Hi all,
I'm a Christian father of two, and it's time to start thinking about schools. Mum doesn't consider herself "Christian" as such, although she believes in, loves and prays to Jesus (don't ask! lol)
Obviously I'm keen for the kids to be in an environment which doesn't stifle the Gospel. I don't think that Christian schools necessarily bear fruit, in that they often put kids off the faith more than nurture it. Obviously some are great on the other hand. But for that reason I don't think it has to be a pre-requisite that our choice is a religious school.
However, Mum is v keen on the Steiner Waldorf philosophy on education, and we are considering a Steiner school amongst other options. I have talked to some Steiner teachers a bit about spiritual concerns, and they assure me the institution is not overtly pagan. Although to me, it just feels as if it is a bit, in a sense. I know that Rudolph Steiner himself got "revelation" from spirit beings, and I've never been reassured that those spirits were angels who glorified Christ. So I've always been dubious. But I realize that the modern day Steiner Schools are a long way removed from those days, and don't teach anything of the sort. They just encourage consideration of something "greater than ourselves," and gratitude towards a generic "provider." So it all seems quite open-ended and multi-cultural. (ie there's room for Christian families for sure.) And the system certainly does seem to turn out nice kids.
I believe in disciplining children. But some of the "behaviourist" philosophy on eductation we see in the mainstream education system doesn't seem quite right to me; at least for some children. Kinda like Paul says in Romans 5:20 about the Law increasing sin.
I guess my main concern though, is about putting my kids in a community of people that may have a general tendency to be suspicious of Christianity.
Anyway, I guess I'm just looking for Christian parent advice from people who know a lot about Steiner Schools. I'm sure there'll be a wide variety of opinions on the matter. But I'm not really looking for people's opinions on how it sounds from what I've said about it, if you know what I mean.
Many thanks in advance.
Bless.
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Seeking Christian advice on Steiner Schools
41 replies
DaddyAbe · 09/02/2014 09:26
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