WALDORF WATCH

Hello.

This website deals with

 ◊ Waldorf schools, also known as Steiner schools;

◊ Rudolf Steiner, the "clairvoyant" who established 

the first of these schools; 

and 

◊ Anthroposophy, the bizarre religion 

promoted by the schools.

There are approximately 1,250 Waldorf schools in the world today. Proponents of Waldorf education boast that theirs is the fastest-growing independent school movement in the world. Great numbers of children attend Waldorf schools — where they are often subjected to covert religious indoctrination.

The underlying purpose of Waldorf schools is to spread the religion created by Rudolf Steiner: Anthroposophy. [See the entry for "Anthroposophy" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.]

Despite the religious nature of Waldorf education, efforts are increasing — in the United States and elsewhere — to secure taxpayer support for Waldorf schools.

Humanity faces bigger problems than the proliferation of Waldorf schools and the spread of Rudolf Steiner's mystical doctrines. Nonetheless, the Waldorf movement should alarm anyone who prizes rationality and abhors the clandestine indoctrination of children. 

My name is Roger Rawlings. I attended a Waldorf school from second grade through twelfth. My mother was secretary to the headmaster at that school. Because I was in the school for so long, and because I occasionally questioned the headmaster, I gained some insights into the Waldorf movement's secret agenda. More to the point, in recent years I have conducted an extensive study of Anthroposophy and Waldorf education. This website is the result.

There is nothing for sale at this site; there are no advertisements; I do not solicit anyone's financial support. I am not looking for money or applause. My purpose is simple: It is to tell you the truth about Waldorf schools.

Waldorf schools often claim to pursue high, even noble, objectives. We educate the whole child, they claim; we respect the individuality of each child; we prepare students for lives as free, self-directing adults.

When Waldorf representatves speak in such terms, they are likely quite sincere. Rudolf Steiner meant for Waldorf schools to embody all that is best in human life, and Steiner's followers are often highly idealistic.

But the Waldorf sheen disguises many disquieting realities. In a sense, the rest of this website is devoted to revealing these realities in detail.

But for now, for starters, here is a glimpse:

The belief system underlying Waldorf schools is an occult religion that involves doctrines of evolution and reincarnation. Human beings evolve upward as they gain “knowledge of higher worlds” — that is, knowledge of the spiritual worlds above the ordinary plane of existence. To gain this knowledge firsthand, people must develop clairvoyance. Preparation for clairvoyance involves such things as heightened imagination and dream consciousness.

Waldorf schools aim to assist children on the path toward knowledge of the higher worlds. To this end, Waldorf teachers serve as missionaries or priests. [1] However, they generally do so secretively, believing that they possess "mystery wisdom" that other people cannot appreciate. Consequently, the indoctrination Waldorf students receive is subtle and indirect. Little is spelled out openly, either to the students or to their parents. Yet the cumulative effect of involvement in a Waldorf community can be deeply harmful and difficult to undo.

The Waldorf/Anthroposophical view of childhood is intricate. Anthroposophical doctrine teaches that humans are born and reborn on Earth many times as they reincarnate. Moreover, each person is born multiple times during each earthly life, as her/his various invisible bodies emerge (the etheric body, the astral body, and the ego body). [2] Waldorf teachers try to help their students to incarnate properly, so that the children may fulfill their karmas and evolve to higher levels of spiritual consciousness. Humans who evolve properly will stay abreast of the entire solar system as it evolves and reincarnates in ever loftier forms (Future Jupiter, Future Venus, and Future Vulcan). [3]

For Steiner's devoted followers, there is just one truly correct path to take in life: It is the spiritual-evolutionary path laid out by Steiner. [4] Individuals are encouraged to move upward on this path as “free human beings.” According to Steiner, freedom is the birthright of all real human beings (things are different for "abnormal" people who are not really human). According to Steiner, true freedom means willingly submitting to the "divine cosmic plan" overseen by the many good gods who stand above mankind. Of course, we also need to resist the evil gods, Steiner said. In practice, becoming truly free means giving up your liberty and accepting Steiner’s religious teachings. [5] 

That’s it, in brief. I know it sounds bizarre, but that’s what Waldorf schools are ultimately about, behind the tantalizing sheen: They promote the mystical doctrines of Anthroposophy. 

As for the strange reference, above, to people who aren't really human — you should know that for every Steiner doctrine that sounds attractive, there are others that are the reverse. Here's one: Telling Waldorf teachers to conceal his doctrines from outsiders, Steiner said, "Imagine what people would say if they heard that we say there are people who are not human beings." [6] Some people, Steiner said, are actually demons in disguise, while others stand at a virtually subhuman level of development. A world of sorrow can be found in such doctrines.

Don’t take my word for any of this. To penetrate to the truth about Waldorf education, scrutinize the quotations I provide throughout this website — the words spoken and written by Rudolf Steiner and his followers. Read as much of this material as you wish; buy and read some Anthroposophical publications; visit other websites; and then draw your own conclusions.

