself to the Nazi regime for a long time, its opponents ultimately gained the upper hand. After Rudolf Hess flew to England in 1941, the Gestapo and the SS seized this opportunity to move against their long-hated enemies, occultism and esotericism. Since Hess was himself allegedly seduced by anthroposophical teachings, the campaign was directed largely against anthroposophy: numerous institutions were banned, records were confiscated and some followers were arrested. At this point, the anthroposophical movement in Nazi Germany was almost destroyed.
Staudenmaier argues convincingly that this conflict led to such an escalation, precisely because such an ideological closeness existed between anthroposophy and the Nazi mindset — it was not about distance. To Nazis, anthroposophy was perceived as a competitor, it had to be removed — in a way akin to the “Night of the Long Knives” in 1934. However, to Staudenmaier, the bottom line is this: until 1941, anthroposophy succeeded astonishingly well in adapting itself to the “Third Reich.” Once again, he credits the close affinities between the two worldviews...
Waldorf Watch Commentary:
Among defenders and critics of Rudolf Steiner, few topics are more incendiary than the allegation that Anthroposophy is, or was, closely linked to fascism. Some scholars, including Dr. Staudenmaier, have unearthed evidence that various leading Anthroposophists joined the Nazi party in Germany or the Fascist Party in Italy, and they have argued that other Anthroposophists at least made accommodations with those parties. At a deeper level, these scholars have argued that some core Anthroposophical beliefs are roughly congruous with fascist doctrine. Defenders of Anthroposophy have tended to reject all such allegations, often heatedly. [For a look at the debate, see, e.g., "Sympathizers?"]
The controversy touches on the extremely sensitive issues of racism and anti-Semitism. If any Anthroposophists have found fascism congenial, the reason can likely be found in Anthroposophical teachings about race and the role of Judaism in the modern world.
Steiner had a great deal to say about race. [See "Steiner's Racism", "Races", and "Differences".] His views may be summed up concisely in the following quotation:
"[H]umanity’s whole history and social life, even today's social life, can be understood only if we consider people’s skin color. And you can understand all things spiritual, in the right sense, only if you look at how man’s spiritual nature is shown through the skin." — Rudolf Steiner, VOM LEBEN DES MENSCHEN UND DER ERDE - ÜBER DAS WESEN DES CHRISTENTUMS (Verlag Der Rudolf Steiner-Nachlassverwaltung, 1961), GA 349, p. 52. Translated by Roger Rawlings.
Steiner taught that, when they live as they should, humans evolve upward through higher and higher stages of development and consciousness. At least part of this upward progress occurs, he said, as humans rise from low racial forms (black) to high racial forms (white). People standing at the low, black level of evolution are childlike, Steiner said — they use their "rear brains" and they live in accordance with this instincts or passions. People standing at an intermediate, yellow level, Steiner said, use their "middle brains" and they live in accordance with their emotions. People who attain the high, white level, he said, use their "fore-brains" and they live in accordance with their intelligence.
Copy of a sketch by Rudolf Steiner comparing
the black race (Schwarz — characterized by the rear brain, Hinterhirn)
with the yellow race (Gelb — characterized by the middle brain, Mittelhirn),
and the white race (Weiss — characterized by the forebrain, Vorderhirn).
Blacks live an instinctive life (Triebleben), yellows live an emotional life (Gefühlsleben),
and whites live a thinking life (Denkleben).
If blacks go where they don't belong, they turn copper-red (Kupferrot) and die out;
if Asians go where they don't belong, they turn brown (Braun) and die out.
Whites have no such restrictions.
[Rudolf Steiner, VOM LEBEN DES MENSCHEN UND DER ERDE -
ÜBER DAS WESEN DES CHRISTENTUMS
(Verlag Der Rudolf Steiner-Nachlassverwaltung, 1961), p. 51.]
[For more on this, see, e.g., "Forbidden".]
The most horrendous expression of fascist racism came with the Holocaust — the systematic effort by the Nazis to exterminate Jews and other "undesirables." Hitler wanted to eliminate all Jews from Europe, a goal he pursued primarily at death camps where millions of Jews and others were murdered. Rudolf Steiner did not advocate the killing of Jews, but he argued that Judaism (both the faith and the people) had no place in the modern world, and hence Jews should be eliminated through assimilation.
