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Monday, April 16, 2012

El Rio Charter School

El Rio Charter School in Los Angeles made the mistake of hiring Ed Eadon as their acting head administrator.  Read about Ed in my earlier blog posts.  Here's the exchange from the comments section.  Joan Jaeckel removed my first comment - which said the PLANS lawsuit hadn't been resolved yet (which would put ALL California Waldorf charter schools at risk - possibly all national charter schools as well), and which also described my children's experiences at Highland Hall and Ed's connection to them.

Anthroposophist Steve Hale chimed in.  Here's the exchange:

  1. Steve Hale said at 3:13 pm on April 10th, 2012: I would like to hear from Joan and Ed concerning Pete’s allegations which he has been fuming about for years now. His goal is to discredit every Waldorf school in the world if he gets his chance. His apparently local problems with Highland Hall (local because no one else has even remotely come close to his complaints, there or anywhere else) seemingly should have been resolved by now. My understanding is that some of his children even completed high school, so something certainly appears successful about HH. Regards.
  2. 2 Steve Hale said at 9:05 pm on April 10th, 2012: Pete is already casting aspersions on the Ocean Waldorf School, as well as further denunciation of Highland Hall, as if all instructors moved on and took up resident aliases because they were so bad as teachers.
    If Joan and Ed could speak on behalf of El Rio and Waldorf, it would be nice. But maybe the heat in the kitchen is making you swoon. I trust it is as always, which means a quality education system for those that seek an alternative to public education.
    Pete just might be running out of days in order to file his coveted lawsuit. And I suspect that pressure is what bothers him. It is not like we haven’t been encouraging him in that direction for quite some time in order that he can get final closure and move on.
    You see, the only other alternative is for him to seek to undermine every legitimate effort to further Waldorf education with his purely negative attitude, which is backed up by PLANS and the Waldorf_Critics list.
    So, please speak on behalf of El Rio, and have the courage to defuse the slander and libel that emits from Pete. I would encourage making him aware of what he is doing, and consider filing a lawsuit for libel/slander against him.
    At least, then he’ll get his day in court.
    Regards.
  3. 3 Joan Jaeckel said at 12:40 am on April 11th, 2012: HHello Steve,
    Not knowing about the back story of alleged third party events beyond El Rio’s scope, I can only respond by saying, basically, that this site is not the forum for defending El Rio against anything or anyone, or Waldorf education, or our choice of volunteers. This is the web site and blog for people who like the idea of El Rio and the idea of public Waldorf education. It’s not a political forum to debate with people upset over events unrelated to El Rio directly or who think El Rio is a bad idea. There are other places on the net for that. There’s a disclaimer announcing that negative comments will not be welcomed.
    The bottom of the front page of this site says: “Conscious, individual expression and personal initiative for the good is a universal value of Waldorf education worldwide. The opinions expressed by the el Rio Charter School founders and school blog authors are ours alone as individuals. Collectively, we hold to Waldorf’s shared human values of (1) the gift of attentiveness (2) the power of initiative, (3) the count-to-ten pause for objectivity, (4) the joy of positivity, (5) the curiosity of openness, and (6) “being the change you wish to see in the world.” We hold the same standard for comments on our blog posts and look forward to your thoughts and conversation starters!” Since the comment your refer to does not hold with the constructive spirit of the web site the writer posted to, I have removed it as inappropriate for the stated aims of this forum.
    I know there are people who don’t appreciate Waldorf education for their own philosophical reasons, and this web site is not for them as our disclaimer clearly says. I also know that out of everyone who ever encountered a Waldorf school, that some had a disappointing or actually bad experience. This is not the place for old wounds unrelated to El Rio. I’m aware of the lawsuits and, not being a lawyer, have no comment except to say that I, personally, am satisfied that (a) “anthroposophy”, the worldview underlying Waldorf education, is a philosophy, and not a religion and (b) that El Rio charter school will be a public school in every sense of the word, meaning sensitive to First Amendment issues. The lawsuits have been beneficial in encouraging discernment over the distinctions between Waldorf education in public schools vs and Waldorf education in private schools. Steve, it sounds like you are interested in this question as a prospective parent? If so, and you have some thoughts about our proposed educational program or anything else, please let me know.
  4. 4 Joan Jaeckel said at 12:43 am on April 11th, 2012: Hello again, Steve,
    Please see my reply below.
    Best,
    Joan
  5. 5 Steve Hale said at 7:32 am on April 11th, 2012: Thanks Joan. I certainly understand what you intend and want with this website and its comments section. I was just doing a little defending based on faith and reason. I am an anthroposophist who put three kids through public school, but I would love to have been a prospective parent seeking a school like El Rio. Regards.
  6. 6 Pete K said at 8:05 am on April 11th, 2012: Joan wrote: “Not knowing about the back story of alleged third party events beyond El Rio’s scope”
    Really? My ex wife WORKED AS YOUR ASSISTANT. Joan “knows nothing” when it’s convenient. Like I said, Joan has a strained relation with the truth.
