WHISTLEBLOWERS - Tell your story. Contact me through the contact form (Tom) at philosophyoffreedom.com to report social justice activism or anti-racist training and indoctrination at your Waldorf school.
As a lifetime Waldorf student, with a waldorf teacher mother I can say that another big issue is that most Waldorf schools (at least the ones I attended) were heavily funded by parent donors. Because of this the school admin has to bend to the whims of these rich and often "woke" parents. When covid struck, I was attending a K-12 waldorf school that was pretty heavily established, the Waldorf school of San Diego. The pandemic really hurt the school, because they quickly were cooperating with the insane "guidelines" that the state was offering, largely becasue these insane woke parents wanted masks, mandatory teacher vaccinations, online classes for the grades, like the most anti Steiner shit. Meanwhile I was in the 10th grade and in the highschool its even worse. CRT, gender identity politics, constant white guilt trip. Plus being a faculty kid I would hear about the "diversity training" or like required CRT reading. My main question is why are people with zero pedagogical training running waldorf schools? Why are you super mindful about everything you put into your childs body, you buy them all these fancy wooden toys so they dont touch plastic, fricken rounding the corners of their paper- Like you're gonna put all that thought into it and just give your kid a double shot of "anti covid devil juice" ???? "Trust the science, trust the mainstream, meanwhile I'm gonna send my kid to Waldorf" 🤪🤪🤪🤪 PS theres some references to a waldorf culture some may not understand 😂
"On one side we find the black race, which is earthly at most. If it moves to the West, it becomes extinct. We also have the yellow race, which is in the middle between earth and the cosmos. If it moves to the East, it becomes brown, attaches itself too much to the cosmos, and becomes extinct. The white race is the future, the race that is spiritually creative." -Rudolph Steiner, 1923: Colour and the Human Races Lecture II
Where do your ideas of what anti-racism is come from? Are they simply your idea of anti-racism or are they based on the words of anti-racism activists? What research have you done? Citing your sources would greatly help uninformed viewers know that you aren't just making things up to fit your worldview...
Who made up these comparisons? The sweeping generalizations are invented by the author and are simply not true. For the first time, I'm disappointed in a Steiner video.
I attended the Waldorf School for high school 3 decades ago and I never found it to be a racist place, quite the contrary. When critical race theory hit the public schools where I send my children, I looked up my former school as a possible place of academic refuge, only to discover they are buying into this offshoot of marxism. In fact we were just asked to donate in the annual appeal for "Professional Diversity Equity Inclusion Justice Development." What a sad, far cry from the school Hitler closed for teaching freedom of thought.
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One more thought: I think the attacks on CRT and "anti-racism" are a bit of a red herring. Emphasizing the vision Steiner had for individual change- focusing on the solution rather than needlessly arguing against the "anti-racist" curriculum- is a far more effective and useful way to move forward.
BLM is the result of not enough work being done to bridge the gaps that we still have in many communities today. It creates awareness and opens up important dialogue that needs to happen within many Waldorf communities, if not all. If the "ethical individualism" of many black people is being denied then of course there will be outrage! Waldorf Education is rooted in Western values and can indeed be more inclusive and diverse. This today is the biggest question the movement faces: choosing to remain stale and comfortable in our own little colourful bubbles, or answering those more difficult/uncomfortable questions and broadening the reach and authenticity of the movement to not only white liberal families. Steiner didn't also want the movement to be for the elite, hence starting his first school with ordinary working class people and children. He could've easily have started a school in Switzerland or with other wealthier aquantences. I've been to a number of Waldorf schools, that although are situated in Africa, still lead a curriculum that do not adequately meet the geographical, historical or even cultural setting of the school. That can tell you a lot about the ignorance (even if innocent) that many schools still find themselves in. And of course it won't be an issue, if those communities are majority white led, Eurocentric and highly conservative. Yes, Cancel Culture is not the right answer but getting behind BLM definitely is. The Waldorf movement will have to learn fast with how it chooses to adapt in these fragile although extremely fertile times. And by standing in solidarity with the BLM movement, there is actually hope (not fear) that the right choices and actions are being made at the top. It's not about being tribal or Marxist either, it's just about recognising that certain communities do face systemic racism and injustices, which hinders their own ethical freedom. Is it really then too much to ask for, to not stand up for such ethical equality??
