Steiner Schools

[corelegacyfitness]

What are your thoughts on Stenier Educations?

I think the reason Steiner philosophy can work well with sen is that he wasn't wrong about everything. A lot of the waldorf approach as seen on blogs and in books (not sure how much if this has evolved and how much was Steiner) is about practical sensory work, 'rhythm' (i.e predictable, gentle routine) and exercises that wouldn't be out of place in mainstream occupational therapy.

For comparison Baden Powell had some ideas that would be thought very odd now but the concept of scouting and guiding is still going strong. However, although the modern day movement shares many of Baden powell's original ideas they don't exactly use "how girls can help to build up the empire" as a bible any more.

On the other hand some waldorf adherents seem firmly stuck in the early 20th century.

The SEN school I look at for ds was part of the Ruskin Mill Trust and I didn't witness any of the woo stuff. It was sold as a craft based education and they also do massage, aromatherapy, lots of visits out to cinema and ice skating etc. They also provided the usual salt and ot therapies. Religion wasn't even mentioned. Maybe every school is different or maybe I had a lucky escape

The Camphill school I was thinking about is actually the original one. It follows a Germanic christian liturgical year but definitely and openly mentions its anthroposophical approach. It is also hmi (scottish ofsted) outstanding and NAS accredited.

Success with ASD will depend on the particular circumstances. We have had some great successes but for some children it is not the right place or not the right teacher. So much, as with every school, depends on the individual teacher. This can be more so in Steiner schools where teachers have a lot more scope around how they teach. It is the reason why the interpretation of what Steiner education looks like in practice can be different depending on where you are. One teacher with have one interpretation and another will take a different approach and/or be more or less experienced. This is something we and other schools with managers are trying to tackle - to ensure a set of principles and standards which are clear and delivered by all teachers. But it is hard to do that and not crush individual creativity also very important in Steiner schools. The opposite is what the mainstream does with the national curriculum and key stage exams. To reduce teachers' scope in how they teach in order to try to control what and how children are taught to create minimum standards. The inevitable cost is a loss in creativity and the opportunity to meet individual need.

It has to be reasonable that schools use Steiner trained teachers. They are teaching Steiner education afterall! We have some teachers who have both state and Steiner training. We prefer to employ assistants doing Steiner training at least or who intend to do it as we have limited opportunities and need to be growing our teachers of tomorrow.

It is not because teachers at Steiner schools are 'teaching Steiner education' that is has to be reasonable to only use Steiner trained teachers.

It is because Steiner teachers are expected to take their own spiritual journey into Anthroposophy and be fully committed to their role as karmic facilitators, midwives to gradual incarnation from the spirit world the children are leaving and into the physical world. The role of the Steiner teacher is primarily one of spiritual facilitator. Teachers are required to suspend disbelief, to override everything they may have previously learned of science (and reality) and accept a parallel universe consisting of guardian angels, gnomes, elves, the lost world of Atlantis, post Atlantean epochs, Ahriman, karma, incarnation, 'temperaments' phlegmatic, melancholic, sanguine and choleric as a means of categorising children and informing decisions about pedagogy, past lives, and a host of other elements of Anthrosophy and Theosophy.

As for creativity, can you tell us your understanding of the term 'college of teachers', and comment on what is meant by 'professional development'?
Could you comment on this statement from the Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship site wrt teaching and creativity:
"In a Steiner school what is taught and how it is taught is based on Steiner’s pedagogical philosophy. Steiner teacher training courses cover the method, curriculum and underlying philosophy, and this highlights the need for the teacher to take account of the spiritual essence of the child in the learning process.

The teaching of all stages of learning is based on this understanding of the child. The pedagogical philosophy also defines the sequential stages of the curriculum and its relationship to the physical, intellectual and cognitive development of the child. It also defines the emphasis that the teaching method gives to rhythm and continuity and the integrating and contextualising the subject matter.

