Waldorf education

Waldorf education (also called Steiner education) is a worldwide movement based on an educational philosophy first formulated by Austrian Rudolf Steiner and which grew out of his spiritual science, Anthroposophy. Waldorf education aims to educate the "whole child" by maintaining a balance between physical activity, artistic creativity and academic work against a backdrop of well-defined stages in child development, which is seen as a process of incarnation of the child's soul and spirit. Its curriculum focuses on the arts, social skills, spiritual values as well as practical and integrated learning. The typical Waldorf school is described as the school of the head, heart and hands.

Waldorf education is practiced in Waldorf schools, homeschools, and special education environments. There are now close to 1000 established Waldorf schools located in about sixty different countries throughout the world, as well as many younger initiatives, making this the largest independent nondenominational school system in the world.

Description

Waldorf education is founded on the work of Rudolf Steiner, as extended by the research and work of many teachers and pedagogues since Steiner's time. Waldorf schools employ a curriculum that focuses on the developmental stages of childhood. In general, there are three larger phases: early childhood, when learning is experiential and sensory; the middle, elementary school years, when learning is imaginative and aided by creative, and especially by artistic activity; and adolescence, when learning can be supported by abstractions and intellectual rigor. Inside these three larger phases, many smaller stages of development can be defined.

The education addresses subjects on three levels:

• the head or Intellect. The education claims to teach the students to think for themselves.
• the Heart. The education's stated aim is to instill a sense of feeling and spirit.
• the Hands. Waldorf schools work to involve arts and crafts, everything from painting to coppersmithing.

Though the emphasis in the early years is clearly on learning through doing (hands), in the elementary school years on learning through feeling (heart) and in the middle and high school years on learning through understanding (head), all of these aspects are included in appropriate ways throughout the school years. This has social consequences as well; because of the diversity of subjects in a Waldorf school — from first grade on, the curriculum includes two foreign languages, crafts, painting, drawing, singing and instrumental music, mathematics, language and literature, nature studies, and natural science — each student must exercise a wide variety of learning styles and skills. The broad curriculum thus encourages a social environment of cooperation and mutual appreciation.

Often there is an attempt to integrate the three elements mentioned above into the teaching of all subjects. A conscious effort to build a sense of community and environmental responsibility is fostered at every level, including parents, teachers/staff, students, and alumni. Movement, sport, and drama are employed throughout; in fact, a type of body movement called eurythmy is taught to every age group.

Further, Waldorf education makes no sharp division between theoretical and practical subjects, the arts, and logical subjects such as mathematics. Steiner repeatedly emphasized art, spirituality, and science's common cultural heritage.

Waldorf Schools are co-educational, and predominantly comprehensive. Most are run co-operatively and are self-administered. Some public (state-run) schools incorporate Waldorf education principles into their curriculum. In the United States this has been difficult because: "Steiner's concept is very spiritual in nature, which public education cannot totally embrace because of current law. Nevertheless, after making some modifications, a public school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is using the concept with good results." (Weary, 2000, p. 4) Many Waldorf method charter schools have been established, especially in California; similarly, in both Australia and New Zealand some schools have successfully integrated with the state-funded school system, with some adaptation for state-prescribed curricula. Most Waldorf schools have no school uniform.

The schooling is divided into three pedagogical stages: Early Childhood Education/Kindergarten (early years to age seven), Lower, or Elementary school (ages 7 to 14 ) and Upper, or High school (ages 14 to 19). An increasing number of Waldorf schools are introducing middle schools as a separate stage for 12 to 14 year-olds; this is especially common in Holland and France.

Pedagogy

Steiner developed a 3-stage pedagogical model of child development that is utilised in Waldorf education. His description preceded but in some respects is analogous to the three stages of conceptual development observed and described by psychologist Jean Piaget in the 1960s. Steiner's approach, however, views a child's physical, emotional, and cognitive development as expressions of the process of incarnation of an immortal soul in its gradual embodiment in the human body which will be its temporary earthly vehicle. Childhood thus includes but three of the many seven-year cycles of development that define human biography.

Pre-school and kindergarten: birth to age 6 or 7

The child at this early stage learns through imitation and example, so it is considered best to surround him with the goodness of the world and caring adults to emulate. Waldorf teachers work to support the physical and spiritual growth the child experiences at this time. Clear rhythms of the day give the child security, moving between inside and outside activities; between time for play and time for "work" (practical or artistic activities); time to be extroverted and meet the world and time to hear stories and be calm within. Each day of the week will normally have particular highlights (baking, painting, etc.) and meal, creating a weekly rhythm. The rhythm of the year is emphasized through festivals primarily related to the experienced course of nature: autumn's harvest, winter's inwardness, spring's rebirth, summer's joy.

