Waldorf School - Fallout from Steiner's Racism

If you visit in the morning, you’ll smell fresh bread being baked. The school bell really is a bell – not an alarm tone piped through speakers. You won’t see kids scoffing chippies or plugged into iPods, or wearing branded clothing. No: Te Ra is a place of greenery, of airy wooden buildings, a place for kids to be kids.

http://www.listener.co.nz/current-affairs/education/fairy-tale-fallout/

But two years ago, parents at this Steiner school discovered a darker side to the writings of Rudolf Steiner. They found what Perkins now considers to be “evil, evil white racism”.

Over an extraordinary few months, parents and staff left the school in droves. The school has no clear record of numbers. But those we talked to say the racism – and the way the school “vilified” those who spoke out against it – drove out six of Te Ra’s 35 staff members and more than 29 families. It was a huge hit for the roll, which is now 140.

Perkins spent more than five years working at Te Ra and sent her children there. “We’ve managed to get ourselves out of something,” she says. “It’s like being woken up – I felt like Snow White, I really did – I felt like the poisoned apple came out of my mouth and I woke up.”

Last month an official investigation commissioned by the Ministry of Education confirmed that aspects of Steiner’s writings are not compatible with the Treaty of Waitangi or New Zealand’s education system. In supporting documents, the investigator also notes “more specific evidence of racism”.

Some who left Te Ra now insist Steiner schools and kindergartens, attended by more than 3000 children across the country, have no place in New Zealand. They have serious misgivings about the fact that eight such secondary and primary schools are endorsed and funded by the Ministry of Education.

And after two years of turmoil, they are ready to tell their story.

It’s important to understand from the outset, these parents and staff say, that what happened at Te Ra could have happened at any New Zealand school that embraces Rudolf Steiner’s writings and philosophy – and that similar sagas are playing out in such schools all over the world.

STEINER’S RACIAL BELIEFS

For a long time, parents at Te Ra had wondered why this school with the Maori name was so Eurocentric. German was taught – unusual for a primary school. Parents say staff complained that kapa haka made children too energetic and resisted the suggestion that children might like to use poi. Sorger says they do make and use poi now.

Parents also found it odd that in the kindergarten and junior school, children were initially discouraged from using black or brown crayons. “It drove them crazy,” says one mother, who wanted to be known as Anna. “They were like, ‘But I need to draw the trunk of a tree!’.”

The crayon issue was also detailed by the Australian in 2007. Ray Pereira, a parent who pulled his child out of Melbourne’s Footscray City Primary School, told the newspaper “his children were not allowed to use black or brown crayons because they were ‘not pure’.”

...

Maori legends are a natural and core part of teaching in state primary schools, and are now told throughout Te Ra. But parents say they were initially told the legends were “inappropriate” or “too gory”. Instead it was all Nordic legends, Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm. “We would sort of joke about it,” recalls Anna, “how in all of the fairy tales, the princesses were always really blonde.” Parents complained about the content of some of these stories – including incest and the decapitation of babies.

The word “tribal” was bandied about. There were vague references to children evolving from “childlike” or “tribal” states to “individual states”.

Halfway through 2012, it all started to make a horrible sort of sense. Parents browsing the school’s “parent library” stumbled across writings by Rudolf Steiner that shocked them. “Racist was the word they used,” says Perkins.

In hindsight, it’s surprising this row hasn’t arisen in New Zealand earlier. As the official investigation into Te Ra would later note, “accusations of racism have long dogged the Steiner movement. These are based on the assertion that Steiner believed different races were at different levels of a spiritual hierarchy, with ‘Aryans’ being the highest incarnation.”

His theory, in brief, is that our souls constantly reincarnate: if a person behaves a certain way, his or her soul will advance from the black-skinned or “primitive” races on through the emotionally governed “youth-like” Asian races. All going well, each soul eventually winds up in the bodily pinnacle of humanity: white skin with blonde hair and blue eyes.

GENUINE CONCERNS

The ministry moved fast. Helena Barwick, who is often sent in to troubled schools as a limited statutory manager, was instructed to return with the results of a preliminary investigation by Christmas. She found that the complainants raised “a genuine and valid concern”. Although the school’s initial response was inadequate, she found, during 2013 it took meaningful steps to address the concerns. The Dominion Post ran a small story. It all could have been left there.

But Perkins and Dussler campaigned for further investigation, insisting that the problem of racism in Steiner’s writings is profound and systemic – and that it will not be easily fixed. They urged officials to delve into anthroposophy itself.

Barwick continued her investigation at Te Ra. In March she met a group of parents and staff who had left the school and her report of that meeting is extraordinary.

“The racism is seen as both overt and covert. The covert racism is a paternalistic, condescending racism based on Steiner’s belief that everyone is on a journey to becoming white. It is a very ingrained, racist theology. Once parents became concerned about the racism, they tried to find out more about what the teachers actually believe. It was difficult to find out, but what did become clear was that if you are in any way different – left-handed, Maori, differently shaped head – it marks you out.”

Principal Andrea Sorger notes in a statement that Perkins and Dussler did not identify any instances of racist practice, and nor did the final report of the investigation. Perkins explains they were reluctant to give Barwick examples of how the racist aspects of anthroposophy filter into classrooms as they feared those, rather than the doctrine underpinning them, would get all the attention.

So how does the doctrine affect children? It is clear children are not explicitly taught anthroposophy. In her statement, Sorger also says, “We do not tolerate racism or any other form of discrimination” and “the racist statements that can be found in some of Steiner’s lectures have no place at our school”. A statement from the ministry says: “Rudolf Steiner schools would not be part of our education system if racist views underpinned their curriculum.”

But in Perkins’ view it is not just about the curriculum. She believes the racism in the writings manifests itself more subtly, affecting “how the teacher sees the child in front of them. And that must affect how they treat that child – and I know that it has.”

In her final report, Barwick notes that this was the complainants’ prime concern: “That those responsible for teaching and nurturing children at Te Ra and in other Steiner institutions in New Zealand are, by their training and background, imbued with a world view underpinned with a hierarchy of races that sees indigenous races as having lesser value. While this may be so for some or all of those teaching at Te Ra, there is currently no requirement or mechanism to audit the beliefs held by teachers in New Zealand schools.”

...

Although the federation’s Simpson says that in her experience Steiner teachers are “deep, independent and critical thinkers”, Dussler believes those who have trained in anthroposophy are convinced they have a privileged understanding of children and education. “There is a very strong belief of ‘Rudolf knows best’ that is very pervasive. I thought that as well … You feel that you are obviously wiser than the parents who come with their higgledy-piggledy ideas.”

As Barwick put it: “The school promotes the idea that they have a special and secret knowledge of child development, and that if you take your child anywhere else you will be exposing them to risk. This is powerful for many parents and plays on parents’ insecurities." Dussler says the reaction of some parents to this treatment was “thank God, I’m giving my child into the most loving and wise hands they could possibly be in. I can stop worrying.” The problem with that is “you’re giving your power away, you’re handing it over. You become very vulnerable without really ever consciously making that clear to yourself.”

