Response:

This is a fairly typical puff piece about Waldorf education, in this case published in a small “alternative publication” in Florida, USA. When looking into Waldorf education, you should consider the evidence such stories provide. But do so with your b.s. meter running. When something sounds too good to be true (“how happy the students were...vibrant, harmonious and carefree”), it probably is not true, or not wholly true. 

Notice, also, indicators of things left unsaid. The article describes Waldorf education as “nonreligious,” but it also says that Waldorf education aims to promote the students’ “spiritual growth.” Later we learn that the students at Morning Meadow are assigned “spirit symbols,” and sometimes the children gravitate toward their symbols in an apparently mystical way. Clearly, spirituality — religion, if you will — is actually central to the Waldorf-style school discussed here. The reason for this is unspoken but easy to discover. Waldorf schools are built on the basis of Anthroposophy, a mystical system devised by the occultist Rudolf Steiner. Steiner's followers often deny it, but in truth Anthroposophy is a religion, and this religion is practiced in Waldorf schools. [See “Is Anthroposophy a Religion?” and “Here’s the Answer”.] 

Susan Paluzzi and her school may be quite wonderful. But if you consider sending children to a Waldorf school or even a "Waldorf-inspired" school, make sure you really understand what that school aims to do for or to its students.

[Maricristin Sealey, Hawthorne Press, 2005.]

Living the Waldorf way means rejecting much

of modern life and its products.

“Deciding to bring Lego into a Waldorf inspired, plastic-free home 

Q. “As far as toys are concerned, our home has been 'plastic-free' for the past four years ... I'm such a purist about the type of the toys in our home that I found it quite difficult to introduce to Lego into the play area ... Lego is a Waldorf 'equaliser'/'normaliser' for our home for when the children have friends over from non-Waldorf families as they get older ... [Also] Lego creates easy play opportunities between the girls and their Daddy ... Are you a Waldorf/Waldorf-inspired/plastic-free family? Do you have Lego?” 

A1. “yes, we do have Lego for similar reasons you have it. We also have playmobil and schliech (sp?) knights ... I gave DD a mama-made pure waldorf doll made to her exact specifications but MIL gave her (a frankly hideous!) jumble sale bought very bashed up plastic doll — and DD LOVES it and wants me to sell her waldorf doll....ho hum. Toys are just a battle I cant win without being much stroppier.” 

[12-26-2011 http://mamauk.typepad.com/mamauk/2011/12/deciding-to-bring-lego-into-a-waldorf-inspired-plastic-free-home.html] 

Response:

Issues like this can loom large in Waldorf and Waldorf-inspired communities.* For fear of demonic powers, Waldorf families are generally supposed to shun anything unnatural or technological. But finding where to draw the line can be difficult, and families who have not wholly embraced Anthroposophical doctrines are often readier to make compromises than are full-bore followers of Rudolf Steiner. If you elect to become involved in a genuine Waldorf community, be prepared for the strictures you will be expected to accept. Depending on the particular community you join, choosing Waldorf can mean adopting a structured, alternative lifestyle and its esoteric worldview, sometimes in the company of fervent, proselytizing true believers. (Be prepared, too, for the possibility that your child and perhaps your spouse may not wholly appreciate some of the decisions you make in this regard.)

* A note about terminology: People who are "Waldorf-inspired" are drawn to the undeniable beauty on the surface of Waldorf life, but they may not have adopted the underlying belief system, Anthroposophy. Thus, whereas the teachers at a true Waldorf school may be deeply committed to spreading Anthroposophy, teachers at a Waldorf-inspired school may not have this goal at all. The difference can be enormous, although taking inspiration from Waldorf may eventually lead to a deeper commitment. (Realize, too, that sometimes schools describe themselves as "Waldorf-inspired" when actually they are full-fledged Waldorf institutions. In some cases, this may be a conscious decision to adopt a disguise, in others it may mean that the school has not yet been officially accepted into the Waldorf network.)

Response:

The belief system underlying Waldorf education — Anthroposophy — was invented by Rudolf Steiner, drawing heavily from Theosophy. Steiner’s followers are generally content to accept Steiner’s teachings as the essence of Anthroposophy — they believe what he said and wrote, and if they teach in Waldorf schools, they base their efforts on his teachings. 

But Steiner said that Anthroposophy is a science, a system in which practitioners can make their own discoveries about the spirit realm. Accepting this tenet, his followers strive to “do” Anthroposophy, intuiting or clairvoyantly exploring spiritual reality. This can sometimes lead them to diverge from Steiner’s teachings, if only slightly. And not infrequently it leads them to set themselves up as modern-day oracles, spiritual savants with much to teach errant mankind. 

If you send a child to a Waldorf school, you may meet various self-initiated spiritual savants, prophets, "wise" men. You will then learn that, unless you toe the Anthroposophical line (wherever each Anthroposophist decides to locate it), you are completely mistaken.

Now being featured by SteinerBooks: 

ESOTERIC LESSONS 1913-1923, 

From the Esoteric School, Vol. 3. 

From the publisher:

“Beginning in January 1913, five days after the Anthroposophical Society was founded, this rich volume traces the esoteric work (and lack thereof) in the decade leading up to the reestablishment of the General Anthroposophical Society... 

“Part One...allows us to sense the subtle, though seismic, shift as Anthroposophy gradually became an autonomous earthly, spiritual reality outside the context of Theosophy, with the initial focus to deepen the Rosicrucian path... 

“Part Two is much shorter ... [I]mportant meditations were given that indicated a new direction. 

“Part Three contains the two esoteric lessons given to the esoteric youth circle... 

“The volume closes with the Threefold Mantra....” 

[http://steinerbooks.org/detail.html?session=5004ef201d0b74fd58b072c07fdbccec&id=9780880106184]

Response:

Bear in mind that Waldorf education is built upon Anthroposophy. The esoteric, spiritual doctrines of Anthroposophy underlie virtually everything that Waldorf schools stand for. The "esoteric work," meditations, and mantras prescribed for Anthroposophists may not be presented to Waldorf students (although sometimes they are), but they inform the educational work undertaken by Waldorf teachers. 

"A Waldorf teacher, an anthroposophically oriented spiritual researcher, would not feel, ‘I am the intelligent adult who makes up a story for the children’s benefit,’ but rather: ‘The eternal beings and powers [i.e., the gods], acting as the spiritual in nature, have placed before my eyes a picture of the immortal human soul, objectively, in the form of the emerging butterfly. Believing in the truth of this picture with every fibre of my being, and bringing it to my pupils through my own conviction, I will awaken in them a truly religious concept.’” — Rudolf Steiner, WALDORF EDUCATION AND ANTHROPOSOPHY (Anthroposophic Press, 1995), Vol. 1, pp. 49-50.

Q. “I was wondering if anyone here has any experience with Waldorf education/ programs for children. I may have the chance to get my kids into a program that is very Waldorf-oriented...” 

A1. “I like the idea of Waldorf and I have several friends who did the Waldorf preschool before homeschooling. There are lots of cool Waldorf ways of learning I agree with...” 

A2. “It's amazing beyond belief. Some schools will ask parents/families to sign an agreement that their child(ren) will not be exposed to television for the duration of their time at the school though...” 

A3. “I seem to recall that some parents in California are suing their school district for approving a Waldorf-based charter school. I also found this critical site: http://waldorfcritics.org/index.html The argument is that Waldorf is based on Anthroposophy, founded by Rudolf Steiner, and some people think Anthroposophy is a cult...” 

A4. “I've heard a number of strikingly similar complaints about Waldorf schools ... 1. Bullying. My goodness, I've read more complaints about rampant, unchecked bullying in individual Waldorf schools than in any other type of school out there ... 2. The anthroposophy thing, which seems to include a hefty dose of racism ... 3. In the older grades especially, a very teacher-centered, dogmatic approach, with a lot of copying and lecturing ... 4. In the older grades, an emphasis on age-appropriateness leading to children leaving the schools far behind where they would have been in any other school system ... 5. And, of course, some people don't like the emphasis on fantasy. Math is taught using math gnomes, there's a lot of talk about fairies (as though they're real), that sort of thing...” 