  7. 7 Steve Hale said at 9:43 pm on April 12th, 2012: It seems that Pete K is now denouncing you as being the superior of his former wife.
    So, how low can it go? Angela K. obviously holds strong allegiance to Waldorf, which is why two sons graduated through high school at Highland Hall. What greater truth is there than that?
    Surely not Pete’s belief that it all happened while he was negating it all. The truth is, Pete; it means it is, while you gnash your teeth and wring your hands about it.
    Your loss is yours, so stop inflicting it upon the world. Get it, chump?
    Steve
    ps-jeesh!!
  8. 8 Pete Karaiskos said at 9:51 pm on April 12th, 2012: The truth cannot be told here Steve… Obviously. It will be told in court when I sue Ed Eadon and many of the staff of Highland Hall (now at other Waldorf schools) for conspiracy to commit criminal actions and to cover up the same. And thanks to YOU, the conspiracy to defame has been connected to Patrice Maynard of AWSNA. Ed Eadon is a criminal waiting to be held accountable for his actions… and he’s the acting administrator of El Rio Charter school. Let Joan say this not a topic for this blog all she wants… this DIRECTLY relates to El Rio. The law is the law!
  9. 9 Pete Karaiskos said at 10:06 pm on April 12th, 2012: Ed will be saying goodbye to El Rio long before I do… this I promise. Waldorf has a bigger problem, however. Everything Ed did was IN ACCORDANCE with Waldorf practices. There will be accountability not just from Ed, not just from Highland Hall, but from all of Waldorf – for the harm they have done… and continue to do. So far… not even an apology. When I’m done… there will be a LOT of tears shed over this… and Waldorf charter schools will be a memory. You harmed the wrong person’s kids this time… YOU WILL PAY!
  10. 10 Steve Hale said at 10:22 pm on April 12th, 2012: And for how many years have you been threatening this bit of business against Waldorf, Pete?
    Way more than anybody even cares about, or feels threatened by these days.
    ohooooo ;)
    Nice try, Pete, while you waste the very last shred of the Statute of Limitations (which you seem to find a way to extend forever).
    LMAO, Steve
  11. 11 Pete Karaiskos said at 5:57 am on April 13th, 2012: The law is the law Steve. The statute of limitations is still good in this case… and will be for another year and a half. I’ve got plenty of time to file my lawsuit – and I’m going to take every minute of it.
    I don’t see Joan laughing. Ed is a liability to her precious charter school scheme. My blog is filled with letters of complaint against Ed – this isn’t just me. Everyone knows his crimes, thanks to ME and to other brave parents who spoke up at the time. Ed Eadon is a monster who MUST be held accountable for his actions at Highland Hall. I don’t stop until that happens.
  12. 12 Steve Hale said at 7:42 pm on April 13th, 2012: Pete, you know that I have been supporting you in your quest for justice for quite some time now (even if you don’t think so), and the reason is for all the very same reasons you give concerning what has taken place in your life with Waldorf. Your lawsuit stands to be the biggest civil case against Waldorf ever, considering the scope involving specific individuals, HH, and AWSNA.
    I only give you a hard time because you need to get it on and get it over with. Closure will be good for you, and disclosure of all the relevant evidence concerning the aforesaids will likely make this the case of the century. I wait for it to appear on the docket, because I take a keen interest in the facts, and the truth; and the justice that is proper to ending this whole matter for you.
    It will be interesting to see if Waldorf has a future after this, but you have to remember that their defense will attempt to match you, allegation for allegation. That makes it very compelling to see it happen.
    Believe me, I hope it does. No one has come forth like you have, so it must be serious, and the sincerity of purpose is one you have never wavered from.
    Steve
  13. 13 Pete Karaiskos said at 8:16 pm on April 13th, 2012: If my daughter would have died (and she came very close) the charges would have been accessory to MURDER… is that serious enough for you? As it is, she is physically and mentally disabled as a direct result of the monsters at Highland Hall… led by Ed Eadon. Yeah… I’d like to see their attorney match me allegation for allegation. But this is going to happen on MY time line… not yours or Highland Halls.
  14. 14 Pete Karaiskos said at 5:58 am on April 14th, 2012: BTW, Joan, go ahead and delete my comments if you like. I’ve recorded them… and will post them elsewhere – so that people from El Rio can see EXACTLY what you’re hiding from them. Oh, and give our Cowardly Colonel my best…
  15. 15 Pete Karaiskos said at 6:59 pm on April 14th, 2012: Hmmm… silence? Did Joan take the weekend off? I’m guessing not. I think she just had an OOPS moment. Well, until she deletes my posts, I’ll just assume she’s taking a moment to think. It didn’t sound like she knew about MY lawsuit… she was talking about the PLANS lawsuit. It may have caught her by surprise. I wonder what she’s thinking? I’m sure she’s considering ditching Ed… she’d be an idiot not to. But I’m guessing she doesn’t want to appear like she’s caving to pressure from me… so the problematic miscreant, Ed Eadon’s probably going to stay for a while despite being an obvious bad choice for El Rio and potential harm to the children there (I can’t even begin to list all the children who came to harm under Ed’s term at Highland Hall). But Joan’s more worried about deleting negative comments than allowing parents to see who she has selected for this position.
    With regard to my (surprise to her) lawsuit, I’m wondering if she’s thought about the negative publicity this is going to bring to Highland Hall? This isn’t like some dusty school with CEO’s nobody’s heard of… there are celebrities there… BIG ones. I’m sure Ed remembers the paparazzi days. Highland Hall will be a very interesting place in the coming years.
