I've devoted far too much of my adult life to my three kids, having been a full-time mum and sent the older two to a Steiner School. I bought into the whole Steiner philosophy and gave an awful lot of my life to the school, helping other families with childcare etc etc.
My younger son's class once he left kindergarten was a bit of a disaster and, although he was not unhappy, he was learning nothing other than how to mess about with his mates. We moved him in September, at age 7, having spent the summer helping him catch up with the academics. All seemed to be going well unti I was called to see his teacher and headteacher and told that he'd been using some rather shocking sexual language in the presence of girls in his class. I had never heard anything like this from him, but immediately knew where it was from. A boy in his class at the old school had been reported to social services due to concerns that he'd been exposed to pornography. The school totally mishandled it and in the end it was the girl to whom the things had been said who left the school and the matter was brushed under the carpet. I left my son in that class for a whole year and that's what I am now so mad with myself about because continued exposure to this boy has really affected his innocence and the ironic thing is, I wanted a Steiner education for the children so that they could have more of a childhood. I feel depressed and ashamed and I'm sure parents at the new school will be talking about us and pointing the finger at us. I just can't put it out of my mind.