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Question:
Are members of PLANS simply disgruntled
parents who have an axe to grind with
Waldorf? Waldorf was not what they
expected so they want to get back at the
Waldorf movement?
Answer:
No. Many members and supporters of PLANS
are, in fact, parents (some had their
children in Waldorf schools for many
years) who cannot simply walk away from
their Waldorf experience. Out of a need to
understand what happened they begin to
research the Waldorf movement and its
founder - Rudolf Steiner. Many parents
feel the need to help others understand
what Waldorf is really all about. Some
probably do feel bitter but more
importantly - they want to help others
avoid their experience.
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Question:
If Waldorf Education is steeped in
occultism why do so many parents send
their children there? Are all these
parents occultists?
Answer:
Waldorf's public presentations are very
deceptive. A little research leaves no
doubt that Waldorf schools are wholly the
creation of Anthroposophy - a occultist
religious sect. On the surface Waldorf
appears to be a very gentle, arts based
pedagogy. When parents look at Waldorf on
the Internet or individual school
promotional material there is virtually no
mention of occultism or the mission of
Waldorf movement. There is no mention of
soul work or reincarnation even
though these concepts are at the root of
Waldorf Education, and are present in the
classrooms and at faculty
meetings.
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Question:
Why don't parents simply pull their
children out of Waldorf schools when/if
they learn of the occultism?
Answer:
Many parents do pull their children from
Waldorf schools. PLANS would like to see
data from Waldorf Schools for a
statistical comparison with other
independent schools' enrollment/retention
records.
Waldorf
education differs from other schools in
many ways. It is difficult to simply pull
a child and enroll him/her elsewhere. For
example, Waldorf discourages reading until
the second grade; a child arriving in a
public school for grade two after a year
at Waldorf would find it very difficult,
academically, to catch up. Many ex-Waldorf
students require private tutors. Waldorf
Education involves learning-by-copying in
the elementary years - virtually every
lesson is copied from the teacher.
Changing to another school can be
difficult for young children.
Many
parents decide not to get involved in the
religious nature of the school
(Anthroposophy study groups,
various workshops, etc.) They leave
their children in Waldorf - hoping it will
all work out. Waldorf schools do not have
a reputation for answering questions or
being forthright with information about
the connection between themselves and
Anthroposophy. Eventually, when the
religious/occult nature of the school is
seen, many parents feel their options are
limited. Some parents simply put up with
it and others get more involved in
Anthroposophy, changing their lifestyle
and losing touch with old friends. They
call their schools Waldorf
communities. Some parents become
engulfed by their school, spending many
hours volunteering, attending meetings.
Some parents end up donating most of their
spare time (and money) for their school.
Many parents who leave Waldorf schools
find it difficult to adjust and refer to
their time there as time spent in a cult.
It is not at all unusual for parents and
children to seek professional help after
leaving a Waldorf
Community.
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Question:
Many children attend Waldorf for many
years and turn out fine - how do you
account for so many success
stories?
Answer:
Waldorf schools love to parade their
celebrity parents, like David Gilmour of
Pink Floyd, and their famous graduates,
like Kenneth Chenault, the president of
American Express. But David Gilmour now
calls his Waldorf experience "horrific,"
and at PLANS, we hear about all the kids
who still can't read in fourth grade and
unemployable graduates of Waldorf high
schools. Obviously, some outcomes of
either extreme will result from any kind
of school. A good assessment of an
education system can only come from
statistics on large numbers of students.
Except for a 1981 German study that
Waldorf has suppressed, no one has ever
compiled statistics on Waldorf students.
Nobody knows whether Waldorf is a good
education or not.
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Question:
Aren't parents to blame for sending their
children to a school without first
doing the research?