A5. “I almost went to a Waldorf school in 5th grade. But I had a major meltdown over not being able to watch tv/movies/listen to pop music at the orientation. And you couldn't wear clothes with logos of any kind because you'd make your classmates feel bad or distract them? The kids I knew from those schools seemed so sheltered. I had a friend who was 7 and couldn't read, nothing was wrong with him, he just hadn't learned they were teaching him how to knit tho...” 

A6. “[S]ome parts of it are just bizarre. Eat a different grain each day because that grain is cosmically related to this planet or that Greek god! Begin every activity throughout the day by chanting a poem! Teach math with stories about gnomes! Gnomes, gnomes, gnomes...” 

A7. “It was big near my small liberal arts college, as the only alternative to the sucky public school. A lot of local students had gone there and I heard a lot of good and awful things — the science curriculum at the one I know about was ATROCIOUS and math was pretty bad as well, with kids scoring waaaay below average on state tests in the 8th and 11th grades...”  

[http://freejinger.org/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=6259]

From the Denver [Colorado, USA] Waldorf School: 

"Parent Enrichment 

"Early Childhood Parent Enrichment Program 

"Specifically designed for parents of Pre-K – 2nd Grade, this series features a variety of timeless topics and practical application techniques. Offered as a community service, the Early Childhood Parent Enrichment Program evenings are free of charge and offered to the general public (unless otherwise indicated). You are encouraged to invite your family and friends! ... 

"Middle School Parent Enrichment Program 

"Designed to meet the unique needs of Parents with Middle School children, this series features a development-related topics and practical application techniques. Offered as a community service, the Middle School Parent Enrichment Program evenings are free of charge and offered to the general public (unless otherwise indicated). You are encouraged to invite your family and friends! 

[12-25-2011 http://www.denverwaldorf.org/parents/parent-enrichment/]

Response:

According to Rudolf Steiner, the chief purpose of Waldorf schools is to spread Anthroposophy.* This is done, in part, but nudging the students toward the Anthroposophical fold, and it is done, in part, by nudging the students’ parents and their friends into the same enclosure. 

* Steiner said:

“One of the most important facts about the background of the Waldorf School is that we were in a position to make the anthroposophical movement a relatively large one. The anthroposophical movement has become a large one.” — Rudolf Steiner, RUDOLF STEINER IN THE WALDORF SCHOOL (Anthroposophic Press, 1996), p.156.

"[I]n all this external bodily organism no process such as thinking or cognition exists, 

but it takes place in the adjoining etheric and astral bodies." 

— Rudolf Steiner, WONDERS OF THE WORLD (Kessinger, facsimile of 1929 edition), p. 88;

 I have added color to the b&w image in the book.

"Within the brain there is absolutely no thought; there is no more of thought in the brain 

than there is of you in the mirror in which you see yourself."

 — Rudolf Steiner, WONDERS OF THE WORLD, ORDEALS OF THE SOUL, 

REVELATIONS OF THE SPIRIT (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1983), p. 119.

"[T]he brain and nerve system have nothing at all to do with actual cognition." 

— Rudolf Steiner, FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE  (SteinerBooks, 1996), p. 60.

Actual cognition, Steiner taught, is clairvoyance.

From the Waldorf School of Philadelphia [USA]: 

“In the effort to give kids a leg up in life, parents bombard them with educational toys, rush them to chess, fencing, and piano lessons, and place them in preschool programs that stress academics in the earliest years. But is any of this stuff really good for kids and what does it do to their growing brains? Psychologist Gabrielle Principe has written a new book on the subject [YOUR BRAIN ON CHILDHOOD]. In it she writes, 'If you wanted to design a way of life that was exactly counter to the needs of developing brains, you would invent something like modern childhood.'” 

[12-23-2011 http://www.phillywaldorf.com/modern-childhood-and-the-brain]

Response:

It is certainly possible that children today are too rushed and pressured. But not every alternative is preferable. Waldorf schools generally keep academic pressure low; they encourage a quiet, gradual growth process, especially among the youngest children. But they also lure children toward the occult belief system created by Rudolf Steiner: Anthroposophy. If “preschool programs that stress academics” are potentially harmful, preschool programs built on Anthroposophy are likely to be worse. [See, e.g., “Spiritual Agenda”, “Thinking Cap”, and “Sneaking It In”.]

"Together, we have performed exhaustive research on Waldorf schools and Anthroposophy, the esoteric, occult religion that both guides and inspires Waldorf teachers. PLANS affirms the right of all religious groups to practice and to teach their beliefs. But we expect those groups — including Anthroposophy — to tell the truth about their missionary efforts."  

[12-23-2011  http://waldorfcritics.org/]

Response:

The PLANS website (waldorfcritics) has a new look — the on-screen format has been revised. "PLANS" stands for People for Legal and Nonsectarian schools. The site is extensive, containing many articles about Waldorf/Steiner education, Anthroposophy, and other related matters. There are also numerous links to other informative sites. Anyone with a serious interest in learning about Waldorf education should make repeated visits to the PLANS site.

"First state-funded Steiner School in UK

"The Steiner Academy Hereford has completed its transition from an alternative, independent school, to a state-funded facility offering its holistic educational model to all

“Situated in a cul-de-sac, looking out across rolling Herefordshire countryside is a unique school offering an idyllic place for children to learn. As a state-funded Steiner school for children of all abilities, the Steiner Academy Hereford is the first of its kind in the UK... 

“Now, the academy is celebrating the completion of a £9.5m programme of new buildings, refurbishment and landscaping, marking the conclusion of its transition. 

“It is one of the smallest academies in England, teaching around 330 children age 3–16 and has a specialism in the countryside and natural environment. Demonstrating its intentions, the academy spent some of its start-up grant for uniforms on all-weather gear for the younger children." 

[12-23-2011 http://delightmakers.com/news-bleat/first-state-funded-steiner-school-in-uk/]

Response:

Unless they do a fair amount of specific research, school boards are often unacquainted with the thinking behind Waldorf education. In the Waldorf belief system, the word "imagination" is frequently used as code for clairvoyance. Many Waldorf teachers, subscribing to Rudolf Steiner's occult doctrines, believe that they are clairvoyant. Indeed, Eugene Schwartz — who testified at the hearing — is on record as asserting that teachers need to be clairvoyant to do their work well. 

"Must teachers be clairvoyant to be certain that they are teaching in the proper way? We may, indeed, need only the 'clairvoyant' faculties that we are already using without being aware that we possess them ... The teacher's faculty [of clairvoyance] must be cultivated and brought to a stage of conscious awareness on the part of the teacher." — Eugene Schwartz, WALDORF EDUCATION (Xlibris, 2000), p.17.

In encouraging students to be "imaginative" and "creative," Waldorf teachers hope to lure them into the Waldorf belief system, which consists of some extraordinarily strange concepts. Thus, Schwartz has written that Waldorf education deals with such things as the "etheric body" — an invisible constellation of formative forces that supposedly incarnates around age seven.

"What is essential here is that we are dealing with activities and processes, rather than with 'products.' To understand the etheric body is to begin to understand those forces usually termed 'creative' in the world and in the human being." — WALDORF EDUCATION, p.17.

The Parkland School Board would do well to to dig into such matters. 

[See, also, "Incarnation", "Clairvoyance", and "The Waldorf Teacher's Consciousness". To consider the use of the arts in Waldorf schools, see “Magical Arts”.]

"Steiner School's scheme angers residents 

"A pleasant housing estate will become a dangerous and congested rat run if a school is allowed to move nearby, residents fear. 

"The Canterbury Steiner School wants to move from Garlinge Green to the former St Augustine's Hospital site, at the end of Candlers Way, Chartham [UK]. 

"But residents say the only route into the site is through their estate. They say it will lead to unsafe and unacceptable traffic and parking along narrow roads, particularly at mornings and evenings. 

"Members of the St Augustine's Residents' Association (SARA) have set up an online petition and Facebook discussion group to keep neighbours informed of developments and seek their opinions."  

[12-15-2011  http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/Steiner-School-s-scheme-angers-residents/story-14143826-detail/story.html]

Q. “Any experience with Waldorf Schools? I recently found out that there is a Waldorf school in a neighboring town. I am very intrigued by the concept and am trying to research more about them...” 

