On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Rudolf Steiner, this website is being launched as an act of faith to ask the question, “Is Steiner education putting children at risk?”

We first want to address ourselves to people working within the Steiner/Waldorf movement who are able to maintain a grasp of basic realities such as:

     -      Many of the ideas of Rudolf Steiner aren’t really that revolutionary anymore and other people have embraced many parts of them without knowing anything about him at all;


     -      Following on from this, those extremely cultish elements in the movement who insist on a total lack of transparency and accountability, are giving many of those benign ideas a really bad press because of the way that they get lumped in with bad behaviour from Anthroposophists.  We wish to encourage and support those who feel, as we do, that these zealots are putting, not only children, but also in fact the future of Steiner/Waldorf education at risk;


     -      People who run schools and make themselves “responsible” for children should put that responsibility first, in front of dogma, secretive pseudo spiritual beliefs, or their own egos;


     -      People who run schools shouldn’t really be dogmatic or pseudo spiritual;


     -      People who run schools should be fully accountable;


     -      People who run schools should be properly trained teachers;


     -      People who run schools should be able to own up when they make mistakes and take stringent action to put them right;


     -      It is not acceptable to have collateral damage of a whole educational system in the form of damaged children;


     -      It is not acceptable, for any institution but especially a school, to view valid criticism as an attack;


     -      It is not acceptable to use people’s dissatisfaction with or worry about state schools as a weapon to make them toe the line in Steiner Schools.

People who manage Steiner Education and who can keep that perspective and still manage to create an educational environment where children’s wellbeing and learning will be optimised, have so much to celebrate.  We invite them to do so here.

Many of the ideas of Rudolf Steiner have relevance for children today, in a world where arts have been so cut in many schools that children’s own creativity isn’t being encouraged at all.  

Is the reason that Steiner Schools are so separate really just because they are so much better and more artistic than other schools?  Or is there more to it?

It is entirely possible that Steiner/Waldorf education would be put to better use by trying to become an intrinsic part of State education, bringing awareness of spirit into the classrooms through the use of artistic methods of teaching.

But isn’t it incredibly important to keep Steiner/Waldorf education swathed in Anthroposophy and tightly controlled by the chosen ones?

Well here’s what Rudolf himself said about that.....

“Moreover, I should like to point out to you that the real aim and object of our education is not to found as many schools as possible... but our education concerns itself with the methods of teaching, and is essentially a new way and art of education, so every teacher can bring it into their work, in whatever kind of school he/she happens to be... and I have declared that the methods can be introduced into every situation where someone has the goodwill to do it.”

Rudolf Steiner, Roots of Education p30

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNIVERSARY, RUDOLF.