    So what does this mean for El Rio? Well, the negative publicity will affect EVERY Waldorf charter… they taught my kids RACISM as if it was science, for crying out loud. I have a feeling the California charter school system doesn’t have a lot of tolerance for schools that do this. And Highland Hall is the training center for Waldorf teachers in this area… so Joan’s going to have a lot of ‘splainin’ to do when all this comes into sharp focus on El Rio.
  16. 16 Steve Hale said at 8:53 pm on April 14th, 2012: Pete, this is nothing but more of your typical bluster, which you have been duly challenged in the way of pursuing a viable case against these people. Any lawyer representing you would have told you long ago to stifle your comments, which are libelous to the extreme, and wherein any lawyer at this point would likely refuse to represent you.
    So, you may be looking at being your own prosecutor, but with all the time in the world to do it, take every minute to consider every aspect of it, in detail.
    It could very well be that these people see a bluffer and puffer in you, and that is why they stay silent. Why wouldn’t they?
  17. 17 Pete Karaiskos said at 8:16 am on April 15th, 2012: A charge of libel requires that I make statements that AREN’T TRUE. If Waldorf had a libel case to make, don’t you think they would have made it after all these years? Before losing half their student body?
    I have a VERY good lawyer. Many of the critics know who he is. I’m not bluffing… but I REALLY hope they think I am.
    When Joan connected Ed to the charter school system, she screwed up – SERIOUSLY. Now the whole system is up for review.
    See why I wait to file my lawsuit Steve? Last year, I had BRAND NEW developments in my case. This year, MORE new developments. The longer I wait, the more I describe publicly what they did, the more Waldorf tries to cover up their crimes… and the more I CATCH them doing it. Every day is an opportunity to connect a new dot. The people I’m suing have infiltrated Waldorf schools across the country. It’s to my benefit and to Waldorf’s detriment for me to wait as long as possible before filing.
    I hope Joan tries to force my hand. I searched for my daughter while Highland Hall helped hide her. Through that search, I made some good, supportive contacts at the Poly Klaas Foundation, the Attorney General’s office and the California Department of Justice. I contacted police departments throughout the state. I personally went day and night without rest looking for my daughter. I NEVER STOPPED until she was recovered and safe… ALL the time working AGAINST the efforts of the monsters at Highland Hall.
    Now, I’m watching her physically and mentally deteriorate before my eyes. Guess what? I’M NOT GOING TO STOP UNTIL MY KIDS GET JUSTICE!
  18. 18 Pete Karaiskos said at 8:44 am on April 15th, 2012: I wrote “I hope Joan tries to force my hand.”
    Actually, the timing couldn’t be better for this… Right before El Rio opens would be the PERFECT time to draw attention to MY lawsuit.
    Joan is kinda stuck. To make me stop, she has to take me to court… and I’m pretty sure she isn’t fooling herself about how THAT will end. But, to let me continue will undermine her efforts to spread Anthroposophy to unsuspecting people using public monies.
    I’m sure she’d LOVE to pay me to go away quietly, but even Waldorf doesn’t have THAT kind of money. So (and see if you get the irony here) – Waldorf has to sit there and be continually bullied by ME!
    Hey, maybe there really IS a GOD?
  19. 19 Pete Karaiskos said at 9:35 am on April 15th, 2012: We may as well keep going: From Joan’s blog: “Courts in California and worldwide have found that “anthroposophy”, the philosophical foundation of the Waldorf-like curriculum and methods in public charter schools, is a philosophy and not a religion.”
    That’s NOT TRUE. The case is STILL OPEN and is in the 9th district court of appeals.
    (Joan, you shouldn’t believe everything you read on Waldorfanswers… LMAO!)
    Waldorf has a LONG way to go before satisfying the claim that Anthroposophy is not a religion. The courts are still looking at this case – it has NOT been decided… and there’s a good chance (now that there’s a new judge on the bench) that it WILL go differently with respect to the evidence that has been allowed. The role of Waldorf in the California Charter School system may be a moot point when that lawsuit is finished. It may very well be denied ANY charter schools.
    So, to be clear, there is a current “first amendment” lawsuit against Waldorf, AND a “civil” lawsuit coming soon. And no, we’re not sharing the same lawyer.
    One question Steve. Why would you think for a moment that I might have trouble finding a lawyer to represent me here? Mine is a multi-million dollar lawsuit. I’ve literally had to screen applicants who want to represent me in this… You think I can’t find a lawyer to take this case? Are you kidding me?
  20. 20 Steve Hale said at 8:54 pm on April 15th, 2012: Pete, here’s the deal. I support you all the way with this, but you have spent how many years with this pathetic story of abuse? Sure, you can retain any lawyer these days. They are falling out of the trees, and I suspect the potential of a high-profile lawsuit against Waldorf assures the screening process.
    But, what have you just said here? Why would you wait while your daughter suffers so much at the hands of these fiends? What if you were to die tonight because the thief of your soul took you? Who would carry on your legacy?
    See what I mean? People think you are bluffing, and that is why they stay silent. Why wouldn’t they? Only you has come forth announcing the egregious offenses inflicted on your kids. Yet, two of these actually graduated from Highland Hall, true?
    So, where do you draw the line? Your daughter, according to your own public forum, left Highland Hall after the 8th grade for a public high school, where the real trouble began for her. True?
