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.

That's all fair enough. I'd never send my child somewhere that wasn't safe, or was going to fill him with odd ideas - I'm a staunch atheist and have no time for religious crap.

I didn't agree with the way the "curriculum" was delivered and as I've said, didn't choose to send my own child there past Kindergarten. However, some of the claims in this thread aren't correct and I'm keen to know why the OP is sooo certain they are.

I agree in that some of the ideas are great - play-based imaginative learning, lots of outdoor play, natural resources, making lunch together etc are lovely and very beneficial. We need more of this in mainstream schools.

trancepants Is the school listed on the Steiner/Waldorf website as a Steiner school? All schools listed there have to meet certain criteria to be there and all follow anthroposophy.

It's not, no. I think DS's school is more like what some posters are describing as the type of school they'd love. It's "Steiner-inspired" in that it's mainly outdoors, seasonal, practical learning over rote learning and there is more focus on art and music. No homework, no tests, no stress. But there is is genuine focus on the children as individuals and they drive an awful lot of their own learning.

@Dizzywizz the idea of Montessori is that children will follow a development path and by providing the right environment, teachers can encourage that development.

It isn’t prescriptive in the sense that all children follow the same path - that is why it’s child led.

Eg my son and daughter both went to Montessori preschool. One read and wrote by the time they were 4, the other didn’t. The one who didn’t was not “made” or “forced” to read - the Montessori teacher’s observed what they did and how they played and showed them how to use the toys etc in the best way for them which encourages development. Eg large arm movements leading to smaller ones leading to finger movements = the beginnings of writing.

Where does the racism come in? I have an acquaintance whose mixed race autistic children go to a Steiner school.! I wonder if she's fully aware of the philosophy....she must be, surely!

The difference between Montessori and Steiner is like the difference between astronomy and astrology. Both are to do with celestial objects, and both can be seen as prescriptive, but there is a fundamental difference.

I wonder if she's fully aware of the philosophy....she must be, surely!
I think there is no racism in the everyday understanding of the word (as in hate / bullying), but I think that a "progressive" Steiner teacher is supposed to help him to get on a spiritual track to reincarnate into a "whiter" person.
A regressive Steiner teacher might also treat them generally as less able, but then they are sadly not immune from the same attitude in a mainstream school too, just the justification would be different.

However, some of the claims in this thread aren't correct and I'm keen to know why the OP is sooo certain they are.

If you say which claims you think are incorrect then perhaps the OP can address them.

My youngest son goes to a progressive, creative state school (so they do exist). It is struggling a bit at the moment to balance the educational philosophy with measurements used to recognise ‘good’ education (SATS, GCSE’s). And weirdly the dept of education seems to love the approach although it is never (imo) going to churn out kids who do well in sats style exams. I am interested to see how that all pans out. I just hope they manage to do enough to tick the tick boxes because the education they offer there is good imo. (And my son who is flourishing there in secondary would have struggled in a boot camp style school).

My eldest is severely autistic (non-verbal as an adult). When he was tiny we went to the Greenwich Steiner school parent and pre-school group - they were lovely. At the time he was being booted out of mainstream activities and they were so kind and welcoming and very inclusive. He loved going and enjoyed the rhythm of the morning. They were very accommodating.

We had a few chats about Steiner and their attitude was that his views were of his time. Steiner was actually the one of the first people to bother to even try and educate those with disabilities so although his reincarnation stuff is clearly batshit he saw a value in those with disabilities that others of that time didn’t.

And the UK education system was not enlightened. People like my son had no legal right to education until the 1980s (no, that is not a typo).

What I have said is not incorrect. If the poster who alleged that had actually bothered to say which bits she thought were incorrect, I would have posted links to show they were true.

Also note that some Steiner school have teachers who have not been Steiner trained. Schools prefer all teachers to be Steiner trained, but can have difficulty recruiting enough teachers. If teachers are not Steiner trained, they often don't fully understand the philosophy. So yes they may say something is not true, when the Steiner trained teachers believe something very different.

I think there is no racism in the everyday understanding of the word (as in hate / bullying), but I think that a "progressive" Steiner teacher is supposed to help him to get on a spiritual track to reincarnate into a "whiter" person.
This is racism. Yes I think it is unlikely a teacher will call a child names such as ni**er. But if you don't understand that thinking reincarnating to a whiter person is what you are striving for, is a racist belief, then I am not confident that you would recognise other racist beliefs or actions.

@silvercuckoo so Montessori is OK?

If you say which claims you think are incorrect then perhaps the OP can address them

I'd like to know what the OP's qualifications and experiences in the subject are, that would give them the knowledge to address them, before outlining them.

@silvercuckoo astronomy/astrology I love that explanation! I'm stealing that one

Whydontyou Play the ball, not the woman.

I'm assuming that because you won't answer, you have no experience or qualifications in the subject matter whatsoever, therefore your opinion is invalid.

But if you don't understand that thinking reincarnating to a whiter person is what you are striving for, is a racist belief, then I am not confident that you would recognise other racist beliefs or actions.
Well, yes, because I am clearly an idiot and don't understand this.
What I wrote that parents of non-white children in Steiner schools may have no idea about this, because there is no evidence of this on surface and they probably have no idea why their child is, for example, being given certain eurythmy routines to practice (spoiler: to cleanse the karma).
It is not more batshit than the rest of it though.

silver Apologies, I misunderstood you Yes I am sure parents of black children attending Steiner schools and most parents of white children have no idea.

@littlecloudling
Well, define "OK"
It is an approach developed based on a particular scientific model of human development. Many ideas are mainstream now (unstructured play, free flow, sensory toys).
It needs to be noted though that the model was based on observations of a very small cohort of children who all shared similar characteristics (Italian, poor families, Catholic church schools etc) more than 100 years ago by a single observer (who I admire and totally recognise as a visionary and a world-changer), who at the same time might have personal sensitivities about the topic, as her own child has been taken away at birth and brought up by a foster family.
I am also naturally suspicious of any discipline that does not evolve alongside with society and technology. A good indication is that it is usually named after the founder.
It does absolutely not have any dark and occult undertones of Steiner though.

I'd like to know what the OP's qualifications and experiences in the subject are, that would give them the knowledge to address them, before outlining them.

So if the OP has no qualifications you're not going to explain what parts are incorrect? Surely if some parts are incorrect it's best to explain why the OP was wrong, so other people can get a true and accurate picture of Steiner schools?

YANBU

I know quite a few parents who send their children to the same Steiner school. None are openly aware of anthroposophy links. None who have recently chosen the school are aware at all.

I raised the links in a local parenting group, one where non-mainstream education options are popular, when a parent was specifically asking about the Steiner school. I was shouted down.

So, in my local experience, most parents don't have a clue. They choose the Steiner school because they don't want a mainstream school, they want small class sizes and they mistakenly believe it's similar to Scandinavian models (based on when children learn to read in a Steiner school). Those that are heavily involved enough to know more, don't like it when others raise anthroposophy as an issue.