12 Questors set out in quest of the Round Table where they hope to be crowned  with their StarStone.  But Questors beware! At every turn, Dark and Light Demons lurk on every side, ready to block and capture as many Questors as possible.  Each Questor must find their own way, but for all to succeed, the Questors must battle their Demons together through the high art of CoQuest.

By Michael Howard

In the spring of 1979 I was playing chess with a friend when I found myself feeling uncomfortable with the fact that only one of us could win and the other must lose. Ever since, I have lived with the question: Is competition essential to a good game? Why can’t a good game be based on collaboration? For 40 years, I have been exploring how to create a game based on CoQuest rather than Conquest.

All the great games of the past depend on competition to make them challenging and exciting to play. Team sports transfer this competitive dynamic from two individuals to two groups battling to win. And yet, each team exercises a high level of collaboration among themselves in order to be effective in defeating the other team. This curious mix of collaboration and competitiveness in team sports is also found in business, politics and warfare. Why do we compete with some people and co-operate with others? Why don't we try to collaborate with all people, all the time? For one thing, it is very difficult. Competing may not be easy, but collaborating is much more challenging because it means we must find strategies that serve the progress and success of all the players, not just our own. The prevailing assumption is that self-interest is so deeply rooted in human nature that competition is unavoidable and, therefore, must be accepted as a fact of life. And yet, as self-interest only seems to intensify in today's world, more and more people aspire to live in harmony with all who dwell upon our living Earth. It may not be possible to eradicate self-interest entirely, but our very humanity depends on our striving to harmonize our own needs and aspirations with those of others. When playing Conquest games, like chess and Go, players are limited to an adversarial relationship. Each one tries to outsmart the other in order to be the sole winner. In CoQuest, Dark and Light Demons obstruct all the players from reaching their StarStones. For all to be crowned with their StarStone, the players must battle their Demons together through the high art of CoQuest.

Like traditional board games, CoQuest can be played among family and friends simply to have a good time together. In addition, CoQuest can be played by groups looking for ways to foster team building, conflict resolution and other social capacities. CoQuest develops self-determination and decisiveness in ways that enhance rather than undermine social harmony. CoQuest can also be played Solitaire to strengthen individual social capacities. Solitaire CoQuest can also be played as a contemplative practice to focus the mind, promote equanimity and awaken our creative spirit.

CoQuest is more than a game; by learning to master our Demons together, we become more fully our self, and live in harmony with others at the same time. Learn more and ordering information at coquest.org.


Michael Howard was born in Vancouver, Canada, in 1946, Michael began sculpting at the age of fifteen. He studied sculpture at the Ontario College of Art in Toronto and received a BFA from Eastern Michigan University, and a MA in Fine Arts from Columbia Pacific University in CA. He met the work of Rudolf Steiner in 1969 when he attended Emerson College in England. Since that time he has researched the relationship between qualities of movement, sound and form. From this foundation, exploring the nature of metamorphosis has been a central part of his creative activity. In addition to making visible speech, in recent years he has also explored making visible music in drawings, paintings, relief sculptures and light art. His writing includes the introduction to Art as Spiritual Activity, a collection of Rudolf Steiner’s lectures on art and Educating the Will, concerning the role of the visual arts in education. Currently, he is working on a book entitled Art and Humanity In Metamorphosis that introduces the perspective that artistic capacities must be developed in all human beings so that, individually and collectively, we can better understand and meet the personal, social and ecological challenges of our time. He lives and works in Amherst, MA.  Visit his website at livingformstudio.org

By DR. PETER GUTTENHOEFER

On our beautiful earth, nature is at risk. Flowers and animals disappear from the planet, everybody talks about the climate.

But something else is at risk: childhood.

In every country of the world the pressure on children is increasing: school enrollment is gradually being moved to an earlier age, governmental curriculum is enforced for the first ten years of life, reading is taught at the age of three, competition is being intensified among the children, lots of tests, classes become more intellectual, less movement, no arts, no playing.

At home: family structures are breaking down, stressed parents, unemployment, poverty, children sitting alone in front of the screen, computer games. Even the rich people’s children are poor!