    You see, this is all going to come out in court, and the Waldorf lawyers will take every opportunity to show that it was her transition to public high school, and not Highland Hall, that did the greatest damage.
    But, you have no case whatsoever against public high school, and so you seek to pin it all on a private alternative school which you agreed upon voluntarily, and even saw the successful graduation of two sons through the full program at Highland Hall.
    It is important to look realistically at the full scope of your situation, and having a dialogue here with Joan and Ed present seems quite real to me.
    Steve
  21. 21 Pete Karaiskos said at 10:05 pm on April 15th, 2012: I’m not going to detail out my ENTIRE case here Steve – curious as you may be. You may not believe this, but I’m actually trying to AVOID criminal charges for my children’s mother, while charging the other monsters… not that she isn’t guilty of criminal actions – but because it would further harm my kids to see her in jail. It’s not that easy to do.
    My ex was living with the administrator of Highland Hall (after Ed) during her time in public school. He kicked my daughter out of their home after serving me with a restraining order and helping my ex deny my daughter therapy. When I found out what was happening, and tried to find my daughter Highland Hall organized around him to try to keep me from finding her. They would rather see a child come to harm than see bad publicity for their school… get it?
    I know you want this over Steve… but I really don’t care what you or Waldorf wants. My kids are still very sensitive and this matter is VERY serious. But don’t worry… If I die tomorrow, my case is laid out and my attorney will run with it… I’m not his only client in this case, remember… there are three others.
  22. 22 Steve Hale said at 10:52 pm on April 15th, 2012: Well then, sleep tight tonight, Pete. You’ve got it all covered, don’t you?
    Except for the one little detail of waiting all these years in order to gain justice and commission on the part of Waldorf. No, you felt you should wait for years while the damage continued unabated, and your children suffered.
    Nice try, but that makes no sense to any normal person who sees criminal offenses being committed right before their eyes.
    No, you have waited way beyond the statute of limitations in order to gain justice, even if you have 1-1/2 years left on it, and taking every minute out of it.
    Just look at what damage has been inflicted while you wait. Why? Ask you attorney.
    Ask them all, Pete.
    You know what they’ll tell you? Time is of the essence in lawsuits. Why? Because evidence has a tendency of moving on and getting lost in the shuffle. So, you’re lost in the shuffle, Pete.
    You waited way too long in order to make justice in your case a feasible possibility. You’re now nothing more than a pain-in-the-ass to those that have written you off. Why? Because all you do is talk, and threaten, and bully, and bluster about your own pathetic self.
    And what do they do in response. Yep; ignore you, as any reasonable person would. Now, go talk to your attorney’s, and tell us what comes next. We’re waiting.
    Steve
  23. 23 Pete Karaiskos said at 5:43 am on April 16th, 2012: You saw my website right? ALL the documents I filed in court? ALL the legal declarations? How many times did I ALREADY go to court Steve? Do you have any idea? You DARE to suggest I sat around and did NOTHING while they harmed my kids? Do you know how many times the DCFS were called to my ex’s home? Steve, this is why I don’t discuss this stuff with you – you’re a dimwitted moron. Get a clue – I’ve NEVER STOPPED fighting this fight. NEVER!
  24.  Pete Karaiskos said: Nobody has to wonder if Waldorf intends to teach children WHAT to think.  Here's Rudolf Steiner from "Faculty Meetings with Rudolf Steiner" - pp41-42
    http://digitalseance.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/faculty_meetings_1_2.pdf
    Rudolf Steiner: "It is true that anthroposophy is a worldview, and we certainly do not want to bring that into our school. On the other hand, we must certainly develop the religious feeling that worldview can give to the human soul when the parents expressly ask us to give it to the children. Particularly when we begin with anthroposophy, we dare not develop anything inappropriate, certainly not develop anything too early. We will, therefore, have two stages. First, we will take all the children in the lower four grades, and then those in the upper four grades.
    In the lower four grades, we will attempt to discuss the things and processes in the human environment, so that a feeling arises in the children that spirit lives in nature. We can consider such things as my previous examples. We can, for instance, give the children the idea of the soul. Of course, the children first need to learn to understand the idea of life in general. You can teach the children about life if you direct their attention to the fact that people are first small and then they grow, become old, get white hair, wrinkles, and so forth. Thus, you tell them about the seriousness of the course of human life and acquaint them with the seriousness of the fact of death, something the children already [k]now.
    Therefore, you need to discuss what occurs in the human soul during the changes between sleeping and waking. You can certainly go into such things with even the youngest children in the first group. Discuss how waking and sleeping look, how the soul rests, how the human being rests during sleep, and so forth. Then, tell the children how the soul permeates the body when it awakens and indicate to them that there is a will that causes their limbs to move. Make them aware that the body provides the soul with senses through which they can see and hear and so forth. You can
    give them such things as proof that the spiritual is active in the physical. Those are things you can discuss with the children."