[1] See "Schools as Churches".

[2] For more about these invisible bodies, see "Incarnation". 

[3] To pursue Steiner's cosmic narrative a bit further, see the section titled "The Creed" on the page "Here's the Answer".

[4] In the current epoch, according to Steiner, this path is overseen by the Sun God (the deity worshipped in Christian churches as Christ). The Sun God is assisted by the warrior-god known as Michael. [See "Sun God" and "Michael".] "Anthroposophy is also called the School of Michael." — Waldorf teacher Henk van Oort, ANTHROPOSOPHY A-Z (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2011), p. 78.

[5] For more about the Anthroposophical conception of freedom, see "Freedom". For more about the many gods of Anthroposophy, see "Polytheism".

[6] Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 650. Note that Steiner said this during a Waldorf faculty meeting. [See "Faculty Meetings" and "Secrets".]

I should make an important clarification immediately, and I would ask you to bear it in mind while wending your way through the contents of Waldorf Watch. Not all Waldorf schools are equally devoted to Rudolf Steiner and Anthroposophy, and not all Waldorf teachers are well-versed in the tenets of Anthroposophy. There are many shades of gray in the Waldorf movement.

When I generalize about Waldorf schools or Waldorf teachers, I am usually referring to those schools and teachers that hew closely to Rudolf Steiner's original vision for Waldorf education. How fully these generalizations apply to any particular Waldorf school operating today, or to the work of any particular Waldorf teacher working in these schools, depends on many factors.

But there can be no doubt that Steiner intended Waldorf schools to be closely bound to Anthroposophy, nor can there be any doubt that in subsequent years many leading Waldorf representatives have remained committed to that objetive. So, for instance, Steiner once said the following to teachers at the first Waldorf school:

"As Waldorf teachers, we must be true anthroposophists in the deepest sense of the word in our innermost feeling.” [1]

And here is essentially the same point, expressed by an influential Waldorf teacher decades later:

"Waldorf teachers must be anthroposophists first and teachers second." [2]

[1] Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 118.

[2] Gilbert Childs, STEINER EDUCATION IN THEORY AND PRACTICE (Floris Books, 1991), p. 166.

Rudolf Steiner claimed to be clairvoyant. Many of his followers — including many Waldorf teachers — make the same claim for themselves. The problem is that clairvoyance is a delusion; it doesn't exist.

This knocks the props out from under Waldorf education. If Waldorf education is based on Anthroposophy (and it is), and if Anthroposophy depends on clairvoyance (and it does), and if no one is truly clairvoyant (and no one is), then there is no valid basis for Waldorf education.

[To look into these issues, see "Clairvoyance", "Exactly", and "The Waldorf Teacher's Consciousness".]

As I acknowledged above, Waldorf schools and Anthroposophy certainly do not constitute the biggest problem facing humanity. And yet Waldorf Watch is a large website, devoting a great deal of attention to issues most people have never heard of. Why have I spent so much time on these issues?

Near the core of most human problems, including the largest, lie twin evils: ignorance and superstition. If humanity is to make progress — if, indeed, it is to survive — we need to attack these deep sources of error.

The strategy I have adopted is to attack ignorance and superstition in a single corner of human existence, a corner I happen to know well: the corner occupied by Waldorf schools and Anthroposophy. If I can comprehensively shine the light of reason into that dark corner, the condition of humanity might improve by at least that much. And if other people undertake similar work in the corners they know well, perhaps the light of reason will strengthen and expand until it suffuses human existence in general. And then the solutions to even our biggest problems will be within reach.

That is my hope, in any case. It is — if i may be excused for using the word — my faith. 

The pages here at Waldorf Watch are various and, I hope, stimulating. If you don't find value in any section of a particular page, scroll down and you'll soon come to something else, often written by yours truly but fairly often written by someone else. Waldorf-critical authors represented on the site include Geoffrey Ahern, Dan Dugan, Pete Karaiskos, Grégoire Perra, Ian Robinson, Margaret Sachs, Debra Snell, Peter Staudenmaier, and Diana Winters. Anthroposophists and advocates of Waldorf education quoted on this site include Clopper Almon, Christopher Bamford, Hermann von Baravalle, Henry Barnes, Stewart C. Easton, John Fentress Gardner, A. C. Harwood, Margaret Jonas, Ronald E. Koetzsch, Charles Kovacs, Robert A. McDermott, Sergei O. Prokofieff, Richard Ramsbotham, Eugene Schwartz, Richard Seddon, Andrew J. Welburn, Roy Wilkinson, Lawrence Williams, Franz E. Winkler — and, of course, Rudolf Steiner himself. 

