July, '20
July 26, 2020
STEPPING AWAY
FROM STEINER?
Here is a statement posted recently at the Waldorf Critics discussion site:
Hey folks,
With great pride, I would like to point your attention to AWSNA's Diversity statement, posted after George Floyd's murder: https://www.waldorfeducation.org/awsna
This part in particular is relevant: Waldorf education espouses principles of respect for human dignity. Any narratives or indications made by Rudolf Steiner that are in contradiction to this principle are not the basis for Waldorf education and we unequivocally denounce such statements.
For those of us who have worked so hard to get this movement to creak open one crust-infected eye, this is a god-send.
Congratulations, folk. Something may be occurring.
Much love,
Adam Jacobs
[7/26/2020 https://groups.io/g/waldorf-critics/message/32114 This message was originally posted on July 23.]
Waldorf Watch Response
AWSNA is the Association of Waldorf schools of North America.
The Association's statement indeed seems to be a step forward. For more than a century, Rudolf Steiner's followers have been loath to admit that Steiner could have made mistakes in any of his writings or lectures. They have tended to look upon Steiner as a virtually infallible sage [1].
This has begun to change, a little, particularly on the subject of race. Indeed, some Steiner schools have gone so far as to consider changing their names, to downplay their connection with a man who has become widely recognized as a racist [2].
If the Waldorf schools of North America now generally wish to denounce racist statements made by Steiner, so much the better.
But pause for a moment. How substantial is this apparent reformation? Go back to the situation of Steiner schools that change their names. If this is the only change they make — if they remain in all other ways precisely the same schools they were before — then the name change may be essentially meaningless. Indeed, it may be nothing but public relations, window dressing, deception.
The same may be true of the recent AWSNA declaration. AWSNA has now gone on record as denouncing "any" racist statements Steiner may have made. But did Steiner in fact make such statements? What statements, specifically, are we talking about? Steiner's defenders have long claimed that Steiner made no racist statements of any kind [3]. Perhaps, these defenders have said, Steiner may occasionally have said something that can be misinterpreted as racially prejudiced, but this is only a misinterpretation. No, Steiner was wholly free of racial bias.
If the authors of the AWSNA declaration share this view — if they think that, really, Steiner never made any racist remarks — then their declaration is essentially null and void. It may be nothing but public relations, window dressing, deception [4].
Of course, we need to tread very carefully here. In all probability, there are few if any overt racists teaching in American Waldorf schools today. I certainly hope and assume this is the case. And in this sense, the AWSNA statement may be sincere.
But the belief system underlying Waldorf education — Anthroposophy [5] — contains numerous racist assumptions. These assumptions were promulgated by Rudolf Steiner and they remain embedded in Anthroposophy today [6].
Among these assumptions are the following: The races of humanity stand at different levels of development — some races higher than others [7]. The various races have different "group souls" [8], they are presided over by different gods [9], and they belong in different parts of the Earth [10]. Moreover, people who belong to the different races tend to have different capabilities: the members of some races are smarter, the members of other races have more manual dexterity (they are more skillful), and the members of still other races are more loving [11].
Do any such beliefs linger today within Waldorf schools? Here's one indication — a play written by a Waldorf teacher for Waldorf third graders to perform. The play is about Noah and the Flood. Near the end, when the flood waters have receded, three gods address Noah's three sons. They send the sons to different places on Earth where, the gods says, the sons will give rise to three races:
ARIEL:
Shem, to the north and the West you must go,
Where, out of cold and the blood.chilling snow,
You and your race shall become those who know.
GABRIEL:
Japheth, no man could work harder than you!
Go to the east, to your God remain true
You and your race shall become those who do.
RAPHAEL:
Ham, lion.brave yet as mild as a dove,
Go to the South, where the Sun burns above;
You and your race shall become those who love. [12]
"You and your race", "you and your race", "you and your race."
I am willing to stipulate that the author of this play had the best of intentions; I affirm that he should not be labeled a racist. The play concludes with speeches about the brotherhood of man and the merging of light and dark. Nonetheless, the quoted speeches, above, are highly problematic. They reflect some of Rudolf Steiner's most deplorable racial doctrines.
Perhaps Waldorf schools will now discontinue using this play and all similar material. But until they do, they will not truly rid themselves of Rudolf Steiner's racist legacy.
AWSNA appears to have taken at least a preliminary step toward weeding racism out of the beliefs and practices found in Waldorf schools. This is commendable. But as the authors of the AWSNA statement appear to recognize, much introspection and hard work appear to lie ahead.
Waldorf Watch Footnotes
[1] See, e.g., "Guru".
[2] See, e.g., "Taking the Name Steiner Out of the Steiner Name", September 21, 2019. For an overview of Steiner's racial teachings, see "Steiner's Racism".
[3] See, e.g., Richard House, "A Refutation of the Allegation of Racism Against Rudolf Steiner", New View magazine, 31 (Spring), 2004, pp. 51–3.
[4] Rudolf Steiner urged his followers — including Waldorf teachers — to deceive outsiders. [See "Secrets".] Waldorf officials have, at least occasionally, sought to implement canny public relations strategies. [See "PR".]
[5] See "Anthroposophy" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia (BWSE).
[6] See "Embedded Racism".
[7] See, e.g., "White Guys".
[8] See "group soul" in the BWSE; also see "race soul".
[9] Anthroposophy is polytheistic. [See "Polytheism".] The gods presiding over races are Archangels or Spirits of Fire. Steiner taught that these spirits are, in effect, the group souls of the races they oversee.
[10] See "Forbidden".
[11] Steiner taught that the white race predominantly uses the forebrain, while the yellow race predominantly uses the "mid-brain," and the black race predominantly uses the "rear-brain." [See "Races"; also see "Differences".]
[12] "Noah and the Flood", Class Plays Grades 1-7, MillennialChild.com. For an early appearance of this play, see Waldorf Clearing House Newsletter, New Series, Vol. 2, No. 5, 1984. The play has been in circulation in the Waldorf community since it first appeared, and a pdf version remains on sale in 2020.
— R.R.
July 23, 2020
GETTING A SENSE OF
THE WALDORF SENSES
Parents who send their children to Waldorf schools often do not realize, at least initially, how odd Waldorf thinking can be. Specifically, they tend not to know what sorts of subjects Waldorf teachers discuss among themselves — what sorts of ideas Waldorf teachers take seriously, what sorts of beliefs they tend to embrace.
Here is an announcement of a planned Waldorf event, posted at the website of a Waldorf teachers' organization, the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA):
"Pathways to a Human Future
The Twelves Senses"
Due to the coronavirus pandemic,
this event — originally meant to be a physical gathering —
has been redesigned as an online conference:
"The Twelve Senses Online
A Step into a Human Future"
The premise of the conference is that in order to create a decent future, we must have a correct understanding of human nature —including the fact that people have twelve senses.