Answer:
Parents want what's best for their
children. Waldorf presents a beautiful
environment, a curriculum that appears to
be completely integrated with artistic
activities, and teachers who dedicate
their lives to the school. If parents ask
about Anthroposophy, the religious sect
behind the school, they are told that the
teachers study it, but it has no place in
the classroom. Unfortunately, this is all
a false front. Since the beginning,
Waldorf schools have kept parents in the
dark about the real intention of Waldorf
education, which is to guide the
reincarnation of the children's
souls.
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Question:
Does PLANS suggest that ALL Waldorf
teachers are occultists and liars with
regards to what they are doing with our
children?
Answer:
Not at all. Many Waldorf teachers are
wonderful people, excellent teachers and
joined Waldorf for the same reasons most
parents do. Unfortunately, many teachers
leave for the same reason the parents
leave. Some teachers stay and try not to
get involved in the soul work of
the school. Some attempt to change the way
things happen at their school.
Unfortunately, the connection with karma
and incarnating souls is so entwined in
the life of the school that teachers find
it difficult - if not impossible - to
avoid. Waldorf schools, even most public
Waldorf schools, are controlled by
Anthroposophists, and their religious
ideals are part and parcel of the
school.
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Question:
Waldorf schools have been around for a
long time. Why has none of your research
surfaced until now?
Answer:
Anthroposophy is a sect of occultism,
based on esoteric knowledge revealed only
to "initiates." It is a closed system.
They publish their own books, buy school
supplies from their own companies, grow
their own food, and treat their own
illnesses. Before PLANS, there was no
critique of Waldorf except for some
religious publications.
Waldorf
teachers often refer to Steiner's work as
"difficult." This may dissuade many
parents from researching his theories.
Additionally, Waldorf promoters call
Steiner a "philosopher," or "scientist."
But outside of school, Anthroposophists
call Steiner an "occultist," which is what
he called himself. Clearly, calling
Steiner an occultist would raise the
eyebrows of many potential Waldorf
customers. In the USA, a country founded
on freedom of religion, people aren't used
to groups that hide what they
do.
PLANS
researchers are committed to Waldorf's
full disclosure. We are trying to make
research easier for potential Waldorf
parents. PLANS is a nonsectarian group
consisting of people with a variety of
backgrounds and beliefs. We are attempting
to provide the information to insure the
parents who do choose Waldorf will be a
good fit.
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Question:
Is Waldorf a Cult?
Whether
you think Waldorf is a cult depends on
your definition of "cult," but Waldorf
teachers often behave in a cult-like way.
Many Waldorf families' lives become so
enmeshed with the school community that
they stop socializing with non-Waldorf
friends. It is not uncommon for Waldorf
parents to cut off their childrens'
friendships with other children who are
not part of the Waldorf community.
Families' lives can change drastically, as
they try to conform to the total Waldorf
lifestyle, often with no understanding of
the reasons they are being pressured to
eat, dress, and behave in prescribed ways.
Many get deeply involved in fundraising.
Parents are often expected to give more
and more of their money to support the
school community.
Waldorf
can become a way of life, and an isolating
one. In more dogmatically Anthroposophic
schools, families may be discouraged from
allowing their children to participate in
activities outside of school such as
clubs, dance classes, or sports. There is
an Anthroposophically correct answer for
every question a struggling parent may
have: how to feed, dress, and discipline
their children; when to put them to bed;
what color to paint their bedroom; which
toys are "appropriate" and which are
"damaging." Simple pleasures like kicking
a ball may be discouraged. Waldorf
teachers try (usually unsuccessfully) to
enforce a total ban on electronic media in
any form for younger children, especially
TV and computers, which Anthroposophists
say embody a materialistic spirit named
"Ahriman." The ban extends to recorded
music and radio, which can make it
difficult to even interact with one's
extended family or neighbors. Even taking
pictures of your children may be
discouraged.
This
ban on electronic media also not only
means there are no computers in Waldorf
elementary classrooms, but also means your
child will never see a filmstrip at school
or learn from slides, tapes, videos, or
CDs. It's likely that he teacher won't
even use an overhead projector. Some
Waldorf teachers even consider the use of
maps inappropriate.