Emphasis is placed on traditional household activities such as cooking, fingerknitting, helping with household duties, storytelling, rhyming, and movement games. Children are not taught specific academic subjects at this time, including reading and writing, and are sheltered from the media. The basis for literacy, language development, is fostered through circle games (songs, poems and games in movement), daily story time (normally told by heart, through which the children's memory forces are engaged) and the experiential richness of the environment (a rich vocabulary must have rich referrents to be meaningful).

At approximately age seven, it is believed that the initial physical growth stage of the child is completed. A developmental test is often done to determine readiness for school entry. This may include a variety of indicators: the ability to accomplish more complex physical tasks (e.g. skipping), growth of the limbs (often tested by the child's ability to reach over the head to touch the opposite ear), the beginning of the change of teeth, the ability to interpret and replicate more complex forms in movement or drawing, the general development of drawing skills, the quality of social interaction, the development of play and an awakening interest in numbers and letters.

Elementary education: age 6 or 7 to puberty

In the Waldorf school, elementary education begins with "first grade" (USA) or "year one" (UK) when the child is nearing or already seven years of age.

The curriculum is highly challenging, structured, and creative. In Waldorf schools, one teacher often aims to stay with a class as it advances from its first year all the way through to year eight, teaching the main subject lessons. Specialist teachers are utilized for subjects such as foreign languages, handwork and crafts, singing, orchestra (every Waldorf pupil learns to play an orchestral instrument), movement (eurythmy), games and gymnastics, and so on. Academic instruction is integrated with arts, craft, music and movement. As Steiner stated in The Education of the Child in the Light of Anthroposophy, "...the child should be laying up in his memory the treasures of thought on which mankind has pondered...".

Throughout the elementary years, an imaginative approach is encouraged; new material is introduced through stories and images, and the children create their own artistic "textbooks" in their own hand, much like illuminated manuscripts, with richly colored borders and appropriate illustrations. The day begins with a main lesson, a one-and-a-half to two hour lesson devoted to a single academic subject over the course of about a month. Subjects of main lessons are primarily drawn from mathematics, literature and language, history and nature studies.

In the middle school years, when the child is twelve to fourteen years old (seventh and eighth grades in US), many schools employ specialist teachers for mathematics, science, and/or literature as well. These are seen as transitional years when the pupils still need the support of a central teacher, but also the in-depth education possible only through teachers with special competencies in these subjects. The approach to teaching these years is changing rapidly in Waldorf schools, and the combination of teachers employed in different schools for the academic subjects in the middle school runs the gamut from a central teacher teaching all of these to only using specialist teachers.

Secondary education: after puberty

In most Waldorf schools, pupils enter secondary education (high school (USA) or upper school (UK)) in 9th grade/year nine, when they are about fourteen years old. Instead of having one main teacher who teaches most subjects, the students in secondary school have many specialist teachers. They begin to grasp concepts and analyze the facts and knowledge they learned in the earlier stages. All students continue to take courses in art, music, and crafts on top of the full range of sciences, mathematics, language and literature, and history normal to most academically-oriented schools. Extended block courses, or so-called main lessons, continue for academic subjects; in these, students are exposed to and explore the historical evolution, philosophical significance, and social consequences of special themes in more depth than is normally possible.

The child is helped to begin a guided, but independent, search for truth. As stated in Education for Adolescents (1922), "The capacity for forming judgments is blossoming at this time and should be directed toward world-interrelationships in every field." Idealism is central to these years, and the education constantly directs pupils to motivating impulses that can stimulate their enthusiasm. The education works to cultivate a combination of highly analytic thinking with idealism in this phase.

History

Waldorf education was developed by Rudolf Steiner as an attempt to establish a school system that would facilitate the inclusive, broadly based, balanced development of children. Though he had written a book on education, The Education of the Child in the Light of Anthroposophy, twelve years before, his first opportunity to open such a school came in 1919 in response to a request by Emil Molt, the owner and managing director of the Waldorf-Astoria Cigarette Company in Stuttgart, Germany. The name Waldorf thus comes from the factory which hosted the first school.

Steiner insisted upon four conditions before opening:

1. that the school be open to all children;
2. that it be coeducational;
3. that it be a unified twelve-year school;
4. that the teachers, those individuals actually in contact with the children, have primary control over the pedagogy of the school, with a minimum of interference from the state or from economic sources.