"[T[he Jews would serve their own interests best if they let themselves be absorbed into the rest of mankind, be merged in the rest of mankind, so that Judaism, as a race or people, would come to an end." — Rudolf Steiner, STAR WISDOM, MOON RELIGION, SUN RELIGION (Rudolf Steiner Publishing Company, 1950), lecture 3, GA 353.
Despite the significant difference between advocating the murder of Jews and advocating the assimilation of Jews, at least some Anthroposophists today are extremely defensive about Steiner's teachings concerning Jews. Extending this defensiveness to even the most extreme manifestation of anti-Semitism in Germany, some Anthroposophists today are Holocaust deniers. [For more on such matters, see, e.g., "RS on Jews" and "Also Forbidden".]
The new media have reported indications of continuing or resurgent ties between Anthroposophists and fascistic elements of the European extreme right during recent years. [See, e.g., "fascism" and "Nazism" in the Waldorf Watch Annex Index.]
Work such as Staudenmaier's helps ensure that these issues receive the attention they deserve.
— R.R.
September 6, 2019
PRESSURING WALDORF SCHOOLS
TO TOE THE VACCINATION LINE
Waldorf schools often have high numbers of unvaccinated students. [1] This raises the probability that infectious diseases may spread through these schools, as has sometimes happened. [2]
Worldwide, the anti-vaxx movement — opposing mandatory vaccinations, out of fear that vaccines may harm children — has grown. The consequence is that infectious diseases that were once all but eliminated in various regions have made a comeback. [3]
Governments in some places are responding by tightening their regulations, compelling parents to get their kids vaccinated. This is having the effect of forcing even some Waldorf schools to fall in line.
The following is from the National Public Radio station KUOW [State of Washington, USA]:
Seattle kids without measles vaccine
or paperwork will be excluded from school
By Isolde Raftery
When Tracy Bennett, the head of Seattle Waldorf School, got word last spring that the state would make it a lot harder to forgo the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine [4], she got to work.
She dedicated a staff member at the private school to contact parents about the law...
And she wrote an email that was straight to the point: “If your child has not received the MMR immunization...your child will not be able to attend school.”
It has long been Washington state law that kids can’t attend school unless they show proof of the MMR vaccine — or submit a medical, personal, or religious exemption [5]...
But this [new] law...gets rid of the personal exemption...
Seattle Public Schools will exclude students who don't have [proper] paperwork [6]...
[A]t Seattle Waldorf...35 percent of sixth graders last year had a vaccine exemption, a particularly high rate.
Bennett could not say on Monday whether more parents would submit a medical or religious exemption to skirt the new MMR law [7]. But she didn’t believe so...
Families had been supportive, Bennett said. “Our rate of immunization will be significantly higher,” she said. The day before school started, everyone’s paperwork was in order [8]...
Bennett demurred when asked if the law offered her relief. “I welcomed the clarity and commitment to community health,” she said.
[9/6/19 https://www.kuow.org/stories/what-happens-if-you-don-t-get-that-mmr-vaccine This article originally appeared on September 5.]
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] For recent reports on the Waldorf attitude toward vaccination, see, e.g., Waldorf Watch items for September 1, August 27, and August 24, 2019. For older reports, see entries under "vaccination" in the Waldorf Watch Annex Index.
[2] See, e.g., "Chickenpox in Asheville".
[3] See, e.g., "Why The Measles Surge Could Open The Door To A Host Of Other Diseases", NPR, September 5, 2019.
[4] This is commonly called MMR vaccine. [See, e.g., "No link between MMR vaccine and autism", ScienceNordic, March 27, 2019.]
[5] A medical exemption is based a doctor's certification that an individual has a physical condition that could be worsened by vaccination. A personal exemption is based on an individual's personal belief system (or, for a child, it is based on a parent's personal belief system). A religious exemption is based on the tenets of a recognized, organized religion to which the individual claims membership.
[6] I.e., papers that show a student has been vaccinated, or that show the student has an acceptable exemption (a medical or religious exemption).
[7] Reportedly, in some cases, parents have finagled false medical or religious exemptions in order to avoid vaccinating their child.
[8] Note that the immunization rate at the school may still be well below 100%. The immunization rate will be "significantly higher," but not total. The actual rate will depend on the number of students excluded by medical or religious exemptions.
— R.R.
September 3, 2019
AT WALDORF SCHOOLS:
"A LOT OF ANTHROPOSOPHY"
Grégoire Perra was educated in Waldorf schools, and later he became a Waldorf teacher. Later yet, he renounced the Waldorf movement and its foundational worldview, Anthroposophy. [See "He Went to Waldorf" and "My Life Among the Anthroposophists".]