Twelve senses?
You may be surprised to learn that, according to Waldorf belief, people have a nice, round, large array of senses — an even dozen of them. This may strike you as a strange belief. But if you dig deeper, you will discover even stranger levels of the Waldorf creed.
Waldorf founder Rudolf Steiner devised a list of twelve human senses in order to be consistent with his belief in astrology [1]. Gods dwell among the twelve astrological constellations, he taught, and from those locations they pour their influences down to the Earth [2]. He said that many earthly phenomena, including the human senses, reflect the powers of the stars and the gods dwelling there. Steiner's followers, including those who work in (and often run) Waldorf schools, still generally affirm such teachings today [3].
Here are the twelve senses described by Steiner, along with the astrological connections [4]:
◊ Spirit Senses ◊
Ego Sense - Aries
Thought Sense - Taurus
Speech Sense - Gemini
Hearing - Cancer
◊ Soul Senses ◊
Warmth Sense - Leo
Eyesight - Virgo
Taste - Pisces
Smell - Aquarius
◊ Physical Senses ◊
Balance - Capricorn
Movement - Sagittarius
Life Sense - Scorpio
Touch - Libra
Four of our senses, Steiner taught, belong to the "spirit" — the transcendent part of human identity that is carried from one incarnation to the next [5]. In addition to astrology, the Steiner belief system affirms such concepts as reincarnation [6].
Soul senses, by contrast, belong to the part of human identity that is renewed with each incarnation [7]. And the physical senses belong to the physical body, the lowest portion of the human constitution. Steiner often spoke of the tripartite nature of human nature, consisting of spirit, soul, and physical body. This conception remains firmly embedded in Waldorf belief today [8].
We could delve still deeper into all of this, but perhaps we have already gone far enough for the purposes of a brief news item. Consider what we have already unearthed. Waldorf belief in the twelve senses enumerated by Steiner leads to these additional Waldorf doctrines: astrology, polytheism, reincarnation, and — tangentially — numerology. Steiner found enormous spiritual significance in various numbers, including 3, 4, 7 (3+4), and 12 (3x4) [9].
The Waldorf belief system, Anthroposophy [10], is fundamentally gnostic [11] — it is built on belief in a vast catalogue of hidden or occult doctrines [12].
Waldorf schools can be beguiling beautiful places, full of colorful art and melodious music. But before sending a child to a Waldorf school, you should spend a little time digging into the beliefs upon which the Waldorf movement is founded.
Addendum
How many senses actually exist, and what are they? Commonly, we speak of five senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. For ordinary purposes, this list work pretty well. But science has progressed much further. Here is a list that summarizes the scientific inventory of the senses now, in mid-2020 [13]:
1. Light senses - principally vision
2. Mechanical senses - including touch, hearing, and balance
3. Chemical senses - including taste and smell
4. Electrical sense - electroreception
These senses enable beings to locate themselves in the world, and some of them also provide awareness of a body's inner condition. The scientific account includes the classical five senses, and it overlaps Steiner's list slightly. But the differences between the scientific list and Steiner's list are extensive.
Despite claiming to respect science, Steiner created a belief system that is essentially unscientific [14] — it is essentially divorced from reality [15]. And Waldorf education is an outgrowth of Steiner's occult, unrealistic vision.
Waldorf Watch Footnotes
[1] See "Astrology" and "Star Power".
[2] The Steiner creed is polytheistic. Steiner taught that there are nine ranks of gods. [See "Polytheism".]
[3] For an introduction of Waldorf thinking today, see, e.g., "Today", "Today 2", etc.
[4] See, e.g., Albert Soesman, OUR TWELVE SENSES (Hawthorn Press, Anthroposophy Series, 1990), p. 142.
[5] See the entry for "spirit" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia (BWSE).
[6] See "Reincarnation".
[7] See "soul" in the BWSE.
[8] See "threefold nature of man" in the BWSE. (Steiner also had other, more involved descriptions of human nature. See "What We're Made Of".)
[9] See "Magic Numbers".
[10] See "Anthroposophy" in the BWSE.
[11] See "Gnosis".
[12] See "Occultism".
[13] See "Senses", ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA, downloaded July 23, 2020 [https://www.britannica.com/science/senses].
[14] See "Steiner's 'Science'" and "Science".
[15] See, e.g., "Summing Up" and "Truth".
— R.R.
July 19, 2020
◊ Backgrounder ◊
VACCINES, KARMA,
KIDS — & WALDORF
Many people today are eager for scientists to produce a vaccine to combat the coronavirus pandemic. But anti-vaxx protestors are raising an alarm, warning that such a vaccine may have severe consequences. Proponents of Waldorf education have been prominent in the protests [1].
Waldorf views on vaccines have long been controversial. Here are excerpts from VACCINE, a 2007 book that devotes some attention to Waldorf. The author, Arthur Allen, is not an expert on Waldorf education or the teachings of Rudolf Steiner. He gets some details wrong when discussing these subjects. But, overall, he presents an informative overview [2].
VACCINE - The Controversial Story of Medicine's Greatest Lifesaver
[W. W. Norton & Co.]
The Waldorf movement was the creation of the Austrian mystic philosopher Rudolf Steiner [3], who founded his first school in 1919 [4] ... The colors inside Waldorf schools [5] lean heavily to pastels, and the instructors discourage television [6] and reading matter of any kind for children under age 7 [7] because such media are thought to interfere with the child's natural inclinations [8] and unfolding imagination [9]. The bundling of children is another tenet of Waldorf education handed down by Steiner, who believed that physical and spiritual warmth were related. Waldorf kids are instructed to dress warmly year-round in wool hats and layers of cotton sweaters [10].
...Another, less advertised Waldorf belief, one that comes as a surprise to many parents, is that children need to become quite ill with infectious diseases in order to develop into spiritually whole beings [11] ... [The Waldorf worldview] prefers the natural trajectory of strong fevers, coughing, vomiting, and (hopefully) recovery to the sterile efficiency of antibiotics and other medications [12]. As a result...[students in] Waldorf schools around the world are disproportionately unvaccinated [13], and these schools have often been the epicenters to vaccine-preventable illnesses [14]...
— Arthur Allen, VACCINE - The Controversial Story of Medicine's Greatest Lifesaver (W. W. Norton & Co., 2007), pp. 327-328.