A1. “i don't want to burst your bubble and you might come to a different conclusion but a lot of the core beliefs of Steiner and the philosophy of anthroposophy are rather disturbing to me...” 

A2. “I've researched Waldorf a bit as there is a school not too far from us and liked the nature based aspect. But if you want to read about the negative aspects, just Google 'Waldorf' and 'Cult.'” 

A3. “I have done a fair amount of reading and internet reading on Waldorf. I don't view Waldorf schools as a cult, but I understand where some people disagree with their philosophies...” 

A4. “The first thing that comes to mind is that the last two outbreaks of measles here were connected to Waldorf schools...” 

A5. “I looked into Waldorf for quite awhile when we were researching non-traditional schooling for my ODD. I don't think the cultish feel about them has to do with fairies and candles, although I'm sure fundamental Christians could have problems with those things. The problem is that Steiner's philosophy/religion, anthroposophy, is behind everything the teachers do and their teaching standards and that the parents end up being in group-think mentality. ... The teachers don't really explain or talk about anthroposophy in most schools, so many parents don't even know about it ... Check out waldorfcritics.org , it will give you a better idea. They have a yahoo group for Waldorf Survivors, too. I read through this stuff and the pro-Waldorf sites, but the negative stuff freaked me out so much that I went a different way with DD's school.” 

A6. “[The previous answer] articulated my issues with Waldorf. I'm sure there are a lot of great schools out there that are just Waldorf inspired, but I couldn't send my children there because of my disagreements with anthroposophy...” 

A7. “I'm sorry Waldorf wasn't what you wanted it to be. I know you know first-hand the problems in the public schools and it stinks that there's not a good alternative...”

 [12-19-2011 http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?50379-Any-experience-with-Waldorf-Schools]

Response:

That is a fairly accurate summary. 

• Waldorf teachers are generally expected to commit themselves totally to their school and to the doctrines behind it.   

• The “new way” of teaching grows out of Anthroposophy, a new-age religion — the Waldorf curriculum and methods stem from the esoteric tents of that faith.* [See, e.g., “Curriculum” and “Methods”]  

• The “inner work” required is the spiritual discipline of Anthroposophy — it is the effort to become a clairvoyant initiate. [See “The Waldorf Teacher’s Consciousness”.]  

• Most Waldorf schools are run collegially — usually a central committee called the “College of Teachers” has authority, although sometimes headmasters and other administrators exercise most of the real power.  

• The “foreseeable stages of development” are three stages of incarnation: The “etheric body” is thought to incarnate at age seven, the “astral body” at age fourteen, and the “ego” at age twenty-one. [See “Incarnation” and “Most Significant”.]  

• Arts and artistic teaching are central to the Waldorf approach — spirit beings (gods) are thought to enter the physical world through colors and musical tones. [See “Magical Arts”.]  • Steiner found teachers at the first Waldorf school humorless, and he urged them to change. Many Waldorf teachers today still find this a difficult directive.  

• Waldorf teacher training is firmly rooted in Anthroposophy, and Waldorf teachers are expected to continue their study of Anthroposophy throughout their careers. As Steiner said,

“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. 

[See “Here’s the Answer” and “Teacher Training”.] 

* One of these tenets is that Anthroposophy is a science, not a religion, because it supposedly enables humans to have direct, objective knowledge of the spirit realm. But the religious nature of Anthroposophy is quite clear. [See, e.g., "Is Anthroposophy a Religion?" and "Steiner's 'Science'".] The key tenets of Anthroposophy can be found in such books as OCCULT SCIENCE and HOW TO KNOW HIGHER WORLDS: A Modern Path of Initiation, written by Rudolf Steiner.

"School hall gets $150K boost

"A Tauranga [New Zealand] school is being given a helping hand to pay for their newly built community hall with a cheque for $150,000. Tauranga’s Rudolf Steiner School and Kindergarten is being presented with the cheque from the TECT* Community Trust by Dame Susan Devoy at a ceremony today. The money was awarded under TECT’s Community Amenities Grant, a fund that supports residents of the greater Western Bay of Plenty region by helping to provide a range of suitable and accessible community facilities."  

[12-19-2011  http://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/19971-school-hall-gets-150k-boost.html]

* "TECT" stands for Tarunga Energy Consumer Trust.

Response:

Most followers of Rudolf Steiner today are probably, in their hearts, free of racial prejudice. Steiner himself was probably free of racial hatred. But parents should realize that the thinking behind Waldorf schools contains a wide swath of ideological racism — views that rank some races as “higher” than others.

Native American children sent to a Waldorf school may one day be terribly shocked and wounded to learn that, in Steiner’s teachings, they are deemed backward, primitive, and decadent. According to Steiner, normal humans have evolved to a high level, primarily in central Europe; but abnormal humans have not shared in this advance and thus have been left behind. Among the peoples Steiner put in the latter category are Native Americans: 

• “[I]t was the normal human beings that were...the most capable of evolving. [Abnormal] peoples whose ego impulse was developed too strongly gradually wandered to the West [from Atlantis] and became...the Red Indians of America.” — Rudolf Steiner, THE BEING OF MAN AND HIS FUTURE EVOLUTION (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1981), pp. 118-119. 

• “If you look at pictures of the old American Indians the process of ossification is evident in the decline of this race ... The descendant of the brown race did not participate in [proper human evolution]. He held firm to the Great Spirit of the primeval past.”* — Rudolf Steiner, THE MISSION OF THE FOLK SOULS (Rudolf Steiner Press, 2005), pp. 108-109.

• “Not all of the people living on the earth today stand at the same level of development ... We have before us in the American race a primitive aboriginal people that has remained far, far behind ... In the course of millennia our planet transforms itself, and this transformation also demands a development of humankind. Those side branches that no longer fit in to current conditions become decadent." — Rudolf Steiner, MENSCHHEITSENTWICKELUNG UND CHRISTUS-ERKENNTNIS (Rudolf Steiner Verag, 1981), pp. 243-44. 

• "The white race is the future, the race that is creating spirit.” — Rudolf Steiner, VOM LEBEN DES MENSCHEN UND DER ERDE - ÜBER DAS WESEN DES CHRISTENTUMS (Verlag Der Rudolf Steiner-Nachlassverwaltung, 1961), GA 349, p. 62.

Think of the crippling psychological damage that can arise from such beliefs. Parents, think carefully when choosing a school for your children. Even when sincere efforts are made to adapt Waldorf education to various world cultures and traditions, the hard kernel of racist ideology remains lurking in Rudolf Steiner's teachings. Waldorf representatives have still to openly acknowledge that some of Steiner's doctrines are racist — the necessary first step toward explicitly renouncing those doctrines.

* Among other things, Steiner is saying that Native Americans are spiritually backward because they believe in a single god. In Steiner's new religion, Anthroposophy, there are many gods.

From a news release put out by Steiner Education Australia:

“Parents of students at Steiner schools can be assured their children are being taught to the new national curriculum standards after a decision by the national regulatory agency this month. The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) have included the Australian Steiner Curriculum Framework on their Recognition Register as an alternate curriculum. Steiner schools collaborated through their national association, Steiner Education Australia to submit detailed and rich curriculum documents to ACARA.”

[12-12-2011 www.noosasteiner.qld.edu.au/_literature.../ACARA_Recogniti...]

Response:

Steiner or Waldorf schools often face a dilemma. Attempting to satisfy national or state educational standards can compel the schools to alter some of their cherished practices, or it may lead them to attempt elaborate rationalizations/deceptions to mislead the authorities.* 

The standard Waldorf curriculum is firmly set; it is followed, with very few alterations, in Steiner schools everywhere. [See "Curriculum".] Moreover, Waldorf teacher training usually guides trainees to embrace Rudolf Steiner's directives with few if any reservations. But sometimes pressure from governments, or financial difficulties, or doctrinal disputes within a faculty, or other factors can cause a Steiner school to stray (which can be a good thing, if the straying leads the school toward a truer, more rational form of education). For this reason, it is often necessary to assess each Steiner school on its own merits. Not all Steiner schools are alike, and Steiner- or Waldorf-inspired schools can embody even greater variation. 