Steiner Schools Racism and Bullying Exposed in Secret Dossier

Steiner Federation Refuting Allegations of Racism and Bullying

Should Rudolf Steiner schools receive public money?

Steiner schools have been popular for decades among the more liberal and bohemian middle classes.
Sandra Bullock and Robin van Persie are both former students.
Newsnight has learned that complaints were made to the Department for Education - that in some of these privately funded schools teachers said they thought bullying was part of how kids "worked out their karma".
Chris Cook reports.  

Bullying and racism claims as secret Steiner dossier exposed

The BHA said the government notes raise questions over whether the movement is a suitable recipient of state funding but the Steiner schools’ membership body insisted that allegations against individual schools did not reflect the culture of the movement as a whole.

Officials said aggrieved parents had produced a large amount of material to support allegations of bullying and racism. They had also received complaints about the effect of the Steiner philosophy on schools.
The officials note that Rudolf Steiner’s philosophy contains racist elements, such as that "blond hair bestows intelligence" by diverting nourishment from the eyes and hair into the brain, and that the spirit is reincarnated through the races, from "black to Aryan".
The briefings state that then secretary of state Michael Gove had been made aware of complaints from two parents that a school failed to act when their mixed-race child had been the victim of racist abuse by pupils and that teachers had used "racist epithets". 

“A recurring theme in the material provided is that bullying is not tackled within Steiner schools,” the document says. It notes a complaint by a parent who witnessed an attack on their son where a teacher is alleged to have justified non-intervention by claiming the children were “working out their karma”.

Government forced to release briefings expressing serious concerns about racism and bullying in independent Steiner schools after losing Information Tribunal case against BHA

• On racism, officials describe some of Steiner’s writings as ‘racist and anti-Semitic’. It goes on to say that ‘the Department has received concerns from two parents surrounding the treatment of their mixed-race child at a Steiner school, including racist abuse by other pupils which the school allegedly failed to act upon despite repeated complaints, and the use of racial epithets by teachers. Officials met the parents who provided a large amount of material on the anthroposophical basis of Steiner pedagogy and its apparently racist nature… The materials indicate that the curriculum is structured around the spiritual philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, called anthroposophy (spiritual science), which includes the belief in the reincarnation of the spirit through the races, from Black to Aryan… Racist elements of Steiner’s writings were highlighted in the material, including statements such as “blond hair actually bestows intelligence. In the case of fair people, less nourishment is driven into the eyes and hair; it remains instead in the brain and endows it with intelligence”.’

• On bullying, ‘A recurring theme in the material provided is that bullying is not tackled within Steiner schools. One parent complains that they witnessed a physical attack on their son where a teacher failed to intervene, and subsequently justified this approach by claiming the children were “working out their karma”. A teacher training document entitled How should bullying be handled? asks “can a child’s karma or destiny be that of a victim or bully? It is a child’s destiny to seek certain experiences to build his or her self-esteem and inner self. Should a potentially abusive situation be stopped, and if so, at what point?” It goes on to state “there are normal levels of aggressive behaviour particularly as children are exploring the cruel aspects of their nature. Every school provides the opportunity for some bullying to take place, as children test each other out and work out their roles in the classroom and playground relationships. 

‘In addition to the material provided by parents, the Department’s Independent Schools team is aware of serious complaints of staff bullying pupils in 8 of the existing 25 registered independent Steiner schools. In several of the cases of bullying complaints, there is also a concern about the way the school has handled the allegations, failing to investigate accusations of bullying and physical abuse by teachers in some cases

‘In four Steiner schools, the Department has received complaints about physical abuse from teachers towards pupils, including spitting in a pupil’s face, making sexual innuendos and throwing a rounders bat at a pupil. At one school, a teacher was allowed to continue teaching for two days after a pupil reported that they had made inappropriate suggestions to them. The pupils were encouraged to visit the teacher at his home to deliver flowers and gifts and parents were asked if their sons and daughters could contribute towards a leaving gift. The school did refer the teacher to the local authority and he was arrested following an admission of guilt.’

• On secrecy, ‘A common accusation from correspondents is that the movement is not transparent – not only about the influence of anthroposophy and its in principle opposition to SATs, but also about what takes place in the classroom. Officials are in receipt of Steiner teacher training materials that imply a highly secretive approach to what takes place in class, stating teachers should “…never allow anyone access to lesson notes or records” and “anything indicating what the class may have learnt, or covered in Morning Lesson should be ‘lost’ before you leave the school.”’

Meanwhile, Steiner's racism and bullying has become apparent to parents in New Zealand
 http://thewaldorfreview.blogspot.com/2014/07/nz-waldorf-school-racism-feedback.html
http://thewaldorfreview.blogspot.com/2014/07/waldorf-school-fallout-from-steiners.html

New Zealand Steiner Teacher talks about colonization

Colin Rawle

There seems to be mounting evidence of systemic racism in Waldorf and Steiner schools around the world.  Here is a blog describing the recent racism at the Te Ra school - an excellent read.  It identifies a veteran Waldorf teacher lecturer who has spewed some interesting writings since the Te Ra incident.  I've added a few of his views from before the incident as well. 

http://readingthemaps.blogspot.com/2014/08/steiner-teachers-and-racism-tale-of-two.html

From the blog:

In a letter published on the Listener's website, Simpson insists that accusations of racism at Steiner schools are 'ridiculous'. Simpson will admit that 'a small number' of Steiner's writings contain racist ideas, but she claims that the 'essence' of his philosophy is 'the opposite of racist'. Today's Steiner teachers are, according to Simpson, paragons of anti-racism.

On the same day that Simpson's confident denials of racism turned up on the Listener's website, though, another important figure in the Steiner schools movement published an epistle of his own in the Otago Daily Times. Colin Rawle is a veteran Steiner teacher who has worked at many of the movement's New Zealand institutions, and is currently attached to Dunedin's school. Rawle is also a long-time member of the New Zealand Anthroposophical Society, and is listed as a Dunedin contact person on the outfit's website. In his letter to the Otago Daily Times, Rawle predicts the imminent extinction of the Maori language, and delights at the prospect. Echoing the words that Steiner used about indigenous peoples like the American Indians, Rawle argues that not only te reo Maori but the whole of Maori culture belongs to an older, more primitive era, and should be left to die. Rawle calls advocates of Maori culture 'malcontents', and warns that 'the old mentality or consciousness' that te reo Maori expresses is 'the very last thing that modern cosmopolitan societies want'. 

From the letter linked above dated July 30, 2014 by Colin Rawle:

How many past civilisations, races and languages have synthesised and evolved to become the modern language and culture we know as English?
And this too shall pass, ''in its season''.

The demise of ancient cultures should neither be hastened nor prolonged, but be allowed to pass in dignity and gratitude and not be kept artificially alive as humiliating caricatures of their former reality - especially at the cost of untold millions of taxpayers' dollars, every cent of which could be put to better use.