    p43
    "In contrast, it is important that we develop imaginative pictures through which we can show the supersensible through nature. For example, I have often mentioned that we should speak to the children about the butterfly’s cocoon and how the
    butterfly comes out of the cocoon. I have said that we can explain the concept of the immortal soul to the children by saying that, although human beings die, their souls go from them like an invisible butterfly emerging from the cocoon. Such a picture is, however, only effective when you believe it yourself, that is, when you believe the picture of the butterfly creeping out of the cocoon is a symbol for immortality planted into nature by
    divine powers. You need to believe that yourselves, otherwise the children will not believe it."

    It's pretty obvious to me that Steiner is telling teachers to make every lesson - if not directly about Anthroposophical ideas, at least about ideas contained within Anthroposophy - such as reincarnation, the existence and immortality of the soul and so forth.  That's what the curriculum is leading up to in Waldorf.  Students might not necessarily come out Anthroposophists, but the intention is to soften them up for Anthroposophy.  And if they've gotten the parents hooked, that's the first step.  If they only get 5% of the people who find Waldorf (parents and students) to accept Anthroposophy, they're doing better than most religions.  If all the other 95% did was fund the school for the other 5%, that's just fine with Waldorf.  Do they worry about the families who they've drawn in and who leave in disgust after a few years?  Yeah, they worry all the way to the bank.
Endoscopic Review:

