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129-683: The Anthroposophical Society was founded on December 28, 1912 in Cologne, Germany, with about 3000 members. Central to this founding was Rudolf Steiner , who acted as an advisor and lecturer. The members of its original Executive Council were Marie von Sivers , Michael Bauer, and Carl Unger. The Society was re-founded as the General Anthroposophical Society in 1923/4 in Dornach, Switzerland . It includes an esoteric School of Spiritual Science . The Society's headquarters

258-530: A homeschooling movement. Germany, the United States, and the Netherlands have the most Waldorf schools. Many Waldorf schools have faced controversy due to Steiner's connections to racist ideology and magical thinking . Others have faced regulatory audits and closure due to concerns over substandard treatment of children with special educational needs. Critics of Waldorf education point out

387-644: A principal or head teacher, but rather by a number of groups, including: There are coordinating bodies for Waldorf education at both the national (e.g. the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America and the Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship in the UK and Ireland) and international level (e.g. International Association for Waldorf Education and The European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education (ECSWE)). These organizations certify

516-420: A Philosophy of Freedom , with a dedication to Eduard von Hartmann . Two years later, in 1894, he published Die Philosophie der Freiheit ( The Philosophy of Freedom or The Philosophy of Spiritual Activity , the latter being Steiner's preferred English title), an exploration of epistemology and ethics that suggested a way for humans to become spiritually free beings. Steiner hoped that the book "would gain him

645-584: A book in 1990 stating that Waldorf schools do not allow questioning the historical accuracy of the Old Testament . One study of science curriculum compared a group of American Waldorf school students to American public school students on three different test variables. Two tests measured verbal and non-verbal logical reasoning and the third was an international TIMSS test. The TIMSS test covered scientific understanding of magnetism . The researchers found that Waldorf school students scored higher than both

774-408: A child, he felt "that one must carry the knowledge of the spiritual world within oneself after the fashion of geometry ... [for here] one is permitted to know something which the mind alone, through its own power, experiences. In this feeling I found the justification for the spiritual world that I experienced ... I confirmed for myself by means of geometry the feeling that I must speak of a world 'which

903-427: A combination of temperaments rather than a pure single type. No evidence exists for such "personality types" to be consistent in an individual across time or context, nor that such "types" are useful in providing more effective education. Today, Waldorf teachers may work with these pseudoscientific "temperaments" to design instruction for each student. Seating arrangements and class activities may take into account

1032-669: A conference at Oxford University . Two years later, on his final trip to Britain at Torquay in 1924, Steiner delivered a Waldorf teacher training course. The first school in England ( Michael Hall ) was founded in 1925; the first in the United States (the Rudolf Steiner School in New York City) in 1928. By the 1930s, numerous schools inspired by Steiner's pedagogical principles had opened in Germany, Switzerland,

1161-430: A diverse social spectrum. It was also the first comprehensive school in Germany, serving children of all genders, abilities, and social classes. At Steiner's behest, the early Waldorf schools were "open to all students, regardless of income. If the parents were unable to pay the full tuition, the remaining amount would be subsidized." Waldorf education became more widely known in 1922 through lectures Steiner gave at

1290-1044: A few years later by the Communist government . In North America in 1967, there were nine schools in the United States and one in Canada. As of 2021, that number had increased to more than 200 in the United States and over 20 in Canada. There are currently 29 Steiner schools in the United Kingdom and three in the Republic of Ireland . After the dissolution of the Soviet Union , Waldorf schools again began to proliferate in Central and Eastern Europe . More recently, many have opened in Asia, especially China. There are currently over 1,200 independent Waldorf schools worldwide. The structure of Waldorf education follows

1419-517: A form of ethical individualism , to which he later brought a more explicitly spiritual approach. He based his epistemology on Johann Wolfgang Goethe 's world view in which "thinking…is no more and no less an organ of perception than the eye or ear. Just as the eye perceives colours and the ear sounds, so thinking perceives ideas." A consistent thread that runs through his work is the goal of demonstrating that there are no limits to human knowledge. Steiner's father, Johann(es) Steiner (1829–1910), left

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1548-505: A fusion of the three realms had created the inflexibility that had led to catastrophes such as World War I . In connection with this, he promoted a radical solution in the disputed area of Upper Silesia , claimed by both Poland and Germany. His suggestion that this area be granted at least provisional independence led to his being publicly accused of being a traitor to Germany. Steiner opposed Wilson 's proposal to create new European nations based around ethnic groups, which he saw as opening

1677-456: A greater role. Steiner considered children's cognitive, emotional, and behavioral development to be interlinked. When students in a Waldorf school are grouped, it is generally not by a focus on academic abilities. Instead, Steiner adapted the pseudoscientific proto-psychological concept of the classic four temperaments – melancholic, sanguine, phlegmatic, and choleric. Steiner indicated that teaching should be differentiated to accommodate

1806-407: A job (which, in fact, he did not get), Steiner accepted the invitation immediately." Förster-Nietzsche introduced Steiner into the presence of the catatonic philosopher; Steiner, deeply moved, subsequently wrote the book Friedrich Nietzsche, Fighter for Freedom . Steiner later related that: My first acquaintance with Nietzsche's writings belongs to the year 1889. Previous to that I had never read

1935-723: A lazure technique, and include textured surfaces. The schools primarily assess students through reports on individual academic progress and personal development. The emphasis is on characterization through qualitative description. Pupils' progress is evaluated through portfolio work in academic blocks and discussion of pupils in teacher conferences. Standardized tests are rare, with the exception of examinations necessary for college entry taken during secondary school years. Letter grades are generally not given until students enter high school. Pupils are not typically asked to repeat years of elementary or secondary education. Though Waldorf schools are autonomous institutions not required to follow

2064-494: A lecture series on an ecological and sustainable approach to agriculture that increased soil fertility without the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides . Steiner's agricultural ideas promptly spread and were put into practice internationally and biodynamic agriculture is now practiced in Europe, North America, South America, Africa, Asia and Australasia . "Steiner’s 'biodynamic agriculture' based on 'restoring