The principles of health that influence Waldorf schools and communities are vestiges — like Christian Science, Rosicrucianism, and Swedenborgianism [15] — of spiritual philosophies that view the body as a temple, the blood as a divine fluid [16], and vaccines are spiritual pollution ... [E]ach of these postindustrial religious sects [17] arose at a time when society was visibly mucking up nature and humankind. They were millenarian responses to the despoilation of traditional life [18]. And although arguably our air, water, and food are less polluted than they were 50 years ago, the belief that we have defiled ourselves with pollutants and toxins remains just as intense if not more so. Spiritual holists [believe] we are a fallen civilization.
— Ibid., pp. 333-334.
When it came to disease, Steiner had a hailing familiarity with the emerging discipline of bacteriology, but he endowed germs with a spiritual significance ... [H]e stated that overfeeding infants caused measles and scarlet fever [19], that smallpox resulted from heavy breathing or sweating [20], and that excessive bathing caused diphtheria [21]. Influenza was contagious not through viruses but as a result of the garlic-and-onion odor emanating from people with flu [22] ... Diseases of childhood were the result of spiritual impurity [23]...
[V]accination might prevent epidemics but at the cost of leaving spiritual work undone: "If we destroy the susceptibility to smallpox [through vaccination] we are concentrating only on the external side of karmic activity." Since "man cannot escape his karma" and smallpox was the "organ of unlovingness [24]," vaccination might prevent the disease but the "cause of unlovingness would still remain, and souls in question would then be forced to seek another way for karmic compensation either in this or another incarnation [25]."
...Vaccination, like reading and writing, was an extraneous influence that disrupted the mother's spiritual dominance over her child [26]. Steiner warned of a day when medicine would create a vaccine "which will be injected into the human organism in earliest infancy, if possible immediately after birth, to ensure that this human body never has the idea that a soul and a spirit exist [27]," a day when "materialistic doctors will be entrusted with the task of driving souls out of human beings [28]."
— Ibid., pp. 344-345.
Waldorf Watch Footnotes
[1] See, e.g., "Anthroposophists Among the Pandemic Protestors", May 26, 2020, and "Opposition to a Vaccine That Does Not Exist Yet", July 3, 2020. [Steiner's teachings are identified, collectively, as "Anthroposophy". See "Anthroposophy" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia (BWSE).]
[2] For a review of the book, see "Preventive Medicine", New York Times, February 4, 2007 [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/04/books/review/Oshinsky.t.html].
[3] See "What a Guy".
Steiner's followers like to refer to him as a philosopher or scientist or educational reformer, etc., but he often identified himself as an occultist. [See "Occultism".]
[4] This was the first Waldorf school, opened in Stuttgart, Germany, for children of workers at the Waldorf-Astoria Cigarette Factory.
[5] See "Mystical Colors".
[6] Steiner's followers are leery of electronic devices of many sorts, including televisions and computers — such devices, they fear, may be demonic. [See "Spiders, Dragons and Foxes".]
[7] In Waldorf belief, children younger than seven years old have not yet fully received their "etheric bodies," the first of three invisible bodies that incarnate during the first 21 years of life. [See "Incarnation".] The kids are not ready for basic academic instruction until this first invisible body incarnates.
[8] In Waldorf belief, children arrive on earth with predispositions resulting from their former lives and their prenatal experiences in the spirit realm. [See "Reincarnation"]
[9] Imagination is stressed in Waldorf education. It is deemed a precursor to, or an early stage of, clairvoyance. [See "imagination" in the BWSE.]
[10] Waldorf students do not all, always, wear woolen hats and cotton sweaters — especially not in summer. But Steiner taught his followers to prefer natural materials such as wool and cotton, and he indicated that physical warmth may sometimes convey the restorative powers of spiritual warmth. Here's a statement made by a Steiner follower who took Waldorf teacher training: "Rudolf Steiner, founder of Waldorf Education, really saw the connection between these two types of warmth. Steiner would talk about how the physical warmth that a child receives in the younger years (before age 7) would impact positively not only their physical health in years to come but also a child’s capacity for emotional warmth as an adult ... Steiner wasn't ho-hum about warmth for growing kids. He placed a very high importance on providing physical warmth. Actually, it was one of the top three things he wanted every parent [and teacher?] to know about." — Monika Herwig, "Waldorf and Warmth", January 14, 2018 [https://www.opentowellness.ca/blog/2018/1/14/warmth-waldorf-steiners-wisdom-the-unexpected-benefits-for-our-children].
[11] Waldorf faculties often conceal at least some of their beliefs from outsiders — in this sense, they have "unadvertised" tenets. [See "Secrets".] Parents of Waldorf students are often surprised when they learn what Waldorf teachers actually believe. [See, e.g., "Coming Undone".]
Just as they believe in reincarnation, Steiner's followers believe in karma. [See "Karma".] Accordingly, there is a belief that children are destined to have certain diseases. Undergoing these illnesses discharges karmic obligations. Moreover, the fever accompanying infectious diseases can burn away injurious genetic characteristics, Steiner indicated.
The Steiner/Waldorf view of diseases is reflected in such publications as the book BLESSED BY ILLNESS (Steinerbooks/Anthroposophic Press, 1998), by L.F.C. Mees.
[12] Modern medicine is viewed askance, as another extension of potentially demonic modern technology. [For an overview of the sort of medical care advocated by Steiner, see "Steiner's Quackery".]
[13] Waldorf schools rarely have official policies opposing vaccination, but they nonetheless are often centers of anti-vaccination belief and practice. [See "vaccination" in the BWSE.]
[14] For an instance in the USA, see "Chickenpox in Asheville". There have reportedly also been infectious disease outbreaks among Steiner's followers in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom. [See "Under-vaccinated groups in Europe and their beliefs, attitudes and reasons for non-vaccination; two systematic reviews", BMC Public Health [https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-018-5103-8].
[15] See, e.g., "Choosing".
[16] See "blood" in the BWSE. Steiner stated many of his views about blood in the lecture "The Occult Significance of Blood".
[17] Steiner called Anthroposophy a "spiritual science," but in reality it is a religion or, in Allen's words, a religious sect. [See "Is Anthroposophy a Religion?"]
[18] Like the other movements mentioned, Anthroposophy is essentially backward-looking. [See, e.g., "The Ancients".]
[19] "Children know their limits, as a rule, through their own inherent wisdom and instinct. If the mother produces too much milk, however, and it is fed to the child, its instinct will become uncertain through eating too much. Now, if too much food is absorbed by the system, the head cannot keep up; it cannot handle too large an amount and will try to eliminate the surplus. The food has already been absorbed into the blood through the intestines, however, so the head cannot eliminate the surplus in the normal way. What does it do then? It discharges the superfluous substances through the skin. Measles and scarlet fever are the result." — Rudolf Steiner, HEALTH AND ILLNESS, Vol. 1 (Anthroposophic Press, 1981), lecture 2, GA 348.