Are we to assume that ''dumbing down'' has succeeded to the point that we moderns are now completely ignorant of once well-known facts?
If the present-day part-Maori agitators possessed any trace of the spiritual wisdom they pretend to, they would know that it is the fruits of the past which we carry forward with us into the future, not the trappings.

Such malcontents have no wish to arrive at the truth since they know this will not be to their advantage. 

Back to the blog: 

This is not the first time Rawle has shared his views on race relations with the Otago Daily Times. In a series of letters over recent years, he has bemaoned the backwardness and ungenerosity of Maori, and hailed the honesty and charity of Pakeha and the British Crown. In a 2012 letter, for instance, he suggested that 'the only proper, rational attitude that Maori can have toward British colonisation is the deepest possible gratitude'.  

There is so much good stuff here that directly relates to Steiner's ideas about the races.  Again, read the blog and follow the links.

This http://www.anthroposophy.org.nz/~anthropo/files/u27/Sphere_03_2009_B.pdf
is a link to a document by Rawle about political correctness (p10)

P.C.’s multi-culturalism and diversity campaign, therefore, is at least two-fold in its purpose. Its first intent is to overwhelm and neutralise orthodox Christianity with a plethora of non-Christian religions. The second is typical of left-wing utopianism in that it always tries to prematurely impose social conditions (in this case, forced mass  racial/cultural/tribal/religious integration) which can only harmoniously develop in the fullness of time, and in the context of suitable threefold social structures. In the spirit of the Ahrimanic 666 A.D/ Gondishapur impulse, P.C. tries to drag us prematurely and disastrously into a future state of being for which we are unprepared (evil being the consequence of things that are out of place and/or out of time)

Christianity can never be finally eradicated. It is certainly possible for Christianity to live and work in governments, bureaucracies, political parties, or any other type of organisation, but it first must live in human hearts and here lies the hope for the
future. Therefore, it behoves those who understand these things to carry the seeds of true Christian civilisation over the blood and ashes of its destructive impersonators to the dawn of a new day. The antidote to our present social ills is to be found in rousing and applying those dormant faculties which have the power to instantly recognise evil, throw a clarifying light on the real meaning and purpose of modern natural science, and, at the same time, take us confidently into the future. 

And yet, having discussed all this, it remains true that such opposition to the proper course of human evolution is after all, necessary. ‘Evil’ as we know, has its task. It should been seen as a challenge – an anvil upon which we either forge our true
humanity – or do not. But, seen it must be if we are not to be wrecked upon it. Opposition and anvils must be recognised as opposition and anvils. Only then can ‘evil’ fulfill its appointed mission. The true nature of P.C. is not nearly enough recognised, and the unrecognised evils of today become the catastrophes of tomorrow.

UPDATE:
OK, so to be fair, let's see what Steiner had to say about colonization:

"But all such questions are illuminated as soon as we recognize the
nature of the spiritual essence which lies at the back of our blood. Who
can deny that this question is closely linked to that of race, which at
the present time is once more coming markedly to the front? Yet this
question of race is one that we can never understand until we understand
the mysteries of the blood and of the results accruing from the
mingling of the blood of different races. And finally, there is yet one
other question, the importance of which is becoming more and more acute
as we endeavor to extricate ourselves from the hitherto aimless methods
of dealing with it, and seek to approach it in its more comprehensive
bearings. This problem is that of colonisation, which crops up wherever
civilised races come into contact with the uncivilised: namely — To what
extent are uncivilised peoples capable of becoming civilised? How can a
Negro or an utterly barbaric savage become civilised? And in what way
ought we to deal with them? And here we have to consider not only the
feelings due to a vague morality, but we are also confronted by great,
serious, and vital problems of existence itself. Those who are not aware
of the conditions governing a people — whether it be on the up- or
down-grade of its evolution, and whether the one or the other is a
matter conditioned by its blood — such people as these will, indeed, be
unlikely to hit on the right mode of introducing civilisation to an
alien race. These are all matters which arise as soon as the Blood
Question is touched upon."
(Rudolf Steiner, The Occult Significance of Blood, Theosophical Publishing Company 1912, 13)

Lake Champlain Waldorf School Reviews by Parents

 RACIST TEACHER Merrily Lovell - at Lake Champlain Waldorf School!!!

http://www.lakechamplainwaldorfschool.org/about-our-school/high-school-faculty/

Merrily Lovell Biology and Math

Ms. Lovell came to LCWHS in 2010 after many years of teaching Biology at Highland Hall Waldorf High School in Northridge, California. She completed a Waldorf High School Science teacher training in England in 1996. Before that was a class teacher at Pine Hill Waldorf School in Wilton, NH, completed her Waldorf Teaching Certificate at Antioch/New England graduate school, and completed a Masters of Science in Teaching Biology from Antioch/New England. She is thrilled to be living in Vermont again, to be living near her grandchildren (who go to LCWS) and other relatives, and to be teaching part time at the high school. She enjoys the refreshing, earthy atmosphere and the environmental consciousness of this school, and warmth, interest and engagement in learning of the students in the high school.

You'll remember Merrily taught my kid that "the blood of people from Europe is more evolved than the blood of people from Africa and Asia" - and that kicked off a lot of activity on my blog:
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/2009/11/pete-k-declares-war-on-racism-at_2522.html
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/2009/11/pete-k-declares-war-on-racism-at_06.html
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/2009/11/pete-k-declares-war-on-racism-at.html
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/2010/10/highland-hall-board-members-clueless.html

and was posted to many newspapers and blogs:
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/2011/11/controlhaltdelete-article-comments.html
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/2012/01/dcs-improbable-science.html
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/2012/01/local-schools-network-3.html
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/2012/01/local-schools-network-2.html
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/2012/01/local-schools-network.html
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/2012/01/sf-k-files.html
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/2012/01/ny-times-article-rebuttal.html

And many more... And now Merrily is teaching biology at Lake Champlain.  Hasn't Merrily done ENOUGH for Waldorf education already?

http://www.privateschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/27936

% Students of Color

1% State avg.: 7%

Here are the parent reviews:

http://www.findandgoseek.net/listing/lake-champlain-waldorf-school/education

Reviewed on 05/14/2012

The pros: a lovely, holistic, arts-based education that integrates intellectual, emotional, social, physical, and artistic skills. The cons: an extremely dogmatic approach to education (if Rudolph Steiner didn't say it nearly a century ago, they won't do it now) that effectively ignores the needs of academically and intellectually gifted children. While our children loved the arts education, handwork, and ample movement time, they complained of boredom academically and felt a palpable lack of recognition/validation from their teachers. Teachers also have absolute authority here, and almost no student input/autonomy is allowed. The curriculum is inflexible, and students get little opportunity to explore ideas or facts that are not explicitly detailed by the teacher. (Those lovely hand-written textbooks each child writes are full of text and drawings that mimic the teacher's work almost verbatim.) The lack of clear authority in the school can also be a problem (the school is governed not by a single director, but by a College of Teachers). The buck, apparently, stops nowhere. You may also want to reconsider if you don't agree with Anthroposophy, the spiritual beliefs that lie firmly behind the Waldorf Education. Essentially, Waldorf child development theory is dedicated to helping your child re-incarnate from his/her spiritual body into his earthly existence. (Early reading and intellectual focus is thought to interfere with this process, so is actively discouraged.) This school is therefore a good fit for students (and parents) who don't ask too many questions about the pedagogy. 

lilycanter
Reviewed on 09/18/2008

I had great hopes at Waldorf for our two children. Unfortunately, while I think
the pedagogy is to be admired (lots of hands on art, music, nature), etc.,
theory and practice often differ.

