Should the state be funding schools which were founded by a racist mystic?

Francis Gilbert's picture
 91
The news that there are 25 Steiner schools seeking to be funded as “free schools” and that there is already one which has state funds should be deeply troubling for most right-minded people. Steiner schools have the reputation in this country for being rather progressive, liberal schools with some quirky ideas, but basically perfect for children who aren’t happy with more “traditional” schools.

I wonder how many parents would want to send their children to these schools if they knew about their founder’s views on an array of issues. Rudolph Steiner (1861-1925) was a mystic who denied scientific evolution, believed passionately in Jesus Christ, but also believed in “karma” and “re-incarnation”. He attempted to synthesize “spirituality” with “science”. Some of his ideas about children having an artistic, creative education tie in with other thinkers such as Maria Montessori and John Dewey, but, in many ways, his views are very divergent from theirs. For example, he had strange attitudes towards pupils with Special Needs, claiming that their disabilities were due to “bad karma”.

Most worryingly of all, he was deeply racist in his views. In particular for arcane reasons, he believed that Asian people were “decadent” and black people had the characteristics of “childhood”. Moreover, Native Americans were a “degenerated human race” and the Mongols were a “lower class of people”. Surprise, surprise white skinned people were classed by Steiner as being the best, with Jesus Christ at the top of the Steiner evolutionary tree. It’s very disturbing to learn that Steiner and his “true” followers see the purpose of education to enable children to “evolve” from their “bad karma” by carrying out the exercises that Steiner saw as crucial for his form of “evolution” to happen.

The powerful people running Waldorf-Steiner schools today claim that these views do not influence the education that happens there and only Steiner’s more “enlightened” ideas inform the pedagogical approach, but this is, quite frankly, ducking the issue. (BTW: they have been very diligent about monitoring the internet so that Steiner and his schools are presented positively: much information you find by Googling him will not be reliable as a result.) The fact is that these schools have moulded their whole educational philosophy around a very strange man who was a profound racist. It’s a bit like saying it’s fine to have “Adolf Hitler” schools because we’ve ignored his nasty ideas and cherry-picked the “nice” ideas he had! Reading the minutes of a meeting some Steiner followers had with government advisors Sam Freedman and Rachel Wolf, of the New Schools Network, it’s clear that the government has its doubts about Steiner schools. Freedman says at one point during the meeting: “I’ve had all sorts of people writing to me just because they found out that I was coming to this meeting. Attacking. Attacking the Steiner Schools… Anonymously. Through social networking. People find out who you are, find out your account number and bombard you with articles, negative articles… This was pointing out all the things they think are wrong with Steiner movement, link after link after link. And that’s just from me coming to this meeting, so you have to be aware, well I know you’ll all be aware anyway, but this will be on a much, much bigger scale.”

However, it’s clear despite these concerns that the government, desperate to boost the number of free schools, is determined to give these schools state funds. The LSN has seen correspondence between a concerned parent and the Department for Education in which the DfE claims that the schools are not racist in their attitudes. I am sure this is true, but it still doesn’t get away from the fact that many parents of non-white backgrounds might be very uneasy about sending their children to schools if they knew they were founded by a man who viewed non-white races as “lower on the evolutionary scale”. Furthermore, there are obviously some other Steiner beliefs that persist in today’s schools which, while they are not against the law, are very dubious. For example, there is a belief amongst some Steiner followers that Special Needs is caused by bad karma; in other words, Steiner believers could be viewing children with SEN as having “wicked” and “degenerate” past lives.

I have observed a Steiner school in action and was dismayed by what I saw: untrained teachers delivering lectures about the “holism” of knowledge that went far over the children’s heads. Their talk was peppered, as you might expect, with lots of mystical nonsense. Furthermore, I felt the system of having one teacher for many years was counter-productive for many children who could have benefited from a different approach.

While I have no problem with schools learning from successful artistic ideas in Steiner schools, it’s sending all the wrong messages for the taxpayer to fund schools with such a dodgy guru at their heart.

 Steiner schools have been very successful in gaining state funding in the US, Canada, Australia and are clearly seeking to gain a major foothold in this country. The LSN already has evidence that some great local state schools are very worried because Steiner schools are confident of becoming “free schools” in the near future in their vicinity, sucking away vital pupils and resources. These are schools which are just as “artistic” and “enlightened” as Steiner schools, but don’t pay homage to a deeply troubling philosophy.