Let us take some necessary steps to preserve childhood! Let us give our children at least ten years of childhood! Only this way will they be able to have enough fantasy to reshape life on earth in a new and better way when they become adults. We’re dealing with the earth and the youth forces of the earth.
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The whole idea of “School” must be re-thought anew! Schools, where children can live, play and work in such a way that their natural gift of imagination can turn into creative fantasy. We need schools where they can live without pressure or fear, thus being happy while they learn and grow healthy.

Just in time for the 2019 Biodynamic Conference coming up next week, The Anthroposopher has released a new podcast episode featuring interviews from last year's Biodynamic Conference, including farmers and educators Megan Durney, Sundeep Kamath, Karin Fortin & Delmar McComb, Ueli Hurter from the Goetheanum, and BDA executive director Thea Maria Carlson. Listen to the full episode on iTunes or Soundcloud to hear perspectives on biodynamics and the 2018 theme of Transforming the Heart of Agriculture, which builds into this year's theme of Cultivating Relationships: Earth, Cosmos, Community.

It's not too late to learn and connect in New York! Register on-site November 20-24. If you haven't yet registered for the 2019 Biodynamic Conference, you can still join over 600 farmers, gardeners, land stewards, and changemakers at the beautiful Sagamore Resort in Lake George, New York to learn and share in rich and diverse topics in biodynamic agriculture. Walk-in registration will be available on-site. More ...

Waldorf Education starts to set the foundation for reading in kindergarten. Learning to read is allowed to evolve for each child in the same form as it evolved from the beginning of humanity: spoken language developed first, then people drew pictures to communicate their ideas, followed by symbols such as hieroglyphics and finally the abstract letters of our modern alphabets. Once there was a written language, people learned to read. This is exactly the sequence in which children master language, and it also is the sequence in which reading is taught in Waldorf schools.

1. Importance of the Spoken Word
At Waldorf schools, from birth to age seven, the focus is on the spoken word. In kindergarten, the curriculum emphasis is on spoken verses and stories: nature stories, folktales and fairy tales. Teachers are ‘storytellers’ and are careful not to “dumb down” or simplify the language of fairy tales. The teacher is careful to use clear speech and to enunciate well as this immersion in literature is the basis of literacy.  This immersion in the spoken word will also help children later when it comes time to learn to write and spell.

2. Repetition Helps Retention
The same sequence and stories are repeated in daily circle time for weeks at a time.  Children learn these stories, songs and verses “by heart,”. Rudolf Steiner, founder of Waldorf education, stressed the importance of repetition when he developed the first Waldorf school in Germany in the 1920’s. Current brain research confirms that repetition aids a child’s brain development. The connections of billions of neural pathways in the brain are strengthened through repeated experiences.

3. Writing Begins Holistically
In the first grade of Waldorf the alphabet is formally introduced in an imaginative, pictorial way.  There are no photo-copied worksheets here!  Each letter of the alphabet is presented as a picture representing an element from a story the children are told. For example, they might hear the story of a knight on a quest who had to cross mountains and a valley. The children will then draw a picture with the letter “M” forming the Mountains on either side of the “V” for Valley. In this way, the child develops a living relationship with each letter rather than going straight to the abstraction of the alphabet letters themselves.  These ‘pictures’ can be described as the rainbow bridge between the pictorial thinking of the child and the abstract thinking of the adult. After learning all the letters, the next step is to copy the teacher’s writing into their beautiful ‘main lesson books’, the books that children in a Waldorf school create themselves. These first written sentences and stories come from the children’s own experience and the children’s first practice of  ‘reading’ is the reading of their own text. This progression can be illustrated by the following typical activity: the teacher will write a poem on the board that the children already ‘know’ by heart. Through joyful recognition of familiar sounds and words they begin to ‘read’ the poem and then write it in their books.

​Growing Up Healthy in a World of Digital Media. A guide for parents and caregivers of children and adolescents by Michaela Glöckler and Richard Brinton
​
Here is an honest and clear digest of resources and practices to avoid the worst effects of screen technology on the young. The book will give strength to those who must make up the rules for guiding children and teens in the use of technologies. These have been touted as a great thing but have proven over time to cause behavior disorders, depression, and addiction.  How do we cope?  Growing up Healthy offers many ideas to help do just that - grow up healthy!