It's a lovely idea to have the same teacher through all grades, but my
experience is that the teachers were not qualified to teach some of the more
rigorous courses at the 6th, 7th & 8th grades such as physics, anatomy, upper
level mathematics, and writing. In fact, teachers that were not Steiner trained
filled in.

I also found the lack of supervision on the grounds and on trips (including
foreign trips) to be very disturbing. The woods are not as benign as one would
imagine - as one student who fell through the ice into the river one year would
know. When we were there, students were allowed to run willy-nilly and teachers
were not aware when conflicts and bullying occurred.

And, as a minor irritation, I did find a certain amount of hypocrisy. I had
maintained a TV free household and looked forward delaying the exposure of some
information to my children. I got the impression that as long as one paid the
hefty tuition, no one would comment on what families let their children view or
listen to, or how they repeated it at school.

Additionally, there is (to me) a club mentality. If you can afford to devote
extra time to the school (because both parents don't need to work or have very
flexibile schedules) then you definitely earn "brownie points" for yourself and
your children from the community leaders.

I very much approve of the Steiner methods of teaching (even as I disagree w/
anthroposophy), but I felt the LCWS was imbued w/ varying agendas other than
education and community building.

http://www.greatschools.org/school/parentReviews.page?id=449&state=VT

Posted January 6, 2014

The curriculum lacks academic rigor. The school doesn't even teach advanced mathematical concepts. The science curriculum is minimal. Most of the teaching is based on "hands on experience" and at many times seems similar to a vocational institution, not a college preparatory program. For high schools in the area I recommend Vermont Commons, Champlain Valley, Essex, or Mount Mansfield.
—Submitted by a parent

Posted May 10, 2013

The school is academically subpar compared to many institutions in the region. The school has essentially no math program until high school (at which point it is minimal). There is little homework which instills are terrible work ethic amongst the children. This school shouldn't even be considered a preparatory school. It is an alternative school. Much of the curriculum revolves around "handwork, eurythmy, acting, and music". The math and science teachers are generally under-qualified. Most of the public schools in Chittenden County are more rigorous and will prepare students for college.

Posted February 12, 2013  

The kindergarten years went well for our children, the teachers were wise and skilled and good at communication but the grade school experience was disastrous at best, lots of bullying and shaming the children. Some of the teachers are really dysfunctional others have their backs turned to name calling, punches and hair pulling. One of the children's classes was in constant chaos and the school completely denied it and did nothing to make it better. The teachers seem to be overworked and underpaid. Most of the children need tutoring. Many families left. The school put up a brick wall of defensiveness and blamed the children. Lots of blame and put down of children. There was a great deal of bullying and teachers just allowed it. Complaints were met with a sort of Waldorf-ese special language and a "we don't do it that way." Or families were asked to leave the school. No dialogue what so ever. Hard to imagine I know, we were so disappointed, we expected just the opposite and had been so drawn to the school for its beauty and seeming gentleness. I have since learned that many other families had similar problems with this school over the years. No leadership and no accountability.
—Submitted by a parent

Posted August 22, 2012

Our family found this school to be unprofessional with poor leadership. This school can be a great experience if you have a great class room teacher and there are some really great teachers at this school. However, there is no administrative or principal to provide leadership this leaves little recourse if your child has a mediocre teacher. The school is excellent at training children in the arts. Be prepared to provide supplemental tutoring for reading and math. The school handbook even states that extra tutoring is the responsibility of the parents. There is only one way of learning and that is the Waldorf way. Many of the staff do not believe in ADHD and fault poor parenting with not enough "rhythm" or structure in the home life. Early exposure to music, music theory, and watercolor is fantastic. Our child was frustrated by the numerous Nome stories and wanted real world learning opportunities. If you do not play the Waldorf Way you are not asked to Stay. Think very carefully with your mind and feel very carefully with your heart before enrolling your child here. Our family was attracted to the spiritual aspect of the school, and in the end found it dogmatic and limiting.
—Submitted by a parent

Posted May 14, 2012

The pros: a lovely, holistic, arts-based education that integrates intellectual, emotional, social, physical, and artistic skills. The cons: an extremely dogmatic approach to education (if Rudolph Steiner didn't say it nearly a century ago, they won't do it now) that effectively ignores the needs of academically and intellectually gifted children. While our children loved the arts education, handwork, and ample movement time, they complained of boredom academically and felt a palpable lack of recognition/validation from their teachers. Teachers also have absolute authority here, and almost no student input/autonomy is allowed. The curriculum is inflexible, and students get little opportunity to explore ideas or facts that are not explicitly detailed by the teacher. (Those lovely hand-written textbooks each child writes are full of text and drawings that mimic the teacher's work almost verbatim.) The lack of clear authority in the school can also be a problem (the school is governed not by a single director, but by a College of Teachers). The buck, apparently, stops nowhere. This school is a good fit for students (and parents) who don't ask too many questions about the pedagogy.
—Submitted by a parent

Posted March 16, 2012
The administration here is not very nice. I was not impressed and will not send
my children here.

Posted June 29, 2011
I went to this school from 1st-8th grade. I switched from there to go to a
public high school. Let me tell you why. When I reached the 7th grade I started
feeling like I was falling behind the public schoolers academically. So I took
some test and yes, in fact I was behind. The teachers do not teach math very
well, they never stress how important it is to do your homework. They give you
NO preparation for college or even high school. Once I switched it was hard to
adapt because I didn't have the work ethics, study habits, or ideas that
homework needed to be done. Other Facts: There is not enough funding for a tech
department meaning no technical oriented classes such as design. There is no
real auditorium. The basketball court is about 1/4th the size it should be. The
dress code is way to strict. You don't get the feel that teachers are there when
you need them. It is impossible to fail a class. (People need to know that there
can be failures in life!) I honestly find the public school pressure atmosphere
more successful. I will feel sorry for the students enrolled at LCWS and LCWHS
when they go on to college. They will not have the skills to have a successful
college career. (—Submitted by a student)

Posted November 5, 2008
This school does not provide a very good education, it teaches very pointless
'skills' like knitting, woodworking, eurythmy and other meaningless things. The
faculty is many times inexperienced and many do not know how to relate to
students and are often very insensitive. There are some good teachers however
and some of the teaching is satisfactory but overall it is a poor school.
—Submitted by a student

NZ Waldorf School Racism Feedback

http://www.listener.co.nz/commentary/letters/letters-august-9-2014/

Thank you for having the courage to run the article on Te Ra School and the belief system on which it is founded. As a former Te Ra parent and staff member, I came to see first-hand how anthroposophy affects and warps what is taught at the school.