[20] "If the air that enters through the breathing process does not make contact with the blood in the correct way...smallpox results. What is smallpox? Smallpox is really the result of the development of too much respiratory activity on the body's surface or in the lungs. A person becomes too active on his surface area, and this activity causes inflammation everywhere." — Rudolf Steiner, HEALTH AND ILLNESS, Vol. 2 (Anthroposophic Press, 1983), lecture 7, GA 348.
[21] The relationship between diphtheria and bathing, as described by Steiner, is intricate. "Treatment with modified virus vaccine is effective in the case of diphtheria...but it has unfavorable aftereffects. Particularly if a child is treated with vaccine, it will later suffer a hardening of its organization [i.e., its constitution]. One therefore must strive actually to replace treatment with vaccine with that of bathing, especially in the case of diphtheria ... [D]iphtheria is more frequent now than in former times ... [Nowadays] people who have money bathe a lot ... [I]t is...wrong for a person to cause too strong an activity of the skin by superfluous bathing. At any rate, in the case of diphtheria, one must try above all to bring about a proper activity of the skin." — Rudolf Steiner, HEALTH AND ILLNESS, Vol. 2, lecture 6.
[22] "Now, when a man has influenza refuse [the physical consequences of flu] within his body, the same substances are dissolved in his fluid organization that had to be added to the ground in order to produce the finest onion and garlic plants, and before long, the sick person begins to smell like these plants ... This odour is always like that of onions or garlic and can be detected by one with a sensitive nose. Just as we tune in on and imitate a shrill and rasping voice, so do we join in with what an ill person evaporates. As a consequence, our own astral body, our own activity, becomes disorganized. This disorder causes a chemical basis that in turn makes us contract the flu." — Rudolf Steiner, HEALTH AND ILLNESS, Vol. 1, lecture 9.
[23] I.e., childhood illnesses reflect errors committed in past lives, errors that must be discharged through the operations of karma. Steiner connected illness and karma is such statements as this: "Spiritual investigation shows us that in the form of a human body which enters into existence by birth, we are able to see approximately what deeds a person did in a previous life ... [O]ur deeds in one life can work over into our conditions of health in the next life ... [I]n our state of health we have often to seek a karmic effect of deeds of a previous life." — Rudolf Steiner, MANIFESTATIONS OF KARMA (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1969), lecture 3, GA 120.
[24] I.e., smallpox is the manifestation of unlovingness (failure to love) during past lives.
[25] I.e., if someone having the karma to endure smallpox is prevented from contracting this disease, s/he will have to endure a similar ordeal (an illness or other karmic compensation) later in this life or in a future life.
[26] Another problem with vaccination, according to Steiner, is that it weakens the child's dependence on parents or teachers (especially Waldorf teachers). These adults would presumably guide a child through an illness, but such guidance becomes unnecessary if the illness is prevented.
[27] Steiner taught that humans have both souls and spirits. [See the entries for these terms in the BWSE.] But Steiner warned that evildoers will create vaccines that prevent humans from recognizing the existence of their souls and spirits.
[28] I.e., these vaccines will effectively destroy people's souls.
— R.R.
July 15, 2020
FAILED STEINER SCHOOL
NOW AN AVANTI GARDEN
The former Steiner Academy Bristol,
now Avanti Gardens School.
[Bristol Post]
As reported here previously, the Avanti Schools Trust has ridden to the rescue of three failing Steiner academies in the United Kingdom [1]. But the rescue is turning out to be a disappointment to fans of Steiner education. Avanti is changing the schools in ways that may greatly reduce, or even eliminate, the Steiner influence.
Avanti is a "multi-academy trust," an educational organization that operates multiple schools under a single board of directors. In the past, Avanti specialized in running Hindu schools in the UK. The trust currently aims to broaden its portfolio, but most of the schools currently under its control retain a Hindu orientation [2].
The rescued Steiner academies — like other Avanti schools — will emphasize spirituality, but evidently Rudolf Steiner's spiritual system, Anthroposophy [3], will no longer provide the foundation for the educational approach at the three schools. The extent of Hindu influence at these institutions remains to be seen.
Here are excerpts from a news report touching on some of these matters. The report, in The Bristol Post, focuses on the former Steiner academy in Bristol, England:
New headteacher hopes for 'fresh start'
for formerly 'inadequate' school
There will be changes in place come September
By Sophie Grubb
A Bristol school has appointed a new principal to help restore its reputation and win back the community's trust after past troubles.
Ashley Milum is set to take up post at the helm of Avanti Gardens School in Fishponds [4], which opened last year in place of the former Steiner Academy School.
Its predecessor closed down after being rated 'inadequate' by Ofsted and placed in special measures [5], but Mr Milum is confident of a turnaround after the takeover.
He will officially become principal in September, and will bring in a new curriculum...
The Steiner school was all-through, educating children aged from four-16 [6], but it became a primary school when it reopened as Avanti Gardens [7]...
[Mr Milum] said: "The school has previously had negative connotations and we want to break that down and start fresh..."
The school, which is run by the Avanti Schools Trust, is not of a designated religious character but it does have a focus on spirituality.
Children have lessons from a yoga teacher once a week and learn about wellbeing, and have access to facilities including a large sports hall and pottery workshop...
He said he wants educational excellence, character formation and spiritual insight to be apparent in all that the school teaches.
[Mr Milum] added: "...We will ensure a safe environment for all pupils to learn and grow [8]. Our new curriculum follows the National Curriculum [9], whilst being underpinned by the Avanti Way with a richly holistic approach [10]..."
The school opened in November but has not yet been inspected by Ofsted.
[7/15/2020 https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/new-headteacher-hopes-fresh-start-4315251 This article originally appeared on July 13.]
Multiple Steiner schools in the UK have received harsh inspection reports, and some have closed as a result. The implications for Steiner/Waldorf education worldwide may be dire. To delve into the matter, see "The Steiner School Crisis".
Waldorf Watch Footnotes
[1] See "Inadequate: Bristol, Frome, &...".
Steiner academies are "free schools" — analogous to charter schools in the USA. Most Steiner schools in the UK are private institutions, having responsibility for their own fundraising. Steiner academies generally follow a Steiner curriculum but they receive funding from the government.
[2] For background, see the Avanti website: https://avanti.org.uk.
[3] See "Anthroposophy" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.
[4] Fishponds is a suburb of Bristol.
[5] Ofsted is the UK government's Office for Standards in Education. "Inadequate" is the lowest evaluation issued by Ofsted — it is a failing grade, indicating that a school has severe problems. "Special measures" are emergency procedures meant to rapidly improve a failing school.