This new guide explains the dangers and risks to children and adolescents inherent in the new media:

• impairment of brain development
• communications stress
• the threat of addiction
• loss of privacy
• sites that are unsuitable for young people
• cyberbullying and health impairment due to continuous radiation from wireless devices

This book fills a gap, describing the critical developmental phases in childhood, which have a bearing on the introduction of media technology, Acknowledging that not everybody will be able to follow the same approach; it shows how we can think through step by step what is best for the well-being of the young person in our care. Growing Up Healthy illustrates the legal regulations, the safety measures, and possible actions needed to prevent dangers or to address them appropriately while providing an educational standpoint which represents an appropriate balance between the needs of children and adolescents, and the restrictions which are required as precautionary measures to safeguard against the inherent dangers.

“It is a paradox of our digital future: brain development needs time and skillful play, work and action within the real world throughout the first 15 to 16 years. The result is the faculty of self-control and self-thinking, which is fundamental for media competence. The authors of this book, all specialists, offer practical advice for age-appropriate brain stimulation, encouraging teachers and parents to find ways to protect their children from the unnecessary and damaging too early use of electronic devices. They advise helping children develop their unique creativity and to learn how to learn out of own initiative.”

— Dr. Michaela Glöckler, Pediatrician

Order a copy and more info ...

Thoreau College Is Born!  And Receives a $10,000 Challenge Grant! On August 1st, 2019 a group of 4 pioneering students and 6 core faculty members came together to renew the spirit and practice of higher education by launching the inaugural Thoreau College Semester Program. For the past 3 months we have been immersed in rigorous study of great books, exercises in inner and social development, biodynamic food production, artistic creation, wilderness experiences, and so much more. We feel something real, vital, and full of promise for the future has been born.

Inspired by our progress, one of our supporters has offered us a $10,000 challenge grant to help us reach our fundraising goal for the semester. These funds are essential for us to complete our semester, take our next steps, and nourish the seed that has been planted. Can you help us meet this challenge grant? Can you help us model a new form of higher education that nurtures the deeper spiritual, social and practical needs of the next generation? More ...

​There’s a map available to you every year that can be uncovered during the thirteen Sacred Nights of Winter, also known as the Holy Nights, for the sake of aligning you on your true path, and supporting you to effectively navigate the challenges and opportunities of the coming year.

The Sacred Nights of Winter journal is designed to help you discover this map for yourself through contemplative exercises and journaling prompts that, if worked with consistently through the 13 nights, will result in a personalized tool that guides you through the coming year.

Gathering guidance from the wisdom traditions of Esoteric/Cosmic Christology, Indigenous Wisdom, Anthroposophy (wisdom of the human being), Astrosophy (wisdom of the stars), Mythology, the wisdom of Mother Nature and the Sacred Feminine, I’ve designed this journal to bring you comfort, as well as practical tools to support your journey through the coming year. Many practices this time of year are centered around planning the course of the new year with new resolves. While this is important, if planning is all we focus on, it leaves out other critical elements that are essential for our life’s healthy unfolding. We need new practices that honor the wisdom of the human soul. The Sacred Nights of Winter journal works not only to consider your vision for the new year, but also to bring you personalized guidance and inner clarity. More ...

It had just stopped raining, and 4-year-old Jane Theumer was still wearing her yellow waterproof jacket and matching duck boots.

“I feel like my cheeks are cold,” she said to her preschool teacher, Hannah Kinney, as her class embarked on their daily hike through West Seattle’s forestlike Camp Long.

But once on the trail, Jane’s thoughts turned to other things, as she stopped to inspect a clump of white mushrooms on the side of the path and later checked on an orange slug her classmates were crowded around.

It was the second week of the new school year at Tiny Trees Preschool, one of the state’s outdoor early education programs — where instead of gathering on a colorful rug inside, kids sit on tree stumps and go hiking through the woods. The preschool takes place entirely outdoors from September to June, rain or shine.

“There’s a beauty in being able to see kids run outdoors and look at slugs and take care of plants and animals,” said Kinney, who used to teach at indoor schools in Michigan. “You do see students that need that space to move their bodies and feel like they have that choice and ownership of their learning.”
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Kinney teaches two outdoor preschool classes at Tiny Trees — a four-hour class in the morning and a three-hour class in the afternoon — and her students, mostly 3- and 4-year-olds, are thinking about their relationship with nature more, she said. They’re checking in with their feelings and emotions more. They’re more creative with the space they have, she said. And yet they’re still practicing and learning all the same things traditional preschoolers do.