Recently, at his website La Vérité sur les écoles Steiner-Waldorf {The Truth About Waldorf Schools}, Perra has been quoting from a book written by one of Rudolf Steiner's closest colleagues, E. A. Karl Stockmeyer. [See "Le Stockmeyer".] Stockmeyer was the administrator of the first Waldorf school, the school that was founded and personally overseen by Steiner.
The book Perra has been examining contains detailed, confidential instructions Steiner gave for the guidance of Waldorf teachers. Waldorf authorities usually attempt to keep this book hidden from outsiders. The title, in German, is ANGABEN RUDOLF STEINER FÜR DEN WALDORFSCHULUNTERRICHT {RUDOLF STEINER'S INFORMATION FOR WALDORF EDUCATION}. Perra has been working from a French translation titled ÉLÉMENTS FONDAMENTAUX DE LA PÉAGOGIE STEINER. The German and French editions are difficult to find, but copies occasionally show up in used-book stores. As far as I can determine, no English-language edition is in circulation.
Throughout the text, there are passages indicating that Steiner fully expected Anthroposophy to be present in Waldorf education at all levels. Steiner generally indicated that Waldorf teachers should not spell out Anthroposophical tenets for their students (although he made some exceptions) — but Steiner also indicated that Anthroposophical beliefs and attitudes should be woven into virtually all Waldorf classes and activities. The result, Perra argues, is that Waldorf education subtly but extensively subjects students to an Anthroposophical indoctrination. Indeed, this indoctrination may be all the more effective because it occurs primarily at the emotional and psychological levels, rather than at the intellectual level.
Here is one of Perra's latest postings about Stockmeyer's hard-to-find book (which Perra refers to by the nickname Waldorf insiders often use for it: "The Stockmeyer"):
Let us continue our reading of The Stockmeyer, the highly secret basic book of Steiner-Waldorf pedagogy. On page 374, as part of the general guidelines for "handwork" courses in Steiner-Waldorf schools, Rudolf Steiner explains to his fellow teachers that Anthroposophy should be introduced without teaching Anthroposophy:
"In a retrospective of the school's first year of work, Steiner said this: 'Efforts must be made, avoiding as much as possible the theoretical teaching of Anthroposophy, to introduce it so that it becomes an integral part of the whole. Yes, it seems to me that there will be a lot of Anthroposophy if you try (it is an ideal) to introduce into the work what is called rhythm, if you try to connect singing, music and eurythmy with manual work. This has an extraordinary effect on children. I recommend Karl Bücher's WORK AND RHYTHM on this subject. This book should be here. All work [in the past] was done accompanied by music, during harvesting, forging, tiling. Today, we hardly hear such music anymore. If you used to go into the countryside, you could hear work being done rhythmically. I think we could get that again. That is what I mean when I say that we must introduce the spirit again. You will find the principle in this book, even if it is presented in a scholarly and pretentious way.' 23 June 1920" pp. 374-375
Here we find statements by Steiner that, in their structure, reveal all the confusion, contradiction, and duplicity that inhabited this man's mind: "Efforts must be made, avoiding as much as possible the theoretical teaching of Anthroposophy, to introduce it so that it becomes an integral part of the whole. Yes, it seems to me that there will be a lot of Anthroposophy...."
Introduce Anthroposophy in class without teaching it as theory? How could this be possible, when Anthroposophy is a worldview and a creed?
This is how Steiner-Waldorf teachers still think today, led by Steiner: They know that they introduce Anthroposophy into their classes, but they do not admit that they indoctrinate students with Anthroposophy because they do not teach it theoretically, that is, they do not openly explain Rudolf Steiner's doctrines to the children.
It would be difficult to create more confusion in the minds of Steiner's followers. Unless this precaution "by avoiding as much as possible the theoretical teaching of Anthroposophy" was only a dishonest formula intended to pass muster with the public, for Steiner was perfectly aware that Waldorf schools would be used to teach Anthroposophy to children. In any case, the term "as much as possible" should be noted, which shows that Rudolf Steiner was well aware that his pedagogy could not completely avoid transmitting Anthroposophical beliefs to the students.