2193-464: A line of his. Upon the substance of my ideas as these find expression in The Philosophy of Spiritual Activity , Nietzsche's thought had not the least influence....Nietzsche's ideas of the ' eternal recurrence ' and of ' Übermensch ' remained long in my mind. For in these was reflected that which a personality must feel concerning the evolution and essential being of humanity when this personality

2322-486: A more Western path of spirituality than that nurtured in the Theosophical Society. The German branch had numbered only a single Lodge and a few individual members when Steiner became its head in 1902. By 1913, it had burgeoned to 69 Lodges, 55 of which (about 2,500 people) left with Steiner to be part of the new Anthroposophical Society. The General Council of the Theosophical Society issued a new charter to

2451-420: A nondenominational offering. In the United Kingdom, public Waldorf schools are not categorized as " Faith schools ". Waldorf teacher education programs offer courses in child development , the methodology of Waldorf teaching, academic subjects appropriate to the future teachers' chosen specialty, and the study of pedagogical texts and other works by Steiner. For early childhood and elementary school teachers,

2580-427: A particular task: political institutions should be democratic, establish political equality and protect human rights ; cultural institutions should nurture the free and unhindered development of science, art, education and religion; and economic institutions should enable producers, distributors, and consumers to cooperate voluntarily to provide efficiently for society's needs. He saw this division of responsibility as

2709-450: A period after World War I, Steiner was active as a lecturer on social reform. A petition expressing his basic social ideas was widely circulated and signed by many cultural figures of the day, including Hermann Hesse . In Steiner's chief book on social reform , Toward Social Renewal , he suggested that the cultural, political and economic spheres of society need to work together as consciously cooperating yet independent entities, each with

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2838-528: A pharmaceutical company called Weleda which now distributes naturopathic medical and beauty products worldwide. At around the same time, Dr. Ita Wegman founded a first anthroposophic medical clinic (now the Ita Wegman Clinic) in Arlesheim . Anthroposophic medicine is practiced in some 80 countries. It is a form of alternative medicine based on pseudoscientific and occult notions. For

2967-581: A political theorist of this movement, Dietrich Eckart , attacked Steiner and suggested that he was a Jew. In 1921, Adolf Hitler attacked Steiner on many fronts, including accusations that he was a tool of the Jews. That same year, Steiner warned against the disastrous effects it would have for Central Europe if the National Socialists came to power. In 1922 a lecture Steiner was giving in Munich

3096-534: A poor teacher' and 'gypsy-intellectual.' Not uncommon for practitioners at the fringes of society, he was accused of class treason. In 1899, Steiner published an article, "Goethe's Secret Revelation", discussing the esoteric nature of Goethe's fairy tale The Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily . This article led to an invitation by the Count and Countess Brockdorff to speak to a gathering of Theosophists on

3225-715: A position as a gamekeeper in the service of Count Hoyos in Geras , northeast Lower Austria to marry one of the Hoyos family's housemaids, Franziska Blie (1834 Horn – 1918, Horn), a marriage for which the Count had refused his permission. Johann became a telegraph operator on the Southern Austrian Railway, and at the time of Rudolf's birth was stationed in Murakirály ( Kraljevec ) in the Muraköz region of

3354-658: A prescribed curriculum (beyond what is required by law in a given jurisdiction) there are widely agreed upon guidelines for the Waldorf curriculum. Main academic subjects are introduced through two-hour morning lesson blocks that last for several weeks. These blocks are horizontally integrated at each grade level in that the topic of the block will be infused into many classroom activities and vertically integrated in that each subject will be revisited with increasing complexity as students develop their skills, reasoning capacities and individual sense of self. This has been described as

3483-540: A professorship", but the book was not well received. Steiner later spoke of this book as containing implicitly, in philosophical form, the entire content of what he later developed explicitly as anthroposophy . In 1896, Steiner declined an offer from Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche to help organize the Nietzsche archive in Naumburg . Her brother, Friedrich Nietzsche , was by that time non compos mentis . "Hoping for

3612-528: A second phase, beginning around 1907, he began working collaboratively in a variety of artistic media, including drama, dance and architecture, culminating in the building of the Goetheanum , a cultural centre to house all the arts . In the third phase of his work, beginning after World War I , Steiner worked on various ostensibly applied projects , including Waldorf education , biodynamic agriculture , and anthroposophical medicine . Steiner advocated

3741-495: A separate series of 28 volumes. Many publications have covered his architectural legacy and sculptural work. As a young man, Steiner was a private tutor and a lecturer on history for the Berlin Arbeiterbildungsschule , an educational initiative for working class adults. Soon thereafter, he began to articulate his ideas on education in public lectures, culminating in a 1907 essay on The Education of

3870-402: A single theme over one month's time. This typically begins with introductory activities that may include singing, instrumental music, and recitations of poetry, generally including a verse written by Rudolf Steiner for the start of a school day. There is little reliance on standardized textbooks. Waldorf elementary education allows for individual variations in the pace of learning, based upon

3999-800: A spiral curriculum. Many subjects and skills not considered core parts of mainstream schools, such as art, music, gardening, and mythology, are central to Waldorf education. Students learn a variety of fine and practical arts. Elementary students paint, draw, sculpt, knit, weave, and crochet. Older students build on these experiences and learn new skills such as pattern-making and sewing, wood and stone carving, metal work, book-binding, and doll or puppet making. Music instruction begins with singing in early childhood and continuing through high school. Pupils also usually learn to play pentatonic flutes, recorders and/or lyres in early elementary grades. Around age 9, diatonic recorders and orchestral instruments are introduced. Certain subjects are largely unique to

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4128-471: A split occurred between younger members, many of whom were founding or active in new initiatives such as a school , a curative home for the handicapped , a medical clinic , and a farm , and who had formed their own "Free Anthroposophical Society," and the older members, the anthroposophical society was formally refounded, with new leadership, in December 1923. Both groups came together in the new version of