It is unquestionably a religious philosophy, and many of the staff members are indoctrinated true believers, quoting Rudolf Steiner like revered scripture, their personal and professional lives disturbingly dominated by his teachings. There are many dedicated Steiner teachers with good intentions, but what good they accomplish is in spite of anthroposophy, not because of it.

...
Racism has no place in modern New Zealand society and certainly not in a publicly funded institution. If people want to attend such a school, that is their choice – as long as they are properly informed of the true nature of the school’s omnipresent philosophy – but my tax dollars should not pay them to do it.
Rachel Tandy (Paraparaumu)

Sounds reasonable.  Below is the full letter from the "Executive spokesperson, Federation of Rudolf Steiner Waldorf Schools in NZ."  I'm going to jump in with a few facts where they apply.  

There is much to debunk in the article “Fairy-tale fallout” (August 2), the most serious being accusations of racism and cultish behaviour in Steiner schools. These are ridiculous and inaccurate notions. The Steiner School movement in New Zealand is no more an elitist cult of racists than any other well-regarded special character school in New Zealand.
Although the article highlights a small number of writings by Rudolf Steiner from a century ago, it does not in any way inform what Steiner education is essentially about. Why has it survived the passage of time – in fact flourished? I would assert that this is because the philosophy that inspires it is the opposite of racist in that it upholds the universality of the human being and the integrity of the individual human spirit.

Hold on... lots of racist philosophies have survived - even flourished over the past 100 years.  Survival of the passage of time is not an indicator of a non-racist philosophy.  The philosophy is there for everyone to read.  It does, indeed, uphold the "integrity of the individual human spirit" - but through a series of incarnations into various human racial forms which are in varying degrees of decline - until that spirit finds its purest human form in the white race. 

There are over 1000 Steiner/Waldorf Schools and over 2000 early childhood initiatives in 60 countries around the world. The greatest growth of schools is in Asia, particularly in China. How would this be possible if this were a fundamentally racist doctrine?

Dishonesty?  Do you explain to people in non-white countries that their goal (according to Anthroposophy) is to become white in future incarnations?  Of course not.  How would it be possible for you to establish initiatives in these countries if you told them that?  It is the same way Waldorf schools were able to establish themselves in non-white areas of New Zealand - they simply lie to parents (for the good of the children whose souls really want to become white someday).  

The indications of Steiner inspire our education but do not prescribe it. Although some of his writings discuss “race” and skin colour in a way that has no place in modern times, let alone modern schools, the essence is enduring.

Sounds basically OK... Let's see if we're going to see this viewpoint supported or weakened in the rest of the paragraph... 

Steiner is not the first thinker of his age to have ideas that today we shake our heads at.

OK... that didn't take long...

There would be a collective cringe if we held up some of our New Zealand school textbooks from the first half of last century and proclaimed them to represent the current state of our education system – they are loaded with imperial, colonial, sexist and, yes, racist thought that reflected the thinking of the time.

Yes, perhaps... (I wouldn't know) but those have been abandoned in New Zealand schools today.  The issue here is that Steiner's racist ideas are present in the Te Ra Waldorf school TODAY! 

Educational practice and theory evolves. We are not afraid of critical self-examination. There is much positive work going on in our schools to review our beliefs and practices and to weed out any inherited dogma that has no currency.

This comes as a shock to the people who have been demanding that Waldorf self-examine their racist practices.  Waldorf schools don't self-examine... but even if they did, they are starting from the viewpoint that Steiner's racist ideas (despite being taught to Waldorf teachers as part of their training) cannot possibly enter Waldorf schools.  

Thankfully the Ministry of Education has been rigorous in its oversight; we are grateful for its scrutiny, affirmation and support. Each year we celebrate thousands of happy Kiwi students who are kind, curious and confident achievers, who know who they are and where they come from.Rosie SimpsonExecutive spokesperson, Federation of Rudolf Steiner Waldorf Schools in NZ

John Stumbles into The Waldorf Review

A recent debate erupted between John Stumbles and myself on the Quackometer Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/quackometer
on the article about Sylvie Sklan's rebuttal to the recent Guardian article.  Here's what transpired in the comments... Enjoy!

John Stumbles Speaking from almost 2 decades of involvement of 2 kids in a Steiner school the article seemed generally accurate (modulo some weaselling about vaccinations).

The Quackometer It is only accurate in the sense that it is consistent with how Steiner Schools wish to portray themselves to the outside world.

John Stumbles You imply that the reality is different from this: what is your evidence for that?

The Waldorf Review Hi John... how about the expert testimony of over 600 expert witnesses who experienced Waldorf first-hand and discovered the schools portray themselves as something other than what they are? Is that a good start at least? It's at least 600 times as good as your first-hand knowledge, right? http://thewaldorfreview.blogspot.com/

John Stumbles That site seems to be a collection of anecdotes about bad things alleged to have happened at various Steiner/Waldorf schools around the world. Can you point me to the "expert testimony of over 600 expert witnesses" (presumably teachers and educational academics?) to which you refer?

Pete Karaiskos (The Waldorf Review) Plenty of teacher and student reviews listed there... far more qualified than your opinion. Do you have ANY evidence that Waldorf schools are honest with the public when they describe themselves? Anything? Lots of people say NO. Why do you say yes?

John Stumbles Pete, your question "do [I] have ANY evidence...?" implies that the alleged conspiracy exists unless proven otherwise. This seems to be the accepted position on InfoWars, Natural News and whale.to, but as a skeptic I suggest that it is incumbent upon those alleging conspiracies to produce evidence for them.

Which I what I was asking Andy for earlier, and which neither he nor anyone else seems capable of producing.

Pete Karaiskos (The Waldorf Review) Well, John, firstly, you're not a skeptic, you're a Waldorf cheerleader. I think we established that on the DC's Improbable Science blog (do you need me to provide the link?). Secondly, a collection of hundreds of testimonies constitutes evidence (legal, not scientific). We're not going to scientifically prove Waldorf schools are dishonest - all we can do is show evidence of them hiding their underpinnings on their websites and in public statements - of which there is plenty. Oddly, when parent and student testimonies are investigated, as happened recently with the Green Meadow case, they turn out to be true - and the evidence of that investigation points to a systemic problem with Waldorf credibility and a failure to act on complaints or even knowledge of criminal activity. That evidence is there for the reading - if you care to open your eyes... or not.

John Stumbles A "Waldorf cheerleader"? We don't have cheerleaders in this country but from what I understand of US culture that would be a person who rallies unconditional support for a sports team. People can make up their own minds whether my critical appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of Steiner-Waldorf education amounts to unconditional support; however I can understand that with your avowedly black and white view of the subject anything short of rabid anti-Steiner dogmatism must seem like "cheerleading".