[See, e.g., "Clues" and "Non-Waldorf Waldorfs".] 

* Rudolf Steiner advocated this approach for Waldorf faculties. "We must worm our way through," he said. [See "Secrets".]

From a website promoting Waldorf-inspired homeschooling: 

“• Focus more on establishing rhythm than on the perfectly planned and executed blocks ... • Don’t rush through daily life activities ... • Keep the TV and computer off ... • Create a Nature Table ... • Read stories about nature, animals and the seasons ... • In every lesson, every subject: include movement, reflection and artistic expression • Start to incorporate ‘The Seven Lively Arts’ into your lessons and our [sic] days – drama, drawing, movement, music, modeling, painting and speech.” 

[12-16-2011 http://waldorfinspiredlearning.com/content/just-getting-started] 

Response:

You may find various elements of Waldorf schooling attractive; you may choose to implement these in your own activities as a teacher or parent. Some Waldorf practices may be genuinely beneficial. But you should bear in mind that Waldorf schooling is bound up with the occult doctrines of Rudolf Steiner. If you try to use Waldorf methods without including Steiner’s doctrines, you may be gutting the methods — their rationale may disappear. On the other hand, adopting Waldorf methods may, in some cases, mean that you are accepting Steiner’s doctrines without meaning to do so. The methods and the doctrines are bound up in one another. You should adopt a Waldorf method only if you can find a clear, rational justification for it. In some cases — such as the recommendations listed above — this may be possible. In others, it may not.

Here is how Steiner’s followers and Steiner himself have described Waldorf education: 

• "Waldorf education is based upon the recognition that the four bodies of the human being [the physical, etheric, astral, and ego bodies] develop and mature at different times.” — Waldorf teacher Roberto Trostli, RHYTHMS OF LEARNING: What Waldorf Education Offers Children, Parents & Teachers (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), pp. 4-5. 

• “[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. 

• “[Waldorf] education is essentially grounded on the recognition of the child as a spiritual being, with a varying number of incarnations behind him....” — Anthroposophist Stewart C. Easton, MAN AND WORLD IN THE LIGHT OF ANTHROPOSOPHY (Anthroposophic Press, 1989), pp. 388-389. 

• “Waldorf education strives to create a place in which the highest beings [i.e., gods], including the Christ, can find their home....” — Anthroposophist Joan Almon, WHAT IS A WALDORF KINDERGARTEN? (SteinerBooks, 2007), p. 53. 

• "If, therefore, we are asked what the basis of a new method of education should be, our answer is: Anthroposophy must be that basis. But how many people there are, even in our own circles, who try to disclaim Anthroposophy as much as possible, and to propagate an education without letting it be known that Anthroposophy is behind it." — Rudolf Steiner, THE KINGDOM OF CHILDHOOD (SteinerBooks, 1995), p. 4.

Rhythm is emphasized in Waldorf education because spiritual development is thought to occur through cyclical patterns of recapitulation and growth. TVs and computers are downplayed because they are considered demonic. Nature tables (platforms displaying natural objects) are sometimes used as altars where candles are lit, hymns are sung, and/or prayers are recited. Arts are emphasized because of their supposed spiritual powers.

[For more on all this, see, e.g., “Here’s the Answer”, “Spiritual Agenda”, “Curriculum”, "Ex-Teacher", "Magical Arts", and “Methods”.]

“€1 billion spent on homeopathy and anthrosophic [sic] medicine in EU 

“But evidence that the treatments work is still elusive... 

“For the third year running, the EU [European Union] market for alternative medicines has exceeded €1 billion according to a report from the European Coalition on Homeopathic and Anthroposophic Medicinal Products (ECHAMP). 

“’That’s a lot of money spent on sugar pills,’ Dr Ben Goldacre, a leading scientist and expert on homeopathy, told New Europe." 

[12-16-2011 http://www.neurope.eu/article/1-billion-spent-homeopathy-and-anthrosophic-medicine-eu] 

Response:

Of all Rudolf Steiner’s teachings, the most immediately dangerous are his medical doctrines. People who turn to “alternative” medicine, such as Steiner’s, run significant risks.

When treatments are proven to work, they are accepted in mainstream (i.e., real) medical practice. Alternative medicines consist of treatments that are unproven and thus potentially deadly.

"Anthroposophic medicine" is often practiced in and around Waldorf schools.

[See, e.g., “Steiner’s Quackery”.]

[Anthroposophic Press, 1990]

Living in accordance with Rudolf Steiner's directives can be 

beneficial in some instances and damaging in others.

Steiner taught that illness is often a result of karma 

and thus should not be prevented or cured

except when the treatment includes 

Anthroposophical spiritual instruction.

Illness can be a blessing if it leads 

to spiritual growth, he said.

And if your karma truly requires you 

to have a particular disease, 

you should endure it reverently

to receive the "blessing" of karmic progress.

"Infants With Less Stress Hormone In Saliva Develop Fewer Allergies

“Infants with lower concentration of cortisol, the stress-related hormone, in their saliva develop fewer allergies than others, new Swedish research shows ... The study by Karolinska Institute is published in the December paper issue of Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 

“...The team has previously described a link between a lower prevalence of allergies in school children and an anthroposophic lifestyle. Austrian scientist and philosopher Rudolf Steiner developed the anthroposophic lifestyle in which health is a combination of mind, body and spiritual balance; his followers integrate both modern medicine with alternative, nature-based treatments. They tend to make restrictive use of antibiotics and fever antipyretics. 

“And now we’ve found the same link in infants from families that follow anthroposophic lifestyles, and that they have relatively low levels of cortisol,” adds Dr [Fredrik] Stenius, who earned his PhD earlier in the year with a thesis on the subject.” 

[12-15-2011 http://www.medindia.net/news/Infants-With-Less-Stress-Hormone-In-Saliva-Develop-Fewer-Allergies-94790-1.htm] 

Response:

The Anthroposophical lifestyle — advocated by Waldorf schools — values natural living: organic foods, herbal medicines, and a quiet, low-stress environment for young children. Some of this makes perfect sense. In these matters, the esoteric doctrines of Anthroposophy may lead to beneficial practices, even if the doctrines themselves are highly questionable. [See, e.g., “Biodynamics”, “Steiner’s Quackery”, and “Thinking Cap”.] It is possible, after all, to prefer organic foods without subscribing to occult religious teachings. [See “Is Anthroposophy a Religion?”] Note, too, that the Anthroposophical lifestyle may threaten health as much as promote it. Herbal cures are generally ineffective, and restricting the use of antibiotics and antipyretics can cause needless illness and suffering. [See, e.g., “Growing Up Being Made Sick by Anthroposophy” and “Our Brush with Rudolf Steiner”.]

Response:

Waldorf education opposes the use of high-tech devices such as computers and televisions. Amazing as it may seem, Waldorf also opposes “fact-based” schooling (i.e., teaching kids a lot of information) and extensive use of the brain. True “cognition,” in the Waldorf belief system, is clairvoyance. (Millennialchild is the creation of Eugene Schwartz, a busy advocate of Waldorf education. Schwartz has written that in order to succeed, Waldorf teachers need to use clairvoyance.)

[For more on these matters, see "Today", "Steiner's Specific", and "The Waldorf Teacher's Consciousness".]

As we have seen in recent reports, some people praise Waldorf education for downplaying the use of computers. Others see the Waldorf approach as backward: 

“Matt Candler is an Atlanta [Georgia, USA] native with a considerable track record in education. He's been a principal; vice-president of KIPP, a network of charter schools that's received national attention for impressive test scores...and most recently CEO of New Schools for New Orleans [Louisiana, USA].... 

“In Candler's view, education in America hasn't changed since the 19th century. He likes to show a map of what he calls America's ‘dropout factories,’ with the highest density in the southeastern United States. For him, the magnitude of the problem suggests no option except reaching for ideas that haven't been conceived of yet. For him, the degree to which the public school system fails to serve its families is an indication of the degree to which it needs to change. 