The first year the school was a company school and all teachers were listed as workers at Waldorf Astoria, but starting the second year the school became separate and independent.

Within a few years, many other Waldorf schools modeled on the Stuttgart school opened in other cities. The first school in Great Britain, now known as Michael Hall, opened in 1925. The first school in the USA, the Rudolf Steiner School of New York City, opened in 1928. Most of the European schools were closed down by the Nazis (exceptions include those in Great Britain and Switzerland) but were reopened after World War II. Today (2005) there are over 900 independent Waldorf schools worldwide, including over 150 in the United States, and 31 in the UK and Ireland.

In the United States there are a growing number of Waldorf methods based charter school and public school movements. Many teachers not working in schools committed to Waldorf education have brought aspects of Waldorf education into their classrooms, as well. In Europe, especially in Switzerland, there is much more integration of the Waldorf approach and public education than in the USA.

There is also a large homeschooling movement utilizing Waldorf pedagogy and methods.

Social mission

Wider social purpose

Besides seeking to foster creative development of the "whole child," Steiner also started the Waldorf movement in order to help fulfill a social purpose: that education, while remaining fully accessible and available to all regardless of economic background, should eventually cease to be controlled by the State, and should instead come to depend on the free choices of families and teachers freely developing a highly pluralistic and diverse range of schools and educational options.

Steiner held that where the State administered education, culture was crippled in its ability to impartially distinguish good from bad in state action and in economic life. Without the capacity to make impartial, independently-based critiques, i.e., critiques not controlled by the state and economic interests, society would proceed relatively blindly. He also held that educators whose methods and work were determined by the State often had their competencies and creativity greatly weakened through the lack of full self-responsibility and independence.

Social health, he believed, required education to be a matter of freedom and pluralism, such that teachers and parents should be permitted to make a thousand different educational flowers bloom, and then all families should be enabled to choose freely from the highly diverse and spontaneously evolving range of options. At the same time Steiner was flexible and pragmatic, and understood that compromises with the State would have to be made, and that even in an ideal system a few legal restrictions (such as health and safety laws), provided they were kept to a minimum, would be necessary and justified.

Intercultural links in socially polarized communities

Waldorf schools have linked polarized communities in a variety of settings.

• Even under Apartheid the Waldorf school in South Africa was open to children of every race, despite the ensuing loss of state aid.
• In Ireland, the Holywood Rudolf Steiner School has accepted both Catholics and Protestants since its founding in 1975.
• In Israel, when the Harduf Waldorf school attempted to include the local Arab community, the educational authorities threatened to withdraw funding; the school responded by beginning a joint project with that community to run parallel schools with rich contacts. A joint Arab-Jewish Waldorf kindergarten has also been founded in Hilf (near Haifa).
• In Brazil, a Waldorf teacher, Ute Craemer, founded a community service organization providing training and work, health care and Waldorf education in the Favelas (poverty-stricken areas of the city).
• The Imhoff Waldorf School in Cape Town, South Africa has a programme which offers sponsored education to previously disadvantaged pupils.

Links to UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, known as UNESCO, has chosen many Waldorf schools to be associated project schools, including at least seven UNESCO Waldorf schools in Germany alone, as well as schools in Africa and Asia.

UNESCO also sponsored an exhibit about the Waldorf schools at the 44th Session of their International Conference on Education in Geneva. An exhibition catalog was published by UNESCO under the title Waldorf Education Exhibition Catalog On Occasion of the 4th Session of the International Conference on Education of UNESCO in Geneva.

Health-giving effects

A 1999 study published in The Lancet found that Waldorf pupils "were at a significantly lower risk" of having asthma, allergies, dermatitis and other atopic diseases. Lower incidences of vision problems and obesity have also been noted.

Educational Philosophy

Introduction of reading and writing

At a time when many kindergartens are emphasizing reading, writing and early numeracy skills, Waldorf kindergartens approach literacy readiness through movement games, poetry and story. The written language is first introduced, pictorially and artistically, when the children enter elementary school at age six-seven. Instruction progresses through writing into reading. Most children are reading independently by age eight.

Main lesson books

In both the elementary school and secondary school, most academic subjects are taught in blocks. For these blocks, instead of using commercial textbooks each pupil writes and illustrates a "main lesson book", a self-created 'textbook' based upon the content learned. Scope for independent creativity in these books progresses rapidly through the elementary years.

By the secondary school years, if not earlier, standard textbooks begin to be used for courses that either are not taught in or supplement the blocks: mathematics, literature, etc.