Blackboard drawing by Rudolf Steiner (Curative Course)

​Highlights in the Development of C

urative Education and Social Therapy
(from: Waldorf Education Worldwide, pp. 36-41, Note the Copyright!)

More than 500 institutions serving curative education and social therapy exist in more than 40 countries all over the world. They cover a wide range of work with children, young people and adults with special developmental needs - early intervention, curative education and integrative nurseries, day schools, residential school communities, training opportunities for young people, workshops, residential homes and village communities.

The beginning
Anthroposophical curative education developed from three initiatives 77 years ago. A number of children at the first Waldorf School in Stuttgart had learning difficulties, and Dr Karl Schubert (1889–1949) gathered them in one “class for children with special needs”. At the same time children with developmental disorders came for investigations and treatment to the Institute of Clinical Medicine in Arlesheim, Switzerland, to have the advice and help of Rudolf Steiner (1861– 1925), Ita Wegman (1896–1943) and their colleagues. Finally a group of young people - Franz Loeffler (1892–1962), Albrecht Strohschein (1899–1962) and Siegfried Pickert (b. 1898), established the Lauenstein home for care and education in Jena, Germany. This institution was developed in close collaboration with Rudolf Steiner, who then gave a course for curative teachers in June 1924. Representatives of the three institutions met in Dornach for this. An educational, a medical and a life community-building impulse thus marked the beginning of anthroposophical curative education. In the years that followed each developed intense activity and differentiation.

Until the National Socialist regime came to power in Germany, work expanded enormously, with great intensity. It was Ita Wegman who provided a focus and maintained links with and between the initiatives, originally within the Medical Section at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland. Even when she had been excluded from the General Anthroposophical Society, almost all institutions and the people working in them maintained the connection with her. Right from the beginning, Wegman supported the active development of curative education in various countries. Institutions were thus established in England, the Netherlands and Iceland in those early years.

Retardation
During the Third Reich period, the German institutions were at first faced with more and more obstacles, threats were made, and finally they were closed, with a few exceptions - Lauenstein, Seewalde and Eckwaelden. It was not only their existence which was threatened but even more so the lives of the children and adults living in them. When Action T4 (the code name for the euthanasia programme in which more than 100,000 people with disabilities lost their lives) started after 1941, many children had to be taken back to their families, where they found better protection. Some of the people responsible for the institutions fearlessly resisted the chicanery and investigations and were able to prevent children being deported. Loeffler and Strohschein were in prison at times, Martin Kretschmer (1897– 1942) died in a concentration camp. Among the senior staff were people of Jewish origin who had to emigrate during those years. This led to further centres being established in Europe and beyond. The emigration situation also led to the establishment of the Camphill Movement by Karl König (1902 – 1966). This started in the north of Scotland, from where it spread to many countries as an impulse for community building involving people with and without disabilities.

New beginning
After the war, the first priority was to rebuild the curative education work in Central Europe, establishing new institutions, and also to find a new cohesion in the curative education movement. War had left many children on their own, their development profoundly affected. Large numbers of young people came to the institutions looking for a way of life and for training. Most of them found their vocation not primarily through curative education as such but in their search for anthroposophy. In the curative education institutions they were able to get to know it and live it. Thus the first training courses for future curative teachers started soon after the war. Again, they were not primarily seen as professional training courses but also as a school of life imbued with anthroposophy.

Anthroposophical curative education had genuinely evolved directly out of Rudolf Steiner’s science of the spirit, having no connection with developments in specialist science and the institutions serving people with disabilities at that time. It was specifically with the life community principle in comparatively small, family-oriented institutions that the anthroposophical work proved innovative in the field. The work anticipated many things which were only to be generally accepted at a later date - teaching not limited to an elementary reduction of subject content, therapeutic and medical treatment, work places in the manufacture of products made to meet specific needs, and a social and cultural life where the individual nature of each person was taken seriously. Life was, however, insular, sometimes with monastic severity and authoritative leadership, so that there was an element of narrowness and isolation. On the other hand consistency in maintaining a life style and intensive curative education care also led to significant results in the children’s development and to a holistic curative education method of inestimable efficacy.