 These are the schools are either seeking “free school” status or maybe in the future:

Beechtree Steiner initiative, Leeds

Brighton Steiner School

Cambridge Steiner School

Elmfield Steiner School

Exeter Steiner School

Frome Steiner School

Full Fledge Ecology Steiner School, Suffolk

Hebden Bridge Steiner School, Yorkshire

Iona Steiner School, Nottingham

Kings Langley Steiner School

Lancaster Steiner School

Leicester Steiner School

Lincoln Steiner Initiative

Meadow Steiner School, Bruton, Somerset

Michael House Steiner School, Derbyshire

Monkton Wyld Steiner School, Dorset

Mulberry Tree Steiner School, Gloucestershire

Norwich Steiner School

Oxfordshire Steiner Waldorf Initiative

South Devon Steiner School

St Michael Steiner School, London

St Pauls Steiner School, Islington

Waldorf School of South West London

York Steiner School

Zelda Steiner School, Gweek, Cornwall
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Comments

Sam's picture
Sun, 30/01/2011 - 21:19

If this is what happens to parents after leaving the cult, imagine what happens whilst the children are in the schools.

The fact that Sune Nordwall is paid by the Steiner Waldorf movement to write files and slanderous nonsense about parents and Dr Peter Staudenmaier is indeed a scandal.

Sune, I presume you are specifically targeting the UK forums because of the possibility of Steiner schools obtaining Free School funding? Why is it so important that your movement gets this money?

Also to Sune, as a representative of the Steiner Waldorf movement, why did you pose as a mother on Mumsnet?

I hope people can begin to comprehend just how dangerous the Steiner Waldorf movement is. However beautiful the schools may first appear, what lies behind them is the religion Anthroposophy. My advice is steer well clear.

Sune Nordwall's picture
Sun, 30/01/2011 - 22:10

"Why do you and your movement write files on parents who have spoken out about the schools?"

I don't write files on parents. Neither does anyone else that I know of. Cathy's anti-Steiner crusade at Mumsnet however was so overwhelming and obsessive in so many forums, a number of which she invited other discussants at Mumsnet to follow her to to support her crusade (of which forums some on their own initiative decided to ban her for her intense trolling), that I felt I needed to describe and address it.

I did it as a private person, only representing myself and noone else, as always when I participate in discussions or write on the net.

My work as part time media reporter after the Mumsnet discussions in 2008 on what is published in general in different media to the Swedish Association of Waldorf schools, mainly in Sweden, regarding or related to Steiner Waldorf education, only includes pure media reports, expressly not to in any way represent them.

At first, ten+ years ago, I noticed there was a WC-group (http://bit.ly/9iSH4y) that propagated a number of ideologically based myths about Steiner Waldorf education. To understand and if possible contribute to clearing up some of them, I participated for some years on their mailing list (http://americans4waldorf.org/Myths.html) until it turned out they were not interested in discussion, just ideological propaganda.

At first I then put up http://bit.ly/bkiENT to describe my experiences of the group, and then in cooperation with someone else http://waldorfanswers.org and later, with some more people, http://americans4waldorf.org

Sam's picture
Sun, 30/01/2011 - 23:30

Sune, from my experience mothers had no other choice but to go onto other forums because you forced them to do so. I have watched you bully and harass parents seeking support on parenting forums, you also report posts threatening legal action unless they are deleted.

You also state 'I did it as a private person, only representing myself and noone else, as always when I participate in discussions or write on the net'.

You are not being honest, here is the original document in Swedish, now archived as it was quickly pulled stating you are employed by the Steiner Waldorf movement to 'monitor' the net:

http://www.webcitation.org/5q7GTGVTz (p.9)

and translation:

'The blog debate

In England, the attacks on [waldorf] pedagogy have led to parents withdrawing their children from the waldorf schools. The [Swedish Waldorf School] Federation has employed Sune on a part-time basis to monitor the debate'.

http://zooey.wordpress.com/2010/05/29/supervising-the-attacks/

Your failure to admit any responsibility for your actions and behaviour is sadly mine and many others experience of your movement as a whole.

Sune Nordwall's picture
Mon, 31/01/2011 - 00:12

Do Steiner waldorf schools encourage freedom of expression and individuality as Dany Darling writes?

That is also the expressed view of Jennifer Aniston, former Steiner Waldorf pupil, Julianna Margulies, actress, former Waldorf student and probably many other present and former Steiner Waldorf pupils.

That the parents of the present Norwegian Prime Minister chose to put him in a Steiner school, as also Helmut Kohl, a number of other Minisers of Foreign Affairs, a former Chairperson of the Central Jewish Council in Germany did, and Tilda Swinton among many other notable persons, could be taken as an indication that they were of the same view.

http://waldorfanswers.org/WaldorfComments.htm http://waldorfanswers.org/ and http://www.diewaldorfs.waldorf.net/listengl.html

Are they then more creative than their peers at other schools?

