Is anyone here prepared to say that they believe in anthroposophy?

[Greensleeves]

There's been so much conjecture about it/testimony from parents etc who had negative experiences of Waldorf education, or who say that they weren't aware of anthroposophy/the esoteric spiritual side of Steiner.

What I haven't seen (apologies if I missed it!) is someone come on and say "yes, I am an anthroposophist, come and ask me questions and I will clarify how it works"

Anyone? I would be really, really, interested.

Our Mumsnet friends might be interested to know, Pete, that some anthroposophists actually think you're the reincarnation of Steiner

. . . the more open-minded of them, that is . . . . Those who take their karma seriously really should acknowledge that if Steiner reincarnated it does seem likely he would actually be a critic of the f*ed up system he founded. Even I give the guy that much credit. What exists has to be a long way removed from what Steiner intended.

Shhh... don't tell Sune...

Gosh Pete, how honoured mumsnet is then.

I've just read this , by a self proclaimed anthroposophist
"the idea that children exist as angels before they are born doesn't strike me as religious"

eeeerrrr WHAT?

Who are these people?

It's the way they tell them
from a mothering thread called waldorf jokes (quietly gets a paper bag....)

"Question: How many anthroposophists does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Answer: No one knows. Steiner never gave an indication.

Question: How many Waldorf teachers does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Answer: Seven: One to lead the gnome song, one to light a candle, one to strum the lyre, one to write a formal request, two to review the formal request, and one to lead the closing song.

Question: How many Waldorf students does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Answer: None, it isn't in the curriculum until the upper grades.

Question: How many Waldorf parents does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Answer: Two: one to ask the teacher if they are supposed to use candles instead, and one to screw it in anyway."

Not much fun there then.

Come back Raconteur!! The early parts of this thread were the closest thing to a balanced and respectful discussion on this subject that I've found on here.. I really felt we were about to gain some valuable insights into the workings of a steiner school..in the name of democracy I beg you- COME BACK!!

Tingaling, I agree. The other Steiner thread has become a long and dull rant. There's only about two people on it Raconteur people are really interested in this.
The supporters of anthroposophy on the other threads don't answer any questions.

I agree with plumandolive & tingaling.

I think the problem is that anyone in the system is made to explain the writings of Steiner and the racist quotes.

I would be more happy to talk about the here and now rather than 80 years ago.

Surely that's the problem though shirley, they use this stuff written 80 yrs ago and won't move forward?
Quite a few people have commented on how old fashioned it all is during these threads, without even taking the strange religious things into account.
Apparently the teachers are all trained with Steiner's work, and the curriculum has barely changed; I think that's why alot of people get worked up.

Yes, 80 years ago, I suppose some people thought it was OK to teach this song to children. Today, however... - this song was taught to my child's class (5th grade). This teacher is currently TEACHING WALDORF TEACHERS. Well, at least she's not teaching kids for the moment. I don't know, plumandolive, is this song worth getting worked up over? Are these the images that should be floating around in a 10 year old's mind?

It was early one morning in the month of May
Oh the wind and the rain
Two lovers went walking on a hot summer's day
A crying the dreadful wind and rain

He said to the lady "won't you marry me"
Oh the wind and the rain
"And my little wife you'll always be"
A crying the dreadful wind and rain

Then he knocked her down and he kicked her around
Oh the wind and the rain
Then he knocked her down and he kicked her around
A crying the dreadful wind and rain

He hit her in the head with a battering ram
Oh the wind and the rain
He hit her in the head with a battering ram
A crying the dreadful wind and rain

He threw her in the river to drown
Oh the wind and the rain
He threw her in the river to drown
A crying the dreadful wind and rain

He watched her as she floated down
Oh the wind and the rain
He watched her as she floated down
A crying the dreadful wind and rain

She floated on down to the miller's millstream
Oh the wind and the rain
He watched her as she floated down
A crying the dreadful wind and rain

The miller fished her out with a long fishing pole
Oh the wind and the rain
The miller fished her out with a long fishing pole
A crying the dreadful wind and rain

He made fiddle pegs of her long finger bones
Oh the wind and the rain
He made fiddle pegs of her long finger bones
A crying the dreadful wind and rain

He made a fiddle bow of her long curly hair
Oh the wind and the rain
He made a fiddle bow of her long curly hair
A crying the dreadful wind and rain

The only tune that fiddle would play was
Oh the wind and the rain
The only tune that fiddle would play was
A crying the dreadful wind and rain