4257-519: A theory of childhood development devised by Rudolf Steiner, utilizing distinct learning strategies for each of three developmental stages or "epochs": early childhood, elementary, and secondary education. Steiner believed each stage lasted approximately seven years. Aside from their spiritual underpinnings, Steiner's seven-year stages are broadly similar to those later described by Jean Piaget and also theories described earlier by Comenius and Pestalozzi . The stated purpose of this approach

4386-416: A valuable role as personal mentors, establishing "lasting relationships with pupils", Ullrich documented problems when the same teacher continues into middle school . Noting that there is a danger of any authority figure limiting students enthusiasm for inquiry and autonomy , he cited a number of schools where the class teacher accompanies the class for six years only, after which specialist teachers play

4515-428: A variety of reasons for this: Waldorf educators believe that use of these conflicts with young children's developmental needs, media users may be physically inactive, and media may be seen to contain inappropriate or undesirable content and to hamper the imagination. Waldorf pedagogues consider that readiness for learning to read depends upon increased independence of character, temperament, habits, and memory, one of

4644-403: A vital task which would take up consciously the historical trend toward the mutual independence of these three realms. Steiner also gave suggestions for many specific social reforms. Steiner proposed that societal well-being fundamentally depends upon a relationship of mutuality between the individuals and the community as a whole: The well-being of a community of people working together will be

4773-671: A wide variety of historical sources. A world of spiritual perception is discussed in a number of writings which I have published since this book appeared. The Philosophy of Freedom forms the philosophical basis for these later writings. For it tries to show that the experience of thinking, rightly understood, is in fact an experience of spirit. (Steiner, Philosophy of Freedom , Consequences of Monism ) Steiner aimed to apply his training in mathematics , science, and philosophy to produce rigorous, verifiable presentations of those experiences. He believed that through freely chosen ethical disciplines and meditative training , anyone could develop

4902-461: Is at the Goetheanum , located in Dornach , Solothurn , Switzerland . The Society has national Societies in many countries, including every English-speaking country. Its primary activities include organizing members' meetings and conferences, supporting research, and providing communication channels for a variety of purposes. The Society also encourages sustainable initiatives in the many practical fields in which its members are active. As of 2013,

5031-805: Is based in pseudoscience and occult ideas. Even though his medical ideas led to the development of a broad range of complementary medications and supportive artistic and biographic therapies, they are considered ineffective by the medical community. Numerous homes for children and adults with developmental disabilities based on his work (including those of the Camphill movement ) are found in Africa, Europe, and North America. His paintings and drawings influenced Joseph Beuys and other modern artists. His two Goetheanum buildings are considered significant examples of modern architecture , and other anthroposophical architects have contributed thousands of buildings to

5160-428: Is good". Waldorf preschools employ a regular daily routine that includes free play, artistic work (e.g. drawing, painting or modeling), circle time (songs, games, and stories), outdoor recess, and practical tasks (e.g. cooking, cleaning, and gardening), with rhythmic variations. Rhythm and repetitive patterns are considered important in anthroposophy and are believed to hold spiritual significance. The classroom

5289-503: Is governed by a General Council. Current members of the General Council are A partial list of branches follows: The founding principles of the society were: These principles were originally intended to serve as statutes as well; the legal requirements of registering such societies led to an expanded set of statutes, however. Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925)

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5418-478: Is intended to resemble a home, with tools and toys usually sourced from simple, natural materials that lend themselves to imaginative play. The use of natural materials has been praised as fulfilling children's aesthetic needs and reinforcing connections to nature, though some scholars have questioned whether the preference for natural, non-manufactured materials is truly a "reasoned assessment of twenty-first century children's needs", rather than "a reaction against

5547-493: Is kept back from grasping the spiritual world by the restricted thought in the philosophy of nature characterizing the end of the 19th century....What attracted me particularly was that one could read Nietzsche without coming upon anything which strove to make the reader a 'dependent' of Nietzsche's. In 1897, Steiner left the Weimar archives and moved to Berlin. He became part owner of, chief editor of, and an active contributor to

5676-463: Is not seen'." Steiner believed that at the age of 15 he had gained a complete understanding of the concept of time, which he considered to be the precondition of spiritual clairvoyance . At 21, on the train between his home village and Vienna , Steiner met a herb gatherer, Felix Kogutzki, who spoke about the spiritual world "as one who had his own experience therein". The young Steiner emerged as an individualist, positivist and freethinker, who

5805-408: Is that all educational and cultural institutions should be self-governing and should grant teachers a high degree of creative autonomy within the school; this is based upon the conviction that a holistic approach to education aiming at the development of free individuals can only be successful when based on a school form that expresses these same principles. Most Waldorf schools are not directed by

5934-422: Is the source of the name Waldorf , which is now trademarked in the United States when used in connection with the educational method. Molt's proposed school would educate the children of employees of the factory. Molt was a follower of anthroposophy , an esoteric spiritual movement based on the notion that an objectively comprehensible spiritual realm exists and can be observed by humans, and of Rudolf Steiner,

6063-408: Is to awaken the "physical, behavioral, emotional, cognitive, social, and spiritual" aspects of each pupil. In Waldorf pedagogy, young children learn best through immersion in unselfconscious imitation of practical activities. The early childhood curriculum focuses on experiential education and imaginative play. The overall goal of the curriculum is to "imbue the child with a sense that the world

6192-636: Is to provide a supportive role model both through personal example and through stories drawn from a variety of cultures, educating by exercising "creative, loving authority". Class teachers are normally expected to teach a cohort for several years, a practice known as looping . Starting in first grade, specialized teachers teach many subjects, including music, crafts, movement, and two foreign languages from complementary language families (in English-speaking countries these are typically German and either Spanish or French). While class teachers serve

6321-569: The Kingdom of Hungary , Austrian Empire (present-day Donji Kraljevec in the Međimurje region of northernmost Croatia ). In the first two years of Rudolf's life, the family moved twice, first to Mödling , near Vienna , and then, through the promotion of his father to stationmaster, to Pottschach , located in the foothills of the eastern Austrian Alps in Lower Austria . Steiner entered