How do you deny someone's Ethical Individualism? You say, "If the "ethical individualism" of many black people is being denied then of course there will be outrage!" External powers cannot deny one's ethical individualism. Even jailing someone can not do that. You deny ethical individualism by attacking so called "impure thoughts". The social justice movement attacks and censors "impure" thoughts by calling opinions they disagree with hate speech. BLM and the cult of woke is the church that attempts to deny ethical individualism through politically correct speech and the confessional of anti-racist training where you are to confess your racist impure thoughts. School indoctrination denies Ethical Individualism. Read below: Philosophy Of Freedom Chapter 12.12 "External powers may prevent me from doing what I will, but that is only to condemn me to do nothing. Not until they enslave my spirit, drive my motives out of my head, and put their own motives in the place of mine, do they really aim at making me unfree. That is the reason why the church attacks not only the mere doing, but especially the impure thoughts, i.e., motives of my action. And for the church all those motives are impure which she has not herself authorized. A church does not produce genuine slaves until her priests turn themselves into advisers of consciences, i.e., until the faithful depend upon the church, i.e., upon the confessional, for the motives of their actions."
But if are preventing someone's will, then surely you are enslaving their spirit, driving their motives out of their minds etc. You deny someone's Ethical Individualism when you fail to merely recognise that individual. When that individual grows up in a system that does not recognise or even represent them. BLM and the "cult of woke" you speak of aim to change views in the past that denied/still deny the freedom of marginalised individuals. There should be nothing wrong with confronting racist or "impure" thoughts of the past and in the present. If we do not recognise these dark sides of ourselves, then how can we grow and learn from them? Political Correctness can definitely be toxic and divisive, but it definitely also has its place. Without it, many would not think twice about the often abusive and repulsive things they say. The racist, sexist, homophobic, or even pedophilic "banter" would still be rife today. By calling such things out or taking a stand, we recognise and accept that they are wrong, and we create a space for healing, even if that space is difficult to confront.
@@stu19595 Everybody wants a better world and better people. What is the path to achieve that? The BLM/socialist path is the oppressor / victim worldview that results in resentment and weakness. The Philosophy Of Freedom is the inner path of development to empower you to overcome life's obstacles. Life is tough but we can increase our inner power. Not everyone has parents that will make the sacrifices for their children. So the only issue I see is that Waldorf education isn't available to everyone. But even that won't work if Waldorf education is corrupted.
@@scienceoffreedom Of course we do, and it is not an easy path to achieve. There is no one path/way either to achieve a better world and better people. The Philosophy of Freedom definitely helps and will help and continue to help, but so can other philosophies and movements in their own way. Even if BLM does not lead a path that is so rich and philosophical, it shakes-up systems that need to have a closer look at themeselves. It then paves the way for more inner-depth and freedom within these communities. Perhaps will the Philosphy of Freedom or other paths of healing then be more available to other people, if they were to live with/in more freedom. From there then, as I see it, will we be heading in the right direction. BLM will fade away once injustices are put right, allowing for a process of healing and growth in these communities. Most parents will make the sacrifices that they believe are best for their child, within the individual freedom and support that they have available. Most waldorf parents have the priviledge to make such sacrifices, but it does not have to always be that way. The workers of Emil Molt's cigarette factory were surely shocked when Rudolf Stiener offered to start his first school there. I wonder how much they had to pay, but I'd imagine not much. This shows us that Waldorf education can and should be more open and available to every individual. The path that waldorf education is taking as I see it is one of caution but also of openness. I don't see it as becoming corrupted if schools are leaning to stand in solidarity with these movements and to open a dialogue on issues that are prevelent to our times.
This is really a terrific video, great way to break the difference between the two...there's a lot of misunderstanding just because of the term 'anti-racism'. I hope waldorf schools continue to hold the foundation of liberalism and Rudolf Steiner.