[6] I.e., it was a K-12 school, offering instruction from kindergarten through the end of secondary education.
[7] See "Bristol Steiner School Will Shelter Under a Hindu Wing", June 17, 2019, and "Troubled Steiner School in the U.K. Will Retrench", September 11, 2019.
[8] Ofsted has faulted several Steiner schools for failing to adequately safeguard their students. [See entries under "child safety" in the Waldorf Watch Annex Index: search especially for the term "safeguarding".]
[9] This is the curriculum specified by the UK government's Department for Education. [See https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-curriculum.]
[10] The "Avanti Way" may prove to be somewhat compatible with the Steiner way. While Anthroposophy draws heavily from gnostic Christianity, it also incorporates some central Hindu beliefs (polytheism, karma, reincarnation, etc). Steiner said Yoga has been a valid spiritual path, and Steiner/Waldorf education is (by its own definition) "holistic." [See "Polytheism", "Karma", "Reincarnation", "Yoga", and "Holistic Education".]
— R.R.
JULY 12, 2020
THE CRISIS CONTINUES
AS LAWSUIT COLLAPSES
Steiner education (otherwise known as Waldorf education) is now slightly more than a century old. Steiner/Waldorf schools around the world have been celebrating their movement's centenary [1], marking the decades since the first Waldorf school — overseen by Rudolf Steiner himself — opened in Germany in 1919 [2].
Today several clouds are marring the Steiner/Waldorf sky, however. Perhaps the largest and most ominous cloud consists of damning reports about Steiner schools in the United Kingdom. The reports have been issued by the UK government's Office for Standards in Education, otherwise known as Ofsted [3]. Inspectors from Ofsted have found glaring weaknesses at several UK Steiner schools, some of which have subsequently been shuttered or restructured [4]. The future of Steiner education in the UK — and perhaps beyond — seems very much up in the air.
Teachers and parents at some of the most affected Steiner schools have fought back using a variety of means, including lawsuits aimed at Ofsted [5]. So far, however, their efforts seem to have been futile. The latest instance has arisen this week, as a group advocating for a closed Steiner school in Glouchestershire has withdrawn its legal challenge. Here are excerpts from a BBC news report on the matter:
Wynstones Steiner School
legal row dropped by parents
Parents of pupils at a Steiner school [6] have dropped a legal challenge against Ofsted after a damning report led to its closure.
Wynstones School, near Gloucester [7], shut in January after inspectors said pupils were "at risk of serious harm" [8].
In a Facebook post, the parents said their legal team had advised them their case would "be very hard to fight" [9].
Ofsted said it co-operated in every way with the court but added its evidence was "overwhelming".
An Ofsted spokesman said it had provided all the relevant documents in the case.
He added: "This is the second occasion on which those asserting that Ofsted is targeting the Steiner system have chosen to withdraw from legal action in the face of the evidence of poor practice [10]..."
The Facebook post stated that parents believed the Ofsted report was "highly contestable" and that the legal team felt "we may well have grounds to challenge Ofsted's judgements around safeguarding".
However, parents said that because of time constraints and being unable to access restricted documents [11], it was "logistically impossible" to continue...
The private school taught about 200 pupils aged between three and 19, charging up to £10,000 a year....
[7/12/2020 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-53347924 This news report originally appeared on July 9.]
Waldorf Watch Footnotes
[1] See, e.g., "One Century Down, Another Starting", September 17, 2019.
[2] See "Waldorf School, the first" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia (BWSE).
[3] See https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted.
[4] See "The Steiner School Crisis".
[5] See, e.g., "Hitting Back at Inspectors — Parents Fight for Wynstones", May 19, 2020.
[6] The group calls itself the Wynstones Parent Initiative. [See https://www.facebook.com/114127803559871/posts/the-wynstones-parent-initiative-is-a-group-of-over-50-parents-who-feel-harmed-by/123679015938083/.]
[7] Until its recent closure, Wynstones was a K-12 Steiner-Waldorf school in the Cotswold Hills. It was founded in 1937.
[8] Trustees and faculty leaders have indicated they aim to reopen the school if possible.
Inspectors found serious problems with the school's "safeguarding" practices (measures taken to ensure student safety). Most press reports have stressed the issue of safeguarding. However, inspectors also found problems in all other areas of school operations at Wynstones. [See, e.g., "Another 'Damning' Inspection of Another Steiner School", https://sites.google.com/site/waldorfwatchannex/february-2019.] Indeed, Wynstones was adjudged "inadequate" (the lowest possible grade) in leadership and management, quality of teaching, personal development, outcomes for pupils, early years provision, and sixth form provision.
Thus, after receiving a positive inspection report under a more lenient regimen, Wynstones was judged inadequate overall and inadequate in each of six specific areas.
[9] The parents had secured representation by Michael Mansfield QC, a leading UK defense lawyer. The advice to drop the suit presumably came from him.
[10] Steiner proponents have attempted to use the courts to defend Steiner/Waldorf schools in Bristol, Kings Langley, and perhaps elsewhere. [See, e.g., "Steiner Academy Bristol Girds for a Fight", February 16, 2019, and "Troubles at Kings Langley — Worse Than Thought?", April 28, 2018.]
[11] The parents evidently contend they were denied access to some necessary documents, whereas Ofsted claims it provided "all the relevant documents." The parents' attorney apparently will not contest Ofsted's claim.
— R.R.
JULY 10, 2020
STANDING FIRM ON
WALDORF'S BEHALF
Zeit Online — an online news service provided by the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit — has published a long interview with a leading proponent of Waldorf education, Jost Schieren [1]. Schieren is dean of Waldorf teacher training at Alanus University of Art and Social Sciences, a Waldorf-centric university located near the city of Bonn.
As is to be expected, Schieren puts the best face he can on Waldorf education. He speaks from deep within the Waldorf movement, as a champion of that movement. Much of what he says is debatable; some of what he says will seem, to critics, distinctly untrue. But we should hear him out. He presumably is sincere in his beliefs, and he almost certainly speaks for many other Waldorf proponents in Germany and beyond.
Here are a few excerpts from the interview, which was conducted by Judith Luig. (Unfortunately, the interview stands behind a paywall and, naturally, it is in German. The excerpts below were translated using DeepL Translator.)
Zeit Online: In Elmshorn, near Hamburg, [only] half of the high school graduates of a Waldorf school have passed their school-leaving exams [2]. Like all the other school-leavers in Germany they had to do much of the preparation at home and independently ... [T]he accusation has been voiced that Waldorf Education is not up to the demands of the German Abitur [3] ...
