Anthroposophy/Waldorf
You can probably tell from my blog title, and many of my posts, that I’m interested in anthroposophy and Waldorf education. Here I’ll give a little background as to how that came about.
Many moons ago in the late 1990s, I was searching for something new to do with my life and career. I was happily married to Anthropapa, but my job was anything but fulfilling.
One day I was noodling around on the Internet, looking for something, ANYTHING, to do with myself. I suddenly had a vague memory of an old Utne Reader article about something called Waldorf education, so I searched for it.
Lo and behold, there was a Waldorf teacher training college — Rudolf Steiner College – only a few miles away! A serendipitous or even karmic moment.
I called RSC right away and went over for a little tour. When I walked onto the campus and had a look around, I felt somehow “at home.” They offered a Foundation Year, which was essentially an introduction to anthroposophy and Waldorf education, either as preparation for the Teacher Training year or for personal development.
Anthropapa was supportive, and so I enrolled. Later that year, he became intrigued at what I was studying and experiencing, so he signed up for the next year.
We briefly considered becoming teachers, but it just wasn’t our path. Anthropapa eventually got a staff job at RSC, and I continued to take courses and contributed to the community.
We’ve been involved in anthroposophical communities since then. I find anthroposophy a fascinating way to view the world and humanity, and I feel that Waldorf education is extremely beneficial for children of our time. We’ve continued to find new ways to be involved in bringing anthroposophy to the wider world — Anthropapa in his work in higher education, and I with editing for the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America and SteinerBooks, among other anthroposophical publishers and authors.
6 Comments
December 1, 2007 at 5:28 am
Wow! That was so great to read how you and DH came to Waldorf: The Utne Reader!!! I love it. I knew your brain was large! Now, everytime I go to the WECAN site, I shall think of you, furiously labouring over bad prose. (BTW, can we get some already printed Waldorf lit proofed, puh-lease. I was just reading a WONDERFUL book which referred to “muscles” that live by the sea.)
December 1, 2007 at 8:01 pm
Most of the prose isn’t that bad : ) I just take all of the wonderful thoughts and help the author express them more clearly. But I do wish I could pick and choose a few books to work on, just for those kind of bloopers.
February 21, 2008 at 10:03 am
You don’t touch on the root races which are central to Steiner’s theory of evolution.
The black races are considered spiritually lower than the aryan ones.
White humankind is the spiritual future as far as he was concerned.
His views are extremely racist.
February 21, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Ant: I don’t touch on that here because I don’t think it’s that central, and I think there is massive misinterpretation of Steiner’s views. I do think that Steiner said some things that today would be considered racist. I’m certainly not convinced, however, that he meant them in a racist way. Maybe so, maybe not. Maybe those things were a function of his time and culture. I dont’ think he was infallible!
What’s important to me is what we do with anthroposophy now. Perhaps we need to reject his talk of root races as offensive and irrelevant.
The thing to remember is that alongside Steiner’s apparently racist comments are the numerous statements he made about how thinking along the lines of races and nations belonged in the past, and that humanity needs to work on an individual level now irrespective of physical differences.
February 22, 2008 at 12:07 pm
You said
“massive misinterpretation of Steiner’s
views. I do think that Steiner said some things that today would bec onsidered racist. I’m certainly not convinced, however, that he meant them in a racist way. Maybe so, maybe not. Maybe those things were a function of his time and culture. ”
If I had a penny for every time I heard this….I’m afraid that is a
classic anthro/Steiner reply.
I’m sure there’s a little book of “Anthro Replies” somewhere!
Here’s one- “reincarnation only means a child has a past and a future”
Here’s some more
” Steiner was talking as a man of his times”
“Steiner is difficult”
Not considered racist- the things he said were racist.
And the anthroposophists today spend an inordinate amount of time and energy trying to exonerate them. And denouncing erudite critics too.
Some anthroposophists have web sites devoted to denouncing critics.
(The site on anthroposophy you link to is run by one such man I think)
Now- if the anthros stood up and publically denounce Steiner’s racist beliefs- I might have some sympathy. But they spend time making petty points about whether someone translated
“of” for “to” when talking about the negro in Europe as if it makes a difference. There’s a desperation in their avid
denouncements.
In UK, the training does involve not telling parents, this is fact.
I saw some other comments about anthroposophists blocking criticism on
the internet just now.
There is a serious problem in their unwillingness to discuss,their
duplicity about the true nature of anthroposophy and their secrecy.
If you can help open up the movement, listen to critics positively, discuss openly, it will be one step forward. And good for you too Kristina.
Have to go- kids need feeding!
Good luck, and best wishes
February 22, 2008 at 12:11 pm
The fact Steiner even believed in “good races” and “bad races” even if he believed that in the end race would be superfluous, (he also believed that in the end we would reproduce through our larynx, so it all has to be taken with his madness in mind
as far as I’m concerned) makes the statements racist.
I would call it soft insidious racism. Just because it’s done in an atmosphere of lovely spiritual people who speak in singing voices doesn’t make the sentiment less potent.
The root folk race beliefs are at the core of his doctrines, take them away and all tumbles around.
I’m glad you’re open to discussing it, because within the camphill and school where we were, any discussion was frozen.
Steiner was no doubt an amazing man, the mere fact he could invent all this stuff ( and I don’t believe the akashic record means he had an amazing mind. But that’s where it was, in
his mind.
If anthroposophists really believed all the stuff about moon man, a jelly like pre human who had a cosmic umbilical cord, and floated around sucking milk from the environment, who
then joined with the humans from the sun to form humans on the legendary island of Atlantis then they are in the same box as scientologists.
Mad as a box of frogs.
But Steiner was very clear about the mission of this epoch,” to popularise occult truth”
He said it was the task to bind together humanity through the unifying bonds of spiritual wisdom,
“So you see, the Spiritual Movement has a quite definite goal, namely, to mould future humanity in advance.”
And he was clear that if man wasn’t aware of all the nuances involved, it was irrelevant.
Now, I can see that some people may find this an exciting and wonderful task. That’s fine, let them get on with it.
But please don’t con parents into allowing their children to be drawn into it by duplicitous means.
If you want references to the quotes, I’ll send them.
I’ve read an enormous amount of Rudi recently, but I can easily find them if you want.
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