As a skeptic (sic) attempting to weigh up issues on the basis of objective scientific evidence I have been accused of being a shill for the nuclear industry, for genetic engineering and Monsanto, and for vaccines and Big Pharma; and these ad hominems have always been in lieu of rational arguments. The title of "Waldorf cheerleader" seems to fit this pattern.

Testimonies, however many hundreds you collect, do not - as you admit - constitute scientific evidence. As lovers of science and evidence like to say "the plural of anecdote is not data". Homeopaths, chiropractors and other quacks can produce enough testimonials to sink a ship but they no more constitute evidence for the efficacy of their practices than a bunch of complaints from disaffected former Waldorf parents, pupils and teachers constitutes a systematic survey of Waldorf education.

I actually think that within Steiner-Waldorf education teachers vary in their abilities from brilliant to incompetent, schools vary (and vary over time) from excellent to dysfunctional, and there are good, bad and indifferent aspects to Waldorf educational practice and theory. But I know your monochromatic world-view will not admit of such subtlety.

The Waldorf Review "Testimonies, however many hundreds you collect, do not - as you admit - constitute scientific evidence. As lovers of science and evidence like to say "the plural of anecdote is not data". "

Yeah, "science" is a word you throw around as if you understand it. After a doctor sees measles a few hundred times, (s)he can learn to identify measles. Sure, it could be something else - something very rare that looks exactly like measles... but having seen plenty of cases of measles, we can assume with confidence the doctor actually knows what (s)he's looking at. It would be different if the doctor had only seen a coulple of cases... but having studied hundreds of cases, there will be little doubt. In science, what is new is tested against what is already known. You can be skeptical about all knowledge, but that leaves you no place to begin inquiry. We really can know some things by observing them.

"Homeopaths, chiropractors and other quacks can produce enough testimonials to sink a ship"... blah blah blah...

What's the incentive on the part of Waldorf teachers, parent and students to speak out against Waldorf. Unlike homeopaths, who stand to gain financially, they have nothing to gain by lying about what happened to them.

"I actually think that within Steiner-Waldorf education teachers vary in their abilities from brilliant to incompetent,"

Cool. Where do the incompetent teachers go? Are they kicked out of the Waldorf system? NO... When they've shown they no longer belong in a classroom, they go on to TRAIN other Waldorf teachers.

"schools vary (and vary over time) from excellent to dysfunctional,"

So, the parents kicking out $30,000/year for their child's education... who happen to be at a school when it's in "dysfunctional" mode? What happens to their child's education when the school kicks families out for asking questions. Varying from excellent to dysfunctional is NOT OK!

"and there are good, bad and indifferent aspects to Waldorf educational practice and theory."

If there were good aspects to Waldorf, they wouldn't have to disguise them. No TV, for example, isn't explained as a battle against Ahriman. Eurythmy isn't explained as the physical embodiment of Anthroposophy. Even the "good" stuff you claim to see is wrapped in dishonesty.

The Waldorf Review Like doctors learn to identify measles, the people at the Te Ra school in NZ learned to identify racism in the lessons and practices of the Waldorf school. Reading what others have been through - and what practices Waldorf is hiding is absolutely essential to understanding Waldorf... cheerleaders' opinions notwithstanding.

John Stumbles Pete you still haven't responded to my request to you (under your "Waldorf Review" alias) to "point me to the "expert testimony of over 600 expert witnesses" (presumably teachers and educational academics?) to which you refer?". I guess that means you haven't got 600 expert witnesses, but you just unquestioningly accept any and all allegations against Steiner-Waldorf schools that suit your Waldorf-hater bias.

I don't object to you being anti-Waldorf, but you could be honest about it: the title "Waldorf Review" suggest an impartial, dispassionate evaluation of Waldorf education rather than an anti-Waldorf agenda. It seems ironic, not so say hypocritical, to then accuse Waldorf schools of having a covert agenda at odds with their public position!

The Waldorf Review "I guess that means you haven't got 600 expert witnesses, but you just unquestioningly accept any and all allegations against Steiner-Waldorf schools that suit your Waldorf-hater bias." I guess that means you don't consider people who have experienced Waldorf as expert witnesses. So other than experiencing Waldorf yourself - how are you qualified to trump the testimonies of all these other people? At least these people put their names to their allegations... unlike the "anonymous" cheerleaders who report glowing reviews of these schools. For all we know, *you* could be providing all the anonymous reviews for these schools. In your second statement, you're not often right, but you're wrong again... The Waldorf Review makes no claim to be unbiased. Here's the first thing you read there: "We're well over half way to our goal of documenting over 1000 critical Waldorf reviews." Try another one John, this accusation doesn't stick. Meanwhile, explain why you think "dysfunctional" schools should exist at taxpayers' expense.

John Stumbles The term "Expert witness" has a specific meaning:

"A person whose level of specialized knowledge or skill in a particular field qualifies them to present their opinion about the facts of a case during legal proceedings."

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/.../english/expert-witness

I don't discount the testimonies of people who report bad experiences with Waldorf education: will you extend the same courtesy to those of us who report good experiences?

expert witness: definition of expert witness in Oxford dictionary (British & World English)

www.oxforddictionaries.com

Definition of expert witness in British and World English in Oxford dictionary. ... See More

Pete Karaiskos (The Waldorf Review) The definition fits perfectly - I, for example, provided testimony as an expert witness at a Waldorf trial. Other Waldorf critics can and have provided expert witness testimony - with no more qualifications than being parents in the system. "I don't discount the testimonies of people who report bad experiences with Waldorf education:" You certainly do. You call them "allegations". "will you extend the same courtesy to those of us who report good experiences?" NO, and I explained why already. 1) These anonymous testimonies are placed there by Waldorf representatives (my blog includes many parents describing exactly this). 2) Many, MANY of the critical reviews are from people who once praised the school - a HUGE percentage. I, myself, supported Waldorf once. Positive reviews are nothing more than negative reviews that haven't hatched yet.

John Stumbles So basically you don't believe people unless they agree with you?

The Waldorf Review I don't believe people when I know they're lying... big difference.  http://thewaldorfreview.blogspot.com/.../waldorf-fraud-in...

The Waldorf Review: Waldorf FRAUD in Reviews

John Stumbles And you "know" they're lying because they disagree with your views on Steiner and Waldorf Education ...?

The Waldorf Review No, I know they're lying because they've been caught lying far too many times. They employ people to lie for them. The glowing positive reviews disagree with hundreds of reports I have collected, not just my personal views. That's exactly why I collected these reviews. My blog has many independent witnesses accusing Waldorf representatives (posing as parents) of posting positive reviews, removing negative reviews, even cutting and pasting positive reviews from other school pages. Collectively, Waldorf representatives are dishonest about so many things it's impossible to take the anonymous 5-star reviews seriously. My site hosts many honestly-written 4-star reviews, BTW. You should actually read the reviews sometime... it's very compelling evidence.

John Stumbles I'm not talking about reviews on websites, I'm talking about ordinary parents and pupils and ex-pupils and what they say. My ex-Steiner school son and his friends who then spent several years at state schools and then (in all but one cases) university, speak happily of their time there: are you claiming that they are lying? I'm generally happy with the education my boys have had: are you claiming that I am lying?