Schieren: It's been proven wrong. Statistically speaking, Waldorf Schools have above-average Abitur success... [4]
Zeit Online: The first Waldorf school in Stuttgart was founded more than 100 years ago, there are hundreds of Waldorf schools and charities all over the country today, but still people freak out when it comes to Waldorf. Why is this so?
Schieren: Parents who send their children to a Waldorf school have high hopes. If they are then disappointed by concrete experiences that they have with their children at a single Waldorf school [5], then it hits them hard and the disappointment is quickly generalized. If something goes wrong at a regular school, then the parents blame the teachers. If a problem arises at a Waldorf school, then the whole system is quickly called into question [6].
Zeit Online: Rudolf Steiner is an extremely polarizing personality [7]. Shouldn't the Waldorf communities distance themselves more strongly from him?
Schieren: I think it's more about inappropriate worship attitudes...in many [Waldorf] schools. Of course, shortly after Steiner's death in 1925, there was an even stronger Steiner cult and a zeal to carry his thoughts into the world. So everything he said and thought had to be preserved. I do not want to belittle the merits of the people who built up the first Waldorf schools in this attitude at that time. But we have long since moved away from that [8].
Zeit Online: Here [in Germany] Waldorf still seems to me to be a school form for a certain clientele of alternative educated citizens [9].
Schieren: Yes, unfortunately that is true. But that is not the intention of Waldorf Education itself. Steiner founded the first Waldorf School in Stuttgart for the children of the employees of the Waldorf-Astoria cigarette factory [10]. It was to be a school for all. But since the Waldorf School in Germany has so far only existed as a private school and the parents pay school fees, there is a pedagogically unwanted selection. As a result the Waldorf Schools have settled mainly in the middle-class educational milieu. But there are also good examples in Germany and internationally where there are intercultural Waldorf Schools ... Waldorf [today] is colorful and cosmopolitan [11].
Zeit Online: But word of this must still get around. There have been a few recent examples where parents who are anything but cosmopolitan wanted to send their children to a Waldorf School because — to put it drastically — there they would meet other white, German or Austrian children [12].
Schieren: That is unfortunately true. I plead for Waldorf Schools to reject parents with such [extreme] right-wing intentions. It is part of Waldorf education that teachers, parents and pupils work closely together. This is not possible if parents come to the school with right-wing sentiments. Waldorf education has a deep humanistic ethos that is not compatible with right-wing thinking. So if it becomes clear in the admission process that parents want a Waldorf School for their children only so that they do not meet certain other children there, then they should not be admitted [13].
[7/10/2020 https://www.zeit.de/gesellschaft/schule/2020-07/waldorfpaedagogik-digitalisierung-bildung-internationalitaet-unterschied-rudolf-steiner? This interview originally appeared on July 6. Translation from the German using DeepL Translator. I am indebted to Margaret Sachs for bringing the interview to my attention.]
Waldorf Watch Footnotes
[1] Jost Schieren was a Waldorf teacher prior to beginning his work as a trainer of Waldorf teachers. He is the author of such works as WALDORFPÄDAGOGIK UND ERZIEHUNGSWISSENSCHAFT - Eine Neubesinnung [WALDORF EDUCATION AND EDUCATIONAL SCIENCE - A new way of thinking], 2016, and DAS VERSTÄNDNIS DER IMAGINATION FÜR DEN LERNPROZESS IN DER WALDORFPÄDAGOGIK [UNDERSTANDING THE IMAGINATION FOR THE LEARNING PROCESS IN WALDORF EDUCATION], 2014.
[2] Waldorf schools have long had a reputation for low academic standards. [See "Academic Standards at Waldorf".] Waldorf proponents like Schieren argue that Waldorf schools today have closed any academic gap between themselves and other types of schools, but the evidence is less than clear. [See "Into the World".]
[3] The Arbitur is a form of high school diploma attesting to superior accomplishment (comparable to advanced-placement work in a first-rate American high school). Receiving the Arbitur indicates that the student is prepared for rigorous collegiate studies.
[4] Interpreting such statistics is complex, especially when success in "school-leaving exams" and/or the Arbitur is largely determined by extracurricular preparation that students receive "at home and independently." Many American students enroll in SAT-preparation programs, for instance. In these cases, the scores students achieve on their exams may reflect the quality of the extra help they received outside school, not the quality of the schooling itself.
[5] When families have problems at Waldorf schools, Waldorf authorities tend to treat these episodes as if they were anomalies: Nothing of this sort has ever happened before, they imply, and nothing similar is likely ever to occur again. But in fact, Waldorf problems tend to be consistent across the Waldorf system — they often reflect systemic flaws in the overall Waldorf approach. [See, e.g., "Cautionary Tales", "Moms", and "Pops".]
[6] Schieren's answer does not actually explain why "people freak out when it comes to Waldorf" or why "the whole [Waldorf] system is quickly called into question." The explanation lies in the mystical roots of Waldorf education: the Anthroposophical doctrines on which Waldorf is based. [See "Here's the Answer".] People are shocked by Waldorf, and they deplore the entire Waldorf system, when they realize that Waldorf is a stalking horse for Anthroposophy. [See, e.g., "Our Experience", "Spotlight on Anthroposophy", and "Weird Waldorf".] Waldorf education immerses students in Anthroposophical attitudes and behaviors, a process that may amount to covert indoctrination. [See "Indoctrination".]
[7] See "What a Guy".
Some Waldorf or Steiner schools have begun distancing themselves from Steiner by, for instance, changing their names. [See "Taking the Name Steiner Out of the Steiner Name", September 21, 2019.]
[8] Like many defenders of Waldorf education, Schieren argues that Rudolf Steiner is no longer central to the educational movement he founded. The evidence suggests otherwise, however. [See "Waldorf Now", "Today", and the pages that follow these.] Indeed, Schieren inadvertently undercuts his own argument. He acknowledges that many Waldorf schools exhibit "inappropriate worship attitudes" focusing on Steiner, and he suggests that the Steiner cult persists at Waldorf (the cult was "even stronger" in the past, but this indicates that the cult is still present today in a fairly strong form).
[9] I.e., many families having countercultural values are drawn to Waldorf schools because these institutions seem to embrace similar values. [See, e.g., "Coming Undone" and "Our Brush with Steiner".] The effect can be that Waldorf schools become enclaves of "a certain clientele of alternative educated citizens" — often nonconformist, well-to-do families who can afford to pay Waldorf's tuition charges.
[10] See "Waldorf School, the first" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia (BWSE).
[11] There are Waldorf schools today on all continents except Antarctica, and efforts a certainly made to adapt Waldorf education to local cultures. Much of the original Waldorf curriculum remains, however, including its focus on Central European (especially German) traditions and perspectives. [See "Central Europe", "Europe", and "Germans, Germany" in the BWSE; also see "The Waldorf Curriculum".]