A study in 1996 by Earl J. Ogletree Ed D
Professor Emeritus, University of Chicago, Illinois, suggests that they are.

http://www.thebee.se/comments/studies/OgletreeStudy.html

A british study comparing the drawing ability of children in Steiner/Waldorf, Montessori and traditional schools has concluded that the approach to art education in Steiner schools is conducive not only to more highly rated imaginative drawings in terms of general drawing ability and use of color but also to more accurate and detailed observational drawings.

http://bit.ly/9lPrZj

I miss not having gone to a Waldorf school.

Pete Karaiskos's picture
Mon, 31/01/2011 - 00:14

@TheBee - Sune, you are never honest, and I'm pretty sure I've even caught you lying right here. BTW, please don't threaten to punch me in the face as you did at Wikipedia. Before you suggest Waldorf people don't threaten parents, remember that you made a public threat of personal bodily harm - to me (anyone can look this up... still..).

You said about shutting down criticism at Mumsnet.com "I did it as a private person, only representing myself and noone else, as always when I participate in discussions or write on the net."

Now, we also have a letter from Mumsnet that you wrote. In it (see Cathy's post above) it said: "If I see her posting promotion of libel at Mumsnet once more, I won’t tell you about it, but ask Percy Bratt of Bratt and Feinsilber in Sweden to contact you in cooperation with the legal representatives of The Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship in the UK and Ireland
(http://www.steinerwaldorf.org/index.html), about your negligent way of allowing libel to be published at Mumsnet and the one who is the
most fervent publisher of it to continue to publish at Mumsnet.”

Now, Sune, you specifically say your legal representation (P. Bratt) represents or works in cooperation with The Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship in the UK and Ireland. That is NOT the work of an individual... sorry.

So... it's one or the other... Were you lying when you said your attorney represents the Waldorf Fellowship in the UK, or were you lying when you said you work as an individual when you threaten posters? Did you lie about not representing Waldorf then, or are you lying about having posted as an individual now? It really doesn't matter which time you lied does it? Your credibility is GONE!

David Dodds's picture
Mon, 31/01/2011 - 00:41

Still haven't answered many questions though have you Sune. I'd back Cathy on just about everything she said on the Mumsnet thread. Could it be that you found yourself gutted to find that there are people on the other side of your fence just as energetic and as well informed as you ?


David Dodds's picture
Mon, 31/01/2011 - 06:48

http://www.waldorfcritics.org/index.html is the home page of the organisation of which Debra Snell is President. People may prefer to visit here, rather than simply take take the "party line"
of Sune's link.
Newcomers to the debate are encouraged to view both these sites- and more. "Draw whatever conclusions you wil"l I say.

David Dodds's picture
Mon, 31/01/2011 - 06:53

Ehm.. yeah. Wot Pete sez!


londonrefugee's picture
Mon, 31/01/2011 - 10:50

For what my shilling’s worth....
Our family went rather blindly into a Steiner school, baited by the easy, arty, smiley feel of their approach to education.
The truth was the opposite. Our children – being incomers – were bullied and treated as 2nd class citizens whilst the teaching was ‘unusual’ and the teachers sussed us out to see if we were worthy of moving into the Steiner mainstream.
Our children’s education suffered as they were handed photocopies of work and told to learn by rote and copy from the board. Art was execrable – tell me why children are forbidden to use black lines!? And our children were led to believe that angels and gnomes were real.
The bullying was unchecked, the teaching deteriorated to the state that children were manhandled by teachers/administrators in class and our children’s confidence hit rock bottom. When we talked to a teacher about our child’s work deteriorating he told us she was “melancholy and a Scorpio like his mother”.
We left the school. And then...we found out about the underlying racism, karma, anthroposophy, First Class and all the other deluded woo-woo that they believe in. And of course there’s the Steiner hierarchy – Rees-Moggs, Cheryl Woods – now there’s a First Class nutjob – Avison, House – who perpetuate their stranglehold over the educational establishment with their obfuscatory and deceitful PR machine. And don’t think about Ofsted or any other regulatory body marshalling Steiner schools – they have their own, cosy, touchy-feely ring of protective steel around them
As for the pathetic, pathological Sune Nordwall – taking on the persona of women on Mumsnet!? - there are many stories of parents too traumatised and harassed by the Steiner horrors that they’ve just walked away, afraid to speak publicly about their plight.
So....Steiner schools are up there with exploiters, psychics, astrologers, homeopaths and priests.
And Gove and his ‘education experts’ team will do nothing – repeat NOTHING - to challenge or check the pernicious advance of Steiner schools in the UK.
“We are all born ignorant but one must work hard to remain stupid.”