Foreign languages

Most Waldorf schools begin teaching two foreign languages from first grade/ class 1 (age six-seven) on. Foreign language instruction in the first years is purely oral; by the end of class 3 , (beginning of fourth grade), the written forms of the languages are introduced. When the pupils are about sixteen-years old, exchanges with schools in other countries are encouraged; after such an exchange, a very high level of fluency has usually been reached.

Art

• Painting is a weekly experience in the early years. Art instruction continues through the high school for all students.
• In the elementary years, drawing is practiced daily. For pedagogical reasons, full-color figures are usually drawn, not outlines. A special discipline called Form Drawing, created by the early Waldorf pedagogue Hermann von Baravalle, focuses on linear forms.

Music

• The children sing daily with their class teacher. They also have weekly singing lessons with a specialized music teacher beginning at an early age and continuing as choral instruction through to age 18.

• Pentatonic recorders are introduced in first grade/ class 1, the familiar diatonic recorder in third grade / class 3, when the children also take up a string instrument: either violin, viola or cello. Waldorf pupils are generally required to take private music lessons when a class orchestra is formed, usually at aged 10. By aged 11, the children may switch to (or add) other orchestral instruments such as the woodwind or brass. Orchestral instruction continues through to 18, though in many schools it becomes elective at some point.

Nature and science in the Waldorf School

Waldorf schools' very distinctive phases of education show themselves clearly in the treatment of nature and the natural sciences. In the pre-school, kindergarten and first elementary years, rich, direct experiences of nature are encouraged. Children play outside in all weathers, preferably in gardens that show the seasons through the changing plant (and sometimes animal) life. Inside the classroom, natural materials are preferred for the room, its furnishings and all toys: these include wood, stone, clay (e.g. pottery), wool, cotton, silk, and linen. The emphasis is on working with the materials of nature through planting and harvesting, craft work and creative play. The beings of nature are personified and even anthropomorphized as active agents. The first years are thus years of ‘nature experience’.

At about nine years of age, children begin to become more conscious of their separation from their environment. From this age, nature is studied in an imaginative (rather than analytical) way, and still in relationship to the human being – but no longer anthropomorphized. The curriculum includes blocks on farming (aged 10), Man and animal (aged 11), Plant and Earth (aged 12) and geology (aged 13). A feeling connection to nature is aimed for, out of which a sense of stewardship can grow.

By twelve, children are entering a newly rational phase (cf. Piaget’s Theory of cognitive development). An experimental approach to science is introduced, beginning with simple but systematic sensory explorations of phenomena of acoustics, light, mechanics and chemistry and progressing through ever more advanced physics, chemistry, biological and ecological studies:

• 11-12 years: Mineralogy, acoustics, optics, heat, natural magnetism and electricity.
• 12-13 years: Nutrition and hygiene, mechanics, acoustics, heat, optics, electricity and magnetism, chemistry.
• 13-14 years: Anatomy, hydrostatics and simple hydrodynamics, simple organic chemistry of starches, sugars and fats.

At the secondary school level (fourteen years of age and up), Waldorf schools tend to emphasize the historical origins, cultural background, and philosophical roots and consequences of scientific discoveries. By the end of their secondary school education, students are expected to have a grasp of modern science equivalent to that achieved in other schools. In particular, the following subjects are recommended:

• 14-15 years: Acoustics and thermodynamics, earth science, organic chemistry
• 15-16 years: Mechanics, mineralogy, anatomy and physiology, mechanics, acid-base reactions.
• 16-17 years: Cell biology and embryology, botany, atomic theory, electromagnetism and radiation, the periodic table, advanced chemistry
• 17-18 years: Zoology, optics, physiological chemistry

Transferring between Waldorf and non-Waldorf schools

According to the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America:

Children who transfer out of a Waldorf school into a public [state] school during the earlier grades probably have to upgrade their reading ability and to approach the science lessons differently. Science in a Waldorf school emphasizes the observation of natural phenomena rather than the formulation of abstract concepts and laws. On the other hand, the Waldorf transferees are usually well prepared for social studies, practical and artistic activities, and mathematics.

Children moving during the middle grades should experience no problems. In fact, in most cases, transferring students of this age-group find themselves ahead of their classmates. The departing Waldorf student is likely to take along into the new school a distinguishing individual strength, personal confidence, and love of learning.

and about children transferring into Waldorf schools from state-run schools:

Children who transfer to a Waldorf school in the first four grades usually are up to grade in reading, math, and basic academic skills. However, they usually have much to learn in bodily coordination skills, posture, artistic and social activities, cursive handwriting, and listening skills. Listening well is particularly important since most of the curricular content is presented orally in the classroom by the teacher. The human relationship between the child and the teacher is the basis for healthy learning, for the acquiring of understanding and knowledge rather than just information. Children who are used to learning from computers and other electronic media will have to adjust.