Growth
In the early 1960s, the character of curative education institutions began to change. It had become apparent some years earlier that a new sphere of work had to be developed for the life needs of adults with disabilities. This led to the establishment of social therapy institutions such as Botton Village in Great Britain. Here the principle of the village community arose, communities where the aim was to overcome the distinction between disabled and non-disabled people by sharing life, work and culture.

Those were the years when a government-backed system of help for the disabled was slowly evolving, truly aiming to improve conditions of life for people with disabilities with regard to their rights and material provisions for them. This also made a major difference for the institutions in anthroposophical curative education and social therapy. A price had to be paid, however, for material and legal security. New institutions developed, staff were paid salaries rather than pocket money, and the life situation of the institutions themselves became increasingly more subject to legal provisions.

The volume of work increased progressively as training was made available, staff became more professional, working in differentiated fields, and children then came for whom little could as yet be done, e.g. those with autism.

Meanwhile a sphere of work had evolved where people saw themselves primarily as an international movement, with the manifestations in specific countries and regions only secondary to this. Nevertheless, national associations and work contexts also had to be established to provide an internal national structure and work in partnership in relation to the authorities and other associations working for the disabled. Initial fear of contact and the awareness that one was not speaking the same language - the “anthroposophists” as a strange species, “though” they did good work - gradually gave way to a situation where it is possible to work together as partners and objectively. The big international conferences at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland, and the international structures evolving within the Medical Section continued to be the primary bonds in work that was progressively growing more differentiated, with new developments such as day schools and nurseries, psychiatric after care and other ways of working added to the traditional life communities and social therapy villages.

Radical change
The 1980s brought new challenges for many institutions and indeed the curative education and social therapy movement as a whole. This was due to the generation change. People who had developed many things as young founders of institutions after the war, taking the movement into great expansion and to its flowering, either died or handed over responsibility to younger people. It is not surprising that this resulted in crisis if we consider that a number of the institutions had been run in an authoritative way and that in quite a few institutions competence in curative education had rested with a few outstanding personalities. A vacuum arose. The leadership crisis of the 1980s and 1990s also had some connection with the fringes of the anti-authoritarian movement, initially resulting in profound uncertainties in some

Areas of the social and professional structure. All in all this did, however, lead to clearer perception of ways in which social and professional structures might be managed.

Two further developments also came at this time. Early intervention for children with disabilities or potential disabilities and care through home visits made a border transparent which creates an apparent distinction between children with and without disabilities. Rudolf Steiner’s statement that healing and education have the same source and origin, and that a healing influence, creating balance, needs to be part of every form of childhood education (“Education for Special Needs”, p. 207) proved to hold true for many children whose development was in danger in general nurseries, schools or occupational training. Experiences gained and measures taken in curative education thus began to have an impact in the field of education in general. Another general development which came in those years was that parents and family members had already shown initiative, e.g. in establishing new institutions, yet were remote from the life in the institutions and not seen as partners by the staff. The epoch-making change in collaboration with the parents also came to be accepted in anthroposophical curative education and social therapy. Avenues opened up for working in partnership, mutually respecting potential, rights and responsibilities and finding ways of acting together. The associations of institutions were thus joined by more and more parent associations.

The character of the curative education and social therapy movement underwent a further important change when the Iron Curtain fell. With tremendous energy and a real will to develop opportunities for people with disabilities, institutions were established in many former eastern bloc countries, often by very young people or by parents. The countries of the West and Central Europe on their part faced the challenge of supporting and helping those developments. Sponsorship relations developed between old and new institutions, materials needed were transported over long distances, and intensive activity arose in providing expert and experienced advice. This development called for new insight into something which had simply evolved through decades. Higher insight had to be brought to established practice so that it might be “taught”. It has also been found that anthroposophical curative education, being a Central European impulse, needs to go through a process of transformation if it wants to manifest in other cultures and under different social conditions. South America, southern Africa and countries to the East now reached the stage which had marked the beginning in Europe after the First World War - to wrest the spiritual impulse of curative education from life, in outer poverty and under difficult social conditions but unswervingly, only able to qualify gradually for the curative education tasks in practical terms.

Yet in the very places where decades of experience had led to familiar situations and where compared to the situation in the above-named countries a high standard had been attained in material life, people became aware of another kind of poverty. A time had come when the substance of the anthroposophical study of the human being and the methodology had to be regained by working them out in new ways, now that the pioneer generation had gone, and perhaps put on a broader basis. This is the development which marks our present situation.