Pete Karaiskos (The Waldorf Review) I'm claiming that you, like every glazed-eyed parent in a Waldorf school, are one incident away from being a critic John. I'm sure your kids were happy at Waldorf - but if that was your goal, you could have sent them to Disneyland (for less money). Happiness isn't the goal of education - education is the goal of education. Lots of parents are happy with their choice to harm their children. Look at the anti-vax people. When one talks to happy Waldorf parents, one needs to remember those are the bliss-ninnies who sat quietly while problems arose at their school (and they did). Parents who discovered the problems have left the school and aren't always available to be interviewed. That's why the critical reviews of the parents who took the time to write them are SO important. The parents who wrote these reviews are no longer around to discuss Waldorf problems with prospective parents... they're long gone!

John Stumbles I am a critic, in the sense 1a: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/critic

I'm certainly not glazed-eyed: not after almost 20 years, though I know what you mean: I was in the early days and I see others who are. I've seen bad stuff at our school as well as good and I know some parents left disaffected (and with good reason). But there have been good, and some excellent, teachers too, and I think more children have left with good educations and also good social skills: I don't know to what extent it's general of S-W schools but in ours the education is not just about the academic side but about helping the children to develop as social beings with respect for themselves and each other - and happy (cliched as that may sound).

I do think that prospective parents need to be disabused of the hippy-dippy paradise view of SWE that's often peddled by its proponents. I guess your site and others of that ilk do a service by presenting an equally extreme counter-view, but I don't think either of these black-and-white views conveys the more complex reality of actual schools and teachers and their changing strengths and weaknesses.

Critic - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

www.merriam-webster.com

Definition of critic from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary with audio pronunciations, thesaurus, Word of the Day, and word games.

The Waldorf Review So you think children can be helped to "develop as social beings" by being around the most anti-social, dishonest people on the planet... whose teachers are trained to humiliate them into an education steeped in racism? Obviously, you haven't thought this completely through John.

John Stumbles The arrogance with which you assume that you, through your self-confirming prejudices, know my children's teachers - who you have never met - better than I - who have known them collectively for a decade and a half - is breathtaking.

Your attitude is like the fundamentalists who refuse to believe that anyone can simply not believe in god and insist that atheists are simply angry with god.

Like those religious bigots I think you believe that those you hate are worse people than you.

I think the reverse is true.

The Waldorf Review Since you haven't bothered to read or understand Anthroposophy, I dare say I DO know more about your children's teachers than you do - I know the criteria by which they have assessed and evaluated your children all these years... and the ridiculous beliefs that guide them in those assessments. I know those beliefs are grounded in spiritual racism that extends to physical racism. I know those teachers who looked at your child's head size, hand dominance and physical characteristics (for assigning a temperament) didn't ignore the race of your child - or you and your child's mother. These are FACTS John - it's what they are taught to do in their training TODAY. This isn't me making this stuff up... I married into an Anthro family full of Waldorf teachers. I studied Steiner for 18 years. To suggest this is my "attitude" about Anthroposophy is silly. This stuff is written in stone - and taught to Waldorf teachers. It isn't arrogant to point that out. It seems arrogant to you because I have to point it out to you continually - on multiple blogs - over many years. I'm waiting patiently for the day you understand what Waldorf is about - and stop promoting something that is genuinely harmful to children. With so many educational models available today - why would parents even consider one based on racist ideas that find their way into teacher training, one run by liars at the highest level, one that finds karmic excuses for bullying and even molesting children and (according to recent news stories) even hides those molesters within their ranks for decades, and one that even you acknowledge has a tendency to drift into dysfunctional (as if all of the above wasn't dysfunctional enough)? Why would anyone support Waldorf when so much evidence shows how horrible these schools are?

John Stumbles I understand what you're saying Pete and I'm not contradicting your experience of the Waldorf school and people you've been involved in. But what you're describing is not one iota akin to what I've experienced of the school and teachers I've been involved with for almost 2 decades, closely enough that I know many of them socially: seeing them at the same gigs, our kids hanging out together. I talk to them and I talk to my kids and their friends and I actively look for the racist and bullying attitudes which you and your fellow Waldorf-haters warn of, and I find not a whiff of them. On the other hand I find more egalitarian and accepting attitudes to gender, sexuality and differing abilities - and less tendency to bully based on such criteria - than kids in mainstream schools seem to display.

Fact is Pete, you don't know what all Steiner/Waldorf schools and teachers everywhere in the world are like. But you're so convinced by your own motivated reasoning and the reinforcement of your small circle of fellow Waldorf haters in the echo chambers you seem to spend most of your life in that you have a huge disincentive to opening your mind to ideas other than those approved by those you move amongst.

Which is sad.

The Waldorf Review Right, John. I'm the one with the blinkers on. Meanwhile, you're at the ONE school that's the exception. I've heard about this legendary school from lots of bliss-ninny parents. NOT MY school... all the others maybe, but not MINE. My answer is always the same... If your school is so great... NAME the school... let's make it the teacher training center for ALL of Waldorf - that is, if this particular school is so great at delivering the Waldorf promise. Name your school John... if your experience was so great. Let's see if it's on my list, and if other parents share your opinion about YOUR SCHOOL or if the far more likely scenario has transpired... that you're being dishonest or are oblivious about the problems at your school and here promoting it as if it has no problems (despite that you acknowledged above that it does). That YOU don't see racism and bullying (just like Waldorf teachers don't) isn't as big a shocker to readers here as you might imagine.

The Waldorf Review Here's you, John, acknowledging there are serious problems at your school: "I've seen bad stuff at our school as well as good and I know some parents left disaffected (and with good reason)." And then you say "But what you're describing is not one iota akin to what I've experienced of the school and teachers I've been involved with for almost 2 decades" - YOU YOURSELF describe parents leaving for "good reason". How many iotas is that worth?

John Stumbles Pete,

There's a joke about a shopkeeper complaining about the number of customers who ask him for an item he's discontinued: "How many times do I have to tell these people: there's no demand for it?!"

You acknowledge that lots of parents have told you that their schools are not as you claim they must be. A rational person would question their own belief that led them to make such a generalisation. But not you: you dismiss the parents' reports by attacking them ad hominem; always a red flag for a dearth of rational evidence and argument.

So, yes, Pete, you are the one with the blinkers on.

The Waldorf Review "You acknowledge that lots of parents have told you that their schools are not as you claim they must be." Yet, they refuse to name this magical school... as you yourself appear to be doing. That you completely missed the point is, again, not a shocker. What do you think I'm going to do... stand outside waving a sign? Tell me about this school that has no problems... that ranges at times from excellent to dysfunctional... but has no problems. People should rush to that school John. Why keep the name a secret?

John Stumbles The point, Pete, is that according to the testimony of the "lots of" parents who have told you that their schools are not as you claim, it would seem that there are many good Steiner-Waldorf schools, not just one "magical" one. But since your mind is closed to the very concept of good S-W schools there's no point in discussing them.