A government study of English Waldorf schools showed that Waldorf pupils' reading skills tend to lag behind state-educated pupils in the first few grades, but that by 5th grade (11 years of age) the Waldorf pupils have caught up and thereafter are ahead of children of the same age who are educated in state schools. Waldorf schools maintain that the literacy-building techniques Waldorf schools use during early childhood—storytelling, music and singing, games, speech, and movement exercises—help to nourish imagination and a love of language which will be carried long after the child learns to read. It is worth noting that Finland, which sends its children to school at a comparable or later age, is one of the most literate societies in the world. Research by Piaget and others also supports the view that early academic learning actually interferes with the development in early childhood of faculties that will enhance later learning capacity.

Standardized Testing

Waldorf schools rarely use standardized tests in the elementary grades. High school students take standard college entrance examinations: SAT in the USA, A-levels in England, Abitur in Germany, etc.

Celebrations and Festivals

Most private Waldorf schools celebrate holidays and festivals that are an anthroposophic or simply school-specific interpretation of the local culture's holidays and festivals. Festivals can be secular in character, combine elements of several religious traditions, as is frequently the case in multi-cultural settings, or represent the dominant local tradition, as is generally the case in parts of Europe (Christian festivals), Egypt (Islamic festivals), Israel (Jewish festivals, but see Intercultural links in socially polarized communities), and India and Thailand (Buddhist festivals).

In North America and Europe most private Waldorf schools celebrate several Christian-based holidays and festivals, often with an Anthroposophic interpretation, including Martinmas and the four seasonal festivals of Michaelmas (fall), Christmas (winter), Easter (spring), and St. John's (summer). Although a majority of the schools' celebrations in North America and Europe are Christian-based, most North American private and European Waldorf schools also celebrate celebrations and festivals drawn from other traditions.

In the kindergarten and earliest elementary schools years, most Waldorf schools also celebrate something known as the Advent Spiral. This festival, celebrated in the weeks prior to the winter solstice, is also called a Advent Garden, Winter Garden, or Spiral of Light. In this ceremonial celebration, children enter, one at a time, into a large spiral of lit candles. As the parents sing the child a song or music is played, each child lights a candle and as the ceremony progresses, the spiral becomes brighter and brighter. The entire ceremony is conducted without any narration or interpretation, but the spiral and the lighting of the candles symbolizes many things in Anthroposophy: the turning and renewal of the year, the path of incarnation on earth, etc.

School organization

Internal self-government

One of Waldorf education's central premises is that all schools should be self-governing; that the people who are practical experts on education — the teachers — should decide issues directly relating to pedagogy. Most Waldorf schools thus do not have a principal, but rather a group of committed, long-term teachers who decide on pedagogical issues. This group is often known as the college of teachers. It is usually open to all full-time teachers who have been with the school for a certain period (often two years). Most colleges of teachers decide issues on the basis of consensus.

For more information about school organization and administration, see Waldorf schools' organization and administration

Teacher education

Specialist Waldorf education teaching colleges are in operation throughout the world. The course of study normally includes methodologies of teaching, academic training in specialized disciplines, artistic development, and familiarity with child development (especially as researched by Steiner and later Waldorf educators). It also generally aims to develop an understanding of the inner, or spiritual, basis of teaching; of the human being as composed of spirit, soul and body; and that an individual human being reincarnates in a series of lives. The latter implies that children bring certain gifts and challenges with them from previous Earth experiences, and have chosen a future destiny to develop in this life — a destiny which can be supported through the environment of family and school. This spiritual background is intended to enhance teachers' professional, personal and inner development. It is not intended to flow into the actual content taught to children.

Rudolf Steiner's "spiritual science" or Anthroposophy and developmental psychology are normally central courses at any Waldorf teaching college. Further specialized courses may draw on the huge body of research since Steiner's day, possibly including work by (in alphabetical order, and without any pretense at comprehensiveness): George Adams, Hermann von Baravalle, Lawrence Edwards, Erich Gabert, Michaela Glöckler, Freya Jaffke, Dennis Klocek, Henning Köhler, Ernst Kranich, Georg Kuhlewind, Audrey McAllen, Martin Rawson, Wolfgang Schad, Ernst Schubert, Jörgen Smit and Olive Whicher. For elementary educators, artistic work will include painting, blackboard drawing, sculpture, singing, recorder playing, speech and drama work and movement (eurythmy and/or gymnastics). Practica in schools vary in length and will include opportunities for observation and for trial teaching.