“'The system we're dealing with now is fundamentally broken,’ he says. ‘Schooling requires much more aggressive innovation for it to become what it actually can be, not something 150 years old.’ (It's a philosophy in direct contrast to the ‘Waldorf method,’ a century-old back-to-basics schooling philosophy currently undergoing a new vogue, particularly in California. An October story in The New York Times spotlighted a Waldorf school in Los Altos, Calif., where computers and other technology aids are verboten....)” 

[12-13-2011 http://www.bestofneworleans.com/gambit/school-of-thought/Content?oid=1923258]

[Rudolf Steiner Press, 1995]

Waldorf schools tend to resist 

contemporary educational practices.

They downplay academics while focusing 

on spiritual matters, such as incarnation.

This book, by two advocates of Waldorf schooling, 

gives an interesting presentation of some parts

of the Waldorf/Steiner worldview. 

Before sending a child to a Waldorf school,

you should make sure that you find 

that worldview compatible with your own.

From an article at Waldorf Today: 

“’I can’t escape the conclusion that decisions about the [state test] in particular and standardized tests in general are being made by individuals who lack perspective and aren’t really accountable.’ 

“There you have it. A concise summary of what’s wrong with present corporately driven education change: Decisions are being made by individuals who lack perspective and aren’t really accountable. 

“Those decisions are shaped not by knowledge or understanding of educating, but by ideology, politics, hubris, greed, ignorance, the conventional wisdom, and various combinations thereof. And then they’re sold to the public by the rich and powerful.” 

[12-13-2011 http://www.waldorftoday.com/2011/12/when-an-adult-took-standardized-tests-forced-on-kids/] 

Response:

It seems undeniable that American schools currently place too much emphasis on standardized tests. This is, in part, an unfortunate result of well-meant but flawed No Child Left Behind law. 

But just as the Waldorf attitude toward computers is based on occult ideology [see previous coverage here], so is their attitude toward standardized testing. Waldorf schools downplay the kind of education and knowledge that standardized tests look for. The purpose of Waldorf schooling is very different. Here’s one way to put it: 

"[T]he role of the teachers [is] to take primary responsibility for the incarnation of the child.” — Robert Schiappacasse, essay in ADMINISTRATIVE EXPLORATIONS (Association of Waldorf Schools of North America, 2000), p. 7. 

Or, in other words, 

“The teacher needs to provide a steady, well-balance middle realm, so that children who are still in a dreamy state and not yet incarnated, as well as those who are too densely incarnated can find a right relationship to their own, individual incarnation.” — Report on a presentation by Clause-Peter Röh at the Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training. [http://www.bacwtt.org/international-forum-of-waldorf-steiner-schools-hague-circle-meets-in-dornach-november-10-13-2011] 

Waldorf schools have a spiritual mission; regular education is low on their list of priorities. Fundamentally, Waldorf education is incompatible with standardized tests and other normal methods of educational assessment. There are no tests for successful incarnation. 

[For more on these matters, see “Incarnation”, “Spiritual Agenda”, "Academic Standards at Waldorf", and “Soul School”.]

"Following its earlier approval by the New Zealand Qualification Authority, the new Steiner School Certificate (SSC) has now also been accepted by the country's universities as a university entrance certificate. 

"According to a statement from the Federation of Rudolf Steiner/Waldorf Schools in New Zealand, the representative body for New Zealand's eight universities, Te Pokai Tara, has also approved the certificate. 

"The certificate has thus passed its final hurdle which means that students who have achieved an SSC in Class 12 at Level 3 may be admitted with equivalent status to any of those universities." 

 [12-12-2011  http://www.nna-news.org/news/en/]

From the website Waldorf-Inspired Learning: 

“The Teacher – In a Waldorf school, a teacher accompanies the same class of students for multiple years, teaching all the main academic subjects. This allows a teacher time to bond with the children, develop their potential and ensure the kind of continuity and follow-through....” 

[12-11-2011 http://waldorfinspiredlearning.com/content/unique-aspects-waldorf-education] 

Response:

This is a fairly accurate statement of one important element of Waldorf education. You may want to ponder it. A single teacher will teach “all the main academic subjects,” and s/he will do this not just for one year but for “multiple years.” No teacher is qualified to do this. What will the consequences be for the children studying under that one teacher?* 

As you ponder, you may also want to consider the following, quoted from the same site: 

“No Textbooks – Textbooks are not used in the elementary grades. Instead, the teacher creates a presentation out of his or her research, and students make their own books for each subject, recording and illustrating the substance of their lessons.” 

[http://waldorfinspiredlearning.com/content/unique-aspects-waldorf-education] 

This is also a fairly accurate statement, although Waldorf schools often dispense with textbooks well beyond the elementary grades. But even if we fully accept the website’s statement, consider what we are being told. A single teacher will teach all major academic subjects for multiple years, and the children will read no textbooks. Thus, virtually everything the children are taught will come from a single individual, one teacher. All other viewpoints and authorities will be omitted or at least channeled through a single individual. What will the consequences be for the children studying under that one teacher?

* The site Waldorf-Inspired Learning is meant to provide guidance for homeschooling. The drawbacks we are noting in standard Waldorf education may arise as well in homeschooling. The one clear advantage homeschooling may have over standard Waldorf education is that you yourself will be the central authority figure, able to decide what your child will be taught. If you enroll your child in a Waldorf school, someone else will take charge of your child and exert an extraordinary degree of authority over your child. You may or may not be happy with what that person decides to teach your child.

Christmas is coming; it will be celebrated in Waldorf schools around the world. In this festive season, it may be well to remind ourselves just who Christ is, according to Rudolf Steiner and his followers. Most mainstream Christians are likely to be surprised, if not absolutely shocked. What you have been taught in your churches and what you have read in your Bibles is wrong, according to Rudolf Steiner and his followers.

“Christ, the Sun God, who was known by earlier peoples under such names as Ahura Mazda, Hu, or Balder, has now united himself with the earth...." — Anthroposophist Margaret Jonas in the introduction to RUDOLF STEINER SPEAKS TO THE BRITISH (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1998), pp. 4-5.

[To be continued.]

Response:

Arguably the chief problem with Steiner or Waldorf schools is that they are deceitful, misrepresenting their purposes and background. Reporters often accept the misleading self-descriptions given out by Steiner representatives, and these wind up in the press. 

Calling Rudolf Steiner an “innovative Austrian academic” is an extraordinary misrepresentation. Steiner was a self-described occultist and “clairvoyant,” and the educational system he founded stands (or falls) on these bases. [See, e.g., “Occultism” and “The Waldorf Teacher’s Consciousness”.]

Steiner schools do stress “imagination,” but what they mean by this is very different from standard usage. Imagination, in the Steiner universe, is a preliminary form of clairvoyance. Consider the following, for instance. 

“Essentially, people today have no inkling of how people looked out into the universe in ancient times when human beings still possessed an instinctive clairvoyance ... If we want to be fully human, however, we must struggle to regain a view of the cosmos that moves toward Imagination again....” — Rudolf Steiner, ART AS SPIRITUAL ACTIVITY (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 256. 

Note that Steiner uses the words “clairvoyance” and “imagination” interchangeably. 

As for whether Steiner education addresses “the whole needs of children including academic, physical, emotional and spiritual” — in fact, Steiner education is fundamentally spiritual. You may like this or not, but you should at least be honestly informed about it. Here is a report from a Steiner teacher who is more candid than most of his colleagues:

“The College of Teachers [i.e., the executive council in a Steiner school] of which I was privileged to be a member for many years had a strong tendency to oscillate between two extremes and I have seen similar tendencies in my travels as a visiting teacher [at other Steiner schools]. One extreme is the position that the College should concern itself with purely spiritual matters and leave the nuts and bolts to other groups or individuals. The other is that the College should take the responsibility for everything, right down to the shape of the bathroom doorknob. Proponents of the first view say that it is the task of the College to maintain the lines of communication with the spiritual beings [i.e., gods] who hover over the school, and if the College doesn’t do it perhaps no one will. The school is a spiritual organism and there must be an organ to receive and cherish what flows in from the spirit [realm]. Those who take the second view say that decisions about nut and bolts are spiritual matters.” — Keith Francis, THE EDUCATION OF A WALDORF TEACHER (iUniverse, 2004), p. 184. 