[12] The most contentious part of Steiner's allegiance to a Eurocentric perspective concerns his racial beliefs. [See "Steiner's Racism".]. The question raised by the interviewer suggests that white racists today continue to find Waldorf schools congenial.
[13] The historical record shows, unfortunately, that there have long been ties between the Waldorf/Anthroposophical community and the extreme right — e.g., Nazism in Germany and Fascism in Italy. [See "Sympathizers?".] Waldorf proponents such as Schieren almost always disavow such ties today, just as they almost always deny the existence of racism in Waldorf/Anthroposophical thinking. Yet such ties and such biases evidently remain — they have allegedly been exhibited this year, for instance, among Anthroposophists participating in anti-vaccination protests occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic. [See, e.g., "Anthroposophists Among the Pandemic Protestors", May 26, 2020.]
— R.R.
JULY 7, 2020
OPPOSITION TO A VACCINE
THAT DOES NOT EXIST YET
(Continued)
At the Waldorf Critics discussion site, historian Peter Staudenmaier has posted a message that follows up on the Washington Post article summarized here recently. Staudenmaier — who has studied the links between Anthroposophy and fascism — begins by alluding to public statements made by Waldorf teacher Christoph Hueck. Here are extended excerpts from Staudenmaier's message:
...The quotes from Christoph Hueck are fully in line with what he has been saying in German for months now, a sad indication of how thoroughly degraded anthroposophical discourse has become in the face of the ongoing pandemic.
In April and May Hueck was a major speaker at several of the "Querdenken" demonstrations against coronavirus measures in Germany; those demonstrations were among other things a playground for the newly emboldened radical right and their credulous conspiracist followers. The Post article also mentions conspiracy theorist and vegan activist Attila Hildmann, whose bizarre claims have taken on an increasingly antisemitic tinge of late. Even the normally more critical anthroposophist venues in Germany, I am sorry to say, have conspicuously failed to challenge this latest step in the devolution of Steiner's movement.
It is, alas, only one step of many. Steiner himself took a dim view of standard medical science. He held that disease-carrying organisms are "physically embodied demons" (Theosophy of the Rosicrucian, 43), while his 1924 lecture on "The Essence of Jewry" lamented the impact of Jewish "abstract thought" on conventional medicine. These views have been part of public discussion around the politics of immunization for some time, in English as well as German. Arthur Allen's book Vaccine: The Controversial Story of Medicine’s Greatest Lifesaver (New York: Norton, 2007) has an extended discussion of Steiner and his followers as vaccination opponents (342-50), offering relevant quotations from Steiner and drawing links to his broader teachings on disease as well as his racial teachings, plus material on contemporary Waldorf schools and twenty-first century anthroposophical doctors etc...
One of the main things that my research on the compromised history of Steiner's movement during the Nazi era points out is that the challenges of the 1930s, in Germany and elsewhere, too often brought out the worst elements in anthroposophy's decidedly mixed ideological inheritance. The current global crisis unfolding around us is a far cry from Nazi Germany, but unfortunately the same dynamics seem to be coming to the fore once again among Steiner's followers. It is always possible that anthroposophy will finally change for the better. For now, however, the prognosis looks grim.
[7/7/2020 https://groups.io/g/waldorf-critics/message/32082 Staudenmaier posted his message on July 6.]
JULY 3, 2020
OPPOSITION TO A VACCINE
THAT DOES NOT EXIST YET
As various commentators have noted, the coronavirus pandemic has brought increased attention to ties between extreme right-wing groups and at least some parts of the Waldorf/Anthroposophical movement [1]. These ties are evidently being strengthened by the prospect that a vaccine may be produced to combat Covid-19. The situation seems to be especially acute in Germany, which is the Waldorf epicenter.
Here are excerpts from a new article in The Washington Post [Washington D.C., USA]:
Prospect of a coronavirus vaccine
unites anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists
and hippie moms in Germany
By Loveday Morris and William Glucroft
...The possibility that Germany’s anti-vaccination movement may gain new adherents...has been a concern for health authorities, as the coronavirus unites a mishmash of groups resistant to the prospect of a vaccine [2], from far-right conspiracy theorists to hippie moms.
Germany already had a fervent anti-vaxx movement, reflecting a historic skepticism of government control and an affinity for alternative medicine [3]. Now, health experts have warned that even if a coronavirus vaccine gets approval, refusals could open the way to a resurgence while threatening efforts to keep other preventable diseases in check...
In Germany, conspiracy theories over a vaccine abound. Attila Hildmann, a vegan chef, has become one of the leading voices of the resistance [4], accusing the health minister of promoting a surveillance state and forced-vaccination program at the behest of Bill Gates [5]...
[V]accine attitudes in Germany are complicated by the country’s political history, with the Third Reich leaving behind a legacy of unease over government mandates [6].
Resistance is also tied up with the country’s alternative and holistic medicine traditions. Samuel Hahnemann, the father of homeopathy [7]...was a German from the eastern state of Saxony. And it was in Stuttgart that Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian who devised anthroposophical medicine, opened his first Waldorf School 100 years ago.
While the Waldorf institution has distanced itself from anti-vaxxers [8], the Steiner philosophy is rooted in free will and independence of thought [9], and some of his followers are vaccine skeptics [10]. In Baden-Württemberg, infectious-disease specialist [Isolde] Piechotowski said, low vaccination rates can be attributed, in part, to “quite a high number of people who are following the anthroposophic philosophy.”
“It’s become very common, in the past 20 years, to think that typical child illnesses are good for healthy development,” said Natalie Grams, formerly a practicing homeopathic doctor who now speaks out against what she sees as pseudoscience. “People are trying to avoid early vaccinations, and this comes from homeopathic and anthroposophic thinking, very much [11]. There’s a common thought that early vaccinations harm little babies.”
Grams said she is concerned how the movement appears to have expanded in just the past few months.
“The movement is getting far more political influence,” she said. It’s no longer just 2 to 4 percent of the population against vaccines, she added. “It’s far more people. The situation is much more intense than if it was just the anti-vaxx movement spreading disinformation about a coronavirus vaccine”...
In an interview...Christoph Hueck, a Waldorf educator who has spoken at anti-shutdown demonstrations [12], said he sees a chance to get his message out and doesn’t mind who is in the audience as long as he speaks his “truth.”
“The only thing is to make my point of view as clear as possible,” he said. “As spread out as possible. I don’t feel like I’m a conspiracy theorist.”