Much of the education of any Waldorf teacher happens after graduation from teaching college, however, including through further seminars (such as those run by the national associations of Waldorf teachers) as well as the extensive publications on the subject (see the list of publishers below). The monthly magazine Erziehungskunst publishes the latest Waldorf research from Germany; to give an idea of the extensiveness of the source material now available — at least in German —, a collection of the best articles on elementary education from this magazine's 66-year history (Zum Unterricht des Klassenlehrers an der Waldorfschule) included more than one hundred authors and ran to more than a thousand pages. The English language source material is also extensive, and there are English language research journals for Waldorf education in several countries.

Spiritual Foundations

Anthroposophy's role in Waldorf education

Both historically and philosophically, Waldorf education grows out of anthroposophy's view of child development. Most Waldorf schools mention both Rudolf Steiner and anthroposophy in their websites and the information they provide to prospective parents. AWSNA, the accrediting organization for all Waldorf Schools in North America, clearly states on their web page:

• A Waldorf school is not just an alternative to public schools or another independent school; its curriculum and philosophy proceed from the worldview and the insights into the nature of the child that Rudolf Steiner has given us in Anthroposophy. If there is not a core community surrounding the school initiative that is thoroughly familiar with and committed to that philosophy and pedagogy, then it is unlikely that the initiative will prosper.
• The anthroposophical work in a community is very important because Waldorf Education arises out of the soil of Anthroposophy. It is into this soil that the roots of the school will grow and derive nourishment.
• The school itself needs to have a healthy fertile relationship with Anthroposophy if it is to grow and thrive as a Waldorf school. For more information about the study of Anthroposophy or to learn of anthroposophical study groups in your area, you may contact the Anthroposophical Society in America.

AWSNA also stresses that although Anthroposophy is a central influence, and study of its teachings are encouraged for "the community," they are never compulsory, stating, "There can be nothing compulsory about the study of Anthroposophy, for it must live in the realm of inner freedom."

As a principle in Waldorf schools, anthroposophical content is not explicitly taught to pupils, although the movement art of eurythmy, generally taught in the schools, also originated out of anthroposophy. There is one occasional exception; some schools have seen the need to give their graduating twelfth-graders a clear picture of the basis for their education through a course on Child Development. Above and beyond presenting the anthroposophic view of child development, such a course may include a description of some other anthroposophic ideas, introduced to help the students understand the origin and nature of the school's educational approach: the human being as composed of body, soul and spirit; the value of integrating multiple points of view; reincarnation; etc. The purpose is to ensure that pupils understand the background of their educational experience and there is open discussion of the viability of these ideas.

Brief overview of anthroposophy

Anthroposophy, according to Steiner, investigates and describes spiritual phenomena with the same precision and clarity with which natural science investigates and describes the physical world. Steiner described his approach as "soul-observations using scientific methodology," which included trained clairvoyance, a source outside of the traditional view of scientific method. His ideas have their roots in the flowering of Germanic culture that resulted in the transcendent philosophy of Hegel, Fichte and Schelling, on the one hand, and the poetic and scientific works of Goethe, upon whom Steiner draws heavily, on the other.

Steiner's anthroposophic research and subsequent teachings placed Jesus Christ at the center of the spiritual history of Earth, seeing what he called the "Christ impulse" as living at the heart of every religion.

There is great debate about whether Anthroposophy is a religion, a science, a philosophy or some combination of the three:

• Columbia University Professor Emeritus of Education Douglas Sloan, himself an anthroposophist, has testified that Anthroposophy is not a religion, but a "spiritual science" or philosophy.
• Reference books differ in their definitions of anthroposophy. The Merriam-Webster dictionary refers to it as a "religious system," the McGraw-Hill dictionary defines anthroposophy as "a movement that grew out of Theosophy, which emphasizes education and other practical means for spiritual development," and the Encyclopedia Britannica refers to it as a "philosophy based on the premise that the human intellect has the ability to contact spiritual worlds."

Critical views

Basis in Anthroposophy

Further information: Waldorf education § Anthroposophy's Role in Waldorf Education

Some parents unaware that Waldorf schools have their origin and foundation in Anthroposophy have been surprised by the latter's spirituality and spiritual teachings, which include the principle that every human being includes a body, soul and immortal spirit; reincarnation and karma; the conviction that everything material has a spiritual nature; and the belief that individual spiritual development that will allow perception of spiritual realities is possible. Waldorf schools' basis in anthroposophy has always been a public matter, however, and Steiner himself emphasized this connection in his lectures to the general public about Waldorf education. But he also emphasized that anthroposophy itself would and should never be taught at Waldorf schools , and in fact these principles are not taught in the schools.