As you may infer from Francis’s statement, the spiritual system behind Steiner education is polytheistic. Steiner spokespeople sometimes suggest that Steiner schools are Christian, but this is misleading. The “Christ” in Rudolf Steiner’s theology is the Sun God, one of a myriad of gods in a universe that, from a mainstream Christian perspective, must be considered a pagan construct. 

[See, e.g., “Was He Christian?”, “Sun God”, and “Pagan”.]

[Steiner Books, 2009]

In Waldorf belief, true or higher knowledge 

comes not through the brain

but through non-physical "organs of clairvoyance."

The forms of thinking stressed in Waldorf schools are

imagination, inspiration, and intuition — 

which Steiner said are stages of clairvoyance.

From Waldorf teacher and administrator Steve Sagarin:

“Waldorf Education is Anti-Intellectual? 

“News to me. Rather than give an abstract response, let me tell you about my graduating class, Waldorf School of Garden City, 1980, all 18 of us. 

“Two of us have PhDs, one in biotech and one in history. Three of us are MDs, including two cardiologists. Three of us are lawyers, including one who attended Harvard Law... [etc.]” 

[12-8-2011 http://ssagarin.blogspot.com/2011/12/waldorf-education-is-anti-intellectual.html] 

Response:

This is very nice. It may be somewhat off the point, however. The accomplishments cited arise mainly from education after Waldorf; whether they are attributable in any way to Waldorf is less clear. Moreover, we need to consider the extracurricular influences that can affect students during their Waldorf years. I attended the same Waldorf school as Steve Sagarin, albeit in different years. I can attest that privileged youngsters (as Waldorf students tend to be, generally coming from homes with comfortable incomes) are often exposed to many intellectually-stimulating influences. And such youngsters living in the suburbs of New York City (where our Waldorf school was located) benefit from being raised in an environment of cultural and intellectual richness (I am referring to the environment of the great metropolis, not that of the Waldorf movement). Hence, graduates of our school may have developed intellectual inclinations far exceeding anything that our school intended for us.* 

The Waldorf attitude to intellect is complex. Rudolf Steiner said intellect is needed in this, our lowly, Earthly lives. Moreover, he said intellect is needed in order for us to become free (i.e., able to make informed choices). On the other hand, he said intellect is demonic and unavailing — no real truths can be found through use of the brain. Waldorf schools intentionally suppress development of the intellect until high school, after which they encourage it only if it is used in service to “higher” forms of cognition — imagination, inspiration, and intuition (which, in Steiner belief, are forms of clairvoyance). 

A few pertinent Steiner quotations: 

• “The intellect destroys or hinders...” — Rudolf Steiner, WALDORF EDUCATION AND ANTHROPOSOPHY, Vol. 1 (Anthroposophical Press, 1995), p. 233.

• “[T]he brain and nerve system have nothing at all to do with actual cognition...” — Rudolf Steiner, FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE, Foundations of Waldorf Education (SteinerBooks, 1996), p. 60. "Actual cognition" comes through clairvoyance.

• “The brain is an instrument for purely intellectual apprehension. Intellectualism and materialistic thinking are one and the same, for all the thinking that goes on in science, in theology, in the sphere of modern Christian consciousness** — all of it is the product of the human brain alone, is materialistic. This manifests itself, on the one hand, in the empty formalism of belief; on the other, in Bolshevism [sic: emphasis by Steiner] ... [T]he materialistic brain represents a process of decay: materialistic thinking unfolds only through processes of destruction, death-processes, which are taking place in the brain.” — Rudolf Steiner, THE FESTIVALS AND THEIR MEANING (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1996), pp. 147-148. 

• “[T]he ancient clairvoyance of undeveloped man was killed when his blood was mixed with the blood of others who did not belong to the same stock. The entire intellectual life of today is the outcome of the mingling of blood, and the time is not far distant when people will study the [damaging] influence this had upon human life, and they will be able to trace it back in the history of humanity.” — Rudolf Steiner, THE OCCULT SIGNIFICANCE OF BLOOD (Rudolf Steiner Publishing Co., 1922), a lecture, GA 55.

Waldorf graduates are not doomed to failure. Many do well. But often this is in spite of, not because of, their Waldorf schooling. (Parental influence is often more important than schooling.) The saving virtue of Waldorf education is that it so often fails. Meant to lead kids toward Anthroposophy, it often drives them in the opposite direction. Kids, bless them, are often (wittingly or not) rebels.

[For more on these matters, see "Steiner's Specific", "Thinking", "Thinking Cap", "Who Gets Hurt", "Beat", and "Academic Standards at Waldorf".]

* Here is how I once put the matter:

"[T]he education I received [at Waldorf] was deficient in many ways. [See 'I Went to Waldorf'.] This was partially offset, however, by my circumstances outside school. My mother was extremely interested in arts and culture, and my father was a voracious reader — and they passed their interests to their children. Moreover, we lived in the suburbs of New York City, where we had access to all of the cultural and educational resources of that metropolis. The New York Times arrived at our doorstep every morning, for instance, while we also had weekly subscriptions to literally dozens of other publications (Life magazine, Look, The New Yorker, The Saturday Review of Literature, Newsweek, The Saturday Evening Post, and the like). We owned a multi-volume encyclopedia, a large LP collection (classical music, for the most part), and many other resources. I know that I learned far more at home than I ever did at school. And yet I arrived at college ill-prepared. [See 'My Sad, Sad Story'.]"

** Steiner opposed mainstream Christianity. His "Christ" is the Sun God. [See "Sun God".]

The wrangling between a Steiner school in Australia and some of its neighbors may be drawing to a close. 

“The Sophia Mundi Steiner School has been given approval to build extra classrooms at the Abbotsford Convent. 

“Planning Minister Matthew Guy has endorsed plans for four classrooms on the school’s playground and for a new playground to be created over a disused swimming pool. 

“Under the proposal, the playground would be open to the public out of school hours... 

“The proposal has been hugely divisive in the Yarra community. 

“The plans were opposed by both Yarra Council and the Collingwood and Abbotsford Residents Association, but were approved by Heritage Victoria earlier this year.” 

[12-8-2011 http://melbourne-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/planning-minister-approves-extra-classrooms-playground-at-abbotsford-convent/] 

For previous coverage of this matter, see some of the items below and elsewhere at the News Archive.

Posted by a Waldorf school in Texas, USA: 

"What Our Parents Are Saying

“I love that Great Oak School allows children to stay in their child like realm filled with wonder while still instilling good values, sense of community and work ethic...” 

“I knew that Waldorf education was the right choice for my family before moving to Texas and before discovering Great Oak School. What makes this school so special is the homey, nurturing and loving environment in which the children beam with joy and excitement...” 

“After a 10 year gap, we had our youngest child & were looking for a pre-school when he turned 3. We wanted a special school, where our youngest would be nurtured, be able to play outside & not have academics emphasized, he has his entire life to learn…” 

“Waldorf education has changed my life and my family’s life. What a gift! This small, calm, loving school is just what the US education system is missing today...”  

[12-7-2011 http://www.greatoakschool.org/2011/12/07/what-our-parents-are-saying/] 

Response:

Parents and children often love Waldorf schools, especially during their first years at the schools. But, sadly, a harsh disillusionment sometimes follows. Usually, this involves discovering the occult doctrines that underlie Waldorf education, and realizing that the schools often misrepresent themselves. Many of the most prominent critics of Waldorf education were, at one time, delighted with Waldorf. 

[See, e.g., “Moms”, “Pops”, “Our Experience”, “Coming Undone”, “Occultism”, “Soul School”, etc.]

“A surprise decision to create charter schools in eastern and central Christchurch [New Zealand] in the next three years has been met with mixed reactions. 

“[The plan], announced on Monday, would see private companies [and] religious or ethnic groups compete to operate a school or start a new one. 

“The move has upset teacher unions and school principals, who are demanding to see evidence that charter schools will be good for pupils. 

"And they are also concerned that teachers at the charter schools will be subject to performance pay... 

“Christchurch Rudolf Steiner School principal Thomas Proctor said he was positive about anything that provided diversity and choice in education, but he was not sure whether charter schools was the way to do that. 