http://www.elriocharterschool.org/about_us/

Ed Eadon - formerly from Highland Hall is now School Director at El Rio Charter
Waldorf School. After he was finally fired from arguably the WORST Waldorf
school in existence in 2008, he spent two years at a Los Angeles Charter school,
Amino Locke ACE Academy in Los Angeles. Let's see how they are ranked, shall
we:

http://school-ratings.com/school_details/19647330119909.html

"The State Rank is determined by a school's API Score in comparison to all other
schools in California. (1 is the worst, 10 is the best). An equal number of
schools occupy each rank. * This rank comes from the 2010 California Academic
Performance Index (API) Base report."

So, schools are ranked from 1 (Lowest) to 10 (Highest). Amino Locke ACE Academy
received the LOWEST possible ranking of 1 (despite a student/teacher ratio of
13:1).

Amino Locke Ace Academy was shut down in 2011 after only two years in existence.

So, after a stellar performance at Highland Hall, and an equally noteworthy
performance at Amino Locke, Ed Eadon is now ready for El Rio Charter school.
Remember, under his leadership, teachers at Highland Hall covered up the abuse
and sexual molestation of children, taught racism as physiology, taught
intelligent design as science, abused parents and even struck children without
fear of reprisal. Ed will, I'M SURE, bring El Rio and the entire Waldorf
presence in the charter school system to even sharper focus than cover-up
activities of Joan Jaeckel. They're cut from the same cloth apparently.



EL RIO CHARTER SCHOOL PARENTS BEWARE!!!