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Waldorf Student Testimonial - Rosie

By Rosie

September 11, 1999

The Waldorf schools will tell you about their famous and successful graduates. We hear about the disasters. See the following anonymous posting from "Rosie" -Dan Dugan


[...] Can only have access to this on weekends so maybe a bit of a delay on replies. Would rather use your notice board at present as there is a lot happening this end and I would prefer not to have to worry about any Anthros (as we call them here) getting into direct debate. Anything they have to say to me can be said in open. Please, also any other victims, either parents, ex teachers or especially children, speak out.

I have had so much telephone air time in the last week from survivors of this absurd and nasty education. One letter from a man whose daughter was sexually abused by a teacher named Stan Price (now dead) in 1982 when she was seven. He is so angry and feels so helpless as his daughter is self mutilating, in and out of hospital and generally broken. Stan was known by me to be sexually abusing little girls for sure in 1975. We suspected he was doing the same to little boys as well. This had been going on since he joined in the late 1960's. Any queries were dismissed, put down, isolated with the implication that the victim had somehow deserved it.

Five days before this letter a phone call from Canada. She was two years older than me and had had full sexual relations with a teacher (he is still alive and I know his name) at 15, attempted rape by another (he is still alive and I know him also). She thought she was the only one, spent years curled up on her fathers floor unable to do anything. Years later she is finally getting her life together but still cannot stand up and speak out.

I personally had a main lesson teacher for eight years. I used to try and count the days I DID NOT get beaten. One term there were no days. I was humiliated verbally, described as a mess, slow and stupid. I was dyslexic. He died a few years ago much respected, I wanted to incinerate his grave.

I learnt to read at 7 because I begged the local state school children on the bus to teach me. I was sneered at for being too smart, told I was a classic 'melancholic' who needed to see life through rose tinted glasses. I had 12 years of German and French and do not speak either. My math's has been saved my some private tuition as an adult and my modern history ends in 1600. My understanding of basic biology is from medical instruction pamphlets. I cannot draw, either artistically or technically. My writing is illegible and when I type the grammar and sentence structure is 'creative'.

I am sick to death of hearing about what personalities we Steiner children are, how creative and full of self confidence. There are borstals where the same claim could be made. The 'personalities' have a gallows humour, the creativity is that of the criminal, that of a surveyor, and the self confidence is 'bravado'. There are so may of those, whom I went to school with who are totally broken people. Wandering the streets or country side babbling at the sky, one is in a permanent mental institution, another two committed suicide. Another pregnant at 16 to escape another teacher who had been having sex with her since she was 14 is now working in the local foodmarket, barely surviving after her "Caring and expensive education. Giving her such a rounded education."

Another did get a professorship, after many minor breakdowns. He now lives in self exile in another country a hopeless alcoholic virtually living on the street. Another lives in a tent in another country, unable to deal with 'ordinary' people.

I want to scream their names and the potential I know was there. I want to tell everyone what great people they were. But I feel restrained, as how can I out a victim who is trying to hard to forget?

Whether it is the Steiner philosophy, or the people it attracts, the wrong horoscopes, I don't know. But this must be aired to get sorted and made healthy. My experience is that this never gets aired, but hidden and the abuser just blames the victim.

I have been plugging away speaking to anyone who shows an interest, and have finally got the ear of the BBC, not an infallible media I know. I intend to give them all the help I can to research and debate what has been going on for decades.

If a system believes that we inherit our Karma and that all bad things are what we chose in a previous life, fair enough. But there is not place for this in education of children. The belief might be there,as we know racism is often there, but any sign that it is being acted out should be nipped in the bud. There is no way this should be an alibi for raping a small child, beating anyone for anything and actively preventing them from learning.

Steiner school have a reputation, created by themselves for nurturing and caring. A third parent is another description I have heard. This is so totally the opposite from my experience. So many children came from 'dysfunctional' homes. Parents either knew they needed help and hoped the school was the answer or needed an alibi for their own behavior and the school gave them that.

I am passionate in this area, and would like to hear from others but please could we keep this anonymous and on the notice board. Maybe to give me a name I will call myself 'Rosie'

Thanks again for giving me this opportunity to air my views

Rosie




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