“He said the move towards performance pay was a dreadful idea and would create a divide between teachers.” 

[12-7-2011 http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/charter-school-trial-in-christchurch-draws-mixed-reactions-4601477]

Response:

The movement to create Waldorf charter schools (called free school in the UK) has caused considerable controversy. Many advocates of Waldorf education support the movement, which would provide the schools with financial support from government coffers. On the other hand, some Waldorf representatives worry that government funding would involve government oversight, which could force fundamental changes in the Waldorf curriculum. 

Meanwhile, critics charge that Waldorf schools are essentially religious and thus should not qualify for inclusion in public school systems. In the USA, separation of church and state is required by the Constitution. On this basis, the group People for Legal and Nonsectarian Schools has sued two California school districts, charging them with illegally offering religious education through their Waldorf charter and magnet schools. 

[See http://waldorfcritics.org/active/pressreleases/PR20071214.html]

From a discussion of Waldorf schools at Livejournal:

"If it weren't for the $$, we might have strongly considered our local Steiner school. Long before I had kids, I volunteered there occasionally and was very impressed with the students - the level of engagement with their work, and the ways in which they interacted with each other. However, when deciding on a school for my own kids, I read more about Waldorf philosophy and found some things that concerned me - particularly anthroposophy and the way it can be interpreted as promoting racism. The good news is that the Waldorf education community seems aware of the perceived issues with racism and many seem to be working to address them, but I couldn't risk it since my children are biracial.

"http://www.waldorfcritics.org/active/articles/Racism_McDermott.html

"And from this article: http://www.waldorfcritics.org/active/articles/NJP_WhatEveryJewishParent.html

"'Anthroposophy teaches that Negroes [sic] are at a baby stage of development, Asians are at an adolescent stage, and only whites are adults; it also teaches that while an individual's potential may be limited by his race, an individual's soul will reincarnate many times throughout the races. Steiner lectured in Germany, 1922: "If the blonds and blue-eyed people die out, the human race will become increasingly dense if men do not arrive at a form of intelligence that is independent of blondness." Steiner may have meant to challenge his listeners out of their own type of racism and into his own, but it is unlikely that many understood what he was talking about.

"'Waldorf proponents like to say that such ideas of Steiner are not taught in Waldorf schools, that it is only his teaching methods and ideas about child development that are employed in Waldorf education. But in 1995, the mother of a student in a Dutch Waldorf school was outraged to find in her daughter's notebook various racial stereotypes ('Negroes have a sense of rhythm' and 'Asian smiles hide emotions') dictated to her by her Waldorf teacher. To the mother's surprise, 'racial ethnography' was being taught as a subject to eighth graders. The Waldorf Schools Association responded that ethnography was being taught 'with the intention to teach interest and warmth for the diversity of nations.'"  

[12-5-2011  http://parenting101.livejournal.com/7007234.html]

Response:

Coming to terms with Steiner's racial teachings is a challenge for his followers. There is no denying that Steiner spoke of race often, and he had concerns — such as worries about race mixing — that are hard to justify today. 

Steiner taught that human blood has deep spiritual powers, and he said that different races have significantly different blood types. 

"[T]his question of race is one that we can never understand until we understand the mysteries of the blood and of the results accruing from the mingling of the blood of different races." — Rudolf Steiner, THE OCCULT SIGNIFICANCE OF BLOOD (Health Research, 1972), p. 13. 

When the blood types of different races are mixed, Steiner said, some of humanity's spiritual powers are destroyed. 

"The physical organism of man survives when strange blood comes in contract with strange blood, but clairvoyant power perishes under the influence of this mixing of blood, or exogamy." — Rudolf Steiner, Ibid., p. 42.

Having sparked the many recent articles finding value in the way Waldorf schools downplay or even ban the use of computers among students, THE NEW YORK TIMES has now published an article suggesting that computers may hold the key to improving education.* Significantly, the article argues that computers and the Internet may be especially helpful in developing precisely the ability Waldorf schools claim to stress: creativity.

"Death Knell for the Lecture: Technology as a Passport to Personalized Education

"...Some argue that online education can’t teach creative problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. But to practice problem-solving, a student must first master certain concepts. By providing a cost-effective solution for this first step, we can focus precious classroom time on more interactive problem-solving activities that achieve deeper understanding — and foster creativity.

"In this format, which we call the flipped classroom, teachers have time to interact with students, motivate them and challenge them...

"A 2010 analysis from the Department of Education, based on 45 studies, showed that online learning is as effective as face-to-face learning, and that blended learning [combining computers, the Internet, and teacher involvement] is considerably more effective than either."  

[12-6-2011  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/06/science/daphne-koller-technology-as-a-passport-to-personalized-education.html?_r=1&ref=collegesanduniversities&pagewanted=all]

* The article does not mention Waldorf schools. I include it here only because the question of computer use, particularly in Waldorf schools, has been such a hot topic recently.

Here is continued coverage of a long-running story about a Steiner school in Australia:

"Steiner community fondly farewells school

"Walking across a hand-laid brick pathway at Sophia Mundi Steiner School’s campus in Nicholson Street, Abbotsford [Australia], the only sound is the subtle swishing of leaves in the wind. Which is odd, as busy Victoria Street is just a few hundred metres away.

"This quiet oasis will not last much longer, though. By March next year, the last of the students will have left and bulldozers will have moved in to demolish the buildings the school has called home for the past 20 years.

"The school’s landlord, the Catholic Archdiocese, sold the site to developers last November, forcing the school to make alternative plans. It wants to expand its Abbotsford Convent campus, but is facing stiff opposition from Yarra Council and the community. While the school waits for Planning Minister Matthew Guy to make a decision, it is packing up 20 years of memories in the hope there will be space at the convent for them."  

[12-6-2011  http://www.melbournetimesweekly.com.au/news/local/news/general/steiner-community-fondly-farewells-school/2383098.aspx]

For previous coverage, see below on this page; also elsewhere in the News Archive.

"Steiner Education coming to Cooma 

“The Steiner inspired Silver Wattle Playgroup has been running for a year in the Hawkins Centre on the corner Soho and Sharp streets in Cooma [Australia] ... Mothers in the region were seeking a playgroup that could be both a rhythmical and nurturing space for their children, as well as a place to meet new friends ... [T]here is work being done to start a primary school for Steiner Education in Cooma. Steiner schools throughout the world have grown to more than 600, with 60 in Australia, over the past 100 years.” 

[12-6-2011 http://www.coomaexpress.com.au/news/local/news/general/steiner-education-coming-to-cooma/2382566.aspx] 

Response:

The precise number of Steiner or Waldorf schools in the world is hard to pin down. Some Waldorf websites give a wildly inflated total: 2,500. 

The article quoted here cuts this severely — probably too much. 

The most reliable sources tend to indicate that, amid the flux of tiny schools flashing into and out of existence, there are something short of 1,000 genuine Steiner or Waldorf schools in the world, most of them quite small, but some substantially large.  

As reported here previously, a Steiner school in Australia has been involved in a tussle with some its neighbors. The school wants to expand onto public ground, a move that has been alternately approved and rejected by local authorities. The controversy has become heated and now, apparently, vicious. 

“A video parody drawing comparisons between Nazi Germany and Abbotsford’s Sophia Mundi Steiner School has been slammed as ‘outrageous and highly offensive.’ 

“The controversial video — which has attracted hundreds of YouTube hits — has been released as Planning Minister Matthew Guy prepares to decide on the school’s plan to build extra classrooms at Abbotsford Convent [a former convent now essentially a community cultural center]... 

“Abbotsford resident Ruth Learner, who said she had no affiliation with either Sophia Mundi or plan opponents, the Collingwood and Abbotsford Residents Association (CARA), labelled it the lowest form of ‘gutter politics.’” 

[12-5-2011 http://melbourne-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/have-your-say-video-parody-likens-abbotsford-school-to-nazi-germany/]  

Response:

If the local community is to make an informed decision, it needs to know the real nature of Steiner schooling. Calling the occultist Rudolf Steiner a philosopher is as misleading as saying that Steiner schooling is holistic. There is some truth in such statements, but far more is omitted than conveyed. 