Lessons are delivered artistically as means of fully engaging the imagination of pupils in the learning process, regardless of the subject, whether it be mechanics or the binary system; the life of Napoleon, or meteorology. To teach artistically, therefore, is about being professional and committed, just as much as it is about being imaginative, responsive and providing a moral presence

The human relationship in learning is also seen as crucial to effective engagement and the teacher introduces the majority of the learning material through the narrative form – story, characterisation and concrete imagination. The narrative approach is a method that requires listening. Pupils recount the material the next day, which develops memory and speech. Only after this listening and recalling is the account then written down.

At all times the teacher expects to work with the curriculum, pedagogy, assessment activity and school organisation as interconnected in both a qualitative and practical sense

Becoming a teacher in a Steiner school is not for the faint-hearted, nor is it for a person who might be tempted by the prospect of an ordinary job, or an easy ride. On the other hand, if you are attracted by the idea and prospect of working in ways where individual initiative, creativity and commitment can be garnered into the working of a purposeful team dedicated to the care, learning and well being of the whole child, then this might be for you."
[end of quote]

Maybe you could also comment on the definition of teaching 'artistically' that is supplied there. It is interesting that words that have a commonly accepted meaning in the English language seem to have a different meaning when used in the Steiner world.

Wrt Camphill communities, Anthroposophy rules there too, and the central belief in incarnation is their raison d'etre. Camphill has many flaws, notably the place and even person-specific dependency of its operations residents are often acclimated to the place, to the routines, to the expectations of behaviour within the community and to the seasonal cycles there rather than being prepared to cope with the randomness of the outside world. Long term residents are socialised within a particular context, or 'institutionalised', rather than enabled to function in unpredictable real life, and sometimes behavioural 'norms' are only possible under the care of or in the presence of a particular staff member. For those with behavioural or socio-emotional issues, 'social skills' and 'social success' tend to be defined as ability to conform to Camphill norms often in a way that is quite superficial, with underlying issues not touched upon. What happens when the crutches are removed the candles and the social rituals and the constant busyness of activity and routine, and the constant scrutiny by staff and other residents alike?

Mathanxiety, I am very curious about how you know so much about Steiner education? You say that in the past you applied to be a TA in a Steiner school, so you must have liked something about their ethos at that point.

I am asking because I have virtually never seen anyone on any thread write in such depth, with so much revulsion, about anything.

It was ShootPeppaPig who asked about a TA position.

My interest in Steiner was piqued by an experience one of my DDs had with a watercolour class taught by a Steiner teacher in a local hall. You wouldn't think a child of three would be able to get watercolour painting 'wrong', but DD did, and it was a puzzle to the teacher, and in turn the whole business was a puzzle to me. The teacher communicated her puzzlement to me, but not what it was that puzzled her about DD's artistic efforts, though she did make some remarks about DD's appearance and personality in the same context.

The same teacher badgered me quite a bit to allow DD to participate in a Maypole-Beltane event at a local church. She was very hard to say no to but we didn't go anyway. Feeling a lot of disquiet, I investigated, and being very curious I have kept on at it. There is a lot of information out there, some of it supplied unwittingly by Waldorf /Steiner sources. Steiner sources tend to supply more smoke and mirrors than actual information. Luckily for my research purposes I read German, but there is a Swedish debate on Steiner ed that is out of my reach.

Steiner also tends to attempt to stifle online critics, including attempts here on Mumsnet to close down discussion and the posting of opinions and facts that contradict the Steiner party line. Many Steiner threads have been pulled. Yet information is available, if one is prepared to dig and to examine statements by Steiner authorities with a fine tooth comb, and the understanding that words used in Steiner material have a different meaning from the usual English language meaning, e.g. 'artistic' means 'ritualistic' or associated with ritual or with a purpose related to esoteric knowledge and Anthroposophy.

Years after the art thing, a neighbour sent her child to a Steiner school and I experienced the same friendly and persistent invitations to various Steiner events. Also, lots of invitations to come and visit the school and see whether it would be a good place for my youngest DD (not the one who had got art wrong at age three). I also had many conversations with her about her child's school, the approach of the teachers, the many elements that she loved as compared with what was available in local mainstream schools that were actually fine schools. Then the Steiner school moved to another location that was hard to get to, and she and her H decided to put their DD in a local Montessori school instead. The DD lasted two weeks, couldn't cope with the structure, couldn't deal with the academic approach. She had hour-long meltdowns when she came home in the afternoon.