While
some parents welcome the "total lifestyle"
of Waldorf, and are excited to find a new
spiritual path for themselves as well as
their children, to others it feels
intrusive into family life. Some parents
completely change the way they parent
their children, which can leave children
very confused. Parents are often
encouraged to take their children to
Anthroposophical doctors and eurythmists
for remedial help, while they are urged to
avoid help from "outsiders" such as
tutors, counselors, or reading
specialists.
Many
Waldorf children are not immunized, and
those parents who support immunization may
be harshly judged. Steiner believed that
certain diseases help children work out
problem areas left over from their past
lives. Children may be placed in danger by
vulnerable parents seeking to be good
Waldorf parents, who may not seek
necessary medical help in the case of a
high fever or serious illness.
Waldorf
is not just an "alternative" education; it
is a front for Anthroposophy.
Anthroposophy has many of the
characteristics of a cult, and the schools
are the missionary arm of Anthroposophy.
In enrolling your child in Waldorf, you
may not be joining a cult per se, as most
of the parent body is not part of the cult
and many parents know little about
Anthroposophy. Many very dedicated parents
are unwittingly donating their money, and
often their hard work, to the cult. The
teacher training centers may be more
properly described as religious
seminaries. Although not all Waldorf
teachers become Anthroposophists, dogmatic
adherence to Anthroposophy is a
prerequisite for a teacher to advance in
his or her career. The more dogmatic
Waldorf teachers take every word Steiner
spoke as gospel.
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Question:
It it true that Waldorf schools have a
problem with left-handedness?
Answer:
Yes. It has to do with a child's previous
life. Teachers must be made aware of this
and "correct" it. Steiner instructed the
following:
May
25, 1923
A
teacher: Should the children be broken
of left-handedness?
Dr.
Steiner: In general, yes. At the
younger ages, approximately before the age
of nine, you can accustom left-handed
children to right-handedness at school.
You should not do that only if it would
have a damaging effect, which is very
seldom the case. Children are not a sum of
things, but exponentially complicated. If
you attempt to create symmetry between the
right and left with the children, and you
exercise both hands in balance, that can
lead to weak mindedness later in life.
The
phenomenon of left-handedness is clearly
karmic, and, in connection with karma, it
is one of karmic weakness. Allow me to
give an example: A person who was
overworked in their previous life, so that
they did too much, not only physically or
intellectually, but, in general,
spiritually, within their soul or feeling,
will enter the succeeding life with an
intense weakness. That person will be
incapable of overcoming the karmic
weakness located in the lower human being.
(The part of the human being that results
from the life between death and a new
birth is particularly concentrated in the
lower human being, whereas the part that
comes from the previous Earthly life is
concentrated more in the head.) Thus, what
would otherwise be strongly developed
becomes weak, and the left leg and left
hand are particularly relied upon as a
crutch. The preference for the left hand
results in a situation where, instead of
the left, the right side of the brain is
used in speech.
If
you give into that too much, then that
weakness may perhaps remain for a later,
that is, a third Earthly life. If you do
not give in, then the weakness is brought
into balance.
If
you make a child do everything equally
well with the right and left hand,
writing, drawing, work and so forth, then
the inner human being will be neutralized.
Then the I and the astral body are so far
removed that the person becomes quite
lethargic later in life. Without any
intervention, the etheric body is stronger
toward the left than the right, and the
astral body is more developed toward the
right than the left. That is something you
may not ignore; you should pay attention
to that. However, we may not attempt a
simple mechanical balance. The most naive
thing you can do is to have as a goal that
the children should work with both hands
equally well. A desire for a balanced
development of both hands arises from
today's complete misunderstanding of the
nature of the human being.
The
Renewal of Education (GA 301).
Translated by Robert F. Lathe and Nancy
Parsons Whittaker
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