To wish parents realised that Steiner/Waldord Schools are based on anthroposophy?

[abacucat]

Anthroposphy is a system of belief that believes amongst other things, that people are reincarnated.
The way schools are set up and run is set by this belief system. Everything from the colour of the walls, to the curriculum, to the use of wood and no plastic.
And any schools that are listed as Steiner/Waldorf schools do follow anthroposophy.
If parents are happy with anthroposophy influencing every aspect of the school, then fine.

Alrighty then.

And how is this different from a school run on more 'mainstream' religious beliefs?

The difference is that many parents who send their children there don't realise schools are run according to these beliefs.

I would be very surprised if those parents send their children to Steiner schools weren’t aware of this, it’s hardly a secret

YANBU.

It’s all hidden behind the cute wooden toys and songs.

I think you may have to clarify anthroposophy for some though. On first glance you see the “anthro” and if you have never heard of anthroposophy before you may believe that it’s related to anthropology.

pachyderm There are plenty of parents who I am sure do not realise when the nursery teacher talks about gnomes to their children, that the teacher believes the gnomes are real.
Or that white people are believed to have reached a higher reincarnation than black people.
Or that woollen clothes are preferred because of the spiritual vibes they give off.
Schools are rarely open about what anthroposophy actually means.

I think it sounds cultlike once you really dig into it. And as you say many don't realise

Christianity: wearing linen and wool together is an abomination: s selling off daughters if they offend you; right to kill your slaves etc etc etc.

It is cult like isn’t it. If more parents knew about this they wouldn’t send their kids there

I never knew this.

Except most Christians don't actually believe everything in the bible. And if it was the kind of school that taught based on believing everything in the Bible, I think parents would want to know that before sending their kids there. And I would support them knowing that.

Ok, at first I thought you were promoting such schools.

Anyone who sends their kids to such schools without checking the philosophy is an idiot.

I knew someone who was training to be a Steiner school teacher...he was going to teach science even though he didn't have any sort of science degree and knew very little about it from what I could gather. I was also shocked when he told me Steiner school don't teach children how to read!

Check out how the reincarnation aspect impacts bullying.. ie it's your karma if you're bullied and your karma if you're the bully.

There are some really good things about it. They're outweighed by the bullying.

And while I wouldn't say it's cult-like exactly, they're not exactly integrated into wider society when it comes to reporting family abuse they're made aware of to SS..they're more likely to keep it hushed and between them. Why? Because they also behave - I don't know if they believe it - that they're superior to external institutions.

Steiner starts formal academic teaching at age 6/7. Like in Europe. They usually read pretty quickly. That is a total red herring.

abacucat Steiner May have written some dodgy things on race, but the people I know don’t believe that, see it as wrong and “of it’s time” and should stay in the past.

My main problem with Steiner places is the firm insistence that they are unique and special, and encourage creativity when the kids all have to copy the teacher, and produce nearly identical work! Mega lols!

I guess my issue is that everything schools do is based on the belief system. So parents may think it is great kids playing with wood, or that they study Norse mythology, or that they teach writing before reading. But parents don't always understand that there is a belief system driving this. Its not just because the schools think wood is a nice material or that Norse myths are interesting, etc.

It's the fact that the teachers stay with their form group throughout their school years and are supposed to form bonds with the pupils above and beyond their own parents.

A local Steiner school was closed recently (reopened and then closed again quickly too) due to serious concerns regarding safeguarding. It made me do a bit more reading about the Steiner philosophy and it's quite alarming in some respects.

dangermouse I am sure not all teachers do. But the whole theories of reincarnation are built on racism. You have to rewrite the theories to get rid of the racism. And they have not been rewritten. I am sure individual teachers think they can just get rid of the racism and keep the rest, but it is not possible.

Scrambled On a more ordinary note, I always think the teacher staying with the same children could work great if the teacher and child get on. But if there is a personality clash, it could be a disaster.

Thingsdogetbetter

That’s a peculiar way to have a dig at Christianity as virtually no Christian of any denomination adheres to these rules. Why? Because the New Testament is clear that the “law” of the Old Testament (from where these come) has been superseded.

I went to a Steiner school for ten years and was unaware of this. It’s obviously not (or wasn’t in the 90’s/ early noughties) pushed too heavily. I’m only in touch with one of the teachers now and she’s a practicing Wiccan. I don’t know if that involves reincarnation or not.

Unfortunately the excessively close teacher/pupil relationships was one of the serious reasons that the KL Steiner school was closed. It's a safeguarding nightmare.

And also, much of Christian theology holds the view that the Bible isn’t the perfect revelation of God, rather Jesus is... and the Hebrew “laws” are more of an ancient nation trying to become more godlike rather than God’s perfect revelation... but this thread isn’t about Christianity so I’ll bow out.

heffalumps I know some schools end up recruiting teachers that are not Steiner trained because of a shortage. These teachers may not understand the reasons behind why the school runs how it does. But schools prefer to have Steiner trained teachers.