Anthroposophy and Waldorf Education as Pathways of Growth
Rudolf Steiner was a Freedom Thinker and a visionary responsible for the development of Anthroposophy and Waldorf Education. He brought forth the spiritual foundations of anthroposophy and he created a worldwide model of education called Waldorf Schools. Anthroposphy developed out of theosophy and is the spiritual foundation for all of his explorations and contributions in various fields. He introduced visionary ideas to many areas from education, architecture (The Goetheneum), naturopathic medicine, biodynamic agriculture...and presented an unbelievable number of public lectures. Steiner said: "The materialistic view of the world and of the human being which underlies modern life is blind (asleep).. to the invisible, spiritual world which creates, nurtures, permeates and surrounds the visible world." We are also blind (asleep) to the spiritual dimension of the human being. This has had disastrous consequences which have led to "much disorder and suffering in our modern age." (Kotzsch, Waldorf Education: Schooling the head, hands and heart. 1991, p.1) His motto of a social ethic was:
The healthy social life is found when the mirror of each human soul the whole community finds its reflection and when in the community the virtue of each one is living (Steiner, Verses and Meditations, p.117) Steiner's Schools (Waldorf) helped teachers progress their own consciousness through a deepening spiritual life (studying anthroposophy), which helped them in understanding education as a living process of understanding life's divine truth. In that regard, Waldorf Education, was and still is a rich, very soul nurturing kind of education. It savors the beauty of nature and harnesses the power of storytelling, color, music, movement, painting and handwork, presented and experienced with such beauty, purpose and consciousness. Teachers strive to teach from the context of the whole to help give children the greater context and meaning of their education. It's a much broader perspective than what conventional educators take. From Steiner's point of view, "the task of education, conceived in the spiritual sense, is to bring the Soul-Spirit into harmony with the Life-Body" (Richard, Wholeness in Living and Learning: A Look at Rudolf Steiner Education in America, 1980) While Waldorf education has such depth and beauty to it, it has not been embraced into the culture of the western world. We have only a few schools in Canada and more throughout the United States. The program embraces different values than mainstream education such as the importance of play for children in kindergarten, the process of learning and the beauty of the arts. My own journey has taken me down the path of anthroposophy and Waldorf education and on to another spiritual path that seems to be more relevant for me. I suppose it resonates even more strongly with my soul. Yet, I'd have to say, if I had young children to educate today, perhaps I'd be drawn back to the richness of experience and spiritual depth that Waldorf education offers children and their families.
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