The Waldorf Review As usual, when you say "the point" you're mistaken. Here's what the point is... Lots of parents, like you have shown us here, are willing to make fantastic claims about schools that, in reality, aren't very fantastic... and in fact, they are schools that do exactly what I describe. These parents can't back their fantastic claims up by naming the school, just like you can't, because the claims simply aren't true. Your own propensity to claim your school is fantastic after already having said parents left for good reasons makes me wonder about your own threshold for honesty. I'm glad you have decided there is no point in discussing good Steiner Waldorf schools because there really aren't any. You can certainly discuss the merits of Steiner schools... but not separate from their inherent problems.

John Stumbles I didn't claim our school was "fantastic", and I daresay the other parents who contradicted your assertions about their schools didn't claim that theirs were "fantastic" either. The only thing that's fantastic is your fantasies about schools you know sweet f.a. about.

The Waldorf Review No, what you said was: "I actually think that within Steiner-Waldorf education teachers vary in their abilities from brilliant to incompetent" - but you don't acknowledge how this plays out for students who have had the incompetent end of the spectrum. You went on to say: "schools vary (and vary over time) from excellent to dysfunctional" but again, don't acknowledge how this plays out for students who are trapped in the dysfunctional schools or during dysfunctional periods (I assume this would mean decades for some schools). You further stated: "and there are good, bad and indifferent aspects to Waldorf educational practice and theory" - as if such a spectrum of educational practices is OK in some way. We've seen how "bad" teachers can be - and how "indifferent" schools can be when children are bullied, abused, raped and so forth... What's the "good" that makes up for this? Stone soup? Gardening? Eurythmy? I don't have any fantasies about Waldorf John... YOU do.

John Stumbles Children have been bullied, abused and even raped at all sorts of schools. Nothing like that at ours, fortunately: the dysfunctional end of the spectrum was some incompetent teachers and personal antagonism between teachers which the school didn't deal with effectively. That was about 10 years ago.

I don't think bad teachers or dysfunctional schools are OK, in any sector. But it happens, in all sectors.

The Waldorf Review "I don't think bad teachers or dysfunctional schools are OK, in any sector. But it happens, in all sectors." And is excusable in Waldorf... why exactly? You may find bullying in lots of places, but not with a school-wide REASON for allowing it. You don't find all sorts of schools hiding known rapists within their communities for decades. These cases may not be 100% unique to Waldorf, but they happen with a LOT more frequency in Waldorf environments because Waldorf is built on a philosophy that allows their representatives to find excuses for this. How do I know? I've gone to the trouble of collecting the reviews of parents. That data set is what allows me to make these statements with confidence. All you have is your opinion that this happens everywhere with the same frequency - you parrot the official Waldorf line. You are far too blinded by waving your own pom-poms to see this or the reasons behind it. I couldn't care less. Certainly others reading this will see past your cheer-leading.

The Waldorf Review http://thewaldorfreview.blogspot.com/.../why-waldorf...

John Stumbles "they happen with a LOT more frequency in Waldorf environments"

Evidence (figures of relative frequencies from reputable sources) or STFU.

The Waldorf Review But John, Waldorf doesn't report these things - how is anyone supposed to compile evidence? Sure, we have incidents of kids catching on fire, and being spit on by teachers, but we both know Waldorf schools hide the worst incidents - and overlook things like bullying... so how can we know the full extent of the problems? We have a good indicator at The Waldorf Review - with how frequently parents complain about these things - and I'm told there are people at work going through the reviews and compiling the data - so we will have an answer to your question (as far as known reviews are concerned). But Waldorf chooses its victims carefully. Sadly, children don't speak up often enough. When a Waldorf school was forced to open their doors to investigators, after a student became an adult and spoke up, they found rapists, pedophiles, gropers, and child pornographers among their top teachers - and other teachers who knew about them and kept silent while these monsters lived among the community - the worst next to a day care center. http://thewaldorfreview.blogspot.com/.../green-meadow... Teachers hide this stuff. This isn't a one-off school... it's a top old, established Waldorf school in the USA. They train teachers who end up in the UK... to cover this stuff up too. Dishonesty is what Waldorf is famous for.

John Stumbles So you don't have figures for the incidence of sexual abuse in Waldorf schools. Do you have figures for prevalence in state-funded schools? Or other independent schools (because I'm sure those are really quick to publicise any bad stuff going on)?

No, I thought not. So your claim about "a LOT more frequency in Waldorf environments" is simply another lie you made up to support your bigoted anti-Waldorf agenda.

A lie Peter: you claim that Waldorf schools tell lies, and get very indignant about it, but you tell lies yourself. It's hard to believe a word you say.

The Waldorf Review LMAO! Right... it sounds like somebody's projecting - and hoping readers won't notice. I never lie John. Here's the part you ignored "Waldorf is built on a philosophy that allows their representatives to find excuses for this." I hate to draw examples from the Catholic church hiding pedophiles within their ranks, but this is exactly what Waldorf is doing. A business model would get rid of bad teachers (they're bad for business) - a religious model hides them - even promotes them. That's not a lie John, that's a fact. There is the very truthful reason why there is a lot more frequency of abuse in Waldorf environments... It is ALLOWED TO HAPPEN. That Waldorf representatives lie is a fact too - they have done this countless times and been caught at it. Their guru, Steiner, TOLD THEM TO LIE TO PARENTS. It's documented many times. But no worries... You obviously don't know Steiner's material, and so you don't understand what you think you do. When documents say racist things, you insist they are saying the exact opposite. When teachers do bad things, you say it's part of a wider spectrum of acceptable (to you) teaching techniques. You don't even know what you yourself have written from one post to the next. You are simply here to tell any lie about Waldorf schools you think might stick - hoping you may get one or two parents who are skimming this material and not following the links. Again, I don't lie John. I don't need to.

Update:  After I posted this, John posted back on Facebook, challenging me to put up his post.  I love challenges:

John Stumbles Pete you're weaselling: you make, and then repeat, a statement based not on any factual evidence but solely on your bigoted beliefs, and you present it as fact. That is craven dishonesty.
Care to include that statement on your website too?
And on the subject of your despicable website the publishing of material presuming the guilt of someone who has been accused but not convicted of any offence might in some jurisdictions be considered prejudicial to a fair trial and contempt of court. And publishing the accused's home address and a photograph of their house might be considered incitement to vigilante action.
I think that speaks to your respect for the law.
It's hard to credit accusations against Waldorf people when they come from someone ethically bankrupt.

The Waldorf Review Sure, I'll tack on your comment. No worries. I'll reply to it too. Guilt doesn't require waiting for a conviction. When somebody admits he has done something, but the law hasn't convicted him, it doesn't undo what happened. But hey, good job of standing by and supporting the plight of the pedophiles and child pornographers. As you have admitted, you have no problem turning the other cheek for problematic teachers - even when other parents don't.

I love how John is using the "innocent until proven guilty" defense against pedophiles who have themselves admitted their guilt - and yet suggests I'm the one who is "ethically bankrupt".