The process of development and renewal does not have to be gone through in isolation and independently in the anthroposophical curative education and social therapy movement but is embedded in today’s social and cultural conditions of life. As part of this, anthroposophical curative education and social therapy has increasingly become part of general expert knowledge and practice in working with people with disabilities. A balancing process is in progress between delimitation and adaptation, so that it will be possible to preserve and develop our own approach. This also affects the language we use to communicate with representatives of associations and science and above all the parents of people in our institutions. Neither fundamentalism nor over-eager attempts to curry favour will meet the case. The same applies to collaboration in the field of science. There we meet with growing interest among those representing academic special and curative education and perceive greater opportunities to hold our own in this field. The change of paradigm in the 1970s, when attention came to focus on social and interactive processes as causative factors in disability, led to the principle of normalization and the idea of inclusion - fully integrating people with disabilities in all fields of society - becoming the guiding principle. Disenchantment was inevitable. Western societies in particular have been less prepared to accept integration than was hoped. Legislation, professionalization and an increasingly powerful supervisory system are making it difficult to develop autonomous social processes. The way people working in the field see themselves has thus also changed. In terms taken from the sphere of economics, they see themselves providing services to meet the needs of customers or clients. On the other hand and in view of progressive discussion on ethical issues, biomedical developments and debates concerning the value of life and right to live, the philosophical dimension in curative and special education has grown, leading to an emphasis on qualitative rather than quantitative methods with an anthropological basis, so that people with disabilities are perceived as individuals. Another development goes hand in hand with this. People with disabilities are increasingly standing up for themselves and forming their own associations and self-help groups as citizens who have equal rights in our society. In spite of limitations and the discrimination which still tends to continue - they are no longer objects of help provision but partners.

Prospects and tasks
With all this we cannot fail to realize that in all those years the curative education and social therapy movement has not only tried to bring an autonomous impulse to realization. The people in the movement have lived this impulse much more powerfully also in its social and historic context - in give and take - than is usually acknowledged. It was different when work with the disabled was still wholly institutionalized, different when the Movement of ’68, for instance, and alternative concepts of life governed our ideas of life. This may help to show that the curative education impulse cannot only be seen in its traditional form, with people expressing regret that the old forms are getting out of date, but that it must always be made to arise anew and be transformed out of its source of inspiration. If we consider Rudolf Steiner’s course on curative education (“Education for Special Needs”) in the light of this, we can see how little was actually laid down in it where the actual work and collaboration are concerned. Instead, everything bases on curative teachers with independent courage approaching the powers of initiative and intuition which lead to an authentic reality of life, where our understanding of and the development of people with disabilities are the focus, so that ways of work and life may arise that may become therapeutic institutions.

When the Assembly for Curative Education and Social Therapy Council, an organ of the Medical Section at the Goetheanum, has its annual plenary sessions, representatives from all countries form a round table. Two things become evident. We are all different and so there is no hierarchic relationship, with one teaching and the other learning. Instead it is a situation where we learn from one another and awaken through one another. However different, we share the same questions and problems. Where we want to work together we not only see good results of the work but also know problems, questions and helplessness. We have unanswered research questions and problems in developing the spiritual scientific basis of our work further. We face inner and external pressures at a time when social initiative is increasingly penalised by having restrictions and rules imposed. Yet this can also make us underestimate our potential. This lies in the brotherly bond we have established with the people who live in our institutions, the rich variety of institutions and opportunities representing a broad basis for work in the curative education and social therapy movement, and last but not least the fact that the work bases on a broader basis than ever and is reflected in enormous - perhaps even confusing - variety. Anthroposophical curative education and social therapy is a recognized part of the social support system in many countries today. It has an international network of collaboration which rests on mutual help and support, and the people who use what it has to offer - people with disabilities and their families - not only make use of it but share in its further development.

In conclusion I wish to thank the Friends of Waldorf Education most warmly in the name of the curative education and social therapy movement. They have always helped generously in material and personnel terms wherever support was needed, providing help in areas where we were unable to manage from our own resources.

RÜDIGER GRIMM


Rüdiger Grimm
PhD, Diploma in Education, born in Gunsenhausen, Germany, in 1952. Trained at the Camphill Curative Education College on Lake Constance, studied Waldorf Education and Special Education in Weingarten and Reutlingen, gaining his doctorate. Worked for many years in curative education communities of the Camphill Movement, becoming Secretary to the Assembly for Curative Education and Social Therapy Council in the Medical Section at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland, in 1995. Editor, author and publisher.