MarkH's picture
Mon, 31/01/2011 - 12:12

My own experience of a Steiner school consisted of several months attending a parent & child group with our 2 year old. There were some odd but seemingly trivial things I'd noticed: the frown of the group leader when my son pulled some books out of a cupboard and started looking through them. The books were hurriedly put away when he'd finished. The discouragement of line drawing with crayons in favour of large swirling swathes of colour. The faceless dolls and the celebration of unusual festivals such as Michaelmas. (Charming but lacking... context.) These things started to make sense when I read http://www.dcscience.net/?p=3528 and looked into Steiner's writings, most of which are freely available online.

The school runs classes in alternative medicine and an Anthroposophical study group for parents. These are openly advertised among the school community, but not I think to the general public. If I hadn't come across the DCScience articles (which was purely by chance) perhaps this might have been enough to make me realise that there was more to the school than met the eye.

Most parents contemplating spending thousands of pounds a year on their child's education will surely do some research on a school. However, it's worth digging a little deeper than you otherwise might feel necessary if you're considering a Steiner school. Look beyond the literature provided by the school, the Ofsted/SIS reports and read up on Anthroposophy. Does this world view sit comfortably with your own?

The question of academic achievement is a complicated one. I'd wager that many children at Steiner schools will be from affluent backgrounds with parents who take a strong interest in their education. I don't know how you would separate this positive influence from that of the school. Part of our reasoning in rejecting a Steiner education was that it's most appealing aspects: the lessons in gardening, cookery, handwork etc. were things we could easily provide at home.

I have no strong opinions on Free Schools in general, though I might if I read up on the arguments in more detail. However, I'd suggest that the main danger in Steiner schools being state funded is that, like it or not, parents may have less motivation to do the same level of background research. It should therefore be incumbent on the schools to be more open about their ethos and the role of Anthroposophy in the classroom. I am more optimistic than londonrefugee on the usefulness of engaging with politicians to try to make this happen.

Thetis's picture
Mon, 31/01/2011 - 12:30

One correction to londonrefugee - I'm sure you mean Glenys Woods, one of the three writers of the 'Steiner schools in England' government report of 2005. The Woods have a website, FreeSpirit Education:
http://freespiritedu.org/page001.html
on which it is stated that 'Glenys is an Angelic Reiki Healer and an Atlantean Reiki Master.'

Janet Downs's picture
Mon, 31/01/2011 - 12:43

When I did teacher training many, many years ago, we were introduced to different ideas about child development and teaching. Steiner was lumped together with Montessori as schools allowing free expression in a non-coercive environment where children learned at their own space. At no time were we told about the theories underlinining Steiner schools.

The consequence of this is that we didn't have the opportunity to discuss Steiner's philosophy. We were left with the opinion that Steiner was benign.

That impression will be encouraged by the New Schools Foundation who, as we know, is offering lessons in public relations to the Steiner schools to counter charges of racism.

Janet Downs's picture
Mon, 31/01/2011 - 14:02

Correction to above: "...where children learned at their own speed." (not space). And my fingers obviously went crazy over the spelling of "underlining" (not underlinining).


David Dodds's picture
Mon, 31/01/2011 - 14:09

Mark said "Most parents contemplating spending thousands of pounds a year on their child’s education will surely do some research on a school. However, it’s worth digging a little deeper than you otherwise might feel necessary if you’re considering a Steiner school. Look beyond the literature provided by the school, the Ofsted/SIS reports and read up on Anthroposophy. Does this world view sit comfortably with your own?"
Well said Sir!

David Dodds's picture
Mon, 31/01/2011 - 14:18

Jennifer Aniston...hang around, wouldn't we need the Ahriman influence (aka the telly) to know who she was?
Now, anyone care to start a list of people who *didn't* attend a Waldorf/Steiner School, but still did OK?
I'll go first:Peter Crouch! John Wayne! The wee guy in my fridge who puts the light off and on!

Unity's picture
Mon, 31/01/2011 - 14:56

For the record, Montessori education has nothing at all in common with Steiner-Waldorf education.

Maria Montessori was both a scientist and an educationalist and the validity of her methods have been observationally and empirically evaluated and found to be relatively successful.

I say relatively as the evidence base does show that kids who do go to a Montessori school tend to be a little ahead of the curve up until the age of 11-12 when things quickly level out - although it has to be said that Montessori schools only operate in the primary/nursery sector, not at secondary level, so its not known whether the Montessori method would continue to show the same benefits were it applied to secondary education.