But his talking points touch on conspiracy theories involving Bill Gates, the World Health Organization and vaccine tattoos [13]. The risk of the coronavirus is overblown, he said. He said he hopes people will start to demonstrate and take off their masks.
He said he’s not anti-vaccine but against compulsory vaccination.
“You cannot send your kid to school anymore unless they are vaccinated,” he said. “The state wants to control its citizens. This is the dictatorship of health, which sets itself above the value of freedom.”
Waldorf Watch Footnotes
[1] See, e.g., "Anthroposophists Among the Pandemic Demonstrators", May 26, 2020. [For an overview of Anthroposophy — the belief system promulgated by Rudolf Steiner — see "Anthroposophy" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia (BWSE).]
[2] The anti-vaxx movement generally alleges that vaccines cause great harm — more harm, often, than the diseases they are meant to prevent. [For an outline of Steiner/Waldorf beliefs about vaccines, see "vaccination" in the BWSE.]
[3] The form of alternative medicine often practiced in and around Waldorf schools is Anthroposophical medicine, which is based on the occult teachings of Rudolf Steiner. [See "Steiner's Quackery".]
[4] Like many other anti-vaxx leaders, Hildmann — a cookbook author — has no medical expertise. He is reported to have spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. [See, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attila_Hildmann.]
[5] Some anti-vaxx conspiracy theorists attribute malign motives to Gates, seeing him as a leader of a malign global plot aimed at dictatorial world domination. [See, e.g., https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-52833706.]
[6] Numerous anti-vaxx protestors in Germany and elsewhere fear that governments will require everyone to be vaccinated — a totalitarian imposition, they allege, that will lead to a complete suppression of individual liberty.
[7] In homeopathic therapy, illnesses are treated by administering extremely dilute doses of substances that can cause those diseases. The dilution is often so extreme that, according to chemical analysis, the remaining fluid is nothing but water. Believers in homeopathy contend that a "memory" of the original substance remains within this fluid and has therapeutic value. Anthroposophical physicians sometimes administer homeopathic preparations.
[8] The reference here ("the Waldorf institution") is vague. Presumably the authors mean that Waldorf authorities say they do not officially oppose vaccination. Indeed, Steiner said that vaccination may be useful in some circumstances. Still, Steiner and his followers have demonstrated a general aversion of vaccination. [See the discussion of vaccination in "Steiner's Quackery".]
[9] Steiner claimed to advocate freedom, and his followers often assert their right to freedom of thought (meaning their right to have their own views, whether or not these are supported by scientific or factual knowledge). However ,the Steiner worldview largely eliminates the possibility of true freedom, since it posits a body of "Truth" (its own creed) that defines the one acceptable path forward. [See "Freedom".]
[10] Waldorf schools and other Anthroposophical institutions are often centers of anti-vaccination belief. [See, e.g., "Bastion of Anti-Vaccination Belief: Progressive Waldorf Schools", The New York Times, June 13, 2019. Whether Waldorf schools are actually progressive is moot, at best. See "progressive education" in the BWSE.]
[11] See "childhood diseases" in the BWSE.
[12] See, e.g., "A Skewed Take on the Illness", June 17, 2020.
[13] Anti-vaxxers have circulated reports about various sorts of "tattoos" (some of them invisible) that may be inflicted on children and others by shadowy pro-vaccine conspirators such as Bill Gates. There are rumors that such tattoos may become a mandatory means of identification, attesting that one has received a required vaccine. Other rumors suggest that the tattoos themselves (perhaps even painless stick-on tattoos) may surreptitiously inject the specified vaccines.
— R.R.
JULY 1, 2020
RESCUING THIS STEINER SCHOOL
MAY MEAN CUTTING OUT STEINER
School inspectors in the United Kingdom have found serious failings at various Steiner schools [1]. Following severely critical inspection reports, three Steiner "free schools" (equivalent to charter schools in the USA) have been transferred to a new sponsor that promises to make major improvements [2]. The downside for Steiner fans is that the changes likely will entail minimizing or even eliminating the Steiner ethos from the schools. The improved schools, in other words, may no longer be Steiner schools to any significant degree [3].
Here is a report on the changes being implemented at one of the three former Steiner free schools. The following is from DevonLive [Devonshire, UK]:
"We're not what the Steiner was":
Devon principal on turning around
a former failing school
"This school is going to work"
By Charlotte Vowles
Principal Arnold outside Avanti Hall School
(Image: Pip Raud)
The principal of a new Devon school, has said he is excited to welcome in an era of transformation and positive change.
Avanti Hall School in Exeter, is on the site of the former Steiner School [4], which was deemed 'inadequate' in October 2018 after serious failings were highlighted by inspectors [5].
It is now part of the Avanti Schools Trust (AST) and principal Phil Arnold sees a bright future ahead for the school [6].
He said: "We're not what the Steiner was. We've got a completely new leadership team, rigorous monitoring and support from the Trust - this school is going to work. All the gaps and failings of the last school, are no longer gaps [7]."
Principal Arnold, who joined the school in April, said the school's curriculum has had a complete overhaul, which will take a "holistic" approach to learning [8]...
The school is only partially open at the moment and the new curriculum will be in place from September...
He said that the school is "100% inclusive" and that all children will be supported to do their best - including those with additional needs [9].
The school currently has around 330 pupils, but Principal Arnold is expecting further intake...
[7/1/2020 https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/were-not-what-steiner-was-4259950 This article originally appeared on June 24.]
Waldorf Watch Footnotes
[1] See "The Steiner School Crisis".
[2] See "Inadequate" and "S. A. Exeter".
[3] The extent of the planned changes — and whether they will result in eliminating Steiner influences from the schools — has been a central point of contention. [See, e.g., "Avanti and Steiner — How Far Will They Go?", October 24, 2019.]
[4] This was the Steiner Academy Exeter.
[5] "Inadequate" is the lowest rating issued by inspectors from the UK Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) — it is a failing grade.
[6] Avanti is a multi-academy trust, an organization that operates several schools in conjunction with one another. In the past, Avanti concentrated on running Hindu schools in the UK.
[7] Whereas Steiner proponents have frequently challenged the criticisms leveled by Ofsted, Avanti has generally agreed that the inspectors found real deficiencies at the Steiner institutions it has adopted.
[8] Steiner education generally claims to be holistic. [See "Holistic Education".] In this, as in other matters such as emphasis on arts, the Steiner and Avanti approaches might be compatible. On the other hand, the "complete overhaul" of the curriculum at the former Steiner school could signal a drastic shift away from the Steiner approach. [See "The Waldorf Curriculum" and "Methods".]
[9] Inspectors found that various Steiner schools have not made adequate provision for students with special needs. This is one of the "gaps" Avanti aims to close at the school in Exeter.
— R.R.