6450-505: The University of Kiel , characterized biodynamics as pseudoscience and argued that similar or equal results can be obtained using standard organic farming principles. He wrote that some biodynamic preparations more resemble alchemy or magic akin to geomancy . From the late 1910s, Steiner was working with doctors to create a new approach to medicine . In 1921, pharmacists and physicians gathered under Steiner's guidance to create

6579-405: The educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner , the founder of anthroposophy . Its educational style is holistic , intended to develop pupils' intellectual, artistic, and practical skills, with a focus on imagination and creativity. Individual teachers have a great deal of autonomy in curriculum content, teaching methods, and governance. Qualitative assessments of student work are integrated into

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6708-492: The 14 Lodges which remained in the Theosophical Society, which were once again led by Dr Huebbe-Schleiden. The early Anthroposophical Society was predominantly German-speaking, though there were some founding members from other European countries, particularly the Netherlands. Its inaugural general meeting was held in January 1913 at Berlin. English anthroposophy was limited to a small anonymous club until after World War I. After

6837-830: The Anthroposophical Society in America is to further the work of Rudolf Steiner . It is a non-sectarian, non-political association devoted to such ends. It supports study groups, regional branches, the School for Spiritual Science in North America, and the Rudolf Steiner Library. The administrative offices for the U.S. Society are located at the Rudolf Steiner House, 1923 Geddes Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan . The U.S. Society

6966-414: The Anthroposophical Society was renamed as the General Anthroposophical Society and affiliated national societies were formed. Steiner gave a series of lectures on world history over the course of the eight-day conference, and established a School of Spiritual Science as his esoteric school, which became a new focus for ‘esoteric’ commitment and authority. While there was no requirement for membership in

7095-779: The Anthroposophy Society was prohibited in November 1935 and Reich Education Minister Bernhard Rust forbade all private schools from accepting new students in March 1936, the last Waldorf school was not closed until 1941." The affected schools reopened after the Second World War ended. A few schools elsewhere in Europe (e.g. in Norway) survived by going underground. Some schools in East Germany were re-closed

7224-580: The Child in which he described the major phases of child development which formed the foundation of his approach to education. His conception of education was influenced by the Herbartian pedagogy prominent in Europe during the late nineteenth century, though Steiner criticized Herbart for not sufficiently recognizing the importance of educating the will and feelings as well as the intellect. In 1919, Emil Molt invited him to lecture to his workers at

7353-630: The General Anthroposophic Society, First Class members had to have been members of the General Society for 2 years, and accept ‘inner responsibility’ for Anthroposophy." On November 1, 1935, the National Socialist regime banned the society in Germany for its "close relations with foreign freemasons, Jews and pacifists." The order issued by Reinhard Heydrich stated that, as a result of its opposition to

7482-578: The German branch of the Theosophical Society . Prior to this time, Theosophy had made little headway in Germany; despite some visits by Helena Blavatsky, a founder of the Theosophical Society, to Germany and its prominent Theosophists, it was not until after her death in 1891 that a single Berlin Lodge was officially chartered in 1894. Its nominal leadership by Dr Huebbe-Schleiden was supported by

7611-601: The German section and its increasing activity in areas outside of Germany, came to a head when the leadership of the Theosophical Society declared that they had found the reincarnated Christ in a young boy named Jiddu Krishnamurti . Followers of Krishnamurti, most of whom were Theosophists, founded the Order of the Star in the East in 1911. Steiner's opposition to this order was made unmistakable by his 1912 declaration that no member of

7740-557: The National Socialistic idea of Volk , the activities of the Anthroposophical Society endangered the National Socialistic state. Jewish teachers at the Waldorf schools were consequently dismissed. From the 1930s until the 1960s, disputes over two separate issues, publishing rights for Steiner's books and the spiritual direction of the society, led to the Anthroposophical Society being effectively divided into several groups with little connection. Through efforts on all sides,

7869-562: The Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Hungary, the United States, and England. From 1933 to 1945, political interference from the Nazi regime limited and ultimately closed most Waldorf schools in Europe, with the exception of some British, Swiss, and Dutch schools (UK and Switzerland did not get occupied by Nazi Germany). Rudolf Hess , the adjunct Führer, was a patron of Waldorf schools. Nazis did not like private schools, especially after Hess flew to England. According to Karen Priestman, "Although

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7998-479: The Society has approximately 52,000 members. Formal branches of the Society have been established in 50 countries, and smaller groups are active in 50 further countries. About 10,000 institutions base their work on anthroposophy, including schools, farms, medical practices, and communities for the handicapped. The Anthroposophical Society traces its history back to 1902, when Rudolf Steiner became General Secretary of

8127-725: The Theosophical Esoteric Society for Germany and Austria. In 1904, Eliza, the wife of Helmuth von Moltke the Younger , became one of his favourite scholars. Through Eliza, Steiner met Helmuth, who served as the Chief of the German General Staff from 1906 to 1914. In contrast to mainstream Theosophy, Steiner sought to build a Western approach to spirituality based on the philosophical and mystical traditions of European culture. The German Section of

8256-539: The Theosophical Society grew rapidly under Steiner's leadership as he lectured throughout much of Europe on his spiritual science . During this period, Steiner maintained an original approach, replacing Madame Blavatsky 's terminology with his own, and basing his spiritual research and teachings upon the Western esoteric and philosophical tradition. This and other differences, in particular Steiner's vocal rejection of Leadbeater and Besant 's claim that Jiddu Krishnamurti

8385-504: The Theosophical Society, Steiner maintained his interest in Theosophy throughout his life. According to Helmut Zander, Steiner's clairvoyant insights always developed according to the same pattern. He took revised texts from theosophical literature and then passed them off as his own higher insights. Because he did not want to be an occult storyteller, but a (spiritual) scientist, he adapted his reading, which he had seen supernaturally in