That said, not all Montessori schools are created equal. There is no copyright on the method, nor trademark on the Montessori name, so the name alone is no guarantee of quality. So Montessori schools stick closely to Maria's work, some deviate quite considerably, so you still need to check a Montessori school out careful and look at its actuall reputation and performance before deciding whether its the right choice for you.

That being the case, I'd still venture that even the worst Montessori school will offer your kids a better start in education than the best that the Steiner system has to offer.

Pete Karaiskos's picture
Mon, 31/01/2011 - 19:17

Sune Nordwall wrote:

"Do Steiner waldorf schools encourage freedom of expression and individuality as Dany Darling writes?"

"That is also the expressed view of Jennifer Aniston, former Steiner Waldorf pupil, Julianna Margulies, actress, former Waldorf student and probably many other present and former Steiner Waldorf pupils.

OK, I challenge you Sune. Where have Jennifer Aniston and Julianna Margulies expressed this view? Can you point us to some publication, some television broadcast, a blog, some tweet perhaps... where Jennifer Aniston and Julianna Margulies have expressed this view? For you to say they have "expressed" this view, you must certainly be able to tell us where, right? I have spoken with Julianna's sister, Alexandra, BTW, and she is indeed on record saying positive things about Waldorf (even the openly racist Highland Hall). But that's not who we're talking about. So where can we read the expressed views of Jennifer and Julianna? Thanks in advance.

fishcakes's picture
Mon, 09/04/2012 - 13:20

"I was always fascinated by acting, but my experience at Rudolf Steiner [school] encouraged me to pursue it as a career." "Steiner was a free-spirited school that encouraged creativity and individualism."

Jennifer Aniston.

Pete Karaiskos's picture
Mon, 31/01/2011 - 19:22

BTW, I see quotes from both these people on your website... but you don't indicate where you harvested these quotes. Maybe you didn't invent them yourself... but since your credibility has diminished, I'd like to see the sources for these. Thanks!


alicia h's picture
Tue, 01/02/2011 - 15:52

As usual, when challenged about his own behaviour (and, indirectly, the waldorf organization's implication in this), Sune Nordwall chooses his old familiar path: when nothing else works, post some crap about celebrities.

Because the opinions of celebrities -- however unfounded (ur even unverifiable) these opinions are -- are worth more than the opinions of former parents and students. Waldorf folks aren't very positive about TV, but they apparently think referring to TV celebrities will impress everybody else. It's pathetic and stupid.

What about answering people's questions, Sune?

We don't give a toss about your celebrities. Whether their support for your cause is imaginary or not. (Though I second Pete's question for you -- you've been asked to provide sources before, and never replied. Why not?)

Nate's picture
Thu, 03/02/2011 - 11:18

I went to a Steiner School for 12 years.

I found the approach to education very rewarding. Not even a hint of any of the extreme views you mention.

But hey, you observed one so you are probably more qualified to speak on it than I.

Cheers.

David Dodds's picture
Thu, 03/02/2011 - 21:36

Hi Nate,
What colour were the Nursery School Walls painted?
Would you care to say something of your understanding of "Atlantis"
I'd imagine that sometime during your 12year stint you would have been the subject of an "Individual Study". Are you comfortable with the questions your Mum was asked? Just curious- despite anything Sune might transmit to you offlist.

Janet Downs's picture
Fri, 04/02/2011 - 08:34

Nate points out the difficulties that arise when schools, whatever their philosophy, are judged on what appears to be the opinions of one person. However, the New Schools Network is so concerned about accusations of racism in Steiner schools that it is offering lessons in public relations to help proposers of Steiner free schools counter such accusations. Worries about Steiner schools, therefore, cannot be seen as arising from just one individual.


Sam's picture
Fri, 04/02/2011 - 12:54

The meeting mentioned in the article also identifies further areas of concern:

'The only point that the Sam Freedman (and Rachel Wolf) were particularly sure to press home was that of “basic levels of achievement”. They felt that the schools had to be accountable for ensuring that children were meeting basic standards of reading, writing and numeracy at all levels. This, it was acknowledged, may cause some conflict with the Steiner method of teaching'.

and

'It was felt that there may be some difficulty in making a blanket rebuttal of all Anthroposophy because many people throughout the Steiner schools system, especially teachers, strongly support many aspects of that belief system'.
http://ukanthroposophy.wordpress.com/2010/03/15/seminarnotes/