So they decided to put up with the trek and go back with their tails between their legs to the Steiner school. I say with their tails between their legs because the news that they were leaving Steiner had been greeted with much cats' bum mouth by the school community. Once back, she and to a lesser extent her H (a staunch atheist whose raised eyebrows I admired even though I myself am not an atheist) rededicated themselves to Steiner education, took courses, and got into the whole thing so much that they decided to move to a small town, quite hippie-esque, where there is a large Steiner community centred around the school. She shared much of the reading material and insights from the courses with me. This is how I finally understood where my older DD had gone wrong in her wet on wet watercolours. I was able to contrast DD2's efforts with my neighbour's DD's.

From the Teachers' Handbook again:
"Appendix C

The “Seven Element Picture”
The interpretation of children’s artistic work for therapeutic purposes requires specific training.

The elements themselves can give useful pointers to what is working within the child with regard to the qualities indicated. But on no account should these indications be treated in the manner of pseudo-Freudian determinators of inner state, any more than when a child who goes through a period of using large quantities of paint should have to bear the label of being identified authoritatively as a “dark soul”!

The seven elements the children may be asked to use in composing a picture are:

Sun Hill Path Water Snake Tree Bird

Children may add other features, but these seven must appear. The interpretative indications are as follows:

Sun – may be taken as a picture of the connection with the spiritual. Consider whether the sun is drawn large or small, whether clouds cover it and the quality of the colour and the luminosity.
Hill – may give an indication of the child’s sense of (mainly unconscious) goals.
Are they barren and uninviting, or do they draw the observer towards them?
Are they distinct or partly veiled?
Path – may indicate a sense of the quality of the route towards the ‘goal’.
Water – may give a picture of unconscious qualities. Consider how much of the picture this takes up and the quality of it’s appearance.
Snake – may indicate basal or ‘animal’ energy, suggesting the way in which the unconscious (water) qualities are embodied.
Tree – may indicate the self’s picture of itself (think of the world tree of Norse mythology). Consider it’s uprightness or otherwise, the way it relates to the rest of the picture, whether it’s covered in leaves or wintry etc.
Bird – may indicate something of the sense of the quality of freedom"

Poor DD2 had something wrong with her soul despite her promising blue-eyed Nordic looks.

That is all very interesting mathanxiety. I don't have enough time to read everything properly right now, but will come back later.

Maths, whilst I appreciate you have very strong feelings based on a short course , second hand information from a friend and an awful lot of reading. Have you actually ever spent any time at a Steiner school? You are of course entitled to your opinion as am I however there are two sides to everything and you don't appear to have done any research on positive experiences of a Steiner education at all.
I do not have a positive view of the local comp or for the most part the attitude and behaviour of the children I know who go there but I still went and viewed, talked to staff both there and at local indies before I made the decision that Steiner was the best fit for my child. Five years down the line I am even more sure I made the right decision.

I'm a bit miffed that the pro-Steiner posters on this thread have completely ignored my first-hand experiences which completely back up everything mathanxiety has said

Mathanxiety the idea that a 3 year old would be considered to have got a painting 'wrong' is the exact opposite of how we at Greenwich and I imagine most schools operate. It bears no relation to how the education is delivered in my experience. I am wondering whether that person doing painting in a church hall was really a trained or experienced in Steiner teacher.

The Steiner world is large and its ethos is to welcome all. One does come across very different interpretations. And you do come across a range of people with varying needs and vulnerabilities. What is important if you choose Steiner education to to check out your school and teachers through talking to them and other parents and how they work/interpret/apply Steiner education and see if their approach accords with how you want your child to be educated. It is not for everyone. It is a choice.

I think most teachers will not have read a lot of what you have researched about Steiner's writings on anthroposophy. Certainly in my school they will not. They do not have the time. The time is spent teaching and meeting the needs of the children but drawing on the essential elements. We are about teaching children not being a centre for anthroposophical practice. Also Steiner said specifically not to treat him as a guru. Many do, I acknowledge, but many do not and instead simply take his ideas and develop them to help create a path that works now in today's world. That is what we are seeking to do. It creates a dynamic approach and living education system.