Rudolf Steiner based his teachings — including his educational approach — on his professed clairvoyant discoveries about the spirit realm, and his concept of the "whole child" includes such mystical components as the etheric body, the astral body, classical temperament, karma, multiple extra senses, astrological influences, spiritual doubles, and innate ties to pre-earthly life. [See, e.g., "Clairvoyance", "Occultism", "Holistic Education", and "Here's the Answer".] 

One suggestion: Canterbury Steiner School should distribute copies of THE ESOTERIC BACKGROUND OF WALDORF EDUCATION by René Querido, in which the author explains that one goal of Steiner/Waldorf education is "continuing the work of the Hierarchies" — that is, fulfilling the divine cosmic plan of the gods [p. 16]. The Steiner belief system is polytheistic and, arguably, pagan. The residents of Chartham village might be intrigued to learn such truths. [See "Polytheism" and "Pagan".]

[Rudolf Steiner College Press, 1995]

Perhaps the most important thing 

to realize about books like this

is that they are published by advocates, 

not opponents, of the Steiner belief system.

This book comes from the Rudolf Steiner College Press, 

the organ of a major Waldorf teacher-training institution.

In the past, spokespeople for Steiner schools 

could assume that such books were not generally available;

in the Internet Age, this has changed. Make use of this change.

Q. “I am looking at high school for my son and have come across Steiner school. Has anyone been involved in a Steiner school and what is your opinion of it? Just wondering peoples thoughts.” 

A1. “I know someone whose child attends Steiner, and there is no way no how I would let my child, in particular my ASD [autism spectrum disorder] child go to one. Their approach to negative and possibly dangerous behaviours is something I have quite an issue with.” 

A2. “my kiddo will be attending a steiner school for highschool, it ticks all our boxes. There are some steiner schools I wouldn't go near, but others that are brilliant - much like any other kind of school. The ideas behind what they do can and often are odd, but the interesting thing is that (provided you've found one of the good steiner schools) what they actually do has an ever increasingly amount of scientific support for being a quality approach to education.” 

A3. “I am a huge fan of Steiner philosophies. His style of education was actually originally created with special needs children in mind.” 

[11-20-2011 http://raisingchildren.net.au/forum/Topic52579-156-1.aspx#bm64604]

Response:

A surprising amount of misinformation about Steiner education is in circulation. When someone speaks of scientific support for Steiner schooling, ask to see it. There is precious little. 

As for special needs children: Steiner schooling was established for ordinary children, and indeed Rudolf Steiner sometimes acknowledged that he could do little or nothing for kids with special needs. On one shocking occasion, for instance, in a meeting with Waldorf faculty, he said 

“That little girl L.K. in the first grade must have something really very wrong inside. There is not much we can do. Such cases are increasing in which children are born with a human form, but are not really human beings ... I do not like to talk about such things since we have often been attacked even without them. Imagine what people would say if they heard that we say there are people who are not human beings. Nevertheless, these are facts.” — Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), pp. 649-650.  

Waldorf or Steiner schools often have organic gardens. In many cases, gardening is a required activity. The particular style of organic gardening practiced is called "biodynamic" agriculture. It combines perfectly sensible organic principles with large dollops of magic, astrology, and other flummery. [See "Biodynamics".] 

Biodynamics has caught on in a corner of the winemaking industry, and from time to time discussions of biodynamic merits and demerits appear in wine-o-centric publications. E.g.,

"Biodynamics...grafts astrology to oenology and involves rites, rituals, calendars, cow-pats and a founder who believed that eating potatoes causes journalism.* True. Rudolf Steiner was the cryptic mystic inventor of Anthroposophy, which was easy for him to say. He never actually practised farming but that did not stop him from authoritatively addressing agriculture and giving birth to biodynamics. He also expressed some odious opinions about spirituality and skin colour,** and he wasn’t talking about grape skins."  

[11-29-2011  http://www.timatkin.com/articles?272]

* E.g., 

"The potato takes little care of lung and heart. It reaches the head, but only, as I said, the lower head, not the upper head. It does go into the lower head, where one thinks and exercises critical faculties. Therefore, you can see, in earlier times there were fewer journalists." — Rudolf Steiner, THE EVOLUTION OF THE EARTH AND MAN AND THE INFLUENCE OF THE STARS (Anthroposophic Press, 1987), p. 111.

** E.g.,

“One can only understand history...if one pays attention to people's racial characteristics. And one can only understand all that is spiritual...if one first examines how this spiritual element operates within people precisely through the color of their 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.  

A discussion of recent press reports about Waldorf schools is occurring now at the Waldorf Critics list (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waldorf-critics/messages/) — with, I must acknowledge, heavy participation by yours truly.  

The debate over computers in the classroom has flared up again, in part due to the NBC Nightly News [see November]. Fortunately, some correspondents are attempting to find a balanced view. 

“Digital Divide: Commentators Split Over Computers in the Classroom 

“Our story a few weeks ago about Waldorf schools that shun the use of computers in the classroom got a lot of you buzzing. 

"Ohio education tech guy John Schinker was the first to chime in. 

“’It’s strange to me that these schools feel so threatened by technology that they’re banning it. 

“’Our students are living in a very different world from the one that traditional schools prepared their parents and grandparents for. They need to collaborate on a global scale to find innovative solutions to very challenging problems. We’re facing unprecedented challenges as we continue to exhaust our energy supply, fail to take care of the environment, and ignore the health care and retirement needs of the aging baby boomers. Our students will need outstanding communication, critical and innovative thinking, and collaboration skills to meet these challenges. 

“’Technology is one way to help address these needs.’ 

“But others, like Adamdlacanian, say they get why some parents opt to send their kids to tech-free schools, at least for their first several years of school... 

“One last note: The Waldorf School starts introducing computers in middle and high school. Parents of Waldorf students I interviewed all had computers in their homes; some had televisions as well. A teacher I spoke to said he keeps in touch with his former students, now freshmen in high school. When he emailed a few of them to ask about their transition to high-tech high schools, it took about five minutes for him to get an initial response from a former student on her cell phone. She posted his request on Facebook, and soon enough he had responses from the bulk of his graduates. Connectivity – eventually – is not an issue for these students.” 

[12-1-2011 http://stateimpact.npr.org/ohio/2011/12/01/digital-divide-commenters-split-over-computers-in-the-classroom/]

Response:

The Waldorf aversion to computers, while not absolute, runs deep. It stems from Rudolf Steiner's antipathy to modern technology in virtually all forms. The mere use of electricity is potentially demonic, he said. 

"[E]lectric atoms are little demons of Evil ... [W]hen we listen to a modern physicist blandly explaining that Nature consists of electrons, we merely listen to him explaining that Nature really consists of little demons of Evil! And if we acknowledge Nature in this form, we raise Evil to the rank of the ruling world-divinity." — Rudolf Steiner, "Concerning Electricity" (General Anthroposophical Society, 1940), GA 220.

But electricity is not the whole story. Even totally manual technological devices are suspect, Steiner taught. Think about typewriters, for instance (recalling that all typewriters in his day were non-electric): 

"We can clearly see what is happening inside the human body once we have reached the stage of clairvoyant imagination ,,, [E]very stroke of a typewriter key becomes a flash of lightning ... [T]he human heart is constantly struck and pierced by those lightning flashes." — Rudolf Steiner, SOUL ECONOMY: Body, Soul and Spirit in Waldorf Education (Anthroposophic Press, 2003), p. 146.

Indeed, even the simple abacus is a monstrosity, in Steiner's eyes: 

"The calculator [abacus] has been introduced ... [W]hen I see calculators in classrooms, from a spiritual point of view it strikes me as if I were in a medieval torture chamber." — Rudolf Steiner,  SOUL ECONOMY (Anthroposophic Press, 2003), p. 173.

[For more on the Waldorf view of technology and science, see, e.g., "Spiders, Dragons and Foxes", "Dorm Dad", and "Steiner's 'Science'". To consider the Waldorf view of the youthful soul and why it needs protection, see, e.g., "Thinking Cap" and "Incarnation".]

[R.R., 2011]