The San Francisco based anti-Waldorf lobby group PLANS, described by one support group for Waldorf Education (Americans for Waldorf education) as a group that publishes argumentation characteristic of hate groups, has been extremely vocal on this issue.

Religious orientation of some schools

Independent Waldorf schools tend to celebrate festivals and otherwise incorporate content that draws on their community's cultural background. In clearly Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, or Hindu cultures, the religious traditions of the surrounding culture are often woven into the school's life, and this is generally one of the most appreciated aspects of school life. Challenges may arise in multicultural settings.

In traditionally Christian countries of Europe and in the United States, there is mixed anecdotal evidence, some individuals complaining that their children's Waldorf schools emphasized Christian festivals, values and/or theology; others emphasizing that they have not found such an emphasis in their school. Two factors seem to be at work here: the schools' tendency to embrace local religious traditions whatever their setting, which can be problematic for those not of the majority religion, and the schools' foundation in Anthroposophy, which, despite its conscious inclusion of all religions, has a strong esoteric Christian thread. Different schools clearly handle these tensions differently, and an engaged parent body or community input can awaken schools to the issue, as has happened on a large scale in various countries.

U.S. Waldorf methods public schools

In 1998, a law suit was filed in federal district court by the anti-Waldorf lobby group PLANS against two public school districts with Waldorf methods schools in California, charging that publicly-financed Waldorf methods schools are in violation of the "church and state" establishment clause of the First Amendment. When the case was tried in 2005, the district court decided for the Waldorf methods schools, finding that the plaintiffs had no admissible witnesses or evidence to support their claim that anthroposophy is a religion. See transcript of the trial and ruling of the court. The plaintiffs are appealing the decision. The defendants are disputing the validity of the appeal.

Comparison with state-run education

In 2005, a UK government-funded study praised the schools' ability to develop students through closer human relationships rather than relying purely on tests, but reported that the state sector could provide guidance to Steiner schools in teacher training and management skills.

External links

Waldorf Resources

• Association of Waldorf Schools of North America
• Bob and Nancy's Services with a link to various Waldorf resources
• List of well-known Waldorf alumni
• Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship of the UK and Ireland
• Waldorf Answers Fanatical Waldorf teachers present Waldorf education
• Waldorf World website
• Americans for Waldorf Education - Basically the same Fanatics as Waldorf Answers
• PLANS - (Critical)
• Waldorf Critics

Further Discussion, Outside Views and Reviews of Waldorf Schools

• Studies on Waldorf Education since 1929 Overview by Waldorf Answers.

• News articles since 2004

• "Waldorf a wonderland of learning for life" Armidale Express - Armidale, New South Wales, Australia, 14 June 2006.

• "Schooling the Imagination" by Todd Oppenheimer (a winner of the National Magazine Award for public interest reporting). Atlantic Monthly, September 1999.

• "Independent schools offer choices, but also impact public school finances" by J.C. Myers. Barre Montpelier Times Argus, 13 June 2006.

• "Steiner schools 'could help all" by Branwen Jeffreys. BBC News Report on British government-funded study on Waldorf education in the UK, 5july 2005.

• "Waldorf Succeeds in Public Schools" by Claudia M. Lenart. "Chicago 'Conscious Choice'", August 2000.

• "Contrarian finding: Computers are a drag on learning" by G. Jeffrey MacDonald, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 December, 2004.

• "Waldorf Education. Looking into the educational system developed by Rudolf Steiner" by Diane and Robert Gilman. In Context: A Quarterly of Humane Sustainable Culture, Summer 1984.

• Creative learning. Boulder school boosts academic program with music, theater by Paula Aven Gladych. The Daily Times-Call, June 15, 2006.

• "Two new private schools offer individualized curriculums" by Dominic Weilminster. The Durango Herald, March 2, 2005.

• "8-year-old spreads word: turn off TV!" by Eloise Aguiar. Honolulu Advertiser, 20 August, 2006.

• "A kinder, gentler school for children Waldorf method is based on relationships rather than curriculum" by Janie Blankenship. Kansas City Star, 23 August, 2006.

• "At Plum Hill, Each Child Is an Important Soul" by C.K.Wolfson. Martha's Vineyard Gazette - Edgartown, Massachusetts, 24 November, 2004.

