Human Rights Mediation with the Titirangi Rudolf Steiner School
Update (23-5-2014)
Through investigations conducted on the 28th of February 2014 as a result of proceedings between us and a number of different parties in relation to defamation, we have discovered that many of the links contained herein are to posts that had been taken down around that time.
We have now completed our Human Rights initiative regarding unchecked bullying in the Titirangi Rudolf Steiner School. The result shows that not only did the school fail to follow its own behaviour policy and expelled bullied children, but that they’ve spent the last three and a half years trying to cover that up.
Getting this result wasn’t easy and resulted in a lot of backlash, smearing, and hatred. Here are some of the sneering angry attacks that we’ve sustained during this process:
“I admire the principal of that NZ steiner school” [link]
“the school certainly has nothing to be ashamed of. In the circumstances, it seems they have handled it quite elegantly.” [link]
“I support the NZ Steiner school. Unequivocally.” [link]
“Making a charge of ‘human rights abuse’ appears to me a ridiculous move that makes a mockery of human rights and real abuses.” [link]
“It makes me very angry that people would abuse a system intended to address ACTUAL human rights abuses in this fashion.” [link]
“Possibly there are sanctions or penalties for bringing a case that is later dismissed as frivolous.” [link]
“it is pretty obvious to me who the real bullies are and I take the story of what their kids supposedly went through with a large pinch of salt.” [link]
“I predict that the outcome of the human rights investigation will be positive for the Steiner school.” [link]
“I hope they fail the mediation.” [link]
“This ‘human rights’ institution might be a court of fools, ready to make a mockery out of human rights. Or it might already (and wisely) have tossed the couple out long ago” [link]
It’s of little surprise really: Steiner has an image of being a kinder, gentler alternative education, so the idea that one such school would choose to expel targets of bullying rather than tackle the bullying itself would provoke strong reactions from its supporters.
Except that none of the above quotes came from people who support this education movement. They all came from critics of Steiner, and that makes the whole matter even more worrying.
But hoping we would fail is one thing, trying to sabotage the mediation is something else altogether. We'll most likely never know if this group attempted to privately contact the school or even the Human Rights Commission, but what we have to work with is what they did in the open: the article called "Angelic Disharmony" is filled with vicious attacks on us by the most vocal and prominent Steiner critics. In the body of that article is a direct link to the school's website, meaning that if someone clicked on the link, that article's URL would pop up in the school's website analytics. The more people clicked on it, the higher up on the list that URL would appear. The intention was obvious: if the school checked its analytics, they would see all the Steiner critics rallying against us, and the school would then hopefully use that vilification as ammunition against us in mediation.
Why would people supposedly against a form of education rally behind them and hope the first Human Rights mediation with a Steiner school in history fails? A lot of the reasons have been documented in this site and you can read about them here, and elsewhere, like here.
But we’re pleased to announce that our mediation has finally concluded and you can read about it by visiting this site.