I'm wondering how many exemptions, disclaimers and PR does it take to counter the concerns raised? Perhaps if Gove took the time to read every single book on the teacher training reading list he may begin to grasp where the problems really lie.

http://sites.google.com/site/waldorfwatch/teacher-training

http://zooey.wordpress.com/2011/01/29/the-specifically-waldorf/

http://ukanthroposophy.wordpress.com/plymreadinglists/

http://www.colegelidyr.com/prospectusyear1.pdf

http://www.colegelidyr.com/prospectusyear2.pdf

David Dodds's picture
Fri, 04/02/2011 - 13:28

Hello Janet,
I'm not sure that I have fully understood your post. For clarification of my own position, I don't care what precepts are central to a school- any school- so long as they are open and honest about it.
Now Steiner Schools claim that "Anthroposophy isn't in the classsroom". Those of us with some experience hold that this is far from so. Should one take the 'Steiner' out of 'Steiner Schools,' then what we are left with are schools!
This then raises questions of just what underlies and drives Steiner Schools. An example would be The Grail Legends. I submit that what is taught at Steiner is at some variance Why always the German version in Steiner?


Cathy's picture
Sat, 05/02/2011 - 08:27

It's worth noting the other "essential" waldorf education books on the link Valerie Walsh gives:

http://www.waldorfbooks.com/anthroposophy/human-being

This is apparently the sort of stuff teachers use in the classroom or during "child study". I find it deeply disturbing.

Foundations of Human Experience
"We want to be aware that physical existence is a continuation of what higher beings have done without our assistance. Our form of educating can have the correct attitude only when we are aware that our work with young people is a continuation of what higher beings have done before birth."

Sacred Faces
"Alan Whitehead's fascinating exploration of realms of the human soul that are revealed in our faces. His intent is to increase adult understanding of who the children before us are - and with that understanding, to enable us to teach and raise them in the best way possible.
The author takes the reader on a journey through traditional and anthroposophical interpretations of face structure"

Leaving Room for the Angels
"Every Waldorf teacher will want to read the first section, whether they teach at home or in the classroom. It contains wisdom and practical advice that can carry all of us far."
http://www.waldorfbooks.com/anthroposophy/human-being

Sam's picture
Sat, 05/02/2011 - 14:35

Also from the same meeting:

'It was acknowledged that the Steiner schools Fellowship would need to initiate and fund a proper campaign to counter the “poison” on the internet'.

In response to the above statement,Thetis makes a crucial point:

'One minute a family is good – they sign a petition, they send their child to a school.
Then they’re bad – they’ve had a negative experience, they want to make sense of it, they read about the pedagogy, they speak out on mumsnet or in a comment after an article. Poison'.

http://zooey.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/why-would-the-swedish-waldorf-scho...

Sam's picture
Sat, 05/02/2011 - 15:02

In response to the document which proves Sune Nordwall is paid by the Steiner Waldorf movement to monitor the net, I realize I have overlooked the significance of the first sentence:

'The Blog debate

In England, the attacks on [waldorf] pedagogy have led to parents withdrawing their children from the waldorf schools.

The [Swedish Waldorf School] Federation has employed Sune on a part-time basis to monitor the debate’.

http://zooey.wordpress.com/2010/05/29/supervising-the-attacks/

So the Steiner Waldorf movement believe parents are withdrawing their children from the Steiner schools due to them reading blogs and articles like this one?

It is important to stress the very same parents must have been worried in the first place to be searching for these particular blog debates. As Francis mentions in his article, the net has been monitored so well that google does not provide reliable results.

A parent would have to specifically search for Steiner school problems/concerns/cult etc. to find anything critical.

This is how I found other parents - not by some sort of accident, I was looking for others who shared my concerns.

There are also reports that the Steiner movement buys up critical domain names. I'm sure others would agree, this is not the behaviour of a school movement.