8514-481: The Waldorf schools. Foremost among these is eurythmy , a movement art usually accompanying spoken texts or music which includes elements of drama and dance. Although found in other educational contexts, cooking, farming, and environmental and outdoor education are centrally incorporated into Waldorf curriculum. Other differences include: non-competitive games and free play in younger years as opposed to athletics instruction; instruction in two foreign languages from

8643-662: The Waldorf-Astoria cigarette factory in Stuttgart. Out of these lectures came the first Waldorf School. In 1922, Steiner presented these ideas at a conference called for this purpose in Oxford by Professor Millicent Mackenzie . He subsequently presented a teacher training course at Torquay in 1924 at an Anthroposophy Summer School organised by Eleanor Merry . The Oxford Conference and the Torquay teacher training led to

8772-507: The ability to experience the spiritual world, including the higher nature of oneself and others. Steiner believed that such discipline and training would help a person to become a more moral , creative and free individual – free in the sense of being capable of actions motivated solely by love. His philosophical ideas were affected by Franz Brentano , with whom he had studied, as well as by Fichte, Hegel , Schelling, and Goethe's phenomenological approach to science . Steiner used

8901-496: The basis on which to develop into free , morally responsible , and creative beings. No independent studies have been published as to whether or not Waldorf education achieves these aims more than any other approach. The philosophical foundation of the Waldorf approach, anthroposophy , underpins its primary pedagogical goals: to provide an education that enables children to become free human beings, and to help children to incarnate their "unfolding spiritual identity", carried from

9030-451: The beginning of elementary school; and an experiential-phenomenological approach to science. In this method, students observe and depict scientific concepts in their own words and drawings rather than encountering the ideas first through a textbook. The scientific methodology of modern Waldorf schools utilizes a so-called "phenomenological approach" to science education employing a methodology of inquiry-based learning aiming to "strengthen

9159-484: The country. From 1923 on, Steiner showed signs of increasing frailness and illness. He nonetheless continued to lecture widely, and even to travel; especially towards the end of this time, he was often giving two, three or even four lectures daily for courses taking place concurrently. Many of these lectures focused on practical areas of life such as education. Increasingly ill, he held his last lecture in late September, 1924. He continued work on his autobiography during

9288-636: The curriculum design, pedagogical approach, and organizational structure, it is explicitly not taught within the school curriculum and studies have shown that Waldorf pupils have little awareness of it. Tensions may arise within the Waldorf community between the commitment to Steiner's original intentions and openness to new directions in education, such as the incorporation of new technologies or modern methods of accountability and assessment. Waldorf schools frequently have striking architecture, employing walls meeting at varied angles (not only perpendicularly). The walls are often painted in subtle colors, often with

9417-614: The daily life of the classroom, with standardized testing limited to what is required to enter post-secondary education . The first Waldorf school opened in 1919 in Stuttgart , Germany. A century later, it has become the largest independent school movement in the world, with more than 1,200 independent schools and nearly 2,000 kindergartens in 75 countries, as well as more than 500 centers for special education in more than 40 countries. There are also numerous Waldorf-based public schools , charter schools , and academies , as well as

9546-480: The decision was made to build a theater and organizational center. In 1913, construction began on the first Goetheanum building, in Dornach , Switzerland. The building, designed by Steiner, was built to a significant part by volunteers. Steiner moved from Berlin to Dornach in 1913 and lived there to the end of his life. Steiner's lecture activity expanded enormously with the end of the war. Most importantly, from 1919 on Steiner began to work with other members of

9675-661: The dehumanizing aspects of nineteenth-century industrialization". Pre-school and kindergarten programs generally include seasonal festivals drawn from a variety of traditions, with attention placed on traditions brought forth from the surrounding community. Waldorf schools in the Western Hemisphere have traditionally celebrated Christian festivals, though one source states that some North American Waldorf schools also include Jewish holidays. Waldorf kindergarten and lower grades generally discourage pupils' use of electronic media such as television and computers. There are

9804-436: The different needs that these "types" represent. For example, Anthroposophists believe "cholerics are risk takers, phlegmatics take things calmly, melancholics are sensitive or introverted, and sanguines take things lightly". Steiner also believed that teachers must consider their own temperament and be prepared to work with it positively in the classroom, that temperament is emergent in children, and that most people express

9933-468: The door to rampant nationalism. Steiner proposed, as an alternative: 'social territories' with democratic institutions that were accessible to all inhabitants of a territory whatever their origin while the needs of the various ethnicities would be met by independent cultural institutions. The National Socialist German Workers Party gained strength in Germany after the First World War. In 1919,

10062-408: The education; one Google executive was quoted as saying "I fundamentally reject the notion you need technology aids in grammar school." Waldorf education aims to educate children about a wide range of religious traditions without favoring any single tradition. One of Steiner's primary aims was to establish a spiritual yet nondenominational setting for children from all backgrounds that recognized

10191-468: The essential basis for younger children's learning and growth, Waldorf schools view computers as being first useful to children in the early teen years, after they have mastered "fundamental, time-honoured ways of discovering information and learning, such as practical experiments and books". In the United Kingdom, Waldorf schools are granted an exemption by the Department for Education (DfE) from

10320-473: The expectation that a child will grasp a concept or achieve a skill when he or she is ready. Cooperation takes priority over competition. This approach also extends to physical education; competitive team sports are not introduced until upper grades. Each class remains together as a cohort throughout all elementary, developing as a quasi-familial social group. In elementary years, a core teacher teaches primary academic subjects. A central role of this teacher

10449-587: The founding of the first Waldorf schools in Britain. During Steiner's lifetime, schools based on his educational principles were also founded in Hamburg , Essen , The Hague and London; there are now more than 1000 Waldorf schools worldwide. Benjamin Lazier calls Steiner a "maverick educator". In 1924, a group of farmers concerned about the future of agriculture requested Steiner's help. Steiner responded with

10578-409: The greater, the less the individual claims for himself the proceeds of his work, i.e. the more of these proceeds he makes over to his fellow-workers, the more his own needs are satisfied, not out of his own work but out of the work done by others. He expressed another aspect of this in the following motto: Waldorf education Waldorf education , also known as Steiner education , is based on