• "The Wisdom of Waldorf: Education for the Future" by Rahima Baldwin Dancy, Mothering Magazine, March/April 2004.

• "What is a Waldorf School?" Peterson's Guide to Waldorf schools.

• "Sunfield Farm school to open this fall" by Kasia Pierzga. Armidale Express - Armidale, New South Wales, Australia, 15 june 2006.

• "Schooled in spirituality" by Chrisanne Beckner. Sacramento News and Review, February 03, 2005.

• "Religion or Philosophy? Critics say Waldorf schools' unusual methods make them ineligible for public funding" by Lori Olszewski. San Francisco Chronicle, October 30, 2000.

• "Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925)" by Robert Todd Carroll, editor of The Skeptics Dictionary.

• "Which Preschool Is Right for Your Child?" by Robyn A. Friedman, SouthFlorida.com - Fort Lauderdale, Florida, February 14th, 2005.

• "Persephone School focuses on arts. Grade 5 to 9 students learn through music, direct experience" by Alli Vail, Squamish Chief - Squamish, British Columbia, February 14th, 2005.

• "Diplomats tour `eco-campuses,' laud progress" by Mo Yan-chih, Taipei Times, January 23rd, 2005.

Special Education

• Camphill Communities Intentional communities of people with disabilities that recognize the potential, dignity, spiritual integrity, and contributions of each individual.

• Critical viewpoint of Camphill Communities.

Research journals

Steiner's educational philosophy is continually being developed further. Journals of note publishing such material include

• Erziehungskunst, the organ of the German Association of Waldorf Schools
• Paideia, the journal of the Steiner-Waldorf Schools Fellowship in Britain.
• Research Bulletin of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America

Teacher training programs

• Antioch New England Graduate School
• Center for Anthroposophy in Wilton, New Hampshire
• Emerson College in Forest Row, Sussex, England
• Rudolf Steiner Centre Toronto, Canada
• Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, California
• Sunbridge College in Chestnut Ridge, New York
• The University of Plymouth, England
• West Coast Institute for Studies in Anthroposophy, Vancouver, Canada

Finding a Waldorf School

See also: List of Waldorf Schools

• A list of Waldorf Schools worldwide (in pdf form)
• A list of Waldorf Schools in the US
• A list of Waldorf Schools in Germany
• Starting a Waldorf School

Bibliography

Works by Rudolf Steiner

Note: all of Steiner's lectures on Waldorf education are available in PDF form at this research site

• Education: An Introductory Reader (Christopher Clouder, ed.), Sophia Books (March 2004), ISBN 1855841185. Collection of relevant works by Steiner on education.
• The Education of the Child, and early Lectures on Education (Foundations of Waldorf Education, 25), ISBN 0880104147. Includes Steiner's first descriptions of child development, originally published as a small booklet.
• The Foundations of Human Experience, ISBN 0880103922 - these fundamental lectures on education were given to the teachers just before the opening of the first Waldorf school in Stuttgart in 1919.

For more works, see this list of Rudolf Steiner's works on education.

Works by other authors

See also: list of works on Waldorf education

• Aeppli, W., The Developing Child ISBN 0880104910

• Armon J: The Waldorf Curriculum as a Framework for Moral Education: One dimension of a fourfold system. Annual Meeting of American Educational Research Association (AERA), Chicago, 1997.

• Bärtges, C. and Lyons, N.: Educating as an Art, NY 2003 ISBN 0880105313

• Clouder, C. and Rawson, M., Waldorf Education ISBN 0863153968

• Cusick, L, Waldorf Parenting Handbook ISBN 0916786757

• Edmonds, Francis, An Introduction to Steiner Education ISBN 185584172X

• Gardner, John F., Education in Search of the Spirit: Essays on American Education ISBN 0880104392

• Gloeckler, Michaela: A Healing Education, Rudolf Steiner College Press, Fair Oaks, 1989

• Harwood, A. C.: The Recovery of Man in Childhood ISBN 0913098531

• Masters, Brien, Adventures in Steiner Education ISBN 1855841533

• Nobel, Agnes, Educating through Art: The Steiner School Approach

• Petrash, Jack, (2002): Understanding Waldorf Education: Teaching from the Inside Out ISBN 0876592469

• Querido, René, Creativity in Education ISBN 0930420055

• Querido, René, The Esoteric Background of Waldorf Education

• Spock, Marjorie, Teaching as a Lively Art ISBN 088010127X

• Wilkinson, R. (1996): The Spiritual Basis of Steiner Education. London: Sophia Books ISBN 1855840650