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Emil Molt

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Emil Molt
Born(1876-04-14)14 April 1876
Died16 June 1936(1936-06-16) (aged 60)
NationalityGerman
Occupationindustrialist
Known forWaldorf school
SpouseBertha Molt

Emil Molt (14 April 1876, in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Kingdom of Württemberg – 16 June 1936, in Stuttgart) was a German industrialist, social reformer and anthroposophist. He was the director of the Waldorf-Astoria-Zigarettenfabrik, and with Rudolf Steiner co-founded the first Waldorf school. Hence, Waldorf education was named after the company.

Background

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Molt was born in southern Germany and was orphaned as a teenager.[1] He enlisted in the military and worked for Emil Georgii after he was discharged. Georgii's son Emil Jr. hired Molt to work at the Waldorf-Astoria cigarette factory at Stuttgart. He later became its general manager and owner.[1]

A biography written by Molt's daughter detailed how he purchased the Waldorf Astoria brand name from the tobacconist shop in a New York hotel owned by the Astor family.[2]

Waldorf school

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Molt's association with Steiner began due to his interest in spirituality, particularly after he signed up as a member of the Theosophical Society in 1906. Steiner was regularly invited to speak in its gatherings.[3] The industrialist also became a follower of Steiner's esoteric philosophy called anthroposophy.

After World War I people believed it was possible to initiate new social arrangements.[4] One of them was Molt, who decided to address the educational needs of his factory workers and their children.[4] For this initiative, he was drawn to Steiner's holistic proposition in education, which holds that teaching must attend to multiple aspects of human experience.[5] Following a series of consultations, Molt and Steiner founded the Waldorf school after gaining the approval of the German Minister of Culture.[1] It opened in September 1919 in Stuttgart, Germany.[6] Molt bought the Uhlandeshohe Restaurant as the school's first building and altered it according to Steiner's specifications.[7] The adjoining properties were later purchased as the school expanded.[7] The Waldorf School opened with twelve teachers.[8] Initially, there were 150 students who were chosen from proletarian families and with parents who belong to the Anthroposophical Society.[9]

Waldorf schools became the largest independent school movement in the world.[10][11]

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Sherman, Zander (2012). The Curiosity of School: Education And The Dark Side Of Enlightenment. Penguin Canada. ISBN 978-0-14-318649-6.
  2. ^ Stehlik, Thomas (2019). Waldorf Schools and the History of Steiner Education: An International View of 100 Years. Cham: Springer Nature. p. 12. ISBN 978-3-030-31631-0.
  3. ^ Robert A. McDermott, "Rudolf Steiner and Anthroposophy", in Faivre and Needleman, Modern Esoteric Spirituality, ISBN 0-8245-1444-0, p. 288ff
  4. ^ a b Steiner, Rudolf (2013). Rudolf Steiner Speaks to the British: Lectures and Addresses in England and Wales. Rudolf Steiner Press. p. 169. ISBN 978-1-85584-432-2.
  5. ^ Nielsen, Thomas William (2004). Rudolf Steiner's Pedagogy of Imagination: A Case Study of Holistic Education. Berlin: Peter Lang. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-3-03910-342-3.
  6. ^ Steiner, Rudolf (1996). Rudolf Steiner in the Waldorf School: Lectures and Addresses to Children, Parents, and Teachers (CW 298). Hudson, NY: Anthroposophic Press. p. 229. ISBN 0-88010-433-3.
  7. ^ a b Tautz, Johannes (2015). W. J. Stein: A Biography. Forest Row: Temple Lodge Publishing. p. 83. ISBN 978-1-906999-76-6.
  8. ^ Barnes, Henry (2005). Into the Heart's Land. Great Barrington, MA: SteinerBooks. ISBN 978-0-88010-857-7.
  9. ^ Steiner, Rudolf (1996). Waldorf Education and Anthroposophy 2: Twelve Public Lectures, November 19, 1922-August 30, 1924. Hudson, NY: Anthroposophic Press. p. 21. ISBN 0-88010-388-4.
  10. ^ drazil, Tomas (2018). "Theorie-Praxis Verhältnis in der Waldorfpädagogik". In Kern, Holger; Zdrazil, Tomas; Götte, Wenzel Michael (eds.). Lehrerbildung in der Waldorfschule. Weinheim, DE: Juventa. p. 34. ISBN 9783779938293.
  11. ^ Provenzo, Eugene; Renaud, John Phillip (2008). Encyclopedia of the Social and Cultural Foundations of Education. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. p. 952. ISBN 978-1-4129-0678-4.


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