Rudolf Steiner summarized his teachings in a book 

that has been published under such titles as

AN OUTLINE OF OCCULT SCIENCE 

and, in a more recent translation,

AN OUTLINE OF ESOTERIC SCIENCE.

[Anthroposophic Press, 1997.]

In essence, the book lays out the core doctrines of Anthroposophy,

the worldview that underlies Waldorf education.

Defenders of Waldorf education sometimes argue that Steiner's occult or esoteric teachings no longer hold a prominent place in Waldorf belief or practice. But this is untrue. Below is a photo of a class for aspiring Waldorf teachers held recently at Rudolf Steiner College, a Waldorf teacher-training institution in the USA.

Note the book on the student's desk: It is AN OUTLINE OF ESOTERIC SCIENCE. Also note the portrait of Steiner on the wall, along with two interior shots of the original Anthroposophical headquarters building. Consider, too, the zodiacal signs visible on the blackboard — astrology is important in Anthroposophy.

Training to become a Waldorf teacher is often virtually indistinguishable from training to become an Anthroposophist: It entails immersion in Rudolf Steiner's metaphysics.

For more on this, see "Teacher Training" and the section "The Indoctrination of Teachers" on the page "Indoctrination".

[1] Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 118.

[2] Waldorf teacher Gilbert Childs, STEINER EDUCATION IN THEORY AND PRACTICE (Floris Books, 1991), p. 166.

For a quick overview of Anthroposophy 

and its reflection in Waldorf schooling,

you might take a look at "Manifestations".

To delve into the central issue dealt with at this site,

the nature of Waldorf education, see "Here's the Answer".

To consider the religious underpinnings 

of the Waldorf movement,

see "Is Anthroposophy a Religion?"

For a portrait of the man who created Waldorf education

and who is still the guiding light of the Waldorf movement

— Rudolf Steiner — see "What a Guy".

To explore the standard Waldorf curriculum, Waldorf methods,

 and other elements of the Waldorf approach,

 see "The Waldorf Curriculum", "Methods", 

"Sneaking It In", and "Soul School".

To review the text that, according to Waldorf authorities,

 most fully accounts for the Waldorf approach,

see "Oh Humanity".

The word "occult," which I use several times on this page, is potentially both frightening and confusing. Steiner himself often used this word (in his native German, "Okkult"), applying it to his own work. He meant that his teachings deal in dark or hidden (secret or mysterious) wisdom that is possessed by only a few spiritual savants such as himself. [See "Occultism" and "Inside Scoop".]

Earlier on this page, I reproduced the cover of the book AN OUTLINE OF ESOTERIC SCIENCE. Most editions of this crucial Steiner text have been published under more striking titles: either 1) AN OUTLINE OF OCCULT SCIENCE, or 2) OCCULT SCIENCE — AN OUTLINE. Thus, for instance, in 2009 Rudolf Steiner Press released the edition shown below:

Anyone who really wants to understand Rudolf Steiner's teachings should tackle this dense tome in one edition or another, under one title or another. For a guided tour through the text, a tour in which I try to state plainly what Steiner often states obscurely, see "Everything". To look through a companion volume in which Steiner describes techniques his followers should use in their efforts to learn about the higher worlds, see "Knowing the Worlds".

NAVIGATION

To find your way around Waldorf Watch, you can click on the links in the sidebar near the top of this page, on the left. This will take you to various lead articles on the site ("Here's the Answer", "He Went to Waldorf", "Steiner's Blunders", and so on).

The best way to begin most inquiries is to consult The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.

You can also consult the site's Table of Contents ("What's Where") and the site's Index ("Where?").

When you begin exploring the site, you will find multiple links on every page that will take you to other pages. You can chart your own journey around and through the site.

Here's one more option, a preliminary list of topics you may want to investigate. Clicking on the links will take you to the pages indicated. 

P.S.

Steiner taught his followers that they are on a holy, messianic mission to save humanity and, indeed, to save the entire created universe. Thus, many Anthroposophists today feel that they are justified in resorting to almost any strategems to advance their mission. On occasion, this leads them to shade the truth, hide the truth, and deny the truth. Occasionally they also twist the truth, making deceitful statements about anyone they see as standing in their path.

Quite understandably, my criticisms of Rudolf Steiner, Anthroposophy, and Waldorf education are upsetting to Steiner's followers. Various attacks have been aimed at me as a result. Those attacks are unimportant. The occasional true statements made about me in such attacks are unimportant; the many false statements made about me are equally unimportant. I am unimportant. (Some time ago, I decided not to respond to even the harshest attacks. Ad hominems are inherently pointless. I suggest that we turn our attention instead to what actually matters.)

What matters is the truth about Waldorf education and the occult fantasies on which it is founded. I have striven to present the truth on every page of this website. Check this claim. I have included extensive documentation throughout the site, making it easy for you to see what sources of information I have used. So check up on the work you find here, and then determine the truth for yourself.

— Roger Rawlings