10707-645: The historical and cultural traditions of the local community. Examples include Waldorf schools in Israel and Japan, which celebrate festivals drawn from these cultures, and classes in the Milwaukee Urban Waldorf school, which have adopted African American and Native American traditions. Religion classes are typically absent from United States Waldorf schools, but are mandatory in some German federal states, which require teachers who identify with each offered religion to teach such classes in addition to

10836-636: The idea that animals evolved from humans, that human spirits are physically incarnated into "soul qualities that manifested themselves into various animal forms", that the current geological formations on Earth have evolved through so-called "Lemurian" and "Atlantean" epochs, and that the four kingdoms of nature are "mineral, plant, animal, and man". All of these are directly contradicted by mainstream scientific knowledge and have no basis in any form of conventional scientific study. Contradictory notions found in Waldorf textbooks are distinct from factual inaccuracies occasionally found in modern public school textbooks, as

10965-508: The inaccuracies in the latter are of a specific and minute nature that results from the progress of science. The inaccuracies present in Waldorf textbooks, however, are the result of a mode of thinking that has no valid basis in reason or logic. This unscientific foundation has been blamed for the scarcity of systematic empirical research on Waldorf education as academic researchers hesitate in getting involved in studies of Waldorf schools lest it hamper their future career. A Swedish parent wrote

11094-405: The influences on plant growth of the moon and planets ; and the application of natural materials prepared in specific ways to the soil , compost , and crops, with the intention of engaging non-physical beings and elemental forces. He encouraged his listeners to verify such suggestions empirically , as he had not yet done. In a 2002 newspaper editorial, Peter Treue, agricultural researcher at

11223-569: The interest and ability to observe" in pupils. Experts have called into question the quality of this phenomenological approach if it fails to educate Waldorf students on basic tenets of scientific fact. The Waldorf approach is said to cultivate students with "high motivation" but "average achievement" in the sciences. One study conducted by California State University at Sacramento researchers outlined numerous theories and ideas prevalent throughout Waldorf curricula that were patently pseudoscientific and steeped in magical thinking . These included

11352-531: The last months of his life; he died at Dornach on 30 March 1925. Steiner first began speaking publicly about spiritual experiences and phenomena in his 1899 lectures to the Theosophical Society. By 1901 he had begun to write about spiritual topics, initially in the form of discussions of historical figures such as the mystics of the Middle Ages . By 1904 he was expressing his own understanding of these themes in his essays and books, while continuing to refer to

11481-488: The literary journal Magazin für Literatur , where he hoped to find a readership sympathetic to his philosophy. Many subscribers were alienated by Steiner's unpopular support of Émile Zola in the Dreyfus Affair and the journal lost more subscribers when Steiner published extracts from his correspondence with anarchist John Henry Mackay . Dissatisfaction with his editorial style eventually led to his departure from

11610-551: The magazine. In 1899, Steiner married Anna Eunicke; the couple separated several years later. Anna died in 1911. Despite his fame as a teacher of esotericism, Steiner was culturally and academically isolated. Worse, he couldn't be a real philosopher either; his theosophy and anthroposophy and the Waldorf humanism in particular were considered pseudoscience or at best pedagogy, not a philosophical system. Steiner's credentials were not university-level professional work. [...] German mainstream scholarship called him an 'autodidact, with

11739-546: The markers of which is the loss of the baby teeth. Formal instruction in reading, writing, and other academic disciplines are therefore not introduced until students enter the elementary school, when pupils are around seven years of age. Steiner believed that engaging young children in abstract intellectual activity too early would adversely affect their growth and development. Waldorf elementary schools (ages 7–14) emphasize cultivating children's emotional life and imagination. In order that students can connect more deeply with

11868-406: The modern scene. Steiner's literary estate is broad. Steiner's writings, published in about forty volumes, include books, essays, four plays ('mystery dramas'), mantric verse, and an autobiography. His collected lectures, making up another approximately 300 volumes, discuss a wide range of themes. Steiner's drawings, chiefly illustrations done on blackboards during his lectures, are collected in

11997-424: The movement's founder and spiritual leader. Many of Steiner's ideas influenced the pedagogy of the original Waldorf school and still play a central role in modern Waldorf classrooms: reincarnation, karma, the existence of spiritual beings, the idea that children are themselves spiritual beings, and eurythmy . As the co-educational school also served children from outside the factory, it included children from

12126-554: The mystical nature of anthroposophy and the incorporation of Steiner's esoteric ideas into the curriculum. Waldorf schools have also been linked to the outbreak of infectious diseases due to the vaccine hesitancy of many Waldorf parents. The first school based upon the ideas of Rudolf Steiner was opened in 1919 in response to a request from Emil Molt , owner and managing director of the Waldorf-Astoria Cigarette Company in Stuttgart , Germany. This

12255-544: The new Order could remain a member of the German Theosophical Society. By the end of that year, Besant had induced the General Council of the Theosophical Society to revoke the charter for the German Section, which was under Steiner's leadership. In February 1913, Steiner and a group of prominent German theosophists founded a new society, the Anthroposophical Society, with the intent of pursuing

12384-466: The ongoing efforts of Count and Countess Brockdorff, under whose auspices Steiner was first asked to lecture to an audience including German Theosophists in August 1900. His spiritual ideas found a responsive audience here, as many German Theosophists had found in Theosophy only an imperfect reflection of their own beliefs. Throughout Steiner's term in office, the German branch worked quite independently of

12513-464: The preceding spiritual existence, as beings of body, soul, and spirit in this lifetime. Educational researcher Martin Ashley suggests that the latter role would be problematic for secular teachers and parents in state schools, and the commitment to a spiritual background both of the child and the education has been problematic for some committed to a secular perspective. While anthroposophy underpins

12642-702: The premise that it is possible for human beings to penetrate behind what is sense-perceptible. He proposed that psychology, history, and the humanities generally were based on the direct grasp of an ideal reality, and required close attention to the particular period and culture which provided the distinctive character of religious qualities in the course of the evolution of consciousness. In contrast to William James' pragmatic approach to religious and psychic experience, which emphasized its idiosyncratic character, Steiner focused on ways such experience can be rendered more intelligible and integrated into human life. Steiner proposed that an understanding of reincarnation and karma