David Dodds's picture
Sun, 06/02/2011 - 14:26

Sam said:
"This is how I found other parents – not by some sort of accident, I was looking for others who shared my concerns."
Ditto. I had been employed, but not taken in by Anthroposophy for SEVEN YEARS, but I got to the point of having rattled so many cages, I was being squeezed out like a blackhead. Having been asked to write to them with things I found objectionable, I came to the internet., discovered PLANS (of which I am not, nor have ever been a member) Waldorf Survivors and the rest. What these sites did for me was to articulate just where all the gut feelings I had were coming from. There I was, 46 years old, educated to degree level, recently paid off from a reasonably succesful 25 year in aerospace, to be told by a twenty y.o. Anthro "Your REAL education starts now". In other words, forget everything you have ever known. That is what permeates an anthro attachment: The closer one gets, the more one will be guided-or just told when to question, and what the "proper" questions are (see Steiner: The Fifth Gospel) when to think, what to think, when to laugh, when to cry.Even your own extended family will come under scrutiny.
On visiting such places, you will pretty certainly be influenced by the constant smiles on everyone's mouth. I'd suggest you ignore that, and look rather to the eyes: is the smile there too, and if so, does it seem the smile is for you or at you. Responses will be different at each location I guess, but that opens the door for claims that "MY school isn't like that" Yeah, right.
Got a sense of humour? Make the most of it, side splitting, rolling on the floor, tear jerking oh- stop-it belly laughs are indeed few and far between, and then may not always meet with approval universally.
A couple of observations by Waldorf Survivors, one from Canada, the other Australia: The initial appeal of Steiner/Waldorf lies in what it IS NOT.
You have to be fairly well sucked in before you really even begin to find out what IT IS, and from there, you have some stress getting out again" and "What we (Survivors) know to be true, others just don't find credible"

David Dodds's picture
Sun, 06/02/2011 - 14:29

To the Anthro suporters here, do you know who the blue card holders are?


ABT's picture
Sun, 13/11/2011 - 11:11

I gather some of you aren't very happy with Steiner schools. Well, don't send your children there, what's the big deal? You're worried the State funds ONE WHOLE Steiner school. Aren't you more concerned about the obscene amounts of public money spent on wars, weapons, greedy bankers -to name but a few? Then again, it's much easier to attack minorities.


Jenefer Fraser's picture
Wed, 28/12/2011 - 15:45

I'm not sending my daughter to a Steiner School, but I did go to one. Whilst it was a strange experience and did include water colours and eurythmy, until reading these posts I was unaware of Steiner's prejudices - that's how prevalent they were in the teaching. What I did learn was how to study independently and think for myself. I went on to gain a first class honours degree. I'm now (15 yrs later) in the 2nd year of my second degree. My brother went to the same school, and has a career teaching martial arts and is about to embark on a degree. Not bad all round for a school not aimed at the academic types. Oh, and we both went from Kindergarten up to GCSE's.


John's picture
Sun, 01/01/2012 - 09:32

My son started off at a highly regarded state school. A school which was rated as practically perfect by the school inspectors. At that school he was bullied - which was whitewashed by the school - ignored by the teachers, made very slow progress and was generally miserable.

After trying to get things changed for some time - "work with the existing system" or some such, as above - when he was 10 years old, we moved him to a Steiner school.
Does bullying still happen? Of course, you put children in the same place and it has a high chance of happening. In fact that's more or less what his Steiner teacher said. BUT the school did a lot to sort it out, and that probblem is pretty much history now. He's in a culturally mixed school, and a culturally mixed class, and they are treated fairly and mix well together. There is no hint of racism that I've seen. He's learning a lot academically, and he's actively interested in probably about 80% of his classes. He's developing infinitely better socially, and he remains a committed atheist with no pressure to change.

So, downsides? Yes he has to do Eurthymy, and he'd prefer not to. But forget any new age mumbo jumbo about what it is or does - if nothing else, it encourages co-ordination and physical activity, which are both lacking in mainstream PE classes. He also has vigorous mainstream type PE classes, by the way, which he enjoys in a way that he never did before.
Several comments above about art - the school explains clearly about developmental stages and why they discourage using hard lines in early stages (and if you look at a table, for example, it isn't (usually) edged with black, is it?). Makes sense to me, but even if you don't agee it's hardly sinister.

Of course, it's not perfect, but perfection's hard to come by. It may not suit every child - and if your child is boisterous, rugby playing, highly competitive and aggressive, it's not likely to work out - you have to look at what the individual needs - I'm absolutely convinced we have made the right choice.

And, just to stake a claim that I'm not stupid nor am I a deluded hippy, I'm a conventionally educated civil engineer with a masters' degree. And I'd have done well had I gone to my son's Steiner school.

Lorenzo Moretti's picture
Fri, 10/02/2012 - 19:15

The Steiner school I went to, I did enjoy. I made lots of friends. It is a great environment for younger ones. But hardly once we get older. I left half way through class 9 because I wanted to achieve high in my GCSE's.
The teachers often were not fair at all. They had some of the worst teaching methods. Sometimes I had to correct them.
There was bullying. I was bullied. As well as that I often found it hard to work in such a small environment. Especially considering a lot of people did have learning disabilities. I was the best at maths and was getting easy questions.
The facilities were awful as well. There were hardly any computers and we only used them briefly in upper school. The music room was literally the size of a car, there was no drama. And the art room had no printers and did not have much equipment.

