Q. I have never seen such beautiful schools. Is there any reason to distrust Waldorf's allure?
A. The beauty of Waldorf schools is undeniable. Rudolf Steiner said Waldorf teachers should present all subjects beautifully, and indeed Waldorf faculties usually try to swaddle the students in beauty. Parents are often powerfully affected by the beauty of Waldorf schools, and they may select Waldorf largely on this basis.
Here is a description given by a former Waldorf teacher: "Walking into a Waldorf classroom is a unique experience. It will embrace you in all the ways that makes childhood so wonderful. The rooms feel warm, safe and pleasant. The walls are painted in what is known as a lazure style. Lazuring is not a solid splash of paint, it’s a technique that involves dabbing or applying the paint with a seafoam sponge and then swirling it with a dry paint brush. The effect is soft, fluid, transparent color that breathes." [See "Ex-Teacher 2".]
Of course, beauty can be deceptive; we may be seduced to our ultimate regret. The Waldorf emphasis on beauty is entirely sincere, but it may blind the unwary. Anthroposophists affirm the power of beauty because they think lovely appearances generally manifest lovely spiritual realities. [See "Glory".] A corollary is that through exposure to outward beauty, children may come to know the inner beauty of the Waldorf belief system. [See "Lesson Books".]
As with everything else at Waldorf schools, the emphasis on beauty leads ultimately to Anthroposophy. The essential question about Waldorf schools is not whether you find them beautiful, but whether you can embrace the mystical belief system on which they are founded.
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To sample Rudolf Steiner's teachings about beauty, see, e.g.,
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