Hi There,
I?m new to Mumsnet but am finding the information about these schools fascinating and feel they really need more research, I would love to interview some of you about your individual stories?
I am a final year journalism student and think this would be a perfect topic for a piece of work I am currently working on, I think it needs revealing.
Northern has already agreed to help me but unfortunately the thread where I previously posted this message to which she replied has since been deleted all of a sudden!!
I can interview you in person, on the phone or by email, whichever any of you would be most comfortable with?
It would also be fine if you wanted .o use a pseudonym.
I would love to particularly from anyone who either had to withdraw their children, whose children are still in these schools or people who went to the schools when they were little.
I think I have set up CAT so that any of you can contact me, if Northern could particularly CAT me that would be great after our last thread disappeared!
Thank you so much and I hope you can help me
Robean

You can contact me on [email protected] if you prefer

I have to say I've never known there was all this controversy about Waldorf schools! I trained as a solicitor at a large law firm in London in the late 90s and one of my fellow trainees had been to a Steiner school - she was absolutely normal, quite bohemian I guess and clearly a high achiever. Racist she wasn't. And that's the sum total of my contact with it really.

I'm an anthroposophist; I sent my daughter to a Steiner school, and it was excellent. The problem seems to be that the people who are attacking it have an aversion to spiritual knowledge, and haven't read many (if any!) of Rudolf Steiner's books and lectures. They hear bits & pieces here & there, 'no black crayons, no TV', and don't understand why. No-one explains it to them, so naturally they think it sounds insane.
I'm not interested in malice or slanging matches; but if anyone has a genuine question about an aspect of anthroposophy or Waldorf schools which they don't understand, I'm happy to answer as far as I'm able.
Cheers,
Barbara

I believe in anthroposophy like I believe in the resurrection of threads from years past.

I have just been reading the Wikipedia entry on anthroposophy and am a tad confused now - there doesn't seem to be anything very nutter-like on there, so what is going on in the schools? Is this the perversion of an interesting philosophy by over-zealous adherents to become a cult?

PeteK - that "poem" is shocking! No one should be forced to read/hear it, let alone 10yos!

Am also v.v. at the paedophile son story...

How annoying.

A resurrected thread.

cherryblossoms:

"Anthroposophy [...] evolved by drawing on other contemporaneous cultural and intellectual movements, such as eugenics ..."

Eugenics is "the study of, or belief in, the possibility of improving the qualities of the human species or a human population by such means as discouraging reproduction by persons having genetic defects or presumed to have inheritable undesirable traits (negative eugenics) or encouraging reproduction by persons presumed to have inheritable desirable traits (positive eugenics)."

In the view of anthroposophy, every human being possesses a healthy inner personality that is independent of our physical characteristics, including characteristics marking developmental or mental disability.

The Camphill movement was founded in the 1940s by the Austrian pediatrician Karl König near Aberdeen, Scotland with the establishment there of a small residential school for children with special needs. It was based on anthroposophy and Steiner's suggestions for a therapeutic education for children with such special needs, and he saw it as the the role of the school to recognize, nurture and educate this essential self of us as humans.

Anthroposophy did not evolve drawing on the contemporary cultural and intellectual movement of eugenics, but early, based on suggestions by Steiner, led to the development of therapeutic schools and homes for such children that later were viewed and treated the completely opposite way by the nazis.

Hello Londonbarbara
It would be good to see a civilised discussion about anthroposophy.
It isn't against the law not to believe in the supernatural!
Actually, I believe that many anthroposophists take on Steiner begin and end with The Philosophy of freedom, which was really written before he had formed most of the more outlandish anthro beliefs.
I don't believe a lot of what Steiner taught; I've read masses too.
I don't believe in spirit worlds existing, reincarnation or karma and I don't believe that clairvoyance is a "science".

If these central anthroposophical beliefs were presented to parents, in the information about the schools, there would be much less heartache.The schools very rarely mention anything about this. They talk about Steiner's "child development "theory- which is an anthroposophical theory, not development in the usual sense of the word, but that isn't explained.
I think one of the reasons parents in particular, get angry about the anthroposophists at their Steiner schools, is that there seems to be a concerted effort to keep Steiner's anthroposophical ideas and how they are used in the classroom, from parents.
I respect anyone to believe anything they like (strange anthroposophocical beliefs included, - the ones which are just strange, not the beliefs about incarnating into higher
lower races).
But no one, however much they think their spiritual mission is above all else, no one has the right to inflict their beliefs on children without being honest and transparent about it. And that is what the schools do.

So this thread was resurrected from when it died 7 months ago.

I don't see why people would find that annoying.

Surely it means only that a new batch of readers can access the fascinating information that we missed at the time?

I've learned some things here.

Tizian, why do you link to the same websites?
Did you write them yourself?