Very fine explanations! these texts explain in a perfect way what anti racism and liberalism really is many of the ways to describe what the "anti racist" movement really do is very very helpful to my own soul and to describe to others why what they do is wrong
A lot of this Steiner stuff sounds great, especially about letting the new generations create their own mould through their expression and behaviour, rather than forcing them into our pre-existing one. But why hasn’t it been rescued from the connection with an eccentric Austrian occultist that had twice as many confused, hysterical and absurd insights, as he did genius ones? Why not cannibalise and extract the good, then build on that and update it with new findings. I’m sure this is basically what happens in Steiner schools, but why still have his name attached? We all know some teachers are gonna get a bit Scientology about all this stuff, and become unable to separate the rational insights from the racist and deranged ramblings regarding spirits, past lives and how the melanin levels in your skin betray your moral fortitude. Many white teachers will feel like they have been all the shades and have finally arrived at some higher level of karmic energy or whatever, it’s impossible to avoid when you claim this guy to be a genius about so much, “oh, but yeah, he’s wrong about all this?” This isn’t how the human brain works for many people. It’s like Islam, it’s hard to accept only parts of Koran, if some of it is flawed, than that could compromise integrity of the entire ideology.
Steiner said that his Philosophy Of Freedom would outlive his other work and was his most important work. This book remains relevant today as a science of freedom and guide to social justice. Steiner is gone, the racism threat is critical race theory that is a racist worldview against white people. Waldorf needs to reject CRT which is disguised as DEI. If not they will not last as the country is waking up to the new neo-racism.
I believe this was a long time coming. How far back do you need to go, Dugan? Side stepping Steiner's Cosmology for expansion and money was always a bad idea. I realize the intentions of those who wanted to provide something as beautiful as Waldorf to the world felt this "other stuff" Steiner spoke about was meaningless in our modern world, "that was 100 years ago, you know how they thought back then, but it's still a good idea!" However, this was simply another form of materialism. Most didn't think of all this at the time, most weren't thinking about taking up the sword and what that really meant, it was quaint and fun, imaginative and creative. Yet, it was all almost unavoidable, unless the schools were to remain small and isolated, and those with money thought this local little school, a diamond in the rough, would look great in their bragging rights portfolio. Now here we are, at the cross roads. We all kinda sorta knew, didn't we? We just pushed it aside because we didn't think, or know, what was ahead, even though there were endless warnings. But, Goethe would have sympathy, you can't really know a thing unless you come face to face and sense it. Still, I wonder, how many in the Administration end of things actually do the study? I'll take a stand right here and now. If you are not doing the study you are not a Waldorf School or associated with Steiner Education in this world or the next. You are a Materialist from an old spiritualist movement in Germany that came out of Blavatsky's Theosophical Society, funded by a man who made a good living selling cigarettes. Gauntlet thrown!
One more comment - Jeff Bezos just bought Montessori Education, who is on the docket to buy Waldorf? I'm afraid to say, but I believe deep inside you already know.
Here is a link to 9 videos with real life Waldorf testimonials and arguments against antiracist ideology. philosophyoffreedom.com/the-culture-war-threat-to-waldorf-education
I think your critique of where Waldorf schools are going is spot on. Waldorf schools are losing the deep insights offered by Steiner that made his educational system so revolutionary and effective. Most WS's are, as you have mentioned, following DEI programs led by people who don't have the faintest idea about Steiner's work- especially Philosophy of Freedom and How to Know Higher Worlds, where Steiner explains the process through which each of us can overcome prejudice and see the uniqueness in each other. Unfortunately, when you intersperse your critique with equally crackpot anti-CRT opinions, it loses credibility. Honestly, it seems a bit lazy to me. There is a legitimate value to dissecting and understanding racism in our culture and the impacts it has on all of us. The best long-term solution I have seen to changing the culture of racism is Steiner's educational system. These two can co-exist if one allows Steiner's insights to inform the analysis of racism and prejudice in the world.
Thanks for this, Tom. In the appalling words of popular Leftist CRT promoter Ibram Kendi, “The only remedy to racist discrimination is antiracist discrimination. The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination.” I certainly do not want my child learning this nonsense in her Waldorf Main Lesson. Contrast this with Steiner, from “The Universal Human,” 1909: “…what is being prepared for the sixth epoch is precisely the stripping away of race. That is essentially what is happening. Therefore, in its fundamental nature, the anthroposophical movement… must cast aside the division into races. It must seek to unite people of all races and nations, and to bridge the divisions and differences between various groups of people… we must get beyond the illness of childhood and clearly understand that the concept of race has ceased to have any meaning in our time. " And Steiner from “Universe, Earth and Man” in 1908: “We can still speak of races, but only in the sense that the real concept of race is losing its validity."