'Artistic' teaching in our school means using art in all areas of the curriculum and in bringing creativity into the classroom in order to engage the children in their learning - to give them an excitement - 'a wow ' about the world. The meanings you are ascribing are certainly not there with us. Maybe if you have teachers who are deeply anthroposophical and anthroposophist a first you will encounter some of the approaches you describe which is why I advise look at each school.

We are concerned in protecting the inner life of the child, their spirituality but in a non-denominational way which is why we have families in our school from many different religious cultures and none.

Not read all the thread but interested in math anxiety's comments on bullying. I attended the preschool group of our local Steiner school and my son was deliberately attacked by another child on several occasions ( stamped on, head smacked onto hard wooden floor, rammed into repeatedly with bike). Other children then started to copy the bully in attacking my son. The mother of the bully did not address it. The group leader just smiled and said children are like that. I know of two other parents who also removed their children from this group after bullying which wasn't addressed by parents or the group leader.

I went to a Steiner school as a child. My mother was anti vaccination as you needed to have things like measles for 'spiritual development' she believed that Sen was a 'punishment' for bad behaviour in a previous life - I.e. Karma! The teachers were all really fucked up as was the whole setup husband and wife team teaching their own child's class, that child was one of the class bullies etc.

Funnily enough, I vaccinated my children. I Absofuckinglutely do not believe that ds1's asd has anything to do with fucking karma and I am NC with my parents.

I am also still affected by the years of bulling I experienced there and very angry about their apparent complete inability to do anything about it, as well as the fact that my parents didn't simply remove me from the school. I was there, and bullied terribly, for 8 years.

Siri I can assure that my 4 year old was repeatedly told by a trained and experienced Steiner teacher that he was doing his stupid wet on wet paintings (on the ridiculous paper with rounded corners) wrong. We'd been sold the idea of a child-centred, creative education but we quickly realised it was anything but..,

"what you describe does not reflect our school in Greenwich. I invite you to visit simply in order to show you this"

In my experience, the problem with visiting a Steiner school was that you get lots of smiles and singsong-voiced assurances, but they are just not honest about the underlying principles of their education system.

I was told during my visit that the children start the day "with poems" and only found out later that they only say one "poem" which is in fact a prayer that talks about the spirit of God and the spirit that lives in me (in reference to reincarnation).

I was told that children are "allowed to learn at their own pace" and only found out later that they are not taught to read even if they want to learn until about the age of 7 when adult teeth start coming in, because Rudolph Steiner said that is when reincarnation is complete.

I was told that electronic devices are discouraged, which I thought was great. I only learned later that children are not supposed to watch TV at all or touch a computer, because Rudolph Steiner said that a devil called Ahriman speaks through the screen.

I was told that the children dance and express themselves through motion, and only later found out that children are supposed to "link" to the "spirit world" through this particular dance that they call Eurythmy.

I can go on but you get the idea. At least when you visit a Catholic school, there is no pretence that there is no Christian influence in the school.

By the way, Steiner schools are in French government's list of cults.

Here is the French government's June 1999 report on cults ('sects' in French).

Scroll down to:

3.- Les établissements contrôlés
Trois mouvements sectaires importants, l'Anthroposophie, la Scientologie et le Mouvement raëlien, se sont attachés à créer ou à prendre le contrôle d'établissements d'enseignement privés hors contrat, du primaire et du secondaire. Là encore, au-delà du prosélytisme, les enjeux financiers ne sont pas à négliger.

On compte en France une trentaine d'écoles se réclamant de la pédagogie de Rudolf Steiner, fondateur et inspirateur de l'Anthroposophie qui se veut l'héritière de sa doctrine.

S'il est clair que toutes ces écoles ne revêtent pas un caractère sectaire, plusieurs mériteraient cependant une investigation approfondie. La Commission a, en effet, eu connaissance de dérives. Les méthodes pédagogiques particulières à certaines écoles ont été critiquées notamment par l'Inspection de l'Education nationale. Ainsi, les apprentissages du langage structuré, de l'écrit et du calcul ne seraient pas engagés avant l'âge de 7 ans. En outre, les enfants inadaptés à la méthode Steiner seraient soumis à des sévices et beaucoup ne seraient pas à jour de leurs vaccinations.