[9/3/19 https://veritesteiner.wordpress.com/2019/09/02/le-stockmeyer-introduire-lanthroposophie-dans-les-cours-sans-enseigner-lanthroposophie/ Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator]
Waldorf Watch Commentary:
Here are the crucial first sentences of Steiner's statement in his native tongue — I have transcribed them from a German edition of The Stockmeyer:
"Man muss sich bemühen, möglichst ohne dass man theoretich Anthroposophie lehrt, si so hineinzubringen, dass sie darinnen steckt. Ja, ich denke mir: viel Anythroposophie is darinnen, wenn Sie versuchen — das is ein ideal — dasjenige, was man Rhytmus nennt, in die Arbeit hineinzubringen, wenn Sie versuchen, den musikalisch-gesanglich-eurythmischen Unterricht mit dem Handertigkeitsunterricht in Zusammennhang zu bringen." — ANGABEN RUDOLF STEINER FÜR DEN WALDORFSCHULUNTERRICHT (Der Pädagogischen Foreschungsstelle beim Bund der Freien Waldorfschulen, 1988), p. 335.
Here is an English translation, which I have produced relying heavily on DeepL Translator:
"One must endeavor, if possible without teaching theoretical Anthroposophy, to bring her into it in such a way that she is inside it. Yes, I think to myself: There is a lot of Anthroposophy in it when you try — this is an ideal thing — to bring into the work what is called rhythm, when you try to bring musical-choral-eurythmic teaching in connection with the handicraft lessons."
Proponents of Waldorf education almost always deny that Waldorf students are taught Anthroposophy. But, in truth, Steiner indicated from the very beginning that Anthroposophy would be present in Waldorf schools. Thus, for instance, he once said this during a Waldorf faculty meeting:
“You need to make the children aware that they are receiving the objective truth, and if this occasionally appears anthroposophical, it is not anthroposophy that is at fault. Things are that way because anthroposophy has something to say about objective truth ... Anthroposophy will be in the school when it is objectively justified, that is, when it is called for by the material itself.” — Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 495.
In a similar vein, Steiner once chastised a Waldorf teacher for failing to present Anthroposophy in a form students could grasp:
“The problem you have is that you have not always followed the directive to bring what you know anthroposophically into a form you can present to little children. You have lectured the children about anthroposophy when you told them about your subject. You did not transform anthroposophy into a child’s level.” — Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER, pp. 403-404.
And, in like manner, Steiner indicated that "actual spiritual life" (i.e., Anthroposophical spiritual life) would pervade Waldorf education because the teachers are Anthroposophists:
“As far as our school is concerned, the actual spiritual life can be present only because its staff consists of anthroposophists.” — Rudolf Steiner, EDUCATION FOR ADOLESCENTS (Anthroposophic Press, 1996), p. 60.
Waldorf teachers must be uncompromising Anthroposophists, Steiner said:
“As teachers in the Waldorf School, you will need to find your way more deeply into the insight of the spirit and to find a way of putting all compromises aside ... As Waldorf teachers, we must be true anthroposophists in the deepest sense of the word in our innermost feeling.” — Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER, p. 118.
In practice, not all Waldorf teachers are full-fledged, deep-dyed Anthroposophists. But Steiner said they all should be.
Anthroposophy is brought into Waldorf classes in subtle ways — but it is brought in. This occurs in virtually all Waldorf classes, certainly not just in handwork classes. Indeed, if at any given Waldorf school Anthroposophy is present in handwork classes (knitting, woodworking, and so on), it will almost certainly be present more pointedly in other classes, classes where the meanings of things are discussed (brainwork rather than handwork). [See "Sneaking It In".] An Anthroposophical mood or tone would pervade handwork classes, bringing Anthroposophy into the room at an emotional or spiritual level; in more academic classes, Anthroposophy would infect the very subject matter beings studied. It would be present "when it is objectively justified, that is, when it is called for by the material itself.” When would this be "justified"? Just about always, given that Steiner and his followers consider Anthroposophy to be the great body of truth that underlies all other knowledge. [See "Everything".] Of course, Anthroposophy will be brought in most completely when the teachers meet Steiner's standard: when they are "true anthroposophists in the deepest sense of the word."
When things go as Steiner intended, the result can be — as Perra argues — a muted but deep form of indoctrination. [See "Indoctrination".] Some students are more susceptible to this indoctrination than others are [see "Who Gets Hurt"], just as some Waldorf teachers are more committed to Anthroposophy than others are. Still, as a general rule, if you are considering sending your children to a Waldorf school, you should know that they may well encounter teachers who want to lead them toward, or into, Anthroposophy.