12771-453: The public school students and the national average on the TIMSS test while scoring the same as public school students on the logical reasoning tests. When the logical reasoning tests measured students' understanding of part-to-whole relations, the Waldorf students also outperformed the public school students. The authors of the study noted the Waldorf students' enthusiasm for science, but viewed

12900-543: The quasi-mystical relationship between earth and the cosmos' was widely accepted in the Third Reich (28)." A central aspect of biodynamics is that the farm as a whole is seen as an organism, and therefore should be a largely self-sustaining system, producing its own manure and animal feed . Plant or animal disease is seen as a symptom of problems in the whole organism. Steiner also suggested timing such agricultural activities as sowing, weeding, and harvesting to utilize

13029-462: The requirement to teach ICT as part of Foundation Stage education (ages 3–5). Waldorf schools have been popular with some parents working in the technology sector in the United States, including those from some of the most advanced technology firms. A number of technologically oriented parents from one school expressed their conviction that younger students do not need the exposure to computers and technology, but benefit from creative aspects of

13158-468: The requirements of the Ghega scholarship satisfactorily. In 1882, one of Steiner's teachers, Karl Julius Schröer , suggested Steiner's name to Joseph Kürschner, chief editor of a new edition of Goethe's works, who asked Steiner to become the edition's natural science editor, a truly astonishing opportunity for a young student without any form of academic credentials or previous publications. In fact, it

13287-473: The rest of the Theosophical Society; in particular, Steiner sought to link to European philosophy and science and to Christian esoteric traditions, while the Theosophical Society was both geographically and spiritually based in Adyar, India . Besant's tolerance for the differences in their approaches grew strained over the years. By 1907, Steiner had shifted from Theosophical terminology to his own vocabulary and

13416-603: The science curriculum as "somewhat old-fashioned and out of date, as well as including some doubtful scientific material". In 2008, Stockholm University terminated its Waldorf teacher training courses. In a statement, the university said "the courses did not encompass sufficient subject theory and a large part of the subject theory that is included is not founded on any scientific base". The dean, Stefan Nordlund, stated "the syllabus contains literature which conveys scientific inaccuracies that are worse than woolly; they are downright dangerous". Because they view human interaction as

13545-479: The social sciences, youth and agriculture. The School of Spiritual Science included meditative exercises given by Steiner . Steiner became a well-known and controversial public figure during and after World War I. In response to the catastrophic situation in post-war Germany, he proposed extensive social reforms through the establishment of a Threefold Social Order in which the cultural, political and economic realms would be largely independent. Steiner argued that

13674-472: The society to found numerous practical institutions and activities , including the first Waldorf school , founded that year in Stuttgart , Germany. On New Year's Eve, 1922–1923, the Goetheanum burned to the ground; contemporary police reports indicate arson as the probable cause. Steiner immediately began work designing a second Goetheanum building - this time made of concrete instead of wood - which

13803-583: The society. A conference was first called to refound the society. At this conference, which became known as the Christmas Conference , Steiner suggested that a meditative verse he had created for the occasion, the Foundation Stone Meditation , should become the spiritual cornerstone of a renewed anthroposophical movement. This movement should for the first time become unified with the Society that nurtured it. At this time,

13932-467: The splinter groups merged again into the present Society in the early 1960s. The Anthroposophical Society in America , headquartered in Ann Arbor , Michigan , is one of over seventy national societies of the international General Anthroposophical Society, headquartered at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland . The American Society has branches, groups, and sections in over 36 states. The goal of

14061-470: The subject matter, academic instruction is presented through artistic work that includes story-telling, visual arts , drama, movement, music, and crafts. The core curriculum includes language arts, mythology, history, geography, geology, algebra, geometry, mineralogy, biology, astronomy, physics, chemistry, and nutrition. The school day generally begins with a one-and-a-half to two-hour, cognitively oriented academic lesson, or " Main lesson ", that focuses on

14190-417: The subject of Nietzsche. Steiner continued speaking regularly to the members of the Theosophical Society , becoming the head of its newly constituted German section in 1902 without ever formally joining the society. It was also in connection with this society that Steiner met and worked with Marie von Sivers , who became his second wife in 1914. By 1904, Steiner was appointed by Annie Besant to be leader of

14319-722: The supposed temperaments of students but this is often not described to parents, students, or observers. In most Waldorf schools, pupils enter secondary education when they are fourteen years old. Secondary education is provided by specialist teachers for each subject. The curriculum is purported to foster pupils' intellectual understanding, independent judgment, and ethics. In the third developmental stage (14 years old and up), children are supposed to learn through their own thinking and judgment. Students are asked to understand abstract material and expected to have sufficient foundation and maturity to form conclusions using their own judgment. The overarching goals are to provide young people

14448-502: The techniques he used for karma research. After the First World War, Steiner became active in a wide variety of cultural contexts. He founded a number of schools, the first of which was known as the Waldorf school , which later evolved into a worldwide school network. He also founded a system of organic agriculture, now known as biodynamic agriculture , which was one of the first forms of modern organic farming . His work in medicine

14577-542: The training includes considerable artistic work in storytelling, movement, painting, music, and handwork. Waldorf teacher education includes social–emotional development as "an integral and central element", which is unusual for teacher trainings. A 2010 study found that students in advanced years of Waldorf teacher training courses scored significantly higher than students in non-Waldorf teacher trainings on three measures of empathy: perspective taking, empathic concern, and fantasy. One of Waldorf education's central premises

14706-526: The uniqueness of his approach was becoming increasingly apparent, for example at the International Congress at Munich in May 1907. Later that year, "by mutual consent", the esoteric circle Steiner had founded as an offshoot of the Theosophical Society's Esoteric Section ( E. S. ) became a wholly independent institution. Gathering tensions over a variety of issues, including the rapid growth of