Alors que les tarifs de la scolarité affichés peuvent être considérés, pour certaines familles, abordables (entre 14.000 et 18.000 francs par an), l'Inspection de l'Education nationale a repéré des établissements où les tarifs pratiqués étaient si élevés que des parents d'élèves, afin de pouvoir les honorer, s'étaient trouvés contraints de travailler pour l'Anthroposophie.

And a bit further down:

L'Anthroposophie, déjà évoquée à travers les écoles Steiner, exerce, parallèlement à la pédagogie, d'importantes activités thérapeutiques.

Elle s'appuie, d'une part, sur un important réseau de praticiens, fédérés dans l'Association médicale anthroposophique de France (AMAF), d'autre part, sur plusieurs centres thérapeutiques qui accueillent notamment de jeunes handicapés, enfin sur les laboratoires Weleda, qui emploient environ 180 personnes à la fabrication de produits cosmétiques et diététiques mais aussi de préparations médicamenteuses.

Officiellement, la médecine anthroposophique n'implique pas l'abandon de la médecine traditionnelle. On cite cependant des cas de patients, atteints de leucémie, de troubles neuroleptiques ou de cancer du sein, dont on avait arrêté le traitement médical pour les soigner exclusivement avec des poudres ayant subi des " manipulations spirituelles ", des massages, des tisanes et... le port de maillot de corps en soie (susceptible de guérir le cancer).

I can only speak about the school I know and what we have been trying to achieve at Greenwich. I can't speak for other schools and I can't say we are perfect. But I came to this as a parent and a lawyer who represented often traumatised children not properly protected by the state. I was drawn to it because of its gentleness, non-judgmental approach and understanding of children. I am sorry for those who seemed to gave had a different experience. I am not a Steiner teacher or anthroposophist but together with other parents and teachers have developed the school. I have no axe to grind. When Steiner education is delivered well it offers a real alternative to an education system that has become extremely pressured for children and one dimensional as it focuses primarily on exam taking. Steiner offers an unpressured, artistic and I find, therapeutic approach. There if you want that. I like the way I see teachers dedicated to enabling all the children to develop as much socially and emotionally as academically.

Bullying/negative behaviour is an issue in all schools of whatever kind and it should never, ever be left. It is a fact of life that children can hurt and be mean to each other. At our school discussing the social life of the children and working out how best to support them is given a great deal of consideration and understanding (and there is no mention of karma). I think this is something special. I would say to everyone, whatever school their children attend, mainstream or Steiner that they ask for the anti-bullying policy and ask the school to show how they are following it. The same with SEN. The school will have a policy. Hold the school to it. Bullying, failure to deal with SEN happens in all types of schools. Tackling both are obviously very important.

And the last obvious point is that no school of whatever kind is perfect.

Mrs Banana just seen your question about the inspection. Ofsted sub-contract inspections of Steiner Schools to the Schools Inspection Service (SIS) - they inspect other independent schools too. All were Ofsted inspectors as well. We are inspected against the Independent Schools Rules. Usually the Steiner Fellowship also send a lay inspector. They look at non-regulatory issues to do with being a Steiner school.

OP, are you coming back?

Siri - The problem with Steiner schools that people have explained on this thread is so far beyond "no school is perfect" that I am getting the impression that you are deliberately trying to confuse the issue here.

We are aware that Waldorf Steiner schools come across as the flagships of a gentle art-based pedagogy, which is quite attractive to many parents. However, their creepy singsong voices (same in every Steiner school - why?) never breathe a word about their spiritual/religious agenda. If you visit a Catholic school, you get told all about the prayers, religious education etc. You will know what you are getting into. Not so with Steiner schools. In the four meetings I had with various teachers and management, nobody even used the words 'spiritual' or 'reincarnation'. I would have been out of there like a lightning bolt if they did.

I did notice that they had no color black and even no crayons or pens or any art with straight lines. All paintings were washy watercolor - same as in all Steiner schools worldwide. How curious, isn't it, that all these children around the world come up with such similar artwork when their creativity and individuality is encouraged?