By Marina Budrys

At the 100 year anniversary of Waldorf education, Torin Finser posed the poignant question: Will Waldorf die or will it renew itself?

As a Waldorf alumna turned Waldorf teacher, this question is demanding and laden with layers of personal experience, professional insight, and the immense hope that the second part of the question will be the answer. After reading the article on the future 100 years, I was instantly struck by the somberness of my task on this path and of the arduous decisions that many schools have had to make in light of recent changes in their makeup. Yes, it is unfortunate that schools have had to close. Yes, it is dispiriting to witness when Waldorf becomes associated with negative press. Yes, it is heartbreaking to consider the death of this movement, I, after all, am the human being I am today, because of it.

Reeling with the darkness that could be the future, I was surprised to find a voice inside that challenged the darkness. This voice reminded me of a quote I heard at Kamala Harris’ rally: “some will say we need to search to find common ground, I think we need to recognize we are already standing on [it].” It is with this sentiment that I propose the revitalization of Waldorf education.

It is too easy to look at Waldorf Education and point out the ways in which it is unique, different, alternative and how it challenges the norms and offers programs that don’t exist at other schools. We have highlighted these differences by quoting professors from colleges saying that Waldorf students are different, by noting that Waldorf students are more artistic, more capable of playing musical instruments, more successful in their personal relationships. And what has this (rightful) boasting done? It has congratulated and encouraged a niche of children who have grown to become self-aware, confident adults able to navigate the changing waters of the 21st century. But what else has this focus on difference done? It has alienated and partitioned everyone into two groups: those who are “Waldorf kids” and those who are not. The not group has been excluded from the possibility of success at a Waldorf School because they have not been invited.

Just like how most people want to live in a country where they can afford basic necessities by working one full-time job, most people want to raise their children to become self-aware and successful adults. Sure, some small details might differ, but their intentions behind wanting their children to be educated are more similar than dissimilar. By focusing on the niche, the different, the alternative, we have pushed the movement up into a narrow gorge. We have become inaccessible and although I hate to say it, elitist.

This gesture of “ alternative” mimicked many movements in the 20th century. The 20th century was a century of “anti” and this was the state of consciousness needed to achieve the equality we are still working at today. However, the dividing and separating has reached the extreme where it fragments instead of connects. The extreme of the “anti” or “alternative” gesture dissolves instead of creates.

My intention is not to rail on the problems facing our education without reason. I want to establish an understanding of where we are right now to propose a shift. What I am proposing does not concern the materialistic Waldorf values (the main lesson books, the verses, the silks, and the gnomes- those all have their place when they match an intention in the education,) but instead arm the movement with fearless, focused, and dedicated resolve to yes, keep Waldorf from dying, but more importantly renew it with lively inclusivity.

How different would the movement be if we turned around within our tight knit circles and stepped one step out? How different would that movement be if in that step outward we encountered someone we would not have met in our close circle? How different would that movement be if we spoke to that individual like the equal they are and found a common thread and hope between us? How different would that movement be if we explained that Waldorf Education is for everyone- its purpose being to educate whole human beings? How different would that movement be if we focused on what we have in common instead of what sets us apart?

Waldorf Education is grounded in the belief that every human being is capable of reaching their highest potential. If we truly believe that every human being is capable of reaching their highest potential, then we must ensure to include every human being as a potential student. What a wonderful world it would be if that intention was the backbone of this education.

The alums need to feel that Waldorf Education is open to change. They need to know that Waldorf sees the future for itself as an education for anybody interested in it and that the education is willing to adjust course to meet the community. The people we meet outside of our inner circles need to know this too. By acknowledging our imperfections and gracefully declaring ourselves in need of reaching the whole of our communities (instead of the parts), we open a door that will transform into a giant arch. We have more in common than we can imagine. 

Marina Budrys is a Waldorf alumna. She attended Waldorf Schools for 14 years from kindergarten through 12th grade. She is currently a Humanities Teacher at the Waldorf High School of the Peninsula and is in the Waldorf High School Teacher Training Program at the Center for Anthroposophy. Marina can be reached at mmbudrys@icloud.com.