Pete K's picture
Thu, 01/03/2012 - 16:55

To clarify one thing… Steiner/Waldorf schools ABSOLUTELY want to attract children of all races. They don’t discriminate based on race when ENROLLING. Their racial discrimination stems from what Steiner taught about the races and what to expect from each of them. It isn’t unlike Steiner’s other teachings (to teachers) about the temperaments, left-handedness, large-headed and small-headed children, and so forth. Steiner’s indications about the races plays into Waldorf just like the temperaments do. Waldorf schools wouldn’t discriminate against small-headed children, just because they are prone to “intellectualism” – something Steiner frowned on… these children are to be “developed in the right way”. Steiner even suggested there were “demonic” children without souls in Waldorf schools. Waldorf schools don’t discriminate about which children they take in (families is another matter, however)… they believe they can help all children… by covertly teaching them Anthroposophy.


Tim's picture
Sat, 03/03/2012 - 09:09

All of us carry with us a long and varied history of ideas and inspirations. It is my responsibility and my right as an individual to separate from this history those ideas which I find to be worthwhile while rejecting others; to form my own world view and to live accordingly.

There are very many aspects of Steiner schools that I think are progressive and inspirational and that should be encouraged and celebrated. I think this is why I think Steiner schools in the UK are now beginning to receive state funding. Regarding the writings of Steiner it is as much my right to choose those elements that I find to be good as it is to reject those that I find to be bad. Therefore the important question for me is whether teachers and members of the Steiner school I have chosen for my children are engaged in the same process.

H Alexander's picture
Wed, 20/06/2012 - 11:28

Surely, with anything 'you' comment on AND MAKE PUBLIC it is wise to first THOROUGHLY study it. It appears to me, what I read here that you have skimmed the surface of Anthroposophy; taken out what fits your abstract view and made it into what many naive people would be taken in with as a Truism! Still, that is up to the mass public who read your stuff - they must take responsibility for what they choose to believe. I can see where you are coming from but don't agree with it AT ALL - because it is SO unstudied, superficial and does not take into account the context of Steiners works:- the late 19th & early 20th centuries when MOST, if not all Western scientists were using terminology like 'savages' for e.g. people indigenous to Africa. My personal EXPERIENCE of Steiner Schools is that they are open to ALL and STRIVE (i.e. do not claim to be perfect) to treat each child as an Individual - thus 'assessing' them not from a boxed stereotype, but from who the individual is expressing - so GIVE A LOT of personalised attention rather than allowing the e.g. the quiet child to sink into unnoticed oblivion; the loud child to be labeled as a bully and so on. Each & EVERY child is striven to be understood & cherished. PLUS...you lump religion into the education (Waldorf Schools); whereas if you took a more sophisticated and studied approach you would realise and advertise more truthfully that Steiner walked his talk down several SEPARATE avenues...farming; religion; education; medicine; architecture; movement; and much more... you deliberately and pompously attack by mixing and matching willy nilly - perhaps to air some superficial views you clothe in intellectual 'cleverness'. However, that said... each person IS on a path and we all must learn to discern - the abstract from the concrete; the objective from the subjective; the rhetorical politician from the honest politician; the clever egoist from the studied professor...so some will entirely agree with you, especially because they haven't read even one of Dr. Steiner's lectures. I think what Tim says...3/3/12 at 9.09 am is far better than what I have said.


janice mason's picture
Tue, 28/08/2012 - 13:28

Hi, hankyou folisting all the uk steiner schools looking to apply as a free school status. My children go to a great steiner school at the moment and we are looking to continue all four childrens education in a steiner school.
I feel you have actually only looked superficially at steiner education and maybe need to consider the cuurent national curriculum in the UK and how etrimental this is to the growing child/ adolescent.
Thanks again for the list, it was great help.
regards , Janice

janice mason's picture
Tue, 28/08/2012 - 13:29

apologies for the spelling errors in the last post

Janice

Stu and Verity Verity's picture
Fri, 21/03/2014 - 16:43

I'm not an unthinking advocate of Steiner schools, though our experience of one has been overwhelmingly positive. And I'm not dismissing the challenges levelled at Steiner's philosophies - I have questions about some of them myself that I don't feel have been answered adequately. I'd counter that the current state education system is overseen and perpetuated by a government that has fundamentally questionable ethics, and appears to be generating increasing amounts of distrust. Yet we collectively entrust our children to that system, despite the fact that those at the helm are not just historically untrustworthy, but continuing to be so.


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