Oh yes indeed, three year olds can get art wrong. My neighbour (whom I mentioned) explained what was wrong about DD's art to me. Not only was the teacher who taught the wet on wet watercolour class in the hall (owned by the local council and not a church) a Steiner-trained teacher, she later became one of the prime movers in a group that set up its own Steiner school, and she still teaches there. She has been a Steiner teacher since 1987.

Typically, although the class was advertised as 'Wet-on-wet watercolour an enjoyable technique for tots aged three to five', with no mention of Steiner whatsoever, it was Steiner wet on wet watercolour painting, with high quality watercolour paper with rounded edges and lovely paints and brushes, a wooden table and little wooden chairs for the children, a central, deliberately composed seasonal set-piece on the table, and the room where the class was conducted was set up very carefully to reflect Steiner environmental aspirations (little nature-related montages in a nook in the wall and on a side table) as much as the teacher could manage to put together in the half hour between the previous group's time period and the watercolour group's slot, and to the extent that the space lent itself to the placing of decor.

According to DD2, she started each session by reciting a verse that DD, being three, couldn't remember (and she was only at the class twice a week for about ten weeks). At that time I didn't know what I didn't know about Steiner and I assumed an initial verse might be something along the lines of 'I wandered lonely as a cloud..' or 'Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness..' given the nature-themed decor. My old neighbour thought it might well have been a Steiner verse, by which she meant prayer. I am still not sure what the recitation was. I do know however that the class wasn't merely 'Wet-on-wet watercolour -- an enjoyable technique for tots aged three to five'.

Children working out issues between each other is the ideal in Steiner schools -- i.e. dealing with bullying or other interpersonal/communication difficulties amongst themselves, because this is the karmic process at work. In brochures and on open days, it is dressed up as an element of honouring children's deepest needs and it is placed within a context of guidance by a teacher, but in reality the guidance can be of the most general kind and can be limited to a teacher merely leading by example and never intervening. 'Artistic' experience is also cited as one of the deepest needs, along with a connection to nature, and to song, poetry and story. Omitted from descriptions in Steiner brochures are the words of the songs and poems, such as this
MORNING VERSE FOR THE FOUR LOWER CLASSES
“The Sun* with loving light
Makes bright for me each day;
The soul with spirit power
Gives strength unto my limbs;
In sunlight shining clear
I reverence, O God,
The strength of humankind,
That thou so graciously
Hast planted in my soul,
That I with all my might
May love to work and learn.
From Thee come light and strength,
To Thee rise love and thanks...”
(* Steiner considered Jesus to be the Sun God.)

...and the fact that history is taught as 'story', focusing initially on Norse and other mythology. Children have to learn about myths and historical events (the two are not really distinguished in Steiner schools) in the right order and at the appropriate time and stage of development so that their previous incarnations that live on in their subconscious can recognise the various events and eras in which they lived, and thus incarnation can be properly facilitated.

All well and good if that is what you knowingly signed up for of course.

I came upon this interesting differentiation between Montessori and Steiner in the course of my research.
Montessori and 'Waldorf' (i.e. Steiner -- this is an American school site) are compared under the headings:
'Waldorf: Imagination and Play'
'Montessori: Independence and Work'
'Waldorf: Social Education'
'Montessori: Individually Guided'

What becomes clear after reflecting on the text of the comparison is that Steiner education is not really all that child-centred. It seeks to have the child fit in with what is in fact quite a rigid and prescriptive educational environment, while Montessori caters for the individual intellect, the individual pace of learning, the individual academic interest of each child.

'The Montessori philosophy is designed to integrate children with the world around them by presenting them with factual material. Each object in the Montessori classroom has a specific place and purpose... The children in a Montessori classroom are engaged in mental activity; the children are seen as having an absorbent mind ready to soak up knowledge like a sponge.'