14835-497: The use of the registered names "Waldorf" and "Steiner school" and offer accreditations, often in conjunction with regional independent school associations. Independent schools receive complete or partial funding in much of Europe, particularly in Northern and Eastern Europe. Sweden, Finland, Holland, and Slovakia provide over 90% of independent schools' funding, while Slovenia, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland, Hungary, Estonia,

14964-566: The value of role models drawn from a wide range of literary and historical traditions in developing children's fantasy and moral imaginations. For Steiner, education was an activity which fosters the human being's connection to the divine and is thus inherently religious. Waldorf schools were historically "Christian based and theistically oriented", as they expand into different cultural settings they are adapting to "a truly pluralistic spirituality". Waldorf theories and practices are often modified from their European and Christian roots to meet

15093-863: The village school, but following a disagreement between his father and the schoolmaster, he was briefly educated at home. In 1869, when Steiner was eight years old, the family moved to the village of Neudörfl and in October 1872 Steiner proceeded from the village school there to the realschule in Wiener Neustadt . In 1879, the family moved to Inzersdorf to enable Steiner to attend the Vienna Institute of Technology , where he enrolled in courses in mathematics , physics , chemistry , botany , zoology , and mineralogy and audited courses in literature and philosophy , on an academic scholarship from 1879 to 1883, where he completed his studies and

15222-445: The word Geisteswissenschaft (from Geist = mind or spirit, Wissenschaft = science), a term originally coined by Wilhelm Dilthey as a descriptor of the humanities , in a novel way, to describe a systematic ("scientific") approach to spirituality. Steiner used the term Geisteswissenschaft , generally translated into English as "spiritual science," to describe a discipline treating the spirit as something actual and real, starting from

15351-469: The works of Arthur Schopenhauer and the writer Jean Paul and wrote numerous articles for various journals. In 1891, Steiner received a doctorate in philosophy at the University of Rostock , for his dissertation discussing Fichte 's concept of the ego, submitted to Heinrich von Stein  [ de ] , whose Seven Books of Platonism Steiner esteemed. Steiner's dissertation was later published in expanded form as Truth and Knowledge: Prelude to

15480-544: The world's memory, to the current state of technology. When, for example, the Wright brothers began flying with gliders and eventually with motorized aircraft in 1903, Steiner transformed the ponderous gondola airships of his Atlantis story into airplanes with elevators and rudders in 1904. The Anthroposophical Society grew rapidly. Fueled by a need to find an artistic home for their yearly conferences, which included performances of plays written by Edouard Schuré and Steiner,

15609-473: Was a low-paid and boring job, according to Steiner himself. Before attending the Vienna Institute of Technology, Steiner had studied Kant , Fichte and Schelling . When he was nine years old, Steiner believed that he saw the spirit of an aunt who had died in a far-off town, asking him to help her at a time when neither he nor his family knew of the woman's death. Steiner later related that as

15738-567: Was a low-paid and boring job. As well as the introductions for and commentaries to four volumes of Goethe's scientific writings, Steiner wrote two books about Goethe's philosophy: The Theory of Knowledge Implicit in Goethe's World-Conception (1886), which Steiner regarded as the epistemological foundation and justification for his later work, and Goethe's Conception of the World (1897). During this time he also collaborated in complete editions of

15867-473: Was also prone to pseudohistory . In the first, more philosophically oriented phase of this movement, Steiner attempted to find a synthesis between science and spirituality . His philosophical work of these years, which he termed " spiritual science ", sought to apply what he saw as the clarity of thinking characteristic of Western philosophy to spiritual questions, differentiating this approach from what he considered to be vaguer approaches to mysticism. In

15996-603: Was an Austrian occultist , social reformer , architect , esotericist , and claimed clairvoyant . Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as a literary critic and published works including The Philosophy of Freedom . At the beginning of the twentieth century he founded an esoteric spiritual movement, anthroposophy , with roots in German idealist philosophy and theosophy . His teachings are influenced by Christian Gnosticism or neognosticism. Many of his ideas are pseudoscientific. He

16125-529: Was completed in 1928, three years after his death. At a "Foundation Meeting" for members held at the Dornach center during Christmas 1923, Steiner founded the School of Spiritual Science. This school, which was led by Steiner, initially had sections for general anthroposophy, education , medicine , performing arts ( eurythmy , speech, drama and music), the literary arts and humanities, mathematics, astronomy, science, and visual arts. Later sections were added for

16254-564: Was disrupted when stink bombs were let off and the lights switched out, while people rushed the stage apparently attempting to attack Steiner, who exited safely through a back door. Unable to guarantee his safety, Steiner's agents cancelled his next lecture tour. The 1923 Beer Hall Putsch in Munich led Steiner to give up his residence in Berlin, saying that if those responsible for the attempted coup ( Hitler 's Nazi party) came to power in Germany, it would no longer be possible for him to enter

16383-609: Was necessary to understand psychology and that the form of external nature would be more comprehensible as a result of insight into the course of karma in the evolution of humanity. Beginning in 1910, he described aspects of karma relating to health, natural phenomena and free will, taking the position that a person is not bound by his or her karma, but can transcend this through actively taking hold of one's own nature and destiny. In an extensive series of lectures from February to September 1924, Steiner presented further research on successive reincarnations of various individuals and described

16512-481: Was not afraid to refer to scandalous philosophers such as Stirner, Nietzsche and Haeckel. His freethinking culminated in a contempt for religion and faith. He attributed almost pathological traits to Christianity. In 1888, as a result of his work for the Kürschner edition of Goethe 's works, Steiner was invited to work as an editor at the Goethe archives in Weimar . Steiner remained with the archive until 1896. It

16641-602: Was the vehicle of a new Maitreya , or world teacher, led to a formal split in 1912–13, when Steiner and the majority of members of the German section of the Theosophical Society broke off to form a new group, the Anthroposophical Society . Steiner took the name "Anthroposophy" from the title of a work of the Austrian philosopher Robert von Zimmermann , published in Vienna in 1856. Despite his departure from

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