"There will be a lot of Anthroposophy."
"Anthroposophy will be in the school."
— R.R.
September 1, 2019
CONTENDING WITH TECHNOLOGY —
A CHALLENGE FOR WALDORF SCHOOLS
1.
From ABC News [New York, USA]:
Clock is ticking on NY deadline
for student vaccinations
By Carolyn Thompson, Associated Press
When New York lawmakers revoked a religious exemption for mandatory school vaccinations, the change sent thousands of the state's parents scrambling to get their kids shots — or get them out of the classroom entirely.
Lawmakers did away with the exemption in June amid the nation's worst measles outbreak since 1992. More than 26,000 children in public and private schools and day care centers had previously gone unvaccinated for religious reasons, according to the state Health Department.
Now time is running short. Unvaccinated students have 14 days from the start of school to prove they received the first dose of each immunization, and they must make appointments for the next round within a month...
Some parents opposed to vaccinations are choosing to pull their kids from school rather than comply...
At the private Aurora Waldorf School in suburban Buffalo, parents of 21 students said they would not be attending this fall, rather than rush to vaccinate, said administrator Anna Harp, who oversees about 175 students from preschool to eighth grade.
"Some families have told us that they plan to home-school, and a few said that they were moving out of New York," Harp said....
[9/1/2019 https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/clock-ticking-ny-deadline-student-vaccinations-65325026]
2.
From Seven Days [Vermont, USA]:
Tech With a Human Touch:
Cyber Civics Teaches Middle Schoolers
to Think Critically and Ethically
About the Digital World
By Alison Novak
In this virtual age, let's sink our hands into what is real.
In this age of light-speed communication, let's learn how to use our inner voices.
In this age of increasingly powerful machines, let's learn to use the incredible powers within.
Once a week, middle schoolers at Lake Champlain Waldorf School in Shelburne recite these words ... Verses like these, learned by heart through repetition and delivered in unison, are a common way to begin and end classes at the independent preK-12 school, says sixth-grade teacher Rebekah Hopkinson, who began teaching Cyber Civics last school year...
At first, it may seem incongruous that a class focused on technology begins with such a decidedly heartfelt and low-tech sentiment. However, that would be to miss what's at the core of Cyber Civics...
In Waldorf schools, computers and digital technology are virtually absent from the elementary school curriculum. And Waldorf schools suggest that families limit technology use at home as well. Even so, said Hopkinson, the omnipresence of technology is an undeniable reality, and it's important for schools to address it....
Waldorf Watch Response
Waldorf schools do not absolutely oppose every manifestation of modern technology. They do not utterly oppose vaccination as a medical procedure, and they do not completely renounce computers and computer-related technology such as the Internet. Waldorf schools do not utterly repudiate such things. But they come close. Waldorf teachers may recognize that, in the modern world, they must make some accommodations with advanced technologies of many kinds, but they generally do so with great reluctance.
The founder of Waldorf education, Rudolf Steiner, taught that modern technology is a tool wielded by a terrible demon, Ahriman. [1] Indeed, Steiner said, "Ahrimanic spirits" (Ahriman's demonic minions) are brought into human life by technological machinery.
"[W]hen we construct a machine or a complex of machines out of raw material according to our knowledge of natural laws, we put certain spiritual beings into the things we construct ... [T]hese spiritual beings that we conjure into our machines are beings belonging to the ahrimanic hierarchy." [2]
Putting this another way, Steiner said that when we build technological devices, we bring demons into our world.
“When we build [such things], we provide the opportunity for the incarnation of demons ... In [these machines], Ahrimanic demons are actually brought to the point of physical embodiment.” [3]
Hence, Steiner indicated, the modern, high-tech, scientific mindset is placing mankind more and more under the rule of Ahriman.
"The contents of the human soul which are gradually being given by the character of modern science and which have led man to forget himself in his world-conception, lead to the Ahrimanising of mankind in our age." [4]
Ahriman is not absolutely our enemy, Steiner said. He offers us various things that may be helpful in our evolution, if we approach them cautiously. But, in general, Ahriman wants to lead us astray. As "the supreme intellectual power" [5], Ahriman tries to lure us deeply into the materialistc world and away from spirituality. He offers us intellect, science, technology, and other materialistic snares, Steiner said. Hence, if we fall into Ahriman's clutches, we are likely to lose our souls.
"[T]oday...the spirit-soul is asleep. The human being is thus in danger of drifting into the Ahrimanic world, in which case the spirit-soul will evaporate into the cosmos. We live in a time when people face the danger of losing their souls to materialistic impulses." [6]
Vaccination becomes problematic when it is a product of materialistic/evil intention, such as may be found in Ahrimaninc scientific establishments. Indeed, Steiner said, vaccines will be created that will effectively achieve Ahriman's goal of destroying human spirituality.
"[Materialists] will look for the vaccine to make the body ‘healthy’, that is, make its constitution such that this body no longer talks of such rubbish as soul and spirit, but takes a 'sound' view of the forces which live in engines and in chemistry and let planets and suns arise from nebulae in the cosmos. Materialistic physicians will be asked to drive the souls out of humanity.” [7]
Hoping to shield their students as much as possible from the dreadful dangers of modern technology, Waldorf schools generally ban high-tech gizmos such as computers, televisions, and movie projectors from the classroom, especially in the lower grades. And often these schools have "media policies" under which students' parents strictly limit use of technological gadgets in the home. One Waldorf school has summarized its media policy in these words:
"[We should] protect our children from exposure to TV, videos, movies, computer games, gameboys, and other media ... Parents are especially asked to refrain, throughout the years at Summerfield (even in HIGH SCHOOL!), from any media exposure on a school night ... We encourage parents to....create a media-free lifestyle." [8]
Waldorf schools are usually less adamant in their attitude toward vaccination. Steiner, after all, acknowledged that vaccination may sometimes bring medical benefits. But a general anti-vaxx culture often prevails in and around Waldorf schools, as many media reports in recent weeks have confirmed. [9]
Rudolf Steiner's view of modern technology was linked, naturally, to his view of modern science — the font of modern technological applications. As he typically did on so many subjects, Steiner gave a mixed account of science. He often acknowledged that science provides a more or less accurate account of the physical level of existence, and he sometimes said that his "spiritual science" (Anthroposophy) is wholly consistent with the findings of the physical sciences. But on other occasions, he painted a very different picture. Then he revealed his opposition to “scientific simpletons [10]” with their “scientific trash [11]” and their “logical, pedantic, narrow-minded proof of things [12]”. He deplored “primitive concepts like those...of contemporary science. [13]” What is wrong with science? "[S]cience speaks under the influence of the demonic Mars-forces. [14]" Hence, "[W]hen we listen to a modern physicist blandly explaining that Nature consists of electrons...we raise Evil to the rank of the ruling world-divinity. [15]”
It is within this context that Waldorf schools try to figure out how to frame their approach to the modern, high-tech world.
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] See "Ahriman".
[2] Rudolf Steiner, ART AS SEEN IN THE LIGHT OF MYSTERY WISDOM (Rudolf Steiner Press), lecture 1, GA 275.
[3] Rudolf Steiner, “The Relation of Man to the Hierarchies” (ANTHROPOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT, Vol. V, Nos. 14-15, 1928).
[4] Rudolf Steiner, THE RESPONSIBLITY OF MAN FOR WORLD EVOLUTION (transcript, Rudolf Steiner Archive), lecture 2, GA 203.
[5] Rudolf Steiner, NATURE SPIRITS (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1995), p. 167.
[6] Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 115.
[7] Rudolf Steiner, THE FALL OF THE SPIRITS OF DARKNESS (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1993), lecture 5, GA 177.
[8] Summerfield Waldorf School, downloaded May 13, 2015.
[9] See, e.g., "Health Expert: Not If but When", June 26, 2019, "Waldorf, Measles, The Times — and Demons", June 13, 2019, and "Waldorf & Measles: Seeking Context", May 30, 2019.
[10] Rudolf Steiner, THE KARMA OF UNTRUTHFULNESS, Vol. 1 (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2005), p. 276.
[11] Rudolf Steiner, THE RENEWAL OF EDUCATION (Anthroposophic Press, 2001), pp. 93-94.
[12] Rudolf Steiner, ART AS SPIRITUAL ACTIVITY (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 240.
[13] Rudolf Steiner, HOW CAN MANKIND FIND THE CHRIST AGAIN (Anthroposophic Press, 1984), p. 54.
[14] Rudolf Steiner, “The Spiritual Individualities of the Planets” (THE GOLDEN BLADE, Hawthorn Press, 1988).
[15] Rudolf Steiner, "Concerning Electricity", ANTHROPOSOPHIC NEWS SHEET, No. 23/24, June 9, 1940.
— R.R.