It also becomes clear that something considered higher than the intellect (which is mere 'mental activity') is developed in a Steiner setting. This is is never stated openly, but rather implied both by the actual language ('The children in a Montessori classroom are engaged in mental activity') and the comparison to Steiner with accompanying tone that denigrates that focus on 'mental activity'. Nor does the Steiner school come straight out and say that what it focuses on is incarnation, or that what is taught is seen primarily as spiritual exercises as opposed to 'mental' activity. Instead it uses buzz phrases such as 'individual learning style', 'vestibular and sensory-motor systems', 'comprehension skills', and 'non-competitive'. In a section entitled 'Waldorf Teaching Methods', the buzz words are 'interdisciplinary, hands-on approach', and 'classic education'. It is not stated in this context (where it seems to me it belongs) that Steiner considered a focus on intellect to be materialistic and dead thinking.

This study in contradictory claims is from the section entitled 'Waldorf Teaching Methods':
'Waldorf education is a carefully structured system nurturing creativity within the context of intellectual competence and disciplined exploration. Waldorf teachers craft their lessons to work with every learning style; kinesthetic, auditory, and visual, thus enabling every student to shine. Our flexible program meets the needs of individual students as they meld into cooperative class groups, advancing together through expanding realms of information and accomplishment.'

'...carefully structured system' and 'flexible program' are two things that seem to me to be irreconcilable.

The statement '...creativity within the context of intellectual competence and disciplined exploration' is so convoluted that it disappears up its own rear end, followed closely by 'Our flexible program meets the needs of individual students as they meld into cooperative class groups'.

A note on language -
There exists such a thing as Steiner-speak. The word 'artistic' keeps on cropping up, and it needs to be pointed out that it doesn't mean 'relating to art'. It means spiritual and it is connected to the various rituals observed in Steiner schools. Likewise, 'imagination' is a synonym for clairvoyance and is related to the process of spiritual metamorphosis. 'Social' means becoming part of a greater whole and subsuming your own individuality into the Steiner programme so that the working of karma may be facilitated.

As for the idea that Steiner didn't want to be treated as a guru I invite Siri to peruse this paper by Christoph Wiechert, former director of the Pedagogical Section at the Goetheanum School of Spiritual Science, Dornach, Switzerland. There is no such thing as Steiner education without Steiner, and there is no Rudolph Steiner, 'educationalist', without Anthroposophy.

Wrt Steiner as guru, I am re-posting this from the Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship site wrt teaching and creativity:
"In a Steiner school what is taught and how it is taught is based on Steiner’s pedagogical philosophy. Steiner teacher training courses cover the method, curriculum and underlying philosophy, and this highlights the need for the teacher to take account of the spiritual essence of the child in the learning process.

If I have understood correctly mathsanxiety your understanding of Steiner education is based on what you have read of Steiner's and others' writings on anthroposophy and an experience of your child attending a painting course in a church hall a number of years ago plus a neighbour whose child attended a school. It seems you are unaware that a movement this large -over a thousand schools worldwide - in countries as diverse as the UK, USA, India, China and Israel/Palestine (where they teach Jewish and Palestinian children together) to name but a few, contains a wide range of differing views, interpretations and understandings. That there are those who are traditional, those who are modernisers , those who have read Steiner's writings and those who have not and, importantly, teachers who are anthroposophist and these days, those who are not. That is why I can only talk about our school where I know how things are and what we are trying to achieve and the good quality education I (and impartial school inspectors) think we provide. Parents should make their own judgement. You put your own interpretation on all the stuff you have quoted which is not based on experience or knowledge of the practice in each school and you will not hear that schools are different or capable of being discerning and do not actually take on board everything Steiner ever said or that they take time and thought to develop their teaching practice , comply with the law and seek to be good effective schools. I can no nothing about that, only point it out.

Siri - Are you trying to say that your school is called a Steiner School but in fact is NOT a Steiner School?

... because that is what it means for a Steiner School to not follow anthroposophy and for its teachers not to have even read Steiner's teachings.

I am not sure what to say - my dd is 9 and in Steiner. My ds is 7, and about to go to school (I am not UK based, so this is normal). But the Steiner school where they attend has a new first year teacher with no real teaching qualifications. She has done a few months of her Steiner training, she is a graphic artist, has done some art teaching with children for 18 months. She is early 30s, and says she has found her vocation in Steiner (though she hasn't actually attended or taught in a Steiner school). I am nervous about an untrained teacher - should I be? Our daughter